The Me Verse
Where It All Began
Growing up as a gay child in rural Ohio during the 1980s shaped my understanding of empathy and resilience. Navigating bullying and social challenges at a young age taught me how powerful supportive environments can be.
Those early experiences helped me understand the importance of creating safe spaces where people feel safe to grow, learn, and contribute.
Today, that perspective continues to shape how I approach leadership, learning design, and collaboration.
Discipline ane Personal Growth
Before | After
Transformation has been a reoccurring theme throughout my life.
Through persistence and discipline, I’ve lost more than 100 pounds twice in my life. These experiences reinforced the importance of consistency, resilience, and long-term commitment to change.
Whether improving personal health or building scalable systems at work, meaningful progress rarely happens overnight.
It comes through steady effort, reflection, and a willingness to keep moving forward.
Professional Learning Across Borders
My professional journey took me across three countries, where I designed and facilitated learning programs for claims and customer service teams. Working with diverse teams around the world strengthened my ability to adapt training experiences for different audiences while maintaining clear learning outcomes.
Along the way, these experiences created unforgettable moments: scaling the side of a volcano on a donkey, standing beside the giant Buddha in Hong Kong, and meeting my future wife in the Philippines.
Family
Thirteen years ago my job took me to the Philippines, where I happened to meet the person who would eventually become my wife, though neither of us knew that at the time.
What started as a long-distance friendship stayed that way for years before we finally decided to see where it might go. She eventually moved to the United States, and we got married almost two years ago.
Outside of work, most of my time is spent with her and our dog Charlie. Being part of a multicultural family has also been a great experience. I’ve been learning more about her culture and even attempting to learn Tagalog. My progress is slow, but it keeps things interesting.
Art is Life
When I’m not working, working on self-development, or spending time with friends and family, you can usually find me creating. I enjoy all types of mediums. Graphite pencil was my first and probably will always be my favorite medium. Much of what I like to draw or paint is inspired by movies or vintage anything. Give me an old house, a classic car, or the suave elegance of vintage men’s attire, and I’m in my element. It’s like stepping into a time machine and experiencing life through a sepia-toned lens – endlessly inspiring.
Shay Penry, M.Ed, PMP 