We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tim Beagle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tim below.

Tim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

Absolutely, there was a defining moment that changed everything about the direction of my career, my values, and ultimately, my life.

Before entering the mental health field, I spent a decade working in logistics for an international shipping company. I had worked my way up to managing over 150 indirect reports, with five supervisors reporting directly to me. It was fast paced, demanding work, but it also placed me in a position where I got to witness the impact leadership can have on the wellbeing and dignity of others.

One of my employees at the time was a transgender man who was repeatedly mistreated and outed in the workplace by being called his dead name. Administrative staff “accidentally” used it, HR mishandled his identity, and the environment became unsafe for him. The situation escalated when he was harassed in the restroom and told he should “use the bathroom that matched his body parts” a sentiment that was echoed by the HR department itself. For me, that crossed a line from ignorance into harm.

I escalated the situation to my leadership and to HR many multiple times. When nothing was done, I refused to stay silent. I kept pressing, advocating, insisting that his safety and identity mattered. And ultimately, my “noise” cost me my job.

Losing my job was devastating in the moment. But the truth is, it was also the catalyst I needed. I already held a degree in Human Services and Addictions, and this experience pushed me to step fully into my purpose. I transitioned into community mental health work and later returned to school to earn my master’s in social work.

Since then, I’ve dedicated my career to advocacy and care for individuals who are too often unheard or unsupported from LGBTQ+ individuals, BIPOC communities, veterans, people with severe mental illness, and those without family or social support systems. I want people to feel seen, valued, and reminded that their life matters.

This journey was personal for me, too. I came out later in life after spending years in a heterosexual marriage and being raised in a very conservative environment. I lost friends and family in the process. It was isolating, painful, and a level of grief I wasn’t prepared for. But today, I can say I’m on the other side of it and stronger for it. My children love and support me, proudly share that they have “two dads,” and my ex-wife and I co-parent with mutual respect and care. The life I feared losing turned into a life that finally felt like mine.

The lesson I carry with me is this, doing the right thing may cost you something, but it will never cost you who you are. Speaking up for one person opened the door to a career where I get to speak up for many and that has been the greatest gift of my life.

Tim, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Clinical Care Navigator for a mental health therapy platform. My path into this field wasn’t a straight line, it was lived, earned, and shaped by both advocacy and personal evolution.

I actually began my career in logistics, spending 10 years with an international shipping company and eventually managing more than 150 employees. The turning point came when I advocated for a transgender employee who was repeatedly outed, harassed, and denied safety and dignity in the workplace. When I stood up, loudly and repeatedly, on his behalf, leadership and HR did nothing. I kept fighting for him anyway. That choice cost me my job, but it also became the moment that redirected my life. It pushed me to step into the work I was truly meant to do by supporting people through their most vulnerable moments.

I already had a degree in Human Services and Addictions, so I transitioned into community mental health and later earned my master’s in social work. Today, in my role as a Clinical Care Navigator, I help people take one of the hardest, bravest steps a person can take, asking for help. I connect individuals with therapists who meet their clinical needs, align with their identity, and provide a safe space to heal. I’m also on the path toward becoming a licensed therapist myself, but I know I will always keep a foot in care navigation. The door to care must remain held open for people, someone has to stand there and make sure no one gets shut out.

What sets me apart is that my work isn’t clinical first, it’s human first. I often speak with people in their darkest moments from when they don’t want to live, when they feel unseen, unheard, or unworthy, when life has piled on so heavily that they don’t know how to keep going. I normalize their feelings because struggle is not a flaw, it’s a part of being human. Whether someone is navigating trauma, identity, parenthood, loss, systemic oppression, or simply the weight of day to day survival, I meet them with validation, dignity, and care.

I also know intimately what it feels like to lose everything you thought was “secure” and rebuild from the ground up. I came out later in life after years in a heterosexual marriage, with four children and a very conservative family system. In choosing authenticity, I lost many relationships with family, friends, and the version of life others expected from me. But I also found myself. And today, my children support and love me fully, proudly share that they have “two dads,” and my ex-wife and I co-parent with respect and unity. I am proof that life after truth not only exists, but can be beautiful.

Because of my own lived experience, I refuse to let anyone feel like they are “too much,” “too late,” or “unworthy” of support.

The most challenging part of my job is when I can’t connect someone to care with us, whether it’s due to insurance limitations, government coverage we can’t accept, or financial barriers. But I will never allow those to be a dead end. I do not believe in “I’m sorry, we can’t help you, good luck.” Instead, I offer personalized referrals, affordable and identity affirming resources, and a clear path forward. Even if their care isn’t with us, I want them to receive the care they want, need, and deserve.

If I were to summarize my “brand,” it would be this, Human first. Always.

No one should be left alone while seeking help. I want people to know they matter, their feelings are valid, and they deserve a life that feels like theirs.

And to any LGBTQ+ reader, especially those who discovered their truth later in life, I want you to know this….

“You are not late to your own story. There is no wrong age to become who you are. The grief of what you lost is real, and the joy of who you become is just as real. You are allowed to rebuild, to choose yourself, to love boldly, and to create a life that reflects your truth, not the one others scripted for you. You are not alone, and there is so much life, community, and love waiting for you on the other side of living authentically.”

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the clearest examples of resilience in my journey came during a time when both my personal and professional lives unraveled at the same time. I spent a decade building a successful career in logistics, eventually managing more than 150 employees. But when I stood up for a transgender employee who was being harassed and repeatedly outed at work, leadership and HR chose inaction. I refused to stay quiet and ultimately lost my job for advocating for his safety and dignity.

Around that same period, I faced another life changing truth, I needed to live authentically as a gay man after years in a heterosexual marriage and being part of a very conservative community. Choosing honesty meant losing friends, family relationships, and the version of life others expected of me. It was a painful stripping away of almost everything familiar.

But instead of breaking, I rebuilt. I returned to the mental health field, earned my master’s in social work, and now dedicate my life to helping others navigate their darkest moments with dignity and support. My children love and support me, my ex-wife and I co-parent with respect, and I am living as the person I was meant to be.

That is resilience, choosing truth, rebuilding, and turning pain into purpose.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn was the belief that doing the right thing always leads to a positive outcome. I grew up internalizing the idea that if you’re kind, loyal, hardworking, and stand up for others, life will reward you for it. But that isn’t always how the world works and learning that was painful, but necessary.

The turning point came during my previous career in logistics. I did what I believed any decent human and any ethical leader should do. I spoke up, again and again. By believing that advocacy, fairness, and protecting someone’s safety would naturally lead to change. Instead, my advocacy led to backlash, and ultimately, to my termination.

It shattered my belief that “if you stand up for what’s right, the system will stand with you.” I was very wrong.

What I eventually learned is this, doing the right thing won’t always protect you, but it will always align you with who you are. I had to unlearn the expectation of reward and replace it with a deeper truth of integrity is not transactional. Sometimes choosing what’s right costs you something. But it will never cost you your soul.

That lesson freed me. It pushed me into the mental health field, closer to my purpose, my authenticity, and the life I was meant to build. The outcome wasn’t the one I expected, but it was the one I needed.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timothy.beagle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-beagle

Image Credits

Disney World
Northern Kentucky University
Club Wyndham