Drew Bensen is an Entrepreneur that saw a need in his community and decided to form a business and his business is Close to Home Pet Services LLC. which is a dog walking and pet sitting company in Seattle focusing not only on giving exceptional care to the animals but also caring for the owners. From the beginning in 2008 until now he has received incredible support through his clients, friends and community. He started his personal journey transitioning in 2012 at the age of 39 and what he found was that the same support through his clients and friends helped him in ways he could not measure. This experience led him on his journey of education, empathy, allyship and self-awareness. There were some moments in his transition where he needed to become an advocate for himself, because of this he realized leveraging his privilege to educate people on Trans issues was incredibly important to him. This made him think about how the support of teachers and others affected him and how it still affects folks and one reason why he chose to do this important work. What he hopes is the outcome from the work he’s decided to do is more allyship, empathy and the importance of recognizing what someone is going through and that we create a safe space for everyone. As a public speaker he focuses mainly in the area of education, first person storytelling and insurance company advocacy.