One Shot to Your Heart: Revolutionary Leadership, Resilience, and the Power of Trust

As I prepare to transition my role at TTC College , I have been reflecting on how we got here as leaders. This monumental achievements, low moments, and the times we had to fight to become the most innovative behavioral health medical school in California. Today, I'm thinking about a unique quality of our college team--the closeness, camaraderie, and the deep trust we've built throughout the years as a team.

Reflecting on the early years of TTC College brings back memories of both profound challenges and powerful connections. Starting a college—especially one dedicated to transforming healthcare through education—meant venturing into uncertain territory. There wasn’t much to hold onto except the people beside us and the vision we carried.

Building with Trust as Our Foundation

From the very beginning, TTC College was built on trust: trust in each other, trust in our shared mission, and trust in the idea that what we were building mattered. In a startup, you don’t have years of established systems or a surplus of resources; you have each other. And that trust became our lifeline.

The journey wasn’t without its arrows by day (shoutout to King David). Sometimes, these arrows came in unexpected forms, like jealousy from coworkers who saw only our flexibility but not the burdens we carried. The pandemic, too, tested our resilience, pushing us to reimagine our Substance Use Disorder (SUD) classes online when our vision had been deeply rooted in in-person learning. Curriculum consultants left us stranded more than once, but every time, my team stepped up, filling in the gaps, writing curriculum, and finding solutions.

Protecting Against “Terrors by Night”

Beyond the visible setbacks, there were deeper challenges—the “terrors by night.” This included the lack of support from certain quarters, those who seemed to hope we’d stumble or fail (sometimes even within our own parent company). Passive-aggressive remarks, dismissive reactions when we achieved milestones, the quiet hostility when our first 60 counselors graduated—these things cut deep. There were even leaders who refused to call me "Dr. Golden" and would rather put me in my place by using my first name (as if I weren't proud of that too). They called us a "cult" at times because we were so serious about healing California, and we were NOT going to be stopped in that pursuit. They tried to break our spirits systematically, the way that the Willie Lynch Letter tried to breakdown the spirit of Black Americans post slavery. But instead of breaking us, they fortified us. The trust and solidarity within our team grew stronger as we encountered each trial. There were tears, but we wiped them for each other and kept on pushing.

In these moments, I began to understand the value of “incubation”—creating a protected space where our team could focus on building something groundbreaking without the weight of negativity. We were so serious about protecting our team's ability to be "good" that people who came in causing disruption and destruction felt uncomfortable on our team. They couldn't dismantle what was divine and what we considered a great calling to healing. Many didn’t understand our sacrifices: the extra hours, missed weekends, the events, and memorials for students whose families sometimes didn’t make it through their journeys to graduation. But within our circle, we knew what we were building and why. There was a clarity and a shared commitment that kept us moving forward.

Embracing the Legacy of Washington and Bethune

Starting a behavioral health medical college in California, as we did with TTC College, was not just about creating a place of learning; it was about creating a beacon of hope and resilience. I once told Haben Berhe , “We are the new Booker T. Washingtons and Mary McLeod Bethunes.” At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the weight of my own words. But in hindsight, I see how that comparison fits. Washington and Bethune built institutions with resilience, vision, and a mission that served future generations as historically black colleges. They trusted their people, protected their missions, and stood as shields for those who would come after them.

Their legacy lives in us. They laid the groundwork so that people like me—a kid from Salinas—could one day build a college dedicated to transforming lives. I don’t know if my team trusted me because they thought I was a little crazy, because they recognized a kindred spirit, or because they saw my commitment to healing our community. But I know this: real recognizes real. Those who joined this mission felt that same calling. They knew the risks, the sacrifices, and the challenges we faced together, but they also knew that we stood for something unbreakable.

Standing Strong Against Adversity

We were wounded many times during the last five years by bullets, knives in our backs, arrows by day and the terrors at night. My girl India.Arie sang, “one shot to your heart without breaking your skin, no one has the power to hurt you like your friends.” These were people we considered friends in our pursuit that sought to harm and distract us from getting to this very place as a college. But, I wasn't playing games with anyone seeking to cause harm, and I was always ready for battle--to protect our team's goodness--our integrity.

Over these years, I’ve felt betrayal from those I considered close—both personally and professionally. But the work at TTC College has taught me something invaluable about loyalty, commitment, and resilience. In the face of every arrow pointed our way, there has only been one choice: to stand.

TTC College has always stood and will continue to stand—for affordable, accessible education, for integrity, for the intersections in life that demand and deserve protection. We stand for righteousness and victory, knowing that each step forward means more healing, not just for Los Angeles, but for communities beyond.

Thus, I carry a simple philosophy moving forward when thinking about the arrows and terrors that aim at us in life and leadership:

I will NOT be afraid.

As I reflect on these early years, I’m reminded of the unyielding spirit that built TTC College. We’ve fought battles, faced challenges, and celebrated milestones. And through it all, we’ve held on to one another and to our vision. This work, this college, is a testament to what can be accomplished when trust, preparedness, and a commitment to community are at the heart of everything we do.

Long live TTC College!

Be Prepared. Be United. Be Fearless.

Be Healed.

Dr. Golden