Meet the Pretty Loaded Team
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead
Meet Beth
Beth is the founder of Pretty Loaded. She has had specialized ICU and Sedation experience in numerous Children’s Hospitals as an RN, which has given her extensive experience performing under life and death moment stress. On a mission to install strength, awareness, and confidence, Beth began her journey as an educator and National speaker after a close encounter with a would-be predator. She has trained thousands of people in person, and through her online training around the world. Her safety videos reach millions globally!
She is responsible for starting National Situational Awareness Day and this was approved by the registrar of the National Day Calendar.
Beth has been featured on Consumer Reports, Elite Readers, BuzzFeed, The Price of Business Show, The USA Times, ViralNova, and many more networks.
Beth loves spending her time reading, running, cooking, and painting. She is married and has four wonderful girls, organic chickens, teacup pigs, and lives on an organic produce farm and vineyard.
Meet Alex
Alex grew up in North Eastern North Dakota and attended the University of North Dakota. While at UND Alex enlisted in the North Dakota Army National Guard and served as a CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear) Operations Specialist and Combat Engineer for 12 years. While in the military Alex conducted CBRN training at the Unit level and was trained and proficient in demolitions and urban breeching. Alex attended the Lake Region Law Enforcement Academy in 2011 and began his law enforcement career.
Since then Alex served with the Grafton Police Department rising to the rank of Deputy Chief and is currently employed as a Special Agent with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Bismarck ND. During his time with the Bureau, Alex spent two years attached to a narcotics task force and is currently working general crimes covering a majority of the South East portion of North Dakota. Alex is a trained crime scene reconstructionist as well as a firearms instructor and drone pilot for the Bureau. Alex has worked multiple cases to include assisting on homicides, federal level narcotics cases, gross sexual imposition, and aggravated assaults.
Alex spends a majority of whatever free time he can get with his family and his dog Kirby.
Meet Tara
Tara Carey is an experienced Risk Management and Corporate Safety Specialist, spending over five years in Corporate Safety at Vulcan, Inc., a Paul G. Allen company. At Vulcan, she partnered closely with internal Security, HR, and Legal teams to bolster and develop programs supporting Crisis Management, Workplace Violence Prevention, and Travel Risk Management. During her tenure, she successfully built robust Personal Safety and Awareness Programs through training partnerships with security and law enforcement experts, promoting internal self-defense offerings, launching a ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign, creating an employee ‘Get Home Safely’ initiative, and delivering CPR/First Aid and Stop the Bleed training.
Prior to working at Vulcan, Tara worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where she collaborated with internal Security, Travel, HR, and Legal teams to ensure compliance with duty of care obligations and mitigate risks for employees while traveling. She is currently a member of the Gates Foundation Alumni Network.
Passionate about providing people with tools and resources to live safely in an unpredictable world, Tara brings expertise to fit all unsettling or dangerous situations such as surviving an active shooter incident, building confidence in self-defense, and other strategies critical for being situationally aware in everyday life. She also stays current with emerging skills and techniques through engaging in regular self-defense training and is a certified CPR and First Aid trainer.
Based in Seattle Washington, Tara is married with two kids that keep her schedule busy with year-round sports and volunteer activities. She enjoys Northwest adventures that take her from the mountains to the ocean while also appreciating the slower pace on Camano Island, enjoying crabbing with friends and family every chance she gets.
Be Safe, Be Smart, Be Strong!
(206) 491-8070 (mobile)
Meet Vincent
Vince, formally a financial Advisor, AMA Pro-Roadracer, Premier League Rugby Player, and a former candidate for State office in IL, has the ability to instruct and transfer knowledge to people of all skill levels and backgrounds, having trained everyone from average citizens to LEO, CIA, FBI and Military/SOF for over a decade. He has taught the Lone Operator course, Improvised Weapons, fighting in and out of cars, empty hands, de-escalation, knife fighting, disarmaments, Counter Arrest Techniques, Defensive Pistol and Rifle, Force on Force, Foreign Weapons, Integrated Gun Fighting and Women’s Self- Defense. Vince is a National speaker for Pretty Loaded. He has been an instructor for John Farnam, Henk Iverson, Fortress Defense, and CUBIC/NEK as well as running his own training company Gemini. He has also trained with DTI, Blackwater (U.S. Training), and Massad Ayoob. Vince held an NRA Master qualification in High-power Rifle, winning a gold medal in the inaugural M1 Carbine match as well as silvers and bronzes in the Garand and Military Bolt rifle matches. He is also an NRA RSO, NRA instructor for Pistol, Rifle and Home Firearm Safety. Vince likes to road trip, travel to foreign lands, and is heavily involved in photography as well and has his work published and in galleries. He has patents pending in the personal safety and self-defense arena.
Meet Tricia
Tricia has always had a love for working with people and that passion has been instrumental to her success. Her administrative and sales background, which spans over 15 years, provided a foundation for which to launch her own business as an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics.
Always looking for a challenge, Tricia began her shooting career in June 2012 and hasn’t looked back. She quickly earned her NRA Instructor Certification and a few short months later graduated from Rangemaster’s Instructor Development Program. Along with running her own business, Tricia is a Firearms Instructor with Fortress Defense Consultants. She teaches Women’s Self Defense Courses which focus on situational awareness and strategies to give women an advantage during a violent attack. She also teaches defensive pistol, defensive rifle, Force-on-Force and contributes to national speaking engagements for Pretty Loaded.
She’s a Staff Instructor with Defense Training International (DTI), and an IL Concealed Carry Instructor. She is a life member of the NRA, a member of the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network, Illinois State Rifle Association and Second Amendment Sisters. Her personal training and education are ongoing including Massad Ayoob’s 20 Hour Legal Course and The Moulage Medic’s 18-Hour TCCC Medical course.
Tricia is married and has one dog. She and her husband live an active lifestyle which includes traveling, backpacking, hiking, triathlons, rock climbing, gardening, cooking and baking pies!
Meet Linda
Linda Yalen recently retired from a long career as a corporate paralegal, specializing in the areas of corporate compliance, entity management, and professional licensing in the areas of environmental and construction management. She also provided chapter event planning and administrative support for the the Association of Corporate Counsel, Connecticut Chapter from 2018 through 2022, a 501c(6) organization that provides programs to corporate attorneys to obtain their required legal license credits. Back in 1979 when Linda was 23 years old, she was assaulted and spent 19 years in an emotional trauma, which led her to healing through energy medicine.
In 2008 she became a certified energy medicine practitioner, and an Institute for Integrative Nutrition Certified Health and Wellness Coach in 2015, along with other areas of health including sleep science, environmental toxins, digestive and hormone health, and essential oils.
Recently Linda became a Certified Home Safety Advisor with Age Safe America, a company that provides “age in place” services, including fall prevention education to homeowners. Linda is looking to work with local law enforcement to collaborate on personal safety awareness and the mindset of a predator through the Pretty Loaded program within the State of Connecticut.
Linda also is active taking Krav Maga self defense training, and has recently received her green belt.
The Pretty Loaded program was recently approved by the State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection to be offered to real estate professionals as a 3-hour program with 3 CE hours provided towards their yearly licensing requirements.
Linda lives in Hebron, CT and is excited to be a part of the Pretty Loaded family!
(860) 494-0488 (Office)
(860) 817-4134 (Cell)
Meet Gary
Never having owned a firearm, but wanting to be as proactive about his personal safety as possible given that reality, Gary believes there are ways to avoid being a victim without using a weapon. He also knows there are many other people who either don’t desire to own firearms, or are not permitted where they live.
Gary is the owner of College Nannies in Scottsdale, Arizona, that employs temporary nannies who travel solo to various homes around the Phoenix metro area. Nannies are the responsible guardians of the home while parents work, and they sometimes encounter complex interpersonal situations. Through Pretty Loaded, they get support, advice, and coaching that increases self-confidence to handle any situation where accountability and safety are a priority.
Meet Kelly
Kelly Mitchell is a thirty-three year veteran of law enforcement. She is a retired police lieutenant with the Town of Middletown, Rhode Island. More recently she retired as a police sergeant with Brown University Department of Public Safety in Providence Rhode Island. Her career began in 1988 where she served as a patrol officer, training officer, RI Police Academy Instructor, detective, sergeant, lieutenant and Assistant Deputy Director of Emergency Manager for the Town of Middletown. She also served in the High-Risk Team, and as a Crisis Negotiator.
Retiring in 2011, Kelly became a public safety officer in Higher Education, working as an EMT and RAD Instructor for Roger Williams University in Bristol RI. In 2013 she went on to serve as a patrol officer at Brown University. She served the University as sergeant, heading up the Community Outreach Unit assisting community members with various safety concerns, and providing educational and safety and training programs for all community members. She brought and taught various programs to the University: RAD (safety and self-defense for women), Street Harassment Bystander Intervention, Safety and Situational Awareness Training, and Civilian Response to Hostile Intruder(s)/Active Shooter training, Be the Help Until Help Arrives, and Stop the Bleed.
Kelly retired from Higher Education March 2023 and continues to work as a non-permanent officer with the Middletown Police Department.
Meet Lee
Lee is delighted to offer Pretty Loaded live training to West coast clients. She is founding owner of Zena Wellness, based in Seattle.
She became interested in personal safety after being violently attacked in a Philadelphia subway station, which spurred a lifelong pursuit of physical fitness and movement arts.
A certified instructor of Iyengar Yoga (200 RYT) and Nia Dance (White Belt), Lee’s wellness focus is helping females of all ages develop confidence, strength, and flexibility. She has taught yoga, dance, and Body Sculpt at LA Fitness, her home studio, and community centers, for over 15 years.
Lee has additional expertise in working with culturally diverse populations through her primary business, Zena Consulting LLC.Since 2008, this federally-certified, woman-owned firm has helped leaders reach diversity and inclusion goals through strategic communication, training, and facilitation. Her dual careers have overlapped at times, through numerous projects that engaged marginalized groups in exercise or cultural events; such as the Muslim Women’s Swim and Malikah Festival.
Lee has no interest in guns, but is studying Krav Maga self-defense training. Her +50 workout motto is: “stay stronger longer”.
Meet Rod
Rod has fulfilled roles in sales, marketing, and leadership capacities for technology companies such as Panasonic, Samsung and ViewSonic for nearly 30 years. He currently works at Avidex Inc., a technology integrator, with a client focus of colleges and universities in southern California. This engagement with senior staff in education, and currently a daughter and son away at college, synthesized the need for providing safety best practices on and around campus. In talking with community leaders and law enforcement, he learned that there is a need for this training in communities in general. He volunteers in a women’s outreach program sponsored by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to introduce women to firearms. This program has also encouraged his interest in educating women in all aspects of deterring and avoiding violence on an individual level.
Rod has undergone the following relevant training:
- Pretty Loaded Personal Safety Facilitator Course
- NRA Refuse to Be a Victim Instructor Course
- Firearms Instructor (Initial) Course
- Orange County, CA CCW