ABOUT US
Founding The Will of a Warrior was the natural next step for Veteran and retired police officer Richard Peña. Not long after retirement, Richard felt compelled to continue to serve his community - particularly his former teammates at the police department. He knew he could relate to them and believed that sharing his life's story, both personal and professional, could be helpful to the officers and the department. He approached his former police chief to offer his services and from there, The Will of a Warrior was born.
Meet Richard
co-founder and facilitator
"After confronting my own battles with PTSD, anxiety and depression, I realized the power of unfiltered conversations. That's why we founded The Will of a Warrior—to share those raw experiences and help others find their path to healing."
Richard Peña is a retired police officer and U.S Marine Machine Gunner with extensive policing and military experience. He retired from the Midlothian, Texas Police Department as a Sergeant, with his certificate as a Master Peace officer after 18 years of service. While serving the City of Midlothian, he was a certified Field Training Officer, TCOLE Instructor, OC Spray Instructor, certified ALERRT Instructor, Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor and Accident Investigator. He spent the final years of his career developing and implementing the School Resource Officer program in partnership with Midlothian I.S.D. and developing the school’s Safety and Security Program.
Richard’s life experiences are equally varied, and all too often, he faced significant challenges, both personally and professionally. Richard credits these challenges with creating the man he is today, but equally importantly, with giving him the first-hand insight that has provided him with the knowledge, passion, and compassion to help others that struggle, particularly with Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress. It is because of this insight that he can provide invaluable information and instruction to first responders, frontline workers and public servants by bringing awareness to the signs and symptoms of the mental health struggles that many first responders experience, quietly and undetected, every day.
Meet Démetra
co-founder and director of strategy
While Richard is the primary facilitator for every session, many trainings are supported behind the scenes—and in the room—by Démetra Conrad, our Director of Strategy and mission co-driver.
Démetra often joins trainings to help coordinate deployment, engage with attendees, and offer added insight from a different lens when the moment calls for it. When Démetra joins a session, you’ll experience the impact of a shared perspective— from both a male and female lens, across leadership, family, and frontline experience.
Together or solo, this mission doesn’t change - it’s always about creating space for real, unapologetic dialogue.
