Meet the Team
Text or Call: (818)800-1147
Dylan Cade Bates, MS-THSP, MS-CMHC, PhD Candidate- Forensic Psychology
Founder | Co-Owner | Managing Partner | Training, Education, & Consulting Director | Medically Ret. LEO & Former Volunteer Firefighter & EMT
Dylan “Blonde in Blue” Bates is the founder and managing partner of Badges & Breakthroughs, LLC, a nationwide peer support, coaching, training, and consulting resource for first responders, veterans, and their families.
With nearly a decade in law enforcement—from seven years working in Washington, D.C., to three years in Bethel, Alaska—Dylan served in a range of roles including Patrol, Crime Abatement Teams, Investigations, Hostage and Crisis Negotiation, Sexual Assault and Crimes Against Children Investigations, Death and Homicide Investigations, Critical Incident Response, Field Training Officer, Police Training Instructor, and Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Coordinator. Having stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with responders at their best and worst moments, she’s seen the toll the job can take on mental health, relationships, and identity.
Medically retired from law enforcement, Dylan turned that lived experience into a mission: to make sure responders never have to walk through their hardest moments alone. A counselor‑in‑training with a background in terrorism and homeland security policy and forensic psychology, she’s pursuing licensure as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor with a specialization in supporting first responders and their families. Before joining law enforcement, Dylan also volunteered as a firefighter and EMT with Stonewall Jackson Fire Company 511—continuing a lifelong dedication to service.
At Badges & Breakthroughs, Dylan leads the vision, training, and consulting programs, as well as peer support services, helping agencies build sustainable peer support teams and wellness programs while supporting individual responders through burnout, trauma, transition, and life after the badge. She’s also the host of the Badges & Breakthroughs Podcast and the creator of the Badges & Breakthroughs Nationwide Peer Support Network, where real stories from the field are used to break stigma and foster connection.
Beyond her professional mission, Dylan has a deep passion for the healing connection between humans and animals—especially dogs and horses. Her service and therapy dog, Ace, is her steadfast partner in every endeavor (really, they come as a package deal). Together, they embody the compassionate presence Dylan brings to her work and community. This love for animals has also sparked one of her most personal projects yet, coming soon: “The Partnership Never Ends,” an initiative that partners with first responders and veterans in need, kill shelters, and specialized professional trainers to rescue dogs from death row, match them with responders, and train them for lifesaving service and emotional support.
Looking ahead, Dylan and her team are also developing a somatic equine therapy program, designed to expand healing through experiential connection, regulation, and self‑restoration.
She is a member of the American Psychological Association, World Innovative Psychotherapy Association, Green Cross Academy of Traumatology, Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, and the Professional Law Enforcement Association. More than anything, Dylan is driven by one belief: connection saves lives—and when we take care of each other, we can keep showing up for the communities we swore to protect.
Melanie Brower, MS-CMHC
Co‑Owner | Clinical Director | LEO & Former Correctional Officer | Corrections Training and Consulting Liaison
Melanie Brower brings the heart of both a law enforcement officer and a clinician to Badges & Breakthroughs. With more than thirteen years serving her community—as a Correctional Officer, Sheriff’s Deputy, and now Federal Police Officer—she’s lived the job from every angle and understands how deeply it can shape the way you think, feel, and show up at home.
Currently earning her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and working toward her LCPC, Melanie helps lead our clinical direction to ensure everything we do is trauma‑informed, ethically grounded, and designed to meet first responders and their families right where they are. She’s especially passionate about couples, sex, and relationship therapy, helping those who serve reconnect and rebuild the bonds that strengthen resilience both on and off the job.
In her role as Corrections Training and Consulting Liaison, Melanie also provides specialized training and consulting to correctional facilities that partner with us—bridging the gap between peer support and professional care so that no one has to navigate their healing alone.
And if you notice that her photo isn’t a perfectly polished headshot, that’s intentional. Around here, we lead with authenticity. By showing the silly and vulnerable sides of ourselves, we hope to remind everyone—our clients, our colleagues, and ourselves—that we’re all human.
When she’s not studying, training, or serving, you’ll likely find Melanie with her Bernese Mountain Dog, Sammie, who’s happily glued to her side. That same loyal, grounding energy carries into her work—where empathy, humor, and wholehearted care are always at the center of everything she does.
George Forsythe, LCPC, MS-CMHC, PhD Candidate- Counselor Education & Supervision
George Forsythe spent 26 years as a dedicated Maryland State Trooper working undercover, within HIDA Task Forces, and with the joint Warrant Apprehension Task Force in Baltimore City. After witnessing firsthand the mental and emotional toll that comes with the responsibilities of this line of work, he launched Driftwood Psychotherapy to ensure no first responder would struggle alone. He has experience working with those recovering from trauma, substance abuse-related addictions, pornography, conflict resolution, crisis counseling, domestic violence, relationship conflict, and grief using an integrative approach, including EMDR and hypnosis when appropriate.
George only accepts clients who are first responders.
George is proud to report that he works as an adjunct professor at Divine Mercy University (DMU) in their Spiritual Direction program and also assists as a residential facilitator for both the Spiritual Direction program and the MS in Clinical Counseling program at DMU.
Phone: (443)615-2727
Co-Owner | Advisory & Oversight Director | Ret. LEO
Jesika Floyd
Business Development Manager | LEO Family
Jesika is our Business Development Manager and a proud law enforcement family member, so she understands firsthand what it means to love someone who wears the badge. She brings a calm, approachable presence to every conversation and cares deeply about making sure first responders and their families feel seen, supported, and valued. Jesika builds partnerships with companies and organizations that share our mission, inviting them to come alongside us as sponsors and major donors, and then nurturing those relationships with the same honesty and loyalty we offer our community. Her work behind the scenes helps keep our peer support network, trainings, and resources accessible to the people who need them most.
Email: Jesika@badgesandbreakthroughs.com
Phone: (424)542-3847
