Team

Philip Ayles

Founder & President

A retired U.S. Army combat veteran, speaker, coach, and the Founder and President of Warrior to Love, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans, first responders, and their families successfully transition from a survival mindset to a life of purpose, connection, and belonging.

After serving 24 years in the military, followed by careers in law enforcement, emergency management, intelligence, and private contracting, Philip experienced firsthand the challenges that many warriors face after service. While careers may end, the mission of becoming a healthy spouse, parent, friend, neighbor, and citizen is only beginning.

Rather than allowing his own struggles with transition to define him, Philip transformed those experiences into a mission to help others. Through Warrior to Love, he developed the Communication Beyond the Uniform™ framework, teaching self-awareness, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, authentic communication, and living in the present. The organization’s mission is to empower veterans, first responders, and their families through coaching, workshops, mentorship, and reintegration support that builds stronger individuals, families, and communities.

Philip believes that healing happens through relationships. His philosophy is simple: we spend years learning how to become warriors, but very little time learning how to become civilians again. Warrior to Love exists to bridge that gap by helping people reconnect with themselves, strengthen their relationships, and discover a renewed sense of purpose after service.

Today, Philip speaks to businesses, nonprofits, veteran organizations, churches, and community leaders about reintegration, leadership, resilience, and the power of authentic human connection. His vision is to build communities where every warrior hears two simple words after service:

“Thank you. Welcome home.”

Christy Ayles

Co-Founder

The Co-Founder and Secretary of Warrior to Love, where she leads the organization’s Reintegration initiatives and champions the vital role families play in the healing journey. As the wife of a combat veteran, she brings the invaluable perspective of someone who has walked alongside the challenges of military transition, helping bridge the gap between warriors and the people who love them.

Christy believes that reintegration is not a journey veterans or first responders should face alone. Healing happens when families learn to communicate with empathy, establish healthy boundaries, and grow together. Her passion is helping spouses, partners, and loved ones understand that they are an essential part of rebuilding connection, trust, and purpose after service.

Known for her compassion, authenticity, and unwavering support, Christy has helped shape Warrior to Love into an organization that treats the whole person—mind, body, spirit, family, and community. She encourages families to move beyond simply surviving the effects of trauma and toward creating relationships built on understanding, resilience, and love.

Together with her husband, Philip, Christy has helped develop Warrior to Love’s holistic approach to aftercare, wellness, and reintegration. She believes that when warriors heal, families heal—and when families heal, communities become stronger.

Her mission is simple: to ensure that no warrior or family has to navigate the journey home alone, and to remind every family that love, understanding, and connection are powerful forces for lasting transformation.

Michael Iwaniusz

Co-Founder & Treasurer

Michael Iwaniusz is a U.S. Navy combat veteran, mentor, wellness coach, and Co-Founder of Warrior to Love. His passion is helping veterans, first responders, and their families discover that healing is possible—and that no one has to walk that journey alone.

Michael Iwaniusz is a U.S. Navy combat veteran, mentor, wellness coach, and Co-Founder of Warrior to Love. His passion is helping veterans, first responders, and their families discover that healing is possible—and that no one has to walk that journey alone.

Mike served 13 years in the United States Navy, including a six-month deployment to Afghanistan as a Seabee. While returning home from deployment, he suffered life-changing injuries that resulted in a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), short-term memory loss, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Rather than allowing those challenges to define him, Mike committed himself to rebuilding his life through resilience, education, and personal growth.

After overcoming significant physical and emotional adversity—including raising his two daughters as a single father—Mike earned a degree in Clinical Psychology and dedicated his life to serving others. His personal journey of recovery gives him a unique understanding of the challenges veterans face when transitioning from military service to civilian life.

As Warrior to Love’s Director of Aftercare & Peer Mentorship, Mike leads initiatives that provide ongoing support long after the initial conversation begins. He believes healing is not a one-time event but a lifelong process built through relationships, accountability, wellness, and community. His work focuses on helping individuals move beyond survival and rediscover purpose, connection, and hope.

Mike has served as a Veterans Service Officer, mentored veterans through the Nassau County Veterans Treatment Court, volunteered with numerous veteran organizations, and founded Warriors and Caregivers United. His commitment to serving others reflects a lifetime dedicated to giving back to the veteran and first responder community.

Today, Mike combines his clinical education, lived experience, and passion for mentorship to guide others toward healthier relationships, emotional resilience, and lasting personal transformation. He teaches that true strength is found not only in serving others, but in learning to care for yourself—mind, body, and spirit.

When he isn’t mentoring or coaching, Mike enjoys spending time outdoors, playing golf, and investing in his family and community in Callahan, Florida.

“Healing begins the moment you realize you don’t have to carry the weight alone.”

David Laird

Co-Founder & Director of Wellness

A U.S. military veteran, Operation New Uniform graduate, EMS Fitness Coach at Body20 Ponte Vedra, and Co-Founder of Warrior to Love (WTL). Through years of intentional recovery, wellness, and personal growth, David has transformed his own life and now helps others discover that healing is not a destination—it is a lifelong practice.

As Chief Wellness Officer, David leads Warrior to Love’s Wellness pillar, integrating physical health, emotional resilience, and community connection into the organization’s holistic approach to reintegration. He believes that lasting recovery requires caring for the whole person—mind, body, spirit, relationships, and purpose—not simply treating symptoms.

David’s expertise comes from lived experience. His personal recovery journey has led him to study and apply practical wellness strategies including functional fitness, nervous system regulation, recovery science, sleep optimization, nutrition, biohacking, stress management, and sustainable habit formation. His work emphasizes that wellness is built through small, consistent actions that restore confidence, resilience, and connection.

Within Warrior to Love, David helps veterans, first responders, and civilians understand that physical movement is more than exercise—it is a gateway to emotional regulation, mental clarity, authentic relationships, and purposeful living. His approach reinforces Warrior to Love’s core philosophy that self-awareness, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and communication become stronger when the body and mind are working together.

David is passionate about creating practical opportunities for people to reconnect with themselves and with others through wellness. Whether coaching clients, supporting fellow veterans, or building community partnerships throughout Jacksonville, his mission remains the same:

No one walks alone anymore.

David believes the future of veteran reintegration lies in collaboration, community, and shared responsibility. Through Warrior to Love, he is helping build an operating system for wellness that empowers individuals to move beyond survival and toward lives filled with resilience, purpose, belonging, and love.

His vision aligns with Warrior to Love’s mission of guiding veterans, first responders, and their families from the warrior mindset to a life of connection, service, and thriving within their communities.

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