In this episode of Built Leadership, host James Onyks interviews Thad Cardine, Executive Director of Shield Bearer Counseling Centers. Thad shares his journey from teaching and nonprofit leadership into scaling one of Texas’ growing faith-based mental health organizations.

He discusses how Shield Bearer Counseling Centers expanded from roughly 9,000 to more than 20,000 annual counseling services by transitioning from a contractor-heavy model to an in-house clinical team, improving operational systems, and increasing community partnerships through churches, networking groups, SEO, and Google Ad Grants.

The conversation also explores the realities of affordable mental health access, including ...