Our Story
The 2019 Dovetail Team behind We Are Resilient™
Meri McCoy-Thompson brings decades of leadership experience to helping organizations strengthen performance by investing in their human infrastructure. She has held senior roles across strategy, operations, organizational effectiveness, and program development, guiding teams through growth, complexity, and change.
As Executive Director of Dovetail Learning and a co-developer of We Are Resilient™, Meri Meri works with organizations to build the practical emotional, relational, and communication skills that drive collaboration, leadership, and sustainable results. She is co-author of The Heart of Resilience: Nurturing Your Inner Strength for a Joyful Life, which translates this work into accessible, real-world practices.
Her background includes leadership roles with The Gratitude Network and the Human Needs Project in Kenya, along with professional experience in Beijing, New Delhi, and Washington, D.C. Earlier in her career, she served on the faculty at Georgetown University and was Project Director for the first edition of Bright Futures: National Health Supervision Guidelines for Infants, Children and Adolescents.
Meri earned her AB from Stanford University and her MALD from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She brings strategic insight, global perspective, and decades of leadership experience to helping organizations strengthen communication, culture, and the human side of performance.
Kristie Cannady is a certified coach, nonprofit leader, and co-developer of We Are Resilient™ who helps organizations strengthen the human side of performance. As Chief Operating Officer of Dovetail Learning, she brings more than a decade of experience across operations, communications, education, healthcare, and people-centered strategy.
Over the past decade, Kristie has helped lead Dovetail Learning through real organizational complexity, including growing its flagship program from approximately $400K to $1.4M in annual revenue. She later helped guide the organization through the difficult decision to move away from that flagship program and pursue adult-centered wellness work through We Are Resilient™. That pivot happened at the height of COVID, when the need for practical resilience inside organizations became impossible to ignore.
Kristie’s work is grounded in helping leaders and teams build the skills and systems that support healthier communication, stronger collaboration, and greater resilience under pressure. She has helped shape the practical application of We Are Resilient™ in ways that make it useful in real workplaces and communities.
She also brings significant experience leading complex, high-pressure initiatives, including managing large-scale events with more than 200 volunteers, hundreds of vendors, and extensive logistical coordination. Her ability to stay steady, organized, and solutions-focused in demanding environments strengthens her work with teams navigating stress, change, and growth.
Alongside her leadership in operations and strategy, Kristie oversees communications, website systems, and digital implementation for Dovetail Learning. She brings warmth, clarity, and strong operational insight to helping organizations build healthier cultures from the inside out.
Emily Selim is an experienced educational leader and Certified Resilience Coach who helps organizations build more resilient, connected workplace cultures. Over more than 25 years in public education, she has served as a teacher, site administrator, district administrator, independent study leader, charter school administrator, and superintendent. Her leadership experience gives her a deep understanding of how culture, communication, and belonging shape both team effectiveness and long-term organizational health.
Emily has helped bring We Are Resilient™ to schools, districts, counties, and workshops across California, coaching large teams toward healthier communication, stronger collaboration, and more sustainable workplace culture. She is especially passionate about helping both adults and children feel seen, supported, and equipped to thrive.
Her work combines systems-level leadership with practical coaching, making her a trusted guide for teams navigating change, stress, and growth. Outside of work, Emily is also a photographer and maker who enjoys yoga, travel, and culinary adventures.