Built on Purpose. Driven by Mission.
RETI was founded to help people thrive in chaos by turning resilience into actionable, everyday practice.
Our Mission, Vision & Values
Our Vision
Thrive in Chaos
Our Mission
Train Resilience. Build Judgment. Serve Those Who Need It Most.
Our Values
Leave Your Ego at the Door
Be Honest With Yourself and Others
Make the Tough Decision—The Correct Decision
Purpose Before Self, Always
Our Story
In elite military units, resilience isn't taught through PowerPoints or motivational speeches. It's drilled, practiced, and tested until sound judgment under pressure becomes automatic. Dr. Naggiar assumed this kind of training just was part of everyone's lives.
Over time, he realized it wasn't. These concepts were prioritized in special units and boardrooms, but somehow overlooked for everyone else. Why weren't people facing the grind of high-stakes decisions every single day given the same tools, especially when they often faced more stressors with fewer resources?
The people who needed it most, those making split-second calls under pressure, navigating high-risk environments, facing daily uncertainty and chaos, had minimal exposure to these frameworks.
We exist to close that gap.
Not the gap in knowledge. Most people know what they should do. The gap we address is deeper: the space between knowing and doing. That's where excuses settle. Where pressure breaks people. Where good intentions collapse under stress.
RETI trains what happens before the critical moment. We don't teach theory, we build practiced strategies that become reflexive when it matters. Because resilience isn't something you understand. It's something you do.
We meet people where they are. There's no one-size-fits-all approach because a corrections officer, an incarcerated individual, and a firefighter face different pressures and different stakes. But they all need the same core capacity: to think clearly and act with purpose when everything is on the line.
This is prevention, not intervention. We train people before crisis demands it, so when the moment comes, there's no gap between what they know and what they do.
Because resilient people build resilient communities. And resilience is not theoretical, it is practiced, trained, and lived.
Our History
The Resilience Education and Training Institute (RETI) was founded in 2018 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to make high-quality resilience training accessible.
RETI delivers the Mission Based Resilience (MBR) framework, a curriculum Dr. Naggiar developed beginning in 2011. Long before "resilience" became a buzzword, MBR was integrating the science of neuroscience, human performance, and resilience into real-world practice. Originally created as a university credit course for the Florida Department of Corrections at Florida State University, the curriculum distilled complex science into practical tools anyone could understand and use under stress.
In 2013, Dr. Naggiar brought MBR to the Bay County, Florida SWAT team on a volunteer basis—a cutting-edge application at the time. The program's proactive and holistic approach to stress has earned state, regional, and national recognition, attracting interest from agencies nationwide and abroad.
Since then, the Resilience for Incarcerated Adults Program has been an integral program at the Bay County Jail. To date, over 33 courses have been facilitated, reaching more than 660 incarcerated adults who have gained practical skills to improve decision-making in challenging and stressful situations.
In 2018, RETI was created to expand this impact as a nonprofit dedicated to those who need it most. After witnessing MBR's success in transforming lives, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford recognized that these principles could serve incarcerated adults and asked Dr. Naggiar to develop a specialized course for this population.
Since then, the Resilience for Incarcerated Adults Program has been an integral program at the Bay County Jail. To date, over 33 courses have been facilitated, reaching more than 660 incarcerated adults who have gained practical skills to improve decision-making in challenging and stressful situations.
Today
RETI serves law enforcement, first responders, incarcerated populations, and other groups navigating high-pressure environments. We continue to expand our reach to any population or agency that would benefit from practical resilience training, because this work is for anyone facing the grind of high-stakes decisions every day.
Our Founder
EDOARDO “Doc” NAGGIAR
Dr. Ed Naggiar holds a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with expertise in performance under stress in extreme conditions. His fascination with human performance in high-pressure situations stemmed from a 20-year career as a U.S. Navy SEAL Officer, where he served in SEAL Team ONE, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE, and Special Boat Team TWENTY TWO. He also served as a human experimental test subject at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit, testing the limits of human performance in extreme environments both in and out of the water.
Over two decades, Dr. Naggiar discovered that athleticism and grit alone weren't the determining factors for success in elite special operations—true resilience required integration across four major areas: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. This insight shaped his approach to resilience training and human performance consulting.
As a consultant and instructor, Dr. Naggiar has worked with law enforcement agencies, correctional systems, fire and emergency responders, 911 dispatch centers, disaster response agencies, branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, public policy legislators, nonprofit organizations, and private sector corporations. If you ever have the privilege of sitting in one of his classes, you'll likely hear participants call him "Doc", a nickname earned through years of personally instructing RETI's programs and the trust he builds in every room.
Stay Connect With us
Whether you’re exploring partnership, program participation, or support, we’d love to connect. Reach out to learn how RETI helps people operationalize resilience and thrive in chaos.
