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Duncan Kirkwood grew up in Buffalo’s Central Park neighborhood, went to Alabama State University and enlisted in the National Guard upon his graduation in 2008.
He remained active in community groups and politics while he rose to the rank of first lieutenant, with a particular emphasis on officer resilience training.
Kirkwood earned a master’s degree in public administration from Ashford University in 2015 and moved back to Buffalo the next year.
He has since run twice for Erie County Legislature unsuccessfully, participated in the local Black Lives Matter movement and held jobs at the Northeast Charter Schools Network and Northland Workforce Training Center.
But it’s the last few years that his career has begun to mature around his ideals, as he realized his background in resilience training is applicable to the civilian world. He created a training manual of sorts, Rerouting: Resilience Tools and Tactics, and started consulting to pay the bills.
By mid-2019, Kirkwood was a full-fledged entrepreneur.
“I feel blessed because every time an email notification goes off I get excited,” Kirkwood said. “That is another opportunity coming through.”
There are two pillars of Kirkwood’s business:
• His speaking, training and authorship business takes aim at high school and college students and young adults, with published books that serve as a backdrop for his message. The last 12 months have been an acute time to address the future of young people, he said.
“I tell them, ‘When Covid is over there is going to be other strife in their lives,'” he said. “There are always going to be challenges in your life, so you have to have peace, love and joy that cuts through those external circumstances. You need to develop that muscle of overcoming challenges and setbacks.”
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• Kirkwood also has a separate consulting business where he helps market the services and events of community organizations. It’s the former segment of his business empire that Kirkwood hopes will become his primary source of income. That will take him to the various corners of the U.S. as speaking engagements open up, sharing what he’s learned. He has upcoming speeches in Vermont and Alabama, among other places. “I am looking forward to getting back to speaking to people in person,” he said. “I enjoy doing national work and bringing this positive message to young people everywhere.”
By Dan Miner – Reporter, Buffalo Business First
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