After finishing his Associate’s degree in music, Toby Willis followed his calling of entrepreneurship by starting Ameri-Clean Services; an industrial maintenance company. Long-since diagnosed with a debilitating retina disorder called Retinitis Pigmentosa, in June of 2001, when his vision deteriorated to the degree that it began impacting his ability to drive and operate the business, he sold Ameri-Clean to a competitor and immediately re-enrolled in college to continue his education.

Toby completed a Bachelors of Science degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Recording Industry Management. Music and recording have always been a passion of Toby’s. However, while working as a student technology assistant in the Adaptive Technology Center at Middle Tennessee State University, he realized that his technology experience coupled with his personal experience with disability could be focused to bring great benefit to disability service consumers and change to the disabled community.

After achieving a Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration and Supervision with an emphasis in Disability Law and Access, Toby was recruited by the DSS Office at MTSU, his alma mater, in January 2003. Subsequently, he was named Director of Student Disability Services at Nashville State Community College. It was during his service at NSCC when Toby was matched with Zakai, his German shepherd guide dog.

In 2006, now encumbered by severe vision loss, Toby pulled up his Tennessee roots and moved to Seattle to pursue his ambitions of bringing positive change to the disabled. He was appointed Director of Disability Support Services at City University of Seattle. During his tenure at CityU, Toby consulted municipalities, organizations and individuals in matters of disability law and access for people with disabilities while successfully completing a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in Global Leadership. Toby was promoted to Director of Site Operations at CityU, in July 2008.

In 2011 Toby left CityU to pursue his dream of starting Seattle’s first guide dog organization, Independence Guide Dogs (IGD). Established in December 2011, IGD is currently raising its first class of guide dog puppies.

In addition to establishing Independence Guide Dogs, Toby continues to serve the higher education and disabled communities through his consulting services, his roll at Educational Technology Services, and his position as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Seattle Alliance of People with Disabilities.

An avid hiker and climber, Toby is a shining example of what can be achieved regardless of disability. He and Zakai have climbed many a mountain together, both literally and figuratively, including Mt. St. Helens. Toby lives by the mantra, “Life is what you make it. Like Lou Holtz said, ‘life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react.’ I believe that you can find something positive in everything…take that one positive thing and make something good come of it.“