Dorothy Vance and her husband, Garland, co-founded AdVance Leadership in 2017. AdVance Leadership helps overwhelmed leaders live and lead with greater Purpose, Productivity and Peace through content, coaching, and consulting.

Dorothy is a Certified-Gallup Strengths Coach and Lifeforming Leadership-Certified Growth Coach.

She specializes in guiding people to discover their unique giftedness through tools like StrengthsFinder, the Enneagram, and spiritual gifts to articulate their life purpose.

Dorothy met her husband, Garland, a fellow creative writing major, at Carson-Newman University. They fell in love while critiquing each other’s work and have been married, writing and teaching together, for over twenty years. They dedicated fifteen of those years to a Chick-fil-A nonprofit. They are the parents of three beloved children, two boys with a girl in between.

Dorothy loves the outdoors and the beauty of nature which drew them to move to the Smoky Mountains 2018. She tries to get in a good hike at least once a week. When she’s not hiking, Dorothy stays active, training for races, practicing yoga, or finding a fun high-energy exercise class. All that activity balances out her love of cooking and eating. Dorothy also loves good books and movies, but the sweetest mix is when a good book is turned into a good movie.

Dr. Garland Vance has been helping people and teams get clarity about their life and leadership for over twenty years. He is an author, speaker, and consultant. Along with his wife, Dorothy, he cofounded AdVance Leadership to help high capacity leaders and organizations live and lead with Purpose, Productivity, and Peace. He has helped his clients (which span from Fortune 500 Companies to nonprofits) stress less, accomplish more, and fulfill their highest priorities.

He is the author of Gettin’ (un)Busy, which Forbes named as “one of the seven books everyone on your team should read.” As a former Leadership Development Pastor and Director of one of Chick-fil-A’s nonprofits, Garland has poured into influencers at all levels. He’s helped thousands of people discover and live out their life purpose, enhance their clarity and productivity, and impact the world around them. Garland earned a Doctorate in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from Denver Seminary. There, he researched the effects of busyness on leaders and how to overcome both individual and organizational overcommitment. As much as he loves to work, it’s not his highest priority. Garland enjoys reading, watching movies, drinking coffee, trying new food, engaging in deep conversations, running, and East Tennessee hiking. But most of all, he loves spending time with his wife, Dorothy, and their three children.