AAI Clinical
Framework

Michael Dean Spayde is a retired, service-connected disabled United States Navy veteran with over 21 years of service (September 2002 – February 2024), serving the greater Lansing and Jackson, Michigan area for the entirety of his active duty career as a Human Resource Specialist, Navy Counselor, and Career Recruiter Force Officer Recruiter. He earned four consecutive Diversity Officer Recruiter of the Year awards (FY 2018–2021) and held a Secret Clearance throughout his service.

A human resources professional since 1998, Michael has held the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) credential continuously since June 2001 — now in his 25th consecutive year of certification, current through August 2029. His HR career spans start-up, corporate, and federal environments: building HR departments from the ground up, managing multi-state recruiting operations, and placing hundreds of technical professionals and veterans into meaningful employment.

Following his Navy retirement, Michael served as Employment Transition Manager at Operation: Job Ready Veterans (OJRV), where he achieved 437 veteran job placements in 25 months — 82% above annualized target — and established a direct referral pipeline with the Eaton County Veterans Treatment Court. This work deepened his commitment to veteran-centric service and illuminated the gap between employment readiness and the deeper trauma-informed clinical care many veterans require.

That recognition is what drives his current path. Michael is a first-cohort MSW student at Spring Arbor University (anticipated completion April 2028), holds a Combat Veterans Certificate from Michigan State University School of Social Work, and holds a BA in Psychology (Post University, 3.94 GPA) and a BBA in Accounting (Davenport College). He begins his 400-hour generalist field placement on May 13, 2026, with a clinical trajectory focused on trauma-focused practice with veteran populations — integrating Animal-Assisted Intervention as a specialty modality for PTSD, moral injury, and TBI-related behavioral health needs.

Alongside his clinical development, Michael is a working dog trainer with 16 years of hands-on experience. Through his kennel, The Malinois Mafia, he has bred and trained Belgian Malinois for K9 law enforcement — with 9 dogs currently deployed across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada. He has donated Belgian Malinois pups to the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine) and Michigan-based veteran service dog organizations, and donated trained shelter pit bulls as green dog candidates to Michigan veteran service programs. His personal dogs hold working titles in AKC, UKC, and protection sport competition. He is currently developing Benny, a Cane Corso, through a 24-month mobility and support service dog program — the clinical and practical centerpiece of this AAI framework.

The Malinois Mafia is Michael's working kennel, established around his Belgian Malinois breeding and training program. The kennel has produced 9 K9s currently deployed in law enforcement across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada. Beyond law enforcement, Michael has donated Belgian Malinois pups to the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania — one of the nation's premier working dog research institutions — and to Michigan-based veteran service dog organizations. He has also donated trained shelter pit bulls as green dog candidates to Michigan veteran service programs, reflecting a commitment to both working dog excellence and veteran-focused service that predates and directly informs his AAI clinical framework.