Media & Announcements
Official press releases and media coverage from Desert Roots Wellness. For media inquiries and interview requests, contact [email protected].
Standardized Bios for Media Use
Samka Keranovic
Samka Keranovic is Co-Founder of Desert Roots Wellness, a holistic life coach, former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine. With 16 years of private coaching experience and more than 20 years in business leadership, her work focuses on burnout, self-abandonment, people-pleasing, boundaries, and sustainable high performance. Featured in Fast Company, Financial Tech Times, and Brett Farmiloe / Connectively. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Full bio →
Tyler LaBarge
Tyler LaBarge is Co-Founder of Desert Roots Wellness, a leadership coach, and President & CEO of U.S. Truck Driver Training School. With more than 20 years of ground-up leadership experience — rising from washing trucks in 2003 to President & CEO in 2020 — he works with high-achieving leaders on burnout, over-responsibility, delegation, team development, family-business dynamics, and sustainable high performance. Full bio →
Media Coverage
Contributor Features
Tyler LaBarge helps capable leaders share responsibility, prevent burnout, and build success they can sustain.
Read on Mens InsiderHow personal boundaries and self-trust connect with the realities of relationships, leadership, and sustainable success.
Read on Mens InsiderHow corporate leadership and private coaching shaped a company focused on boundaries, self-trust, and practical personal growth.
Read on Women’s ReporterHow Samka Keranovic draws on corporate leadership experience to bring practical coaching and reflection tools to Desert Roots Wellness.
Read on LeadrMagazineHow Samka Keranovic helps leaders strengthen communication, establish boundaries, and build self-trust through practical coaching.
Read on The Leader ReportSamka Keranovic’s perspective on corporate burnout, leadership coaching, and practical reflection tools that support clearer decisions and boundaries.
Read on Biz WeeklySamka Keranovic’s approach to boundaries, people-pleasing, and self-trust, highlighting Desert Roots Wellness’s self-guided Blueprint workbooks and personalized coaching for high-achieving women.
Read on Women’s InsiderInterviews, Features & Expert Commentary
Burnout prevention as a shared duty of individuals and organizations.
Read the FeatureDesert Roots Wellness Co-Founder Tyler LaBarge brings two decades of leadership experience to coaching focused on burnout and delegation. Press release distributed by Marketers Media to news and financial-data sites, including those below.
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Desert Roots Wellness highlights a sustainable approach to professional achievement through coaching, burnout prevention training, and personal development resources. Press release distributed by Marketers Media to news and financial-data sites, including those below.
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How a path from washing trucks to CEO shaped a new approach to leadership and burnout.
Read the FeatureSamka Keranovic contributes “Ask Your Body What It Needs.”
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic contributes “Confront Exhaustion to Reclaim Agency.”
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic contributes “Model Sustainable Boundaries From the Top.”
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic contributes “Prove Your Culture Prevents Burnout.”
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic contributes “Champion Sustainable Leadership Practices.”
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic contributes “Frame Decisions Under Real Constraints.”
Read FeatureSelf-guided workbooks to help high-achieving women examine boundaries, people-pleasing, and self-trust. Distributed by TMX Newsfile.
Read on Yahoo FinanceBurnout-prevention training for leaders and teams alongside self-guided workbooks on boundaries, people-pleasing, and self-trust. Distributed by Marketers Media.
Read on Street InsiderSamka Keranovic, Founder of Drwmbs, was quoted by Adria Solutions on whether she would take a pay cut for more flexible working: “Personally, I'd consider a 6 to 10% cut for real schedule control and remote work, but only if the job itself matched what I care about and respected my limits.”
Read FeatureAn exclusive interview with Samka Keranovic in Brainz Magazine — on choosing alignment over expectations, what it actually means to build a life that fits, and why high achievers so often end up living by someone else's definition of success.
Read on Brainz MagazineThis USA News feature explores how Samka Keranovic and Tyler LaBarge bring their leadership experience to Desert Roots Wellness, with a focus on boundaries, self-trust, and sustainable success for individuals and organizations.
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In this CEO Times feature, Samka Keranovic shares her perspective on quiet burnout, the cost of repeatedly overriding your own needs, and the role of boundaries and self-trust in sustainable leadership.
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Samka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on the hardest decisions leaders face when building a team — drawing on her coaching work with founders and executives navigating loyalty, performance, and the courage it takes to lead without compromising what actually matters.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on managing cash flow in the early stages of a business — drawing on her coaching work with entrepreneurs navigating the financial and psychological pressure of building something real from the ground up.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on how leaders make high-stakes budget decisions without abandoning what actually matters — drawing on her coaching work with high-achieving business owners navigating pressure, self-trust, and protecting core outcomes when resources tighten.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on how teams can balance documenting processes while still moving fast — drawing on her coaching work with high-achieving leaders navigating the real cost of bureaucratic drag and the discipline of knowing what actually needs to be written down.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on how to read the real signals of a role built for growth — beyond titles and salaries — drawing on her coaching work with high achievers navigating career decisions rooted in values, not fear.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on what actually draws top talent to Arizona employers — sharing insights from her coaching work with leaders building cultures where people want to stay and grow.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on building a sustainable talent pipeline — drawing on her experience in HR, leadership, and coaching leaders through the human side of hiring and team-building.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured in Inspiring Workplaces on the quieter, harder-to-see form of burnout driven by self-abandonment — the pattern high performers miss because it doesn't look like exhaustion. It looks like saying yes when you mean no, and staying when you already know better.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors sharing strategies for making smart budget cuts that protect what matters — drawing on her coaching work with high-achieving leaders navigating high-stakes, resource-constrained decisions without sacrificing momentum or team trust.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among 25 founders sharing hard-won lessons on intellectual property mistakes — her contribution, “Document Original Assets Immediately,” draws on building Desert Roots Wellness from the ground up. “Your intellectual property is often being created long before you realize you have intellectual property. Treat it like an asset from day one.”
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic's first authored article as a Brainz Magazine Executive Contributor — on the underexamined link between parental burnout and the generation of teenagers arriving at adulthood with no template for honoring themselves. “We are not raising an anxious generation by accident. We are raising the children of burned-out adults who never learned to come home to themselves.”
Read on Brainz MagazineSamka Keranovic's latest authored article for Brainz Magazine — on how organizations quietly train people to abandon their own judgment, needs, and limits in exchange for approval and belonging. When self-abandonment becomes a workplace norm, burnout follows not from workload alone, but from the accumulated cost of consistently overriding yourself to fit the room.
Read on Brainz MagazineSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on why celebrating small wins isn't a wellness tip — it's a hard-earned lesson. She shares the story of rebuilding a team through a two-year turnaround without once stopping to acknowledge what had been achieved, and what her body taught her next.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on time management as boundary management — sharing how protecting uninterrupted blocks for higher-value work and asking “Does this actually require me, and does it deserve my best time?” reduced context switching and made her workload sustainable. The biggest lesson: you do not always need more hours. Sometimes you need fewer things competing for your best ones.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on the real barriers clinicians face getting mental health support — and the practical fixes. Her section, “Find Private Treatment Beyond Referrals,” covers going outside your own referral network and protecting a 60-minute calendar block that nobody can touch.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on beating procrastination — sharing her “leverage-first rule”: start the day with the one task that unlocks movement for everyone else, before touching inboxes or routine updates. Procrastination isn't laziness; it's the brain freezing in the face of ten competing priorities.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on when to hire and how to manage payroll without putting cash flow at risk — sharing the “wait for sustained overflow” rule she uses to avoid hiring against forecasts and price fill time realistically.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on the skills becoming non-negotiable for Arizona employers — including boundaries, self-trust, and the ability to recognize when you’re abandoning your own judgment to keep everyone else comfortable.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on what makes Arizona a compelling destination for professionals — covering quality of life, work-life balance, and the conditions that allow people to build careers and lives that actually fit.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on how finding purpose reshapes mental health — drawing on her coaching work with high achievers navigating burnout, self-abandonment, and the search for a life that actually fits.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured as an expert source in Michael Toebe’s Communication Intelligence newsletter on Substack — sharing how top assistants become strategic partners who anticipate problems, read the room, and shift from transactional support to real leverage. The piece builds on Angela Duckworth’s New York Times essay about Nicolai Tangen and his assistant Grete Starheim.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on enforcing pricing discipline and protecting margins without slowing the sales cycle — drawing on her experience coaching leaders through high-stakes negotiations and resource-constrained decisions.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on making smarter capital allocation decisions under financial pressure — drawing on her experience coaching high-achieving leaders through high-stakes, resource-constrained decisions.
Read FeatureBurnout isn't a workload problem — it's a self-abandonment problem. Samka Keranovic writes in Fast Company's Leadership section on the three warning signs high achievers miss before hitting a wall.
Read on Fast CompanyA full feature interview with Samka Keranovic in Authority Magazine — on lived experience as a credential, why people-pleasing kills businesses, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.
Read on Authority MagazineSamka Keranovic named Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine — a global business, mindset, and leadership publication reaching millions of readers. She contributes original writing on burnout, self-abandonment, people-pleasing, and sustainable high performance.
View Contributor ProfileSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on establishing practical norms that protect focus time and prevent burnout in hybrid and remote work environments.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among 25 expert contributors on the defining traits of visionary leaders — how exceptional leaders transform ambiguity into strategic advantage.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured as an expert contributor on the growing trend of proactive relationship investment — coaching and counseling before problems arise, not after.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among the most efficient women leaders to watch — recognized for her leadership in business and personal transformation.
Read FeatureYou don't run out of energy. You run out of yourself. Samka Keranovic on the three signals that show up before burnout hits — and why most high achievers miss them entirely.
Read on MediumPassion doesn't protect you from burnout — it often masks the early warning signs for years. Published on Medium by Samka Keranovic.
Read on MediumMost people who struggle to set boundaries aren't lacking scripts or communication skills — they're lacking self-trust. Published on Medium by Samka Keranovic.
Read on MediumSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors sharing practical decision filters for protecting capacity and choosing the right opportunities when every hour is already committed.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured on Pursue the Passion, sharing expert insights on protecting your focus time and setting limits that actually stick.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among 25 expert contributors sharing practical self-care and detachment strategies for CEOs navigating high-pressure leadership.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among 18 expert contributors sharing practical strategies for sustaining motivation and momentum on long-term projects.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured as an expert contributor sharing practical, real-world stress management techniques rooted in self-awareness and authentic living.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured as an expert contributor in PharmaTech News, challenging common burnout misconceptions and sharing insight on sustainable recovery rooted in self-trust and authentic living.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on overcoming the fear of rejection in dating — drawing on her coaching work with clients navigating self-trust, self-abandonment, and building relationships that reflect who they actually are, not who they're afraid to stop performing as.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured as an expert contributor, sharing insights on navigating relationship stability risks rooted in boundaries, self-trust, and emotional resilience.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors breaking down the critical signs that reveal whether performance stagnation originates in mindset or physical capacity.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors on the human side of workforce planning — how leaders make difficult headcount decisions when clarity is scarce and the stakes are high.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured among expert contributors sharing practical strategies for building movement into the workday — because your body keeping score doesn't wait for you to notice.
Read FeatureSamka Keranovic featured on Fitness Interview, contributing insights on building sustainable follow-through rooted in structure, identity, and self-trust.
Read FeatureSamka shares the story behind Desert Roots Wellness, her 16 years of coaching work, and the practices she uses with high-pressure clients navigating burnout and self-abandonment.
Read InterviewPress Releases
President & CEO of U.S. Truck Driver Training School, Inc. Launches Personal Transformation and Coaching Company Alongside Co-Founding Partner Samka Keranovic.
Read Full Press ReleaseAfter more than two decades of award-winning leadership in the transportation sector, Samka Keranovic and co-founder Tyler LaBarge officially launch Desert Roots Wellness.
Read Full Press ReleasePractitioner Research
Evidence-informed practitioner insights on the five recurring patterns Samka observes beneath burnout in high-achieving clients — grounded in 16 years of coaching observations and supported by published research including the WHO burnout definition, APA guidance, and a peer-reviewed perfectionism meta-analysis.
Read the full report →Learn More About Our Work
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