Manoella Martin

Born and raised in Manaus, Brazil, Manoella always had a passion for animals. She moved to the United States chasing her dream of working for Walt Disney World in Orlando,FL and successfully completed two international college programs. Manoella received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Walsh College and started her banking career in 2002, quickly moving up the corporate ladder.

After moving to North Carolina, Manoella started working with Project 2 Heal, a local non-profit in Waxhaw, NC that breeds and raises Labrador Retrievers for service work. Her involvement and love for Project2Heal’s mission made her quickly realize she did not fit in the corporate world and she left her career in banking to pursue a career with dogs. She made it her life’s purpose to share the impact dogs can have in the lives of those suffering with mental illness and trains her dogs for therapy work. She is the founder of the 501c3 non-profit “Aussome Aussies,” devoting her heart and soul to changing lives through the unconditional love of dogs.

Manoella joined Love in the Lead in 2023 and currently works with our service dog puppies in-training and is also a Head Start puppy trainer.