How Mark Peifer and Amie Schindler are creating meaningful employment, building confidence, and dreaming bigger for adults with disabilities.

What if changing someone’s future started with a dog treat?

A gourmet dog treat might seem like an unlikely starting point for transforming disability employment. But for Mark Peifer and Amie Schindler, it’s become the foundation of something extraordinary.

This week on Pushing Forward with Alycia, Alycia Anderson and co-host Marty Anderson welcome the leadership team behind Wigglewow, a Kentucky-based company transforming lives through meaningful employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

And yes, the dog treats are pretty delicious, according to the dogs who helped test them!

Wigglewow isn’t simply creating a product. It’s challenging assumptions about disability, demonstrating how workplaces can adapt to their employees, and helping families imagine futures filled with greater possibility.

Inside its kitchen, affectionately known as The Doghouse, 31 employees called Epic Chefs are involved in the production of gourmet dog treats, from preparing and mixing ingredients to cutting, decorating, and packaging finished products.

But the real story isn’t just about what’s being produced.

It’s about who’s being given the opportunity to produce it.

From a Family Challenge to an EPIC Mission

Wigglewow began with a challenge from Mark’s brother, whose son is autistic.

The question was simple but powerful: What would happen if Mark left corporate America and created a company dedicated to meaningful employment for adults with disabilities?

What followed was years of experimentation, recipe development, and an unusual product-testing strategy.

Mark challenged dog owners to let their pets choose between their favorite existing treat and his latest recipe.

His first test didn’t go particularly well. Only seven out of 50 dogs chose his recipe.

But Mark kept experimenting.

Eventually, 47 out of 50 dogs chose Wigglewow’s treats over their usual favorites.

In August 2019, Wigglewow began production with its first Epic Chef, Dante.

Today, the company is creating opportunities for dozens of individuals and families.

Turning Can’ts Into Cans

One of the most memorable philosophies from the conversation comes from Wigglewow Vice President Amie Schindler:

“We turn can’ts into cans.”

Amie shares how many employees arrive with assumptions about what they cannot accomplish, sometimes because they’ve spent years hearing others define their limitations.

Instead of accepting those assumptions, Wigglewow encourages employees to try new tasks, build confidence, and discover their strengths.

Small achievements become opportunities for growth.

Employees gain confidence through experiences such as putting on work gloves, learning new production tasks, using equipment, and stepping into responsibilities they may never have imagined for themselves.

It’s a powerful reminder that meaningful employment isn’t just about earning a paycheck.

It’s about choice, dignity, purpose, and having opportunities to grow.

Rethinking Disability-Inclusive Hiring

Many employers want to hire people with disabilities but struggle to translate that intention into meaningful opportunities.

Mark shares a different approach.

Rather than assessing a potential employee through a series of tasks and deciding whether they pass or fail, Wigglewow examines the work itself.

Could a process be adapted? Could a job aid help? Would a different workstation design allow the employee to succeed?

The underlying question changes from whether someone can fit into an existing job to how the work can be designed so more people have the opportunity to succeed.

This approach is especially relevant for organizations interested in disability inclusion and workplace accessibility.

Through creative problem-solving, individualized training, and a willingness to challenge assumptions, employers can uncover talent that traditional hiring practices may overlook.

The Epic Chefs: More Than a Job Title

The employees at Wigglewow are called Epic Chefs, and they play an active role throughout the production process.

From grinding bacon and preparing dough to shaping treats, operating production stations, decorating custom orders, and packaging products, the Epic Chefs contribute to a real, growing business.

Amie shares a particularly moving story of an employee who arrived at Wigglewow extremely shy.

Through her experiences at work, her confidence grew so much that she eventually wrote and performed an original song at Wigglewow’s fundraising event in front of hundreds of people.

Her journey illustrates what can happen when people are given the space to explore their talents and develop a sense of belonging.

Sometimes the most important workplace outcome isn’t measured in the number of products made.

It’s measured in the confidence someone carries into the rest of their life.

A Vision Beyond Employment

Wigglewow’s leadership is thinking far beyond the production of dog treats.

Mark and Amie share ambitious plans to expand employment, develop a comprehensive dog-services facility, create opportunities for more families to operate their own businesses, and explore housing and community environments that offer different levels of support.

These are long-term plans, rather than completed developments, but they reflect a larger conversation about disability inclusion.

What does a fulfilling life look like beyond the workplace?

How do we create opportunities for friendships, independence, safety, recreation, and community?

And how can families plan for the future while preserving opportunities for adults with disabilities to have meaningful choices?

The Wigglewow team hopes to create a model that can grow far beyond Kentucky.

A Community Worth Investing In

Wigglewow recently celebrated a major milestone with its first large fundraising event, attended by 328 people.

Rather than making the Epic Chefs simply the subject of the evening, Amie and Mark made sure they were central participants.

Employees greeted guests, joined tables, shared their experiences, and helped bring the mission to life.

The event raised more than $115,000.

It’s one example of how community engagement, storytelling, and meaningful participation can create momentum for a growing organization.

What Employers Can Learn From Wigglewow

The Wigglewow story offers practical lessons that extend well beyond a dog treat kitchen.

Start with strengths. Discover what employees can do and what they want to learn.

Rethink existing processes. Sometimes the workplace needs to change, not the individual.

Build confidence through opportunity. Give people room to learn new skills and take on greater responsibilities.

Listen to lived experience. Individuals with disabilities and their families can provide valuable perspectives when designing employment opportunities.

Think beyond hiring. Meaningful employment includes belonging, advancement, fair compensation, and long-term opportunity.

Keep asking what’s possible. An accessible workplace isn’t a final destination. It’s something we continually create together.

The Pushing Forward Moment

Mark closes the episode with a challenge to be EPIC:

“Exceptional People Influencing Change.”

Amie returns to the philosophy that guides her work every day: turning can’ts into cans.

Both messages remind us that meaningful progress begins when we move past assumptions, make room for opportunity, and allow people to show us what they’re capable of achieving.

At Pushing Forward with Alycia, we believe disability belongs in conversations about leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the future of work.

Because opportunity isn’t just about opening a door.

It’s about making sure people have the chance to walk, roll, and thrive through it.

Open hearts. Clear paths. Let’s go!

Watch this Episode on YouTube

00:00 Welcome to Pushing Forward with Alycia
00:50 Can a dog treat change how we view disability?
01:52 How Wigglewow began
04:51 Amie’s personal connection to the mission
07:11 Turning can’ts into cans
09:32 Adapting jobs to employees’ strengths
10:30 Inside The Doghouse and the Epic Chef experience
13:43 31 Epic Chefs and the need for expansion
15:19 Wigglewow’s vision beyond dog treats
17:10 Planning a nonprofit for long-term opportunity
20:00 Fundraising, partnerships, and community engagement
22:20 Creating a different kind of fundraiser
25:02 Raising over $115,000
25:28 How listeners can support Wigglewow
27:18 Advice for disability-inclusive employers
29:24 Disability benefits and employment considerations
31:49 Employee benefits and future plans
33:15 Helping families create small businesses
35:04 Pushing Forward Moment: Be EPIC!

Connect With Wigglewow

🐾 Visit Wigglewow to shop gourmet dog treats, learn more about the Epic Chefs, or support the nonprofit’s mission.

❤️ Explore Wigglewow’s Future Vision to learn about its plans for expanded employment, community, and housing.

📱 Follow Wigglewow on its social media channels, see videos, and find more ways to get involved.

Keep Pushing Forward With Alycia

🎙️ Explore the Pushing Forward with Alycia Podcast

🎤 Watch Alycia’s TEDx Talk: Disabling Ableism

🌐 Discover Alycia’s Speaking, Training, and Accessibility Work

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Stay tuned for more inspiring conversations on Pushing Forward with Alycia. Open hearts, clear paths. Let’s go.