Title: Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Company: Southern Choices of the Coast
Location: Guyton, Georgia, United States
Tyler E. Dorn, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Southern Choices of the Coast, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Healthcare Professionals for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Advocacy and Community Support.
Mr. Dorn has established a distinguished career in the field of disability services and community inclusion, marked by a series of leadership roles and advocacy efforts that have shaped policy and practice across Georgia. Since 2024, he has served as the founder and chief executive officer of Southern Choices of the Coast in Springfield, Georgia, where he has been instrumental in providing inclusion and community-based services for children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Under Mr. Dorn’s guidance, the organization promotes independence and supports care within the home, facilitates therapeutic recreation and community inclusion activities, manages a workforce of 160 to 170 employees and supports more than 200 individuals throughout the region.
Since the launch of Southern Choices of the Coast, Mr. Dorn has implemented supportive employment initiatives, organized inclusive golf tournaments and community events, fostered a philanthropic culture within the organization, and advocated for policy reform and funding at both local and state levels. His contributions have extended to statewide advocacy efforts, policy development, and strategic planning aimed at improving care standards and access for individuals requiring home- and community-based services. Through collaboration with stakeholders, Mr. Dorn has supported programs focused on expanding opportunities for people with disabilities, driving grassroots engagement to foster thriving communities across Georgia.
Mr. Dorn’s passion for this field is rooted in personal experience. Raised on a family farm in Monroe, Wisconsin, he was influenced by his mother’s work in special education within the school system and his father’s career as a farmer. Growing up alongside brothers who faced mental health challenges, including bipolar diagnoses, and another brother with intellectual and cognitive impairment, gave him firsthand insight into disabilities and comorbidities. These experiences inspired Mr. Dorn to pursue psychology in college with an initial goal of becoming a clinical psychologist.
Following high school, Mr. Dorn earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, magna cum laude, from Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2015. He also completed coursework in clinical psychology at United States International University-Africa in Nairobi. Mr. Dorn’s education provided a strong foundation in understanding human behavior and mental health, knowledge that has been critical in shaping his approach to disability services and advocacy.
Notably, during his undergraduate studies, Mr. Dorn lived abroad in Mexico, where he taught Spanish to children with disabilities in impoverished communities, an experience that deepened his commitment to promoting livelihood through education. He later resided in Nairobi, where he worked with an orphanage supporting older children with disabilities aging out of institutional care. This exposure highlighted the critical need for independent living skills training and shifted Mr. Dorn’s career focus toward promoting independence through community-based services.
Beyond his professional responsibilities, Mr. Dorn is actively involved in civic organizations, including volunteering with United Way Worldwide since 2019. He is also a supporter of the Faith Equestrian Therapeutic Center, The Navigators and various other nonprofits dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for vulnerable populations. Moreover, Mr. Dorn contributes his expertise as a member of Georgia’s Development Facilities Advisory Council, has served as the president with Kiwanis International in Georgia since 2023, as a member of the board of directors for both the Georgia Association of Community Care Providers and GROW Initiative Georgia since 2025, and as an advisory council member for the Department of Behavioral Health Developmental and Disability in the State of Georgia since 2026.
In recognition of Mr. Dorn’s leadership and organizational excellence, Southern Choices of the Coast was named Best Home Care Agency in Effingham by EPM Magazine in 2025. Among his most notable achievements, however, has been his transformative impact on the community’s approach to inclusion for individuals with disabilities. Recognized as one of the founding fathers and catalysts in this movement, Mr. Dorn has helped open doors for individuals who previously lacked such opportunities. He is particularly proud of enabling individuals to work alongside professional artists to develop their own artistic skills, as well as encouraging for-profit companies to support philanthropy.
Beyond direct services, Mr. Dorn’s work has shifted the culture around inclusive employment by demonstrating that individuals with disabilities are capable contributors to professional environments and, with appropriate support, can become some of the most loyal employees. Looking ahead, he intends to sustain and scale his community inclusion efforts beyond his local area to create a broader impact across the state and potentially other states. Mr. Dorn’s vision is to develop an organization capable of touching many more lives while continuing advocacy work at both local and state levels to advance reforms that secure necessary funding for disability services. While encouraged by others to consider political office, his immediate priority remains embedding inclusion as a sustainable part of community culture, so that its impact endures independently into the future.
For more information, please visit:
Contact Mr. Dorn: