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Please note: ClickerExpo LIVE faculty are subject to change.
Laura VanArendonk Baugh operates Canines in Action in Indianapolis. As a crossover trainer, Laura is particularly interested in the science of more efficient behavior change. She became a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner in 2008 and returned to the Academy as an instructor, teaching certification workshops around the country. She is also certified in TAGteach.
Laura blogs on clicker training and behavior, writes articles on various behavior and training topics, and is the author of Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out and Social, Civil, and Savvy.
Learn more about Laura on her website, Facebook page, or Twitter.
Loving animals for as long as she can remember, Eva grew up with horses and rabbits and ventured into dog training in the early 1990s. Hooked on positive reinforcement training from the get-go, she participated with her dogs in a variety of dog sports, competed in high-level obedience, and was part of the national team in agility. With a master’s degree in behavior analysis and a passion for animal welfare, she currently works as an educator and consultant in a variety of settings and with various species.
Together with business partner Emelie Johnson Vegh, Eva runs their collaboration Carpe Momentum. “E&E” teach seminars and online courses on a wide range of topics and are known for concepts such as seamless training sessions, start-button behaviors, and flowcharts. They are TAGteach faculty members and are committed to creating the best learning environment for humans and non-humans alike. Eva and Emelie met at the agility field 20 years ago; in their book Agility Right from the Start they share their philosophy and structured approach to training, making it a worthy read for all trainers (not just dog agility enthusiasts).
Eva lives in the village of Ljungskile in the west of Sweden, where she also organizes the yearly CCC conference on Choice, Control & Communication. She is a FearFree speaker and a board member of the Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis, enjoying networking and connecting people and ideas. Her most recent cooperation has the nerdy name ABC247.wtf and is a web shop for products and online material.
Learn more about Eva on her website, Facebook page, or LinkedIn.
Veronica Boutelle, MA Ed, CTC, is co-founder of dogbiz (formerly dogtec) and the author of several books, including How To Run a Dog Business: Putting Your Career Where Your Heart Is and the co-author of Minding Your Dog Business: A Practical Guide to Business Success for Dog Professionals..Through dogbiz, she and her team help dog trainers start, grow, and run thriving businesses. Veronica writes regular business columns for multiple industry journals, including PPG’s BARKS from the Guild, and is a sought-after speaker at dog-training schools and conferences across the country and internationally. Veronica and dogbiz co-founder Gina Phairas are proud to provide the business curriculum for Karen Pryor Academy.
Learn more about Veronica on her website or on her Facebook page.
Hannah has titled her dogs in conformation, obedience, schutzhund, agility, and rally. Her dogs have multiple class wins, both AKC and UKC High in Trial awards, and scores that qualify for several Front & Finish Awards of Excellence (FFX).
Learn more about Hannah on her website, on Facebook, on Instagram, on YouTube, or on Twitter.
Lindsay Wood Brown is a board-certified applied animal behaviorist (ACAAB) with a master's degree in animal behavior. Lindsay is a Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) course developer and has served as a KPA faculty member since 2012. Lindsay’s goal is to help behavior consultants and shelter professionals apply behavior-change science to their everyday professional lives. Her focus is on stripping labels, flipping prevailing ideas on their sides for a better view, and honing in on systematic ways to advance strategies.
Lindsay consults for animal shelters across the country and provides 1:1 mentorship opportunities for behavior consultants. She previously served as the Director of Operations for Lynchburg Humane Society in Virginia and as the Director of Animal Training and Behavior for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, Colorado.
Learn more about Lindsay on the Karen Pryor Academy faculty page.
Aaron Clayton is the CEO of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). He joined the company in 2001 and with Karen Pryor, and now with Ken Ramirez, has piloted the company’s growth for over a decade and a half. He is a management executive with approximately 25 years of experience growing service-based businesses. Of all his experiences, Aaron’s involvement with teaching and learning as the president of KPCT has been the most fun and reinforcing (pun intended!).
Prior to joining KPCT, Aaron helped found and fund a human resources company and was a partner at a business strategy consultancy focused on improving the market position and performance of Fortune 500 companies. He is a board member of TAGteach, LLC. Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an M.B.A from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Meg Dye is currently the Curator of Behavioral Management and Welfare at the Duke Lemur Center. She is responsible for developing and implementing animal training and enrichment programs to complement the Center’s husbandry, research, and animal-welfare initiatives. Meg began her career at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a surrogate mom for orphaned sea otter pups. In 1990, Meg joined the marine mammal department at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and was a lead trainer for Alaskan sea otters and Pacific white-sided dolphins. In 2000, Meg created Animal Management Resources, a private consulting company that specialized in developing and enhancing animal care and training programs for zoos and aquariums. Meg was introduced to the Duke Lemur Center as a consultant in 2007 and joined the fulltime staff in 2012.
Meg has spoken at the AVMA American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW) and has been an annual speaker at the North Carolina School of Veterinary Medicine, discussing the importance of animal training for optimal animal welfare.
In 2018, Meg earned her MSc in Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh.
Terrie Hayward is a certified professional animal trainer and the owner of PAW-Positive Animal Wellness, LLC, in Rincon, Puerto Rico. She specializes in working with deaf dogs and with dogs suffering from canine separation anxiety.
Terrie holds a master’s degree in education. She is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP) and a KPA faculty member. Terrie is certified by the Council for Professional Dog Trainers and is a Certified Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.
Terrie works with families and their animal companions, presents workshops, travels, and consults—always focusing on positive reinforcement interactions and modifying behavior through applications in behavior analysis. She is the author of A Deaf Dog Joins the Family: Training, Education, and Communication for a Smooth Transition and the co-author of the new book Grooming Without Stress: Safer, Quicker, Happier as well as the now-available Your 10 Minute a Day Dog. Terrie has published behavior and training articles in Bark Magazine, Grooming Business, Pet Business, Deaf Dogs Rock, and on the Karen Pryor Clicker Training website.
Learn more about Terrie on her website or on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Through her business, The Best Whisper is a Click, Peggy Hogan has traveled internationally providing clicker training clinics and lectures; she also leads online courses.
A horse-lover since the age of three, when her sister put her on a pay-per-lap pony ride, Peggy loves all animals and has a passion for training. Her training background is varied, and she has studied techniques that range from natural horsemanship to classical dressage, having immersed herself in the teachings of Peggy Cummings, founder of Connected Riding. In the late 90s, with inspiration from Alexandra Kurland, Peggy fully embraced clicker training and positive reinforcement.
Learning from clicker trainers of other species, Peggy has investigated ways to add more shaping, capturing, luring, and targeting to her clicker training for horses program. She explains and demonstrates that horses will offer complex behaviors freely if given the choice—behaviors that range from riding to horse agility to freestyle to medical procedures. Peggy has also worked with clicker training techniques successfully in the area of horse rescue. Peggy has a master’s degree in psychology. A speaker at ClickerExpo conferences since 2013, she lives with her husband and seven horses.
Learn more about Peggy on her website, her Facebook page, or on Twitter.
Mary Hunter earned an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. She provides animal training services to people and their pets, working primarily with dogs and horses. Mary teaches as an adjunct instructor at the University of North Texas and serves as president of the Art and Science of Animal Training. In 2019, Mary and Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz published their first book, PORTL: The Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab. Mary’s research interests include studying the process of shaping and finding better ways to teach people to train animals. She is a full member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and has presented research at the organization’s annual convention. You can find Mary online on her personal blog, Stale Cheerios and on the Behavior Explorer website.
Learn more about Mary on her website or on her Facebook page.
Alexandra Kurland is a graduate of Cornell University where she specialized in animal behavior. She began teaching in the early 1980s. Her area of particular interest is the development of a horse’s balance: physical and emotional. Helping horses stay sound throughout a long lifetime is the goal. The result are beautiful horses that feel like heaven to ride.
In 1998, Alexandra launched the rapidly growing field of clicker training for horses with the publication of her first book, Clicker Training for Your Horse. She teaches clicker training geared to any horse need or sport—including developing a gentle and companionable riding horse, halter-training foals, training advanced performance horses, and reforming difficult and unmanageable horses. Alexandra travels widely, presenting clicker training seminars in the US, the UK, and Europe.
Alexandra has written The Click That Teaches: A Step–By–Step Guide in Pictures and has also produced The Click That Teaches DVD lesson series and an online course. People outside the horse community may know her best through her weekly Equiosity podcast.
Debbie Martin is a licensed Veterinary Technician in Texas, as well as a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior (VTS-Behavior). She has been a full-time registered/licensed veterinary technician since 1996, and worked in private practice for 14 years.
Since 2005 Debbie has been the animal behavior technician for Veterinary Behavior Consultations, LLC. She assists Kenneth Martin, DVM, DACVB, during behavior consultations.
Debbie is the co-owner of TEAM Education in Animal Behavior, LLC, a business focused on providing education on humane training and behavior modification and fostering collaboration between various animal behavior professions.
She is a contributing author and co-editor of the textbook Canine and Feline Behavior for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses by Wiley-Blackwell. Debbie and Dr. Martin have also authored a book on normal development and training for dogs: Puppy Start Right: Foundation Training for the Companion Dog. The pair also authored the Karen Pryor Academy course, Puppy Start Right for Instructors. The course provides not only the thorough knowledge necessary to provide puppy socialization classes, but also a complete curriculum with supplemental materials. Debbie’s combined experience in general practice and behavior specialty has fueled her passion for preventive behavior medicine and the Fear Free initiative. Debbie is honored to be a subject matter expert for Fear Free Pets and Fear Free Happy Homes. When she is not seeing clients, writing, or speaking, Debbie enjoys spending time at home with her husband and Belgian Malinoises on their 5-acre property, aptly named the Malamo, in Spicewood, Texas or exploring the beautiful hill country of Texas on her motorcycle!
Steve Martin is President/CEO of Natural Encounters, Inc. (NEI), a company of more than 40 professional animal trainers who teach animal-training strategies and produce inspirational and educational animal programs at zoological facilities globally. Steve has consulted at more than 120 zoological facilities in 16 countries, helping them improve animal welfare through training and enrichment and produce educational public programs. Though best known for his work with free-flight bird programs, most of Steve’s work involves teaching animal-care professionals the art and science of behavior-change principals, focusing on positive reinforcement, and producing public programs designed to inspire caring that leads to conservation action.
Steve teaches several animal-training workshops each year at zoological facilities and at the NEI Training and Education Center in Florida. He is an instructor at the AZA Animal Training School, an instructor at the Recon Elephant Workshop, a member of the AZA Animal Behavior Advisory Group. Steve served on the AZA Animal Welfare Committee and is a Trustee with the World Parrot Trust. He is also President of Natural Encounters Conservation Fund, Inc., a non-profit company that has raised and donated more than $1.3 million to in-situ conservation programs. Steve has a strong commitment to conservation and helping people understand their relationships with the living earth. The Mission Statement of NEI is “Connecting Humans With The Natural World” and Earth Day is an official holiday for all NEI employees.
Learn more about Steve and Natural Encounters, Inc. on his website and on Facebook.
Leslie McDevitt, MLA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is the author of the internationally popular Control Unleashed series of books and DVDs. Her books have been translated into many languages; people all over the world have learned how to use her science-based and empowering methods to help companion, performance, and working dogs learn how to functional optimally without stress in very challenging environments. If you have a dog that worries about stuff—other dogs, people, noises, the unexpected—Leslie has many fun counter-conditioning games just for you. Leslie is a popular conference speaker and is especially proud to be a presenter at ClickerExpo and a consultant for the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.
After more than 30 years as a national-level gymnastics coach, Theresa was determined to find a way to speed up skill acquisition for her athletes while simultaneously decreasing stress and fear in the learning environment. Her search for behaviorally sound techniques, clean instructions, and the proper timing of feedback and reinforcement, led to the development of the TAGteach methodology. Theresa teamed with Joan Orr, Beth Wheeler, and Aaron Clayton and Karen Pryor of Karen Pryor Clicker Training to found TAGteach International, LLC. Since then, TAGteach has evolved into an entire teaching protocol benefiting an endless variety of human applications. The success of the methodology has been accented by the wide range of applications embracing it. Theresa now consults and designs TAGteach programs in business management, industrial safety, medical, and surgical training, sport coaching, family communication, and, of course, training for those who teach people to train their companion animals. She is the author of the newly minted book, Don't Nag... TAG!: Success the First Time with TAGteach. Theresa is a sought-after speaker across the United States and around the world, including in Europe, the U.K., Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Learn more about Theresa and TAGteach on her website, on Facebook, on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
Founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust and The Ultimutts, Melissa Millett has taught thousands of family pets. As an animal expert, she has been featured internationally as well as on every major Canadian TV network, including Breakfast Television (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary), CP24, Global News, CTV (Toronto, Vancouver), Animal Planet, The Pet Network, and more. Melissa is the host of the popular television show Doggy House Calls and the spin-off series Doggy Diaries in cities across Canada.
Melissa is known internationally as an advanced trick trainer and performer with Ultimutts. A few of the Ultimutts have been featured internationally on: Good Morning America, The Rick Mercer Report, The Family Channel, CBC, and Cineplex Theatres. Bella the Boston terrier has traveled across the country with Ripley’s Believe it or Not! to promote her appearance in the 2016 publication. Jellybean the deaf Australian cattle dog made it to the semifinals of the Facebook Watch show World's Most Amazing Dog, receiving 36 million views and coming very close to winning $100,000 USD!
Melissa has partnered with Animal Coordinator Kirk Jarrett to provide an elite service for animals in film and TV. Most notably, the team co-trained the cats for Stephen King’s 2019 Pet Sematary and worked on a 2019 Super Bowl commercial as well as commercials for Duracell, Yoplait, and Gund. Past clients have included Paramount, Netflix, Warner Brothers, and more!
Learn more about Melissa and Ultimutts on her website or Facebook page.
Sarah Owings is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP). She specializes in learner-centric applications of behavioral principles that help transform the lives of fearful, shut-down, and over-the-top dogs—as well as the lives of the people who care for them. As an international speaker and regular contributor to online training forums, she is known for her innovative approaches to tough behavior problems and her compassionate and insightful teaching.
Sarah has written for Clean Run magazine on topics such as stimulus control, release cues, and toy-related cues. Her current passions include reframing concepts like “impulse control,” and encouraging trainers to embrace a philosophy of brave learning. Sarah is a member of the ClickerExpo faculty, an instructor for Cyber Scent Online, a tutor for Tromplo, and an advisor to the Glendale Humane Society in Los Angeles. She recently began teaching classes for Marin Humane in Novato and consults with their behavior team.
An avid nose work competitor, Sarah currently competing at both the Elite and Iron Dog levels with her Labrador retriever, Tucker. Tucker was the recipient of the Harry Award in 2015 and has the distinction of titling at each level of NACSW without a single miss. In Sniffing Dog Sports, he has won High in Trial in both Advanced and Excellent divisions and has earned a HIT at Iron Dog. Tucker's trained final response for nose work, a hover-freeze at source, was taught with a marker signal, following clicker training principles.
Learn more about Sarah on her Facebook page.
Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, received his veterinary degree from the University of Minnesota in 2002 and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2010. He has operated house-call and office-based behavior practices and is currently the owner and lead clinician at the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Pachel lectures regularly throughout the US and Canada, teaches courses at multiple veterinary schools in the US, and has authored several articles and book chapters on topics such as intercat aggression and pet selection for animal-assisted therapy. He is a sought-after expert witness for legal cases involving animal behavior issues. Dr. Pachel is also a Vice President of Veterinary Behavior on the executive leadership team of Instinct Dog Behavior and Training, a company that provides positive reinforcement behavior modification and board/train services within a franchise-based business model.
Learn more about Dr. Pachel on the Animal Behavior Clinic website and on his Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Chirag runs Domesticated Manners in London, UK. He consults on the ethical and science-based practice of behavior management and training for animals housed in domestic, zoo, and laboratory environments. Chirag also conducts workshops for professionals internationally and was a behavior consultant on the BBC 1 television show Nightmare Pets SOS.
Chirag earned his BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behavior from the University of Lincoln, UK. He is also a certified parrot behavior consultant (CPBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Currently, Chirag is studying for a MSc in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Learn more about Chirag on his website, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on Twitter. Chirag also has a YouTube channel that has accumulated more than half a million hits and provides free resources for pet owners and professionals.
A central force behind dogbiz, the dog pro industry’s leading business support company, and a former instructor at the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, Gina Phairas oversees the dogbiz University program, developing business courses to help R+ trainers succeed in their dream businesses. She is a dynamic speaker, teaching business workshops across the country and for Karen Pryor Academy. Gina previously ran a successful dog training business of her own and consulted nationally for shelters and rescue groups.
With dog-training pointers from a former riding student, Michele became fascinated with her dog’s willingness to learn; she spent all of her spare time training him. It was then that Michele’s path changed toward a career in dog training, which progressed to guide dog training.
In 1974, Michele Pouliot began her career as a licensed guide dog instructor when she joined Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), the second-largest guide dog school in the world. In addition to personally training more than 350 guide dog teams over 20 years, Michele contributed to major change in the organization by leading the adoption of clicker training in the formal training of guide dogs and in the development of puppies raised for guide dog work. Michele also developed the education program for GDB’s blind clients learning to clicker train their own guide dogs.
Michele has been a pioneer and leader in the guide dog industry worldwide. Since 2005, GDB and Michele actively support and assist other guide dog schools in crossing over from traditional training methods to positive reinforcement and clicker training techniques. To provide further education to more individuals, GDB and Michele have held 5-day Guide Dog Clicker Conferences for international guide dog professionals. In 2016, the International Guide Dog Federation presented Michele with a Lifetime Achievement award for bringing clicker training to guide dog programs around the globe. Michele retired from her 42-year career with GDB in 2016 but continues to provide workshops around the world for guide and service dog organizations.
Michele has also been very active and successful in canine dog sports. She was heavily involved in competition obedience for 20 years, winning four Obedience Trial Championships with her personal dogs. Michele also competed in tracking and in the sport of agility. In 2005, Michele discovered the new sport of Canine Musical Freestyle and, with help from her first freestyle partners Cabo and Listo, became a leader in two years. Her current performance partners are Déjà Vu and Saké. Michele and her dogs have attained more than 10 Championship and Grand Championship titles and are winners of national and international freestyle competitions. They are known for entertaining routines with very creative behaviors. Michele and Listo made history in the World Canine Freestyle Organization as the first team to ever receive perfect “10” scores in both Artistic and Technical categories! They repeated this incredible achievement 23 more times with six different routines. Michele travels extensively giving seminars on clicker training for dog sports and for effective clicker training in general. She is well known for clarity in her teaching, her enthusiasm for training, and her love of animals.
Michele loves to spend time at home, in Oregon, with her dogs and her horses. A member of the ClickerExpo faculty since 2008, Michele partnered with Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) to create an online Canine Freestyle course. The course has received rave reviews from students and is popular even with clicker enthusiasts who are not involved in the freestyle sport.
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice-President (EVP) and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). There he helps to oversee the vision, development, and implementation of training education programs for the organization.
A 40+-year veteran of animal care and training, Ken is a biologist and animal behaviorist who has overseen or consulted on training projects for many zoological organizations throughout the world. He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and continues to work with organizations training dogs for service work, search-and-rescue, bomb detection, and narcotic detection. Ken has also maintained a close affiliation with pet training throughout his career.
Prior to his work with KPCT, Ken served as EVP of Animal Care and Animal Training at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium for more than 25 years. There he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development, and public presentation programs for more than 32,000 animals. Ken has written for numerous scientific publications and authored countless popular articles. He is the author of the bestselling Animal Training: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement as well as his newest book, The Eye of the Trainer: Animal Training, Transformation, and Trust.
Ken taught a graduate course on animal training at Western Illinois University for 20 years and has been active in several professional organizations, including as a past president of the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA). He is actively involved in the creation of a certification process for animal trainers in zoological settings. Currently, Ken is developing courses and programming at The Ranch, the Karen Pryor National Training Center in the state of Washington.
T erry Ryan has been training dogs and teaching others to train dogs for more than 50 years. Early on, she founded Legacy Canine Behavior & Training, Inc., an organization promoting humane and effective dog training techniques for a variety of pet, working dog, and competitive applications. For many years Terry operated a large training complex in the Pacific Northwest offering a variety of training specialties, including one of her passions, Chicken Camp.
Terry competed in and coached various performance events and was an AKC obedience trial judge for many years. She has taught in several countries, creating and implementing national dog training and instructor education programs.
Terry has authored numerous books; the most popular is entitled Coaching People to Train Their Dogs. Her most recent book is called Gamify Your Dog Training. Terry has been on the faculty of Karen Pryor Academy since 2008, teaching courses numerous times a year both domestically and abroad.
Since 1998, Kathy has owned Bright Spot Dog Training. Services include consulting with families about their challenging dogs, teaching private lessons, and mentoring professional trainers. Kathy is proud to be an original faculty member at Karen Pryor Clicker Training’s ClickerExpo conferences.
Kathy has traveled extensively across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and to Australia, Israel, Japan, and Mexico, educating students about the science of animal training. Her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace was published in 2012.
Learn more about Kathy on her website.
John Anthony Shahor is the co-owner and training director for Redemption Road K9 as well as LA PSA. Most recently, he was featured on A&E’s new show “America’s Top Dog” along with being featured locally for his work with dogs in and around the community.
Redemption Road K9 specializes in breeding and training working bloodline canines for Medical Service Work, Police K9, Search & Rescue, Agility, Personal Protection, Obedience, and Competition. Utilizing cutting-edge techniques and decades of training experience, our training programs offer both people and dogs another chance at a happy and fulfilling life.
Training Director John Anthony’s methodology is based on marker training and has resulted in a comprehensive and relationship-based curriculum that takes dogs from puppyhood to patrol and everything in between. He addresses dog behavior, cognition, and emotion utilizing a combination of cutting-edge tactical assessments, interactive games, and critical analysis to obtain an in-depth perspective on canine capabilities, the canine viewpoint, and dogs’ natural propensities for certain work. This expertise helps John create customized curriculums for individual dogs.
Michael Shikashio, CDBC, is the past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). He provides private consultations working exclusively with dog-aggression cases through his business AggressiveDog.com.
Michael is fully certified through the IAABC and is a full member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). His expert opinion is often sought by numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, New York Post, Baltimore Sun, WebMD, Women’s Health, Real Simple, SiriusXM Radio, Chronicle of the Dog, and Steve Dale’s Pet World.
Michael is a featured speaker at conferences, universities, and seminars around the world. He offers a variety of workshops, webinars, and online courses on the topic of canine aggression, including the popular Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
Learn more about Michael and Aggressive.com on his website or Facebook page.
Lori Stevens (CPDT-KA, SAMP, CCFT, CPBC) uses humane and scientific methods to improve the health, behavior, and performance of animals. Her experience is holistic and incorporates respect for animals as teachers. She continually studies the interactions among animal behavior, movement, learning, and health, and this effort is reflected in her innovative approach.
Lori is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a certified Small Animal Massage Practitioner, a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer, and a Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant, as well as a Senior Tellington TTouch practitioner for dogs, cats, and other animals. Lori is the creator of the Balance Harness. She teaches workshops and presents at conferences worldwide, including ClickerExpo where she has presented on both aging dogs and fitness.
Learn more about Lori on her website or on Facebook or Instagram.
Laura Monaco Torelli is the founder of Animal Behavior Training Concepts in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career in 1991 at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, where she trained beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters, seals, river otters, and penguins. After nearly a decade at the Shedd, she moved on to the San Diego Zoo and then Brookfield Zoo as a lead supervisory trainer. During her time in the zoo community, Laura worked with a wide variety of terrestrial animals, including primates, large cats, birds of prey, horses, parrots, tree kangaroos, giraffes, red pandas, and dogs. She is currently part of an exotic animal rescue and rehabilitation training team for the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Laura is a faculty member and instructor of Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPA), and serves as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Susan G. Friedman’s Living & Learning with Animals online course. She offers private training at West Loop Veterinary Care, located in downtown Chicago. Laura has presented at numerous professional conferences and taught seminars across the United States, Italy, Sweden, the UK, Singapore, Japan, and the Caribbean. She was an invited speaker for the American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, Midwest Veterinary Conference, and Penn Vet Working Dog Conference. Laura has appeared on various broadcast media, including WGN and NBC 5 news, WGN Radio, and WCIU’s You & Me This Morning. She also contributed her training videos for the Fear Free Professional Trainer Certification program and the Karen Pryor Academy Better Vet Visits online course.
This is her ninth year speaking at ClickerExpo.
Learn more about Laura on her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, on LinkedIn or on Instagram.
Emelie Johnson Vegh has been involved in dog training and various dog sports since her teenage years, after spending many years around ponies. While she was studying to become a high school teacher of English and Swedish, Emelie began working with Eva Bertilsson and the collaboration Carpe Momentum was formed.
“E&E” teach seminars and online courses on a wide variety of topics and are known for concepts such as seamless training sessions, start-button behaviors, and flowcharts. They are TAGteach faculty members and are committed to creating the best learning environment for humans and non-humans alike. In their book Agility Right from the Start, Emelie and Eva share their philosophy and structured approach to training, which makes the book a worthy read for all trainer (not just dog-agility enthusiasts).
Emelie lives in the very south of Sweden in the country's third largest city, Malmö. She shares her life with her husband, two sons, a daughter, Kelpie Scout, and Field Golden Tessa. Scout is now 12 years old and retired, and Tessa is about to begin her journey into dog sports, primarily obedience and rally obedience. In addition to dog sports, Emelie enjoys training in general, and is very interested in sports psychology, running, multisport, and yoga. She is also an author of fiction novels for both children and adults.
Learn more about Emelie on her website, Facebook page or on Instagram.
Laura VanArendonk Baugh operates Canines in Action in Indianapolis. As a crossover trainer, Laura is particularly interested in the science of more efficient behavior change. She became a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner in 2008 and returned to the Academy as an instructor, teaching certification workshops around the country. She is also certified in TAGteach.
Laura blogs on clicker training and behavior, writes articles on various behavior and training topics, and is the author of Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out and Social, Civil, and Savvy.
Learn more about Laura on her website, Facebook page, or Twitter.
Loving animals for as long as she can remember, Eva grew up with horses and rabbits and ventured into dog training in the early 1990s. Hooked on positive reinforcement training from the get-go, she participated with her dogs in a variety of dog sports, competed in high-level obedience, and was part of the national team in agility. With a master’s degree in behavior analysis and a passion for animal welfare, she currently works as an educator and consultant in a variety of settings and with various species.
Together with business partner Emelie Johnson Vegh, Eva runs their collaboration Carpe Momentum. “E&E” teach seminars and online courses on a wide range of topics and are known for concepts such as seamless training sessions, start-button behaviors, and flowcharts. They are TAGteach faculty members and are committed to creating the best learning environment for humans and non-humans alike. Eva and Emelie met at the agility field 20 years ago; in their book Agility Right from the Start they share their philosophy and structured approach to training, making it a worthy read for all trainers (not just dog agility enthusiasts).
Eva lives in the village of Ljungskile in the west of Sweden, where she also organizes the yearly CCC conference on Choice, Control & Communication. She is a FearFree speaker and a board member of the Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis, enjoying networking and connecting people and ideas. Her most recent cooperation has the nerdy name ABC247.wtf and is a web shop for products and online material.
Learn more about Eva on her website, Facebook page, or LinkedIn.
Veronica Boutelle, MA Ed, CTC, is co-founder of dogbiz (formerly dogtec) and the author of several books, including How To Run a Dog Business: Putting Your Career Where Your Heart Is and the co-author of Minding Your Dog Business: A Practical Guide to Business Success for Dog Professionals..Through dogbiz, she and her team help dog trainers start, grow, and run thriving businesses. Veronica writes regular business columns for multiple industry journals, including PPG’s BARKS from the Guild, and is a sought-after speaker at dog-training schools and conferences across the country and internationally. Veronica and dogbiz co-founder Gina Phairas are proud to provide the business curriculum for Karen Pryor Academy.
Learn more about Veronica on her website or on her Facebook page.
Hannah has titled her dogs in conformation, obedience, schutzhund, agility, and rally. Her dogs have multiple class wins, both AKC and UKC High in Trial awards, and scores that qualify for several Front & Finish Awards of Excellence (FFX).
Learn more about Hannah on her website, on Facebook, on Instagram, on YouTube, or on Twitter.
Lindsay Wood Brown is a board-certified applied animal behaviorist (ACAAB) with a master's degree in animal behavior. Lindsay is a Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) course developer and has served as a KPA faculty member since 2012. Lindsay’s goal is to help behavior consultants and shelter professionals apply behavior-change science to their everyday professional lives. Her focus is on stripping labels, flipping prevailing ideas on their sides for a better view, and honing in on systematic ways to advance strategies.
Lindsay consults for animal shelters across the country and provides 1:1 mentorship opportunities for behavior consultants. She previously served as the Director of Operations for Lynchburg Humane Society in Virginia and as the Director of Animal Training and Behavior for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, Colorado.
Learn more about Lindsay on the Karen Pryor Academy faculty page.
Aaron Clayton is the CEO of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). He joined the company in 2001 and with Karen Pryor, and now with Ken Ramirez, has piloted the company’s growth for over a decade and a half. He is a management executive with approximately 25 years of experience growing service-based businesses. Of all his experiences, Aaron’s involvement with teaching and learning as the president of KPCT has been the most fun and reinforcing (pun intended!).
Prior to joining KPCT, Aaron helped found and fund a human resources company and was a partner at a business strategy consultancy focused on improving the market position and performance of Fortune 500 companies. He is a board member of TAGteach, LLC. Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an M.B.A from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Meg Dye is currently the Curator of Behavioral Management and Welfare at the Duke Lemur Center. She is responsible for developing and implementing animal training and enrichment programs to complement the Center’s husbandry, research, and animal-welfare initiatives. Meg began her career at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a surrogate mom for orphaned sea otter pups. In 1990, Meg joined the marine mammal department at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and was a lead trainer for Alaskan sea otters and Pacific white-sided dolphins. In 2000, Meg created Animal Management Resources, a private consulting company that specialized in developing and enhancing animal care and training programs for zoos and aquariums. Meg was introduced to the Duke Lemur Center as a consultant in 2007 and joined the fulltime staff in 2012.
Meg has spoken at the AVMA American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW) and has been an annual speaker at the North Carolina School of Veterinary Medicine, discussing the importance of animal training for optimal animal welfare.
In 2018, Meg earned her MSc in Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh.
Terrie Hayward is a certified professional animal trainer and the owner of PAW-Positive Animal Wellness, LLC, in Rincon, Puerto Rico. She specializes in working with deaf dogs and with dogs suffering from canine separation anxiety.
Terrie holds a master’s degree in education. She is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP) and a KPA faculty member. Terrie is certified by the Council for Professional Dog Trainers and is a Certified Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.
Terrie works with families and their animal companions, presents workshops, travels, and consults—always focusing on positive reinforcement interactions and modifying behavior through applications in behavior analysis. She is the author of A Deaf Dog Joins the Family: Training, Education, and Communication for a Smooth Transition and the co-author of the new book Grooming Without Stress: Safer, Quicker, Happier as well as the now-available Your 10 Minute a Day Dog. Terrie has published behavior and training articles in Bark Magazine, Grooming Business, Pet Business, Deaf Dogs Rock, and on the Karen Pryor Clicker Training website.
Learn more about Terrie on her website or on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Through her business, The Best Whisper is a Click, Peggy Hogan has traveled internationally providing clicker training clinics and lectures; she also leads online courses.
A horse-lover since the age of three, when her sister put her on a pay-per-lap pony ride, Peggy loves all animals and has a passion for training. Her training background is varied, and she has studied techniques that range from natural horsemanship to classical dressage, having immersed herself in the teachings of Peggy Cummings, founder of Connected Riding. In the late 90s, with inspiration from Alexandra Kurland, Peggy fully embraced clicker training and positive reinforcement.
Learning from clicker trainers of other species, Peggy has investigated ways to add more shaping, capturing, luring, and targeting to her clicker training for horses program. She explains and demonstrates that horses will offer complex behaviors freely if given the choice—behaviors that range from riding to horse agility to freestyle to medical procedures. Peggy has also worked with clicker training techniques successfully in the area of horse rescue. Peggy has a master’s degree in psychology. A speaker at ClickerExpo conferences since 2013, she lives with her husband and seven horses.
Learn more about Peggy on her website, her Facebook page, or on Twitter.
Mary Hunter earned an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. She provides animal training services to people and their pets, working primarily with dogs and horses. Mary teaches as an adjunct instructor at the University of North Texas and serves as president of the Art and Science of Animal Training. In 2019, Mary and Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz published their first book, PORTL: The Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab. Mary’s research interests include studying the process of shaping and finding better ways to teach people to train animals. She is a full member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and has presented research at the organization’s annual convention. You can find Mary online on her personal blog, Stale Cheerios and on the Behavior Explorer website.
Learn more about Mary on her website or on her Facebook page.
Alexandra Kurland is a graduate of Cornell University where she specialized in animal behavior. She began teaching in the early 1980s. Her area of particular interest is the development of a horse’s balance: physical and emotional. Helping horses stay sound throughout a long lifetime is the goal. The result are beautiful horses that feel like heaven to ride.
In 1998, Alexandra launched the rapidly growing field of clicker training for horses with the publication of her first book, Clicker Training for Your Horse. She teaches clicker training geared to any horse need or sport—including developing a gentle and companionable riding horse, halter-training foals, training advanced performance horses, and reforming difficult and unmanageable horses. Alexandra travels widely, presenting clicker training seminars in the US, the UK, and Europe.
Alexandra has written The Click That Teaches: A Step–By–Step Guide in Pictures and has also produced The Click That Teaches DVD lesson series and an online course. People outside the horse community may know her best through her weekly Equiosity podcast.
Debbie Martin is a licensed Veterinary Technician in Texas, as well as a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior (VTS-Behavior). She has been a full-time registered/licensed veterinary technician since 1996, and worked in private practice for 14 years.
Since 2005 Debbie has been the animal behavior technician for Veterinary Behavior Consultations, LLC. She assists Kenneth Martin, DVM, DACVB, during behavior consultations.
Debbie is the co-owner of TEAM Education in Animal Behavior, LLC, a business focused on providing education on humane training and behavior modification and fostering collaboration between various animal behavior professions.
She is a contributing author and co-editor of the textbook Canine and Feline Behavior for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses by Wiley-Blackwell. Debbie and Dr. Martin have also authored a book on normal development and training for dogs: Puppy Start Right: Foundation Training for the Companion Dog. The pair also authored the Karen Pryor Academy course, Puppy Start Right for Instructors. The course provides not only the thorough knowledge necessary to provide puppy socialization classes, but also a complete curriculum with supplemental materials. Debbie’s combined experience in general practice and behavior specialty has fueled her passion for preventive behavior medicine and the Fear Free initiative. Debbie is honored to be a subject matter expert for Fear Free Pets and Fear Free Happy Homes. When she is not seeing clients, writing, or speaking, Debbie enjoys spending time at home with her husband and Belgian Malinoises on their 5-acre property, aptly named the Malamo, in Spicewood, Texas or exploring the beautiful hill country of Texas on her motorcycle!
Steve Martin is President/CEO of Natural Encounters, Inc. (NEI), a company of more than 40 professional animal trainers who teach animal-training strategies and produce inspirational and educational animal programs at zoological facilities globally. Steve has consulted at more than 120 zoological facilities in 16 countries, helping them improve animal welfare through training and enrichment and produce educational public programs. Though best known for his work with free-flight bird programs, most of Steve’s work involves teaching animal-care professionals the art and science of behavior-change principals, focusing on positive reinforcement, and producing public programs designed to inspire caring that leads to conservation action.
Steve teaches several animal-training workshops each year at zoological facilities and at the NEI Training and Education Center in Florida. He is an instructor at the AZA Animal Training School, an instructor at the Recon Elephant Workshop, a member of the AZA Animal Behavior Advisory Group. Steve served on the AZA Animal Welfare Committee and is a Trustee with the World Parrot Trust. He is also President of Natural Encounters Conservation Fund, Inc., a non-profit company that has raised and donated more than $1.3 million to in-situ conservation programs. Steve has a strong commitment to conservation and helping people understand their relationships with the living earth. The Mission Statement of NEI is “Connecting Humans With The Natural World” and Earth Day is an official holiday for all NEI employees.
Learn more about Steve and Natural Encounters, Inc. on his website and on Facebook.
Leslie McDevitt, MLA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is the author of the internationally popular Control Unleashed series of books and DVDs. Her books have been translated into many languages; people all over the world have learned how to use her science-based and empowering methods to help companion, performance, and working dogs learn how to functional optimally without stress in very challenging environments. If you have a dog that worries about stuff—other dogs, people, noises, the unexpected—Leslie has many fun counter-conditioning games just for you. Leslie is a popular conference speaker and is especially proud to be a presenter at ClickerExpo and a consultant for the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.
After more than 30 years as a national-level gymnastics coach, Theresa was determined to find a way to speed up skill acquisition for her athletes while simultaneously decreasing stress and fear in the learning environment. Her search for behaviorally sound techniques, clean instructions, and the proper timing of feedback and reinforcement, led to the development of the TAGteach methodology. Theresa teamed with Joan Orr, Beth Wheeler, and Aaron Clayton and Karen Pryor of Karen Pryor Clicker Training to found TAGteach International, LLC. Since then, TAGteach has evolved into an entire teaching protocol benefiting an endless variety of human applications. The success of the methodology has been accented by the wide range of applications embracing it. Theresa now consults and designs TAGteach programs in business management, industrial safety, medical, and surgical training, sport coaching, family communication, and, of course, training for those who teach people to train their companion animals. She is the author of the newly minted book, Don't Nag... TAG!: Success the First Time with TAGteach. Theresa is a sought-after speaker across the United States and around the world, including in Europe, the U.K., Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Learn more about Theresa and TAGteach on her website, on Facebook, on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
Founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust and The Ultimutts, Melissa Millett has taught thousands of family pets. As an animal expert, she has been featured internationally as well as on every major Canadian TV network, including Breakfast Television (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary), CP24, Global News, CTV (Toronto, Vancouver), Animal Planet, The Pet Network, and more. Melissa is the host of the popular television show Doggy House Calls and the spin-off series Doggy Diaries in cities across Canada.
Melissa is known internationally as an advanced trick trainer and performer with Ultimutts. A few of the Ultimutts have been featured internationally on: Good Morning America, The Rick Mercer Report, The Family Channel, CBC, and Cineplex Theatres. Bella the Boston terrier has traveled across the country with Ripley’s Believe it or Not! to promote her appearance in the 2016 publication. Jellybean the deaf Australian cattle dog made it to the semifinals of the Facebook Watch show World's Most Amazing Dog, receiving 36 million views and coming very close to winning $100,000 USD!
Melissa has partnered with Animal Coordinator Kirk Jarrett to provide an elite service for animals in film and TV. Most notably, the team co-trained the cats for Stephen King’s 2019 Pet Sematary and worked on a 2019 Super Bowl commercial as well as commercials for Duracell, Yoplait, and Gund. Past clients have included Paramount, Netflix, Warner Brothers, and more!
Learn more about Melissa and Ultimutts on her website or Facebook page.
Sarah Owings is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP). She specializes in learner-centric applications of behavioral principles that help transform the lives of fearful, shut-down, and over-the-top dogs—as well as the lives of the people who care for them. As an international speaker and regular contributor to online training forums, she is known for her innovative approaches to tough behavior problems and her compassionate and insightful teaching.
Sarah has written for Clean Run magazine on topics such as stimulus control, release cues, and toy-related cues. Her current passions include reframing concepts like “impulse control,” and encouraging trainers to embrace a philosophy of brave learning. Sarah is a member of the ClickerExpo faculty, an instructor for Cyber Scent Online, a tutor for Tromplo, and an advisor to the Glendale Humane Society in Los Angeles. She recently began teaching classes for Marin Humane in Novato and consults with their behavior team.
An avid nose work competitor, Sarah currently competing at both the Elite and Iron Dog levels with her Labrador retriever, Tucker. Tucker was the recipient of the Harry Award in 2015 and has the distinction of titling at each level of NACSW without a single miss. In Sniffing Dog Sports, he has won High in Trial in both Advanced and Excellent divisions and has earned a HIT at Iron Dog. Tucker's trained final response for nose work, a hover-freeze at source, was taught with a marker signal, following clicker training principles.
Learn more about Sarah on her Facebook page.
Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, received his veterinary degree from the University of Minnesota in 2002 and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2010. He has operated house-call and office-based behavior practices and is currently the owner and lead clinician at the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Pachel lectures regularly throughout the US and Canada, teaches courses at multiple veterinary schools in the US, and has authored several articles and book chapters on topics such as intercat aggression and pet selection for animal-assisted therapy. He is a sought-after expert witness for legal cases involving animal behavior issues. Dr. Pachel is also a Vice President of Veterinary Behavior on the executive leadership team of Instinct Dog Behavior and Training, a company that provides positive reinforcement behavior modification and board/train services within a franchise-based business model.
Learn more about Dr. Pachel on the Animal Behavior Clinic website and on his Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Chirag runs Domesticated Manners in London, UK. He consults on the ethical and science-based practice of behavior management and training for animals housed in domestic, zoo, and laboratory environments. Chirag also conducts workshops for professionals internationally and was a behavior consultant on the BBC 1 television show Nightmare Pets SOS.
Chirag earned his BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behavior from the University of Lincoln, UK. He is also a certified parrot behavior consultant (CPBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Currently, Chirag is studying for a MSc in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Learn more about Chirag on his website, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on Twitter. Chirag also has a YouTube channel that has accumulated more than half a million hits and provides free resources for pet owners and professionals.
A central force behind dogbiz, the dog pro industry’s leading business support company, and a former instructor at the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, Gina Phairas oversees the dogbiz University program, developing business courses to help R+ trainers succeed in their dream businesses. She is a dynamic speaker, teaching business workshops across the country and for Karen Pryor Academy. Gina previously ran a successful dog training business of her own and consulted nationally for shelters and rescue groups.
With dog-training pointers from a former riding student, Michele became fascinated with her dog’s willingness to learn; she spent all of her spare time training him. It was then that Michele’s path changed toward a career in dog training, which progressed to guide dog training.
In 1974, Michele Pouliot began her career as a licensed guide dog instructor when she joined Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), the second-largest guide dog school in the world. In addition to personally training more than 350 guide dog teams over 20 years, Michele contributed to major change in the organization by leading the adoption of clicker training in the formal training of guide dogs and in the development of puppies raised for guide dog work. Michele also developed the education program for GDB’s blind clients learning to clicker train their own guide dogs.
Michele has been a pioneer and leader in the guide dog industry worldwide. Since 2005, GDB and Michele actively support and assist other guide dog schools in crossing over from traditional training methods to positive reinforcement and clicker training techniques. To provide further education to more individuals, GDB and Michele have held 5-day Guide Dog Clicker Conferences for international guide dog professionals. In 2016, the International Guide Dog Federation presented Michele with a Lifetime Achievement award for bringing clicker training to guide dog programs around the globe. Michele retired from her 42-year career with GDB in 2016 but continues to provide workshops around the world for guide and service dog organizations.
Michele has also been very active and successful in canine dog sports. She was heavily involved in competition obedience for 20 years, winning four Obedience Trial Championships with her personal dogs. Michele also competed in tracking and in the sport of agility. In 2005, Michele discovered the new sport of Canine Musical Freestyle and, with help from her first freestyle partners Cabo and Listo, became a leader in two years. Her current performance partners are Déjà Vu and Saké. Michele and her dogs have attained more than 10 Championship and Grand Championship titles and are winners of national and international freestyle competitions. They are known for entertaining routines with very creative behaviors. Michele and Listo made history in the World Canine Freestyle Organization as the first team to ever receive perfect “10” scores in both Artistic and Technical categories! They repeated this incredible achievement 23 more times with six different routines. Michele travels extensively giving seminars on clicker training for dog sports and for effective clicker training in general. She is well known for clarity in her teaching, her enthusiasm for training, and her love of animals.
Michele loves to spend time at home, in Oregon, with her dogs and her horses. A member of the ClickerExpo faculty since 2008, Michele partnered with Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) to create an online Canine Freestyle course. The course has received rave reviews from students and is popular even with clicker enthusiasts who are not involved in the freestyle sport.
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice-President (EVP) and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). There he helps to oversee the vision, development, and implementation of training education programs for the organization.
A 40+-year veteran of animal care and training, Ken is a biologist and animal behaviorist who has overseen or consulted on training projects for many zoological organizations throughout the world. He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and continues to work with organizations training dogs for service work, search-and-rescue, bomb detection, and narcotic detection. Ken has also maintained a close affiliation with pet training throughout his career.
Prior to his work with KPCT, Ken served as EVP of Animal Care and Animal Training at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium for more than 25 years. There he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development, and public presentation programs for more than 32,000 animals. Ken has written for numerous scientific publications and authored countless popular articles. He is the author of the bestselling Animal Training: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement as well as his newest book, The Eye of the Trainer: Animal Training, Transformation, and Trust.
Ken taught a graduate course on animal training at Western Illinois University for 20 years and has been active in several professional organizations, including as a past president of the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA). He is actively involved in the creation of a certification process for animal trainers in zoological settings. Currently, Ken is developing courses and programming at The Ranch, the Karen Pryor National Training Center in the state of Washington.
T erry Ryan has been training dogs and teaching others to train dogs for more than 50 years. Early on, she founded Legacy Canine Behavior & Training, Inc., an organization promoting humane and effective dog training techniques for a variety of pet, working dog, and competitive applications. For many years Terry operated a large training complex in the Pacific Northwest offering a variety of training specialties, including one of her passions, Chicken Camp.
Terry competed in and coached various performance events and was an AKC obedience trial judge for many years. She has taught in several countries, creating and implementing national dog training and instructor education programs.
Terry has authored numerous books; the most popular is entitled Coaching People to Train Their Dogs. Her most recent book is called Gamify Your Dog Training. Terry has been on the faculty of Karen Pryor Academy since 2008, teaching courses numerous times a year both domestically and abroad.
Since 1998, Kathy has owned Bright Spot Dog Training. Services include consulting with families about their challenging dogs, teaching private lessons, and mentoring professional trainers. Kathy is proud to be an original faculty member at Karen Pryor Clicker Training’s ClickerExpo conferences.
Kathy has traveled extensively across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and to Australia, Israel, Japan, and Mexico, educating students about the science of animal training. Her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace was published in 2012.
Learn more about Kathy on her website.
John Anthony Shahor is the co-owner and training director for Redemption Road K9 as well as LA PSA. Most recently, he was featured on A&E’s new show “America’s Top Dog” along with being featured locally for his work with dogs in and around the community.
Redemption Road K9 specializes in breeding and training working bloodline canines for Medical Service Work, Police K9, Search & Rescue, Agility, Personal Protection, Obedience, and Competition. Utilizing cutting-edge techniques and decades of training experience, our training programs offer both people and dogs another chance at a happy and fulfilling life.
Training Director John Anthony’s methodology is based on marker training and has resulted in a comprehensive and relationship-based curriculum that takes dogs from puppyhood to patrol and everything in between. He addresses dog behavior, cognition, and emotion utilizing a combination of cutting-edge tactical assessments, interactive games, and critical analysis to obtain an in-depth perspective on canine capabilities, the canine viewpoint, and dogs’ natural propensities for certain work. This expertise helps John create customized curriculums for individual dogs.
Michael Shikashio, CDBC, is the past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). He provides private consultations working exclusively with dog-aggression cases through his business AggressiveDog.com.
Michael is fully certified through the IAABC and is a full member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). His expert opinion is often sought by numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, New York Post, Baltimore Sun, WebMD, Women’s Health, Real Simple, SiriusXM Radio, Chronicle of the Dog, and Steve Dale’s Pet World.
Michael is a featured speaker at conferences, universities, and seminars around the world. He offers a variety of workshops, webinars, and online courses on the topic of canine aggression, including the popular Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
Learn more about Michael and Aggressive.com on his website or Facebook page.
Lori Stevens (CPDT-KA, SAMP, CCFT, CPBC) uses humane and scientific methods to improve the health, behavior, and performance of animals. Her experience is holistic and incorporates respect for animals as teachers. She continually studies the interactions among animal behavior, movement, learning, and health, and this effort is reflected in her innovative approach.
Lori is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a certified Small Animal Massage Practitioner, a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer, and a Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant, as well as a Senior Tellington TTouch practitioner for dogs, cats, and other animals. Lori is the creator of the Balance Harness. She teaches workshops and presents at conferences worldwide, including ClickerExpo where she has presented on both aging dogs and fitness.
Learn more about Lori on her website or on Facebook or Instagram.
Laura Monaco Torelli is the founder of Animal Behavior Training Concepts in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career in 1991 at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, where she trained beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters, seals, river otters, and penguins. After nearly a decade at the Shedd, she moved on to the San Diego Zoo and then Brookfield Zoo as a lead supervisory trainer. During her time in the zoo community, Laura worked with a wide variety of terrestrial animals, including primates, large cats, birds of prey, horses, parrots, tree kangaroos, giraffes, red pandas, and dogs. She is currently part of an exotic animal rescue and rehabilitation training team for the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Laura is a faculty member and instructor of Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPA), and serves as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Susan G. Friedman’s Living & Learning with Animals online course. She offers private training at West Loop Veterinary Care, located in downtown Chicago. Laura has presented at numerous professional conferences and taught seminars across the United States, Italy, Sweden, the UK, Singapore, Japan, and the Caribbean. She was an invited speaker for the American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, Midwest Veterinary Conference, and Penn Vet Working Dog Conference. Laura has appeared on various broadcast media, including WGN and NBC 5 news, WGN Radio, and WCIU’s You & Me This Morning. She also contributed her training videos for the Fear Free Professional Trainer Certification program and the Karen Pryor Academy Better Vet Visits online course.
This is her ninth year speaking at ClickerExpo.
Learn more about Laura on her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, on LinkedIn or on Instagram.
Emelie Johnson Vegh has been involved in dog training and various dog sports since her teenage years, after spending many years around ponies. While she was studying to become a high school teacher of English and Swedish, Emelie began working with Eva Bertilsson and the collaboration Carpe Momentum was formed.
“E&E” teach seminars and online courses on a wide variety of topics and are known for concepts such as seamless training sessions, start-button behaviors, and flowcharts. They are TAGteach faculty members and are committed to creating the best learning environment for humans and non-humans alike. In their book Agility Right from the Start, Emelie and Eva share their philosophy and structured approach to training, which makes the book a worthy read for all trainer (not just dog-agility enthusiasts).
Emelie lives in the very south of Sweden in the country's third largest city, Malmö. She shares her life with her husband, two sons, a daughter, Kelpie Scout, and Field Golden Tessa. Scout is now 12 years old and retired, and Tessa is about to begin her journey into dog sports, primarily obedience and rally obedience. In addition to dog sports, Emelie enjoys training in general, and is very interested in sports psychology, running, multisport, and yoga. She is also an author of fiction novels for both children and adults.
Learn more about Emelie on her website, Facebook page or on Instagram.
Laura VanArendonk Baugh operates Canines in Action in Indianapolis. As a crossover trainer, Laura is particularly interested in the science of more efficient behavior change. She became a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner in 2008 and returned to the Academy as an instructor, teaching certification workshops around the country. She is also certified in TAGteach.
Laura blogs on clicker training and behavior, writes articles on various behavior and training topics, and is the author of Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out and Social, Civil, and Savvy.
Learn more about Laura on her website, Facebook page, or Twitter.
Loving animals for as long as she can remember, Eva grew up with horses and rabbits and ventured into dog training in the early 1990s. Hooked on positive reinforcement training from the get-go, she participated with her dogs in a variety of dog sports, competed in high-level obedience, and was part of the national team in agility. With a master’s degree in behavior analysis and a passion for animal welfare, she currently works as an educator and consultant in a variety of settings and with various species.
Together with business partner Emelie Johnson Vegh, Eva runs their collaboration Carpe Momentum. “E&E” teach seminars and online courses on a wide range of topics and are known for concepts such as seamless training sessions, start-button behaviors, and flowcharts. They are TAGteach faculty members and are committed to creating the best learning environment for humans and non-humans alike. Eva and Emelie met at the agility field 20 years ago; in their book Agility Right from the Start they share their philosophy and structured approach to training, making it a worthy read for all trainers (not just dog agility enthusiasts).
Eva lives in the village of Ljungskile in the west of Sweden, where she also organizes the yearly CCC conference on Choice, Control & Communication. She is a FearFree speaker and a board member of the Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis, enjoying networking and connecting people and ideas. Her most recent cooperation has the nerdy name ABC247.wtf and is a web shop for products and online material.
Learn more about Eva on her website, Facebook page, or LinkedIn.
Veronica Boutelle, MA Ed, CTC, is co-founder of dogbiz (formerly dogtec) and the author of several books, including How To Run a Dog Business: Putting Your Career Where Your Heart Is and the co-author of Minding Your Dog Business: A Practical Guide to Business Success for Dog Professionals..Through dogbiz, she and her team help dog trainers start, grow, and run thriving businesses. Veronica writes regular business columns for multiple industry journals, including PPG’s BARKS from the Guild, and is a sought-after speaker at dog-training schools and conferences across the country and internationally. Veronica and dogbiz co-founder Gina Phairas are proud to provide the business curriculum for Karen Pryor Academy.
Learn more about Veronica on her website or on her Facebook page.
Hannah has titled her dogs in conformation, obedience, schutzhund, agility, and rally. Her dogs have multiple class wins, both AKC and UKC High in Trial awards, and scores that qualify for several Front & Finish Awards of Excellence (FFX).
Learn more about Hannah on her website, on Facebook, on Instagram, on YouTube, or on Twitter.
Lindsay Wood Brown is a board-certified applied animal behaviorist (ACAAB) with a master's degree in animal behavior. Lindsay is a Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) course developer and has served as a KPA faculty member since 2012. Lindsay’s goal is to help behavior consultants and shelter professionals apply behavior-change science to their everyday professional lives. Her focus is on stripping labels, flipping prevailing ideas on their sides for a better view, and honing in on systematic ways to advance strategies.
Lindsay consults for animal shelters across the country and provides 1:1 mentorship opportunities for behavior consultants. She previously served as the Director of Operations for Lynchburg Humane Society in Virginia and as the Director of Animal Training and Behavior for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, Colorado.
Learn more about Lindsay on the Karen Pryor Academy faculty page.
Aaron Clayton is the CEO of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). He joined the company in 2001 and with Karen Pryor, and now with Ken Ramirez, has piloted the company’s growth for over a decade and a half. He is a management executive with approximately 25 years of experience growing service-based businesses. Of all his experiences, Aaron’s involvement with teaching and learning as the president of KPCT has been the most fun and reinforcing (pun intended!).
Prior to joining KPCT, Aaron helped found and fund a human resources company and was a partner at a business strategy consultancy focused on improving the market position and performance of Fortune 500 companies. He is a board member of TAGteach, LLC. Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an M.B.A from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Meg Dye is currently the Curator of Behavioral Management and Welfare at the Duke Lemur Center. She is responsible for developing and implementing animal training and enrichment programs to complement the Center’s husbandry, research, and animal-welfare initiatives. Meg began her career at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a surrogate mom for orphaned sea otter pups. In 1990, Meg joined the marine mammal department at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and was a lead trainer for Alaskan sea otters and Pacific white-sided dolphins. In 2000, Meg created Animal Management Resources, a private consulting company that specialized in developing and enhancing animal care and training programs for zoos and aquariums. Meg was introduced to the Duke Lemur Center as a consultant in 2007 and joined the fulltime staff in 2012.
Meg has spoken at the AVMA American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW) and has been an annual speaker at the North Carolina School of Veterinary Medicine, discussing the importance of animal training for optimal animal welfare.
In 2018, Meg earned her MSc in Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh.
Terrie Hayward is a certified professional animal trainer and the owner of PAW-Positive Animal Wellness, LLC, in Rincon, Puerto Rico. She specializes in working with deaf dogs and with dogs suffering from canine separation anxiety.
Terrie holds a master’s degree in education. She is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP) and a KPA faculty member. Terrie is certified by the Council for Professional Dog Trainers and is a Certified Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.
Terrie works with families and their animal companions, presents workshops, travels, and consults—always focusing on positive reinforcement interactions and modifying behavior through applications in behavior analysis. She is the author of A Deaf Dog Joins the Family: Training, Education, and Communication for a Smooth Transition and the co-author of the new book Grooming Without Stress: Safer, Quicker, Happier as well as the now-available Your 10 Minute a Day Dog. Terrie has published behavior and training articles in Bark Magazine, Grooming Business, Pet Business, Deaf Dogs Rock, and on the Karen Pryor Clicker Training website.
Learn more about Terrie on her website or on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Through her business, The Best Whisper is a Click, Peggy Hogan has traveled internationally providing clicker training clinics and lectures; she also leads online courses.
A horse-lover since the age of three, when her sister put her on a pay-per-lap pony ride, Peggy loves all animals and has a passion for training. Her training background is varied, and she has studied techniques that range from natural horsemanship to classical dressage, having immersed herself in the teachings of Peggy Cummings, founder of Connected Riding. In the late 90s, with inspiration from Alexandra Kurland, Peggy fully embraced clicker training and positive reinforcement.
Learning from clicker trainers of other species, Peggy has investigated ways to add more shaping, capturing, luring, and targeting to her clicker training for horses program. She explains and demonstrates that horses will offer complex behaviors freely if given the choice—behaviors that range from riding to horse agility to freestyle to medical procedures. Peggy has also worked with clicker training techniques successfully in the area of horse rescue. Peggy has a master’s degree in psychology. A speaker at ClickerExpo conferences since 2013, she lives with her husband and seven horses.
Learn more about Peggy on her website, her Facebook page, or on Twitter.
Mary Hunter earned an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. She provides animal training services to people and their pets, working primarily with dogs and horses. Mary teaches as an adjunct instructor at the University of North Texas and serves as president of the Art and Science of Animal Training. In 2019, Mary and Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz published their first book, PORTL: The Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab. Mary’s research interests include studying the process of shaping and finding better ways to teach people to train animals. She is a full member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and has presented research at the organization’s annual convention. You can find Mary online on her personal blog, Stale Cheerios and on the Behavior Explorer website.
Learn more about Mary on her website or on her Facebook page.
Alexandra Kurland is a graduate of Cornell University where she specialized in animal behavior. She began teaching in the early 1980s. Her area of particular interest is the development of a horse’s balance: physical and emotional. Helping horses stay sound throughout a long lifetime is the goal. The result are beautiful horses that feel like heaven to ride.
In 1998, Alexandra launched the rapidly growing field of clicker training for horses with the publication of her first book, Clicker Training for Your Horse. She teaches clicker training geared to any horse need or sport—including developing a gentle and companionable riding horse, halter-training foals, training advanced performance horses, and reforming difficult and unmanageable horses. Alexandra travels widely, presenting clicker training seminars in the US, the UK, and Europe.
Alexandra has written The Click That Teaches: A Step–By–Step Guide in Pictures and has also produced The Click That Teaches DVD lesson series and an online course. People outside the horse community may know her best through her weekly Equiosity podcast.
Debbie Martin is a licensed Veterinary Technician in Texas, as well as a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior (VTS-Behavior). She has been a full-time registered/licensed veterinary technician since 1996, and worked in private practice for 14 years.
Since 2005 Debbie has been the animal behavior technician for Veterinary Behavior Consultations, LLC. She assists Kenneth Martin, DVM, DACVB, during behavior consultations.
Debbie is the co-owner of TEAM Education in Animal Behavior, LLC, a business focused on providing education on humane training and behavior modification and fostering collaboration between various animal behavior professions.
She is a contributing author and co-editor of the textbook Canine and Feline Behavior for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses by Wiley-Blackwell. Debbie and Dr. Martin have also authored a book on normal development and training for dogs: Puppy Start Right: Foundation Training for the Companion Dog. The pair also authored the Karen Pryor Academy course, Puppy Start Right for Instructors. The course provides not only the thorough knowledge necessary to provide puppy socialization classes, but also a complete curriculum with supplemental materials. Debbie’s combined experience in general practice and behavior specialty has fueled her passion for preventive behavior medicine and the Fear Free initiative. Debbie is honored to be a subject matter expert for Fear Free Pets and Fear Free Happy Homes. When she is not seeing clients, writing, or speaking, Debbie enjoys spending time at home with her husband and Belgian Malinoises on their 5-acre property, aptly named the Malamo, in Spicewood, Texas or exploring the beautiful hill country of Texas on her motorcycle!
Steve Martin is President/CEO of Natural Encounters, Inc. (NEI), a company of more than 40 professional animal trainers who teach animal-training strategies and produce inspirational and educational animal programs at zoological facilities globally. Steve has consulted at more than 120 zoological facilities in 16 countries, helping them improve animal welfare through training and enrichment and produce educational public programs. Though best known for his work with free-flight bird programs, most of Steve’s work involves teaching animal-care professionals the art and science of behavior-change principals, focusing on positive reinforcement, and producing public programs designed to inspire caring that leads to conservation action.
Steve teaches several animal-training workshops each year at zoological facilities and at the NEI Training and Education Center in Florida. He is an instructor at the AZA Animal Training School, an instructor at the Recon Elephant Workshop, a member of the AZA Animal Behavior Advisory Group. Steve served on the AZA Animal Welfare Committee and is a Trustee with the World Parrot Trust. He is also President of Natural Encounters Conservation Fund, Inc., a non-profit company that has raised and donated more than $1.3 million to in-situ conservation programs. Steve has a strong commitment to conservation and helping people understand their relationships with the living earth. The Mission Statement of NEI is “Connecting Humans With The Natural World” and Earth Day is an official holiday for all NEI employees.
Learn more about Steve and Natural Encounters, Inc. on his website and on Facebook.
Leslie McDevitt, MLA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is the author of the internationally popular Control Unleashed series of books and DVDs. Her books have been translated into many languages; people all over the world have learned how to use her science-based and empowering methods to help companion, performance, and working dogs learn how to functional optimally without stress in very challenging environments. If you have a dog that worries about stuff—other dogs, people, noises, the unexpected—Leslie has many fun counter-conditioning games just for you. Leslie is a popular conference speaker and is especially proud to be a presenter at ClickerExpo and a consultant for the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.
After more than 30 years as a national-level gymnastics coach, Theresa was determined to find a way to speed up skill acquisition for her athletes while simultaneously decreasing stress and fear in the learning environment. Her search for behaviorally sound techniques, clean instructions, and the proper timing of feedback and reinforcement, led to the development of the TAGteach methodology. Theresa teamed with Joan Orr, Beth Wheeler, and Aaron Clayton and Karen Pryor of Karen Pryor Clicker Training to found TAGteach International, LLC. Since then, TAGteach has evolved into an entire teaching protocol benefiting an endless variety of human applications. The success of the methodology has been accented by the wide range of applications embracing it. Theresa now consults and designs TAGteach programs in business management, industrial safety, medical, and surgical training, sport coaching, family communication, and, of course, training for those who teach people to train their companion animals. She is the author of the newly minted book, Don't Nag... TAG!: Success the First Time with TAGteach. Theresa is a sought-after speaker across the United States and around the world, including in Europe, the U.K., Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Learn more about Theresa and TAGteach on her website, on Facebook, on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
Founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust and The Ultimutts, Melissa Millett has taught thousands of family pets. As an animal expert, she has been featured internationally as well as on every major Canadian TV network, including Breakfast Television (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary), CP24, Global News, CTV (Toronto, Vancouver), Animal Planet, The Pet Network, and more. Melissa is the host of the popular television show Doggy House Calls and the spin-off series Doggy Diaries in cities across Canada.
Melissa is known internationally as an advanced trick trainer and performer with Ultimutts. A few of the Ultimutts have been featured internationally on: Good Morning America, The Rick Mercer Report, The Family Channel, CBC, and Cineplex Theatres. Bella the Boston terrier has traveled across the country with Ripley’s Believe it or Not! to promote her appearance in the 2016 publication. Jellybean the deaf Australian cattle dog made it to the semifinals of the Facebook Watch show World's Most Amazing Dog, receiving 36 million views and coming very close to winning $100,000 USD!
Melissa has partnered with Animal Coordinator Kirk Jarrett to provide an elite service for animals in film and TV. Most notably, the team co-trained the cats for Stephen King’s 2019 Pet Sematary and worked on a 2019 Super Bowl commercial as well as commercials for Duracell, Yoplait, and Gund. Past clients have included Paramount, Netflix, Warner Brothers, and more!
Learn more about Melissa and Ultimutts on her website or Facebook page.
Sarah Owings is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP). She specializes in learner-centric applications of behavioral principles that help transform the lives of fearful, shut-down, and over-the-top dogs—as well as the lives of the people who care for them. As an international speaker and regular contributor to online training forums, she is known for her innovative approaches to tough behavior problems and her compassionate and insightful teaching.
Sarah has written for Clean Run magazine on topics such as stimulus control, release cues, and toy-related cues. Her current passions include reframing concepts like “impulse control,” and encouraging trainers to embrace a philosophy of brave learning. Sarah is a member of the ClickerExpo faculty, an instructor for Cyber Scent Online, a tutor for Tromplo, and an advisor to the Glendale Humane Society in Los Angeles. She recently began teaching classes for Marin Humane in Novato and consults with their behavior team.
An avid nose work competitor, Sarah currently competing at both the Elite and Iron Dog levels with her Labrador retriever, Tucker. Tucker was the recipient of the Harry Award in 2015 and has the distinction of titling at each level of NACSW without a single miss. In Sniffing Dog Sports, he has won High in Trial in both Advanced and Excellent divisions and has earned a HIT at Iron Dog. Tucker's trained final response for nose work, a hover-freeze at source, was taught with a marker signal, following clicker training principles.
Learn more about Sarah on her Facebook page.
Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, received his veterinary degree from the University of Minnesota in 2002 and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2010. He has operated house-call and office-based behavior practices and is currently the owner and lead clinician at the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Pachel lectures regularly throughout the US and Canada, teaches courses at multiple veterinary schools in the US, and has authored several articles and book chapters on topics such as intercat aggression and pet selection for animal-assisted therapy. He is a sought-after expert witness for legal cases involving animal behavior issues. Dr. Pachel is also a Vice President of Veterinary Behavior on the executive leadership team of Instinct Dog Behavior and Training, a company that provides positive reinforcement behavior modification and board/train services within a franchise-based business model.
Learn more about Dr. Pachel on the Animal Behavior Clinic website and on his Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Chirag runs Domesticated Manners in London, UK. He consults on the ethical and science-based practice of behavior management and training for animals housed in domestic, zoo, and laboratory environments. Chirag also conducts workshops for professionals internationally and was a behavior consultant on the BBC 1 television show Nightmare Pets SOS.
Chirag earned his BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behavior from the University of Lincoln, UK. He is also a certified parrot behavior consultant (CPBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Currently, Chirag is studying for a MSc in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Learn more about Chirag on his website, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on Twitter. Chirag also has a YouTube channel that has accumulated more than half a million hits and provides free resources for pet owners and professionals.
A central force behind dogbiz, the dog pro industry’s leading business support company, and a former instructor at the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, Gina Phairas oversees the dogbiz University program, developing business courses to help R+ trainers succeed in their dream businesses. She is a dynamic speaker, teaching business workshops across the country and for Karen Pryor Academy. Gina previously ran a successful dog training business of her own and consulted nationally for shelters and rescue groups.
With dog-training pointers from a former riding student, Michele became fascinated with her dog’s willingness to learn; she spent all of her spare time training him. It was then that Michele’s path changed toward a career in dog training, which progressed to guide dog training.
In 1974, Michele Pouliot began her career as a licensed guide dog instructor when she joined Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), the second-largest guide dog school in the world. In addition to personally training more than 350 guide dog teams over 20 years, Michele contributed to major change in the organization by leading the adoption of clicker training in the formal training of guide dogs and in the development of puppies raised for guide dog work. Michele also developed the education program for GDB’s blind clients learning to clicker train their own guide dogs.
Michele has been a pioneer and leader in the guide dog industry worldwide. Since 2005, GDB and Michele actively support and assist other guide dog schools in crossing over from traditional training methods to positive reinforcement and clicker training techniques. To provide further education to more individuals, GDB and Michele have held 5-day Guide Dog Clicker Conferences for international guide dog professionals. In 2016, the International Guide Dog Federation presented Michele with a Lifetime Achievement award for bringing clicker training to guide dog programs around the globe. Michele retired from her 42-year career with GDB in 2016 but continues to provide workshops around the world for guide and service dog organizations.
Michele has also been very active and successful in canine dog sports. She was heavily involved in competition obedience for 20 years, winning four Obedience Trial Championships with her personal dogs. Michele also competed in tracking and in the sport of agility. In 2005, Michele discovered the new sport of Canine Musical Freestyle and, with help from her first freestyle partners Cabo and Listo, became a leader in two years. Her current performance partners are Déjà Vu and Saké. Michele and her dogs have attained more than 10 Championship and Grand Championship titles and are winners of national and international freestyle competitions. They are known for entertaining routines with very creative behaviors. Michele and Listo made history in the World Canine Freestyle Organization as the first team to ever receive perfect “10” scores in both Artistic and Technical categories! They repeated this incredible achievement 23 more times with six different routines. Michele travels extensively giving seminars on clicker training for dog sports and for effective clicker training in general. She is well known for clarity in her teaching, her enthusiasm for training, and her love of animals.
Michele loves to spend time at home, in Oregon, with her dogs and her horses. A member of the ClickerExpo faculty since 2008, Michele partnered with Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) to create an online Canine Freestyle course. The course has received rave reviews from students and is popular even with clicker enthusiasts who are not involved in the freestyle sport.
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice-President (EVP) and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). There he helps to oversee the vision, development, and implementation of training education programs for the organization.
A 40+-year veteran of animal care and training, Ken is a biologist and animal behaviorist who has overseen or consulted on training projects for many zoological organizations throughout the world. He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and continues to work with organizations training dogs for service work, search-and-rescue, bomb detection, and narcotic detection. Ken has also maintained a close affiliation with pet training throughout his career.
Prior to his work with KPCT, Ken served as EVP of Animal Care and Animal Training at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium for more than 25 years. There he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development, and public presentation programs for more than 32,000 animals. Ken has written for numerous scientific publications and authored countless popular articles. He is the author of the bestselling Animal Training: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement as well as his newest book, The Eye of the Trainer: Animal Training, Transformation, and Trust.
Ken taught a graduate course on animal training at Western Illinois University for 20 years and has been active in several professional organizations, including as a past president of the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA). He is actively involved in the creation of a certification process for animal trainers in zoological settings. Currently, Ken is developing courses and programming at The Ranch, the Karen Pryor National Training Center in the state of Washington.
T erry Ryan has been training dogs and teaching others to train dogs for more than 50 years. Early on, she founded Legacy Canine Behavior & Training, Inc., an organization promoting humane and effective dog training techniques for a variety of pet, working dog, and competitive applications. For many years Terry operated a large training complex in the Pacific Northwest offering a variety of training specialties, including one of her passions, Chicken Camp.
Terry competed in and coached various performance events and was an AKC obedience trial judge for many years. She has taught in several countries, creating and implementing national dog training and instructor education programs.
Terry has authored numerous books; the most popular is entitled Coaching People to Train Their Dogs. Her most recent book is called Gamify Your Dog Training. Terry has been on the faculty of Karen Pryor Academy since 2008, teaching courses numerous times a year both domestically and abroad.
Since 1998, Kathy has owned Bright Spot Dog Training. Services include consulting with families about their challenging dogs, teaching private lessons, and mentoring professional trainers. Kathy is proud to be an original faculty member at Karen Pryor Clicker Training’s ClickerExpo conferences.
Kathy has traveled extensively across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and to Australia, Israel, Japan, and Mexico, educating students about the science of animal training. Her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace was published in 2012.
Learn more about Kathy on her website.
John Anthony Shahor is the co-owner and training director for Redemption Road K9 as well as LA PSA. Most recently, he was featured on A&E’s new show “America’s Top Dog” along with being featured locally for his work with dogs in and around the community.
Redemption Road K9 specializes in breeding and training working bloodline canines for Medical Service Work, Police K9, Search & Rescue, Agility, Personal Protection, Obedience, and Competition. Utilizing cutting-edge techniques and decades of training experience, our training programs offer both people and dogs another chance at a happy and fulfilling life.
Training Director John Anthony’s methodology is based on marker training and has resulted in a comprehensive and relationship-based curriculum that takes dogs from puppyhood to patrol and everything in between. He addresses dog behavior, cognition, and emotion utilizing a combination of cutting-edge tactical assessments, interactive games, and critical analysis to obtain an in-depth perspective on canine capabilities, the canine viewpoint, and dogs’ natural propensities for certain work. This expertise helps John create customized curriculums for individual dogs.
Michael Shikashio, CDBC, is the past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). He provides private consultations working exclusively with dog-aggression cases through his business AggressiveDog.com.
Michael is fully certified through the IAABC and is a full member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). His expert opinion is often sought by numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, New York Post, Baltimore Sun, WebMD, Women’s Health, Real Simple, SiriusXM Radio, Chronicle of the Dog, and Steve Dale’s Pet World.
Michael is a featured speaker at conferences, universities, and seminars around the world. He offers a variety of workshops, webinars, and online courses on the topic of canine aggression, including the popular Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
Learn more about Michael and Aggressive.com on his website or Facebook page.
Lori Stevens (CPDT-KA, SAMP, CCFT, CPBC) uses humane and scientific methods to improve the health, behavior, and performance of animals. Her experience is holistic and incorporates respect for animals as teachers. She continually studies the interactions among animal behavior, movement, learning, and health, and this effort is reflected in her innovative approach.
Lori is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a certified Small Animal Massage Practitioner, a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer, and a Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant, as well as a Senior Tellington TTouch practitioner for dogs, cats, and other animals. Lori is the creator of the Balance Harness. She teaches workshops and presents at conferences worldwide, including ClickerExpo where she has presented on both aging dogs and fitness.
Learn more about Lori on her website or on Facebook or Instagram.
Laura Monaco Torelli is the founder of Animal Behavior Training Concepts in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career in 1991 at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, where she trained beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters, seals, river otters, and penguins. After nearly a decade at the Shedd, she moved on to the San Diego Zoo and then Brookfield Zoo as a lead supervisory trainer. During her time in the zoo community, Laura worked with a wide variety of terrestrial animals, including primates, large cats, birds of prey, horses, parrots, tree kangaroos, giraffes, red pandas, and dogs. She is currently part of an exotic animal rescue and rehabilitation training team for the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Laura is a faculty member and instructor of Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPA), and serves as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Susan G. Friedman’s Living & Learning with Animals online course. She offers private training at West Loop Veterinary Care, located in downtown Chicago. Laura has presented at numerous professional conferences and taught seminars across the United States, Italy, Sweden, the UK, Singapore, Japan, and the Caribbean. She was an invited speaker for the American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, Midwest Veterinary Conference, and Penn Vet Working Dog Conference. Laura has appeared on various broadcast media, including WGN and NBC 5 news, WGN Radio, and WCIU’s You & Me This Morning. She also contributed her training videos for the Fear Free Professional Trainer Certification program and the Karen Pryor Academy Better Vet Visits online course.
This is her ninth year speaking at ClickerExpo.
Learn more about Laura on her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, on LinkedIn or on Instagram.
Emelie Johnson Vegh has been involved in dog training and various dog sports since her teenage years, after spending many years around ponies. While she was studying to become a high school teacher of English and Swedish, Emelie began working with Eva Bertilsson and the collaboration Carpe Momentum was formed.
“E&E” teach seminars and online courses on a wide variety of topics and are known for concepts such as seamless training sessions, start-button behaviors, and flowcharts. They are TAGteach faculty members and are committed to creating the best learning environment for humans and non-humans alike. In their book Agility Right from the Start, Emelie and Eva share their philosophy and structured approach to training, which makes the book a worthy read for all trainer (not just dog-agility enthusiasts).
Emelie lives in the very south of Sweden in the country's third largest city, Malmö. She shares her life with her husband, two sons, a daughter, Kelpie Scout, and Field Golden Tessa. Scout is now 12 years old and retired, and Tessa is about to begin her journey into dog sports, primarily obedience and rally obedience. In addition to dog sports, Emelie enjoys training in general, and is very interested in sports psychology, running, multisport, and yoga. She is also an author of fiction novels for both children and adults.
Learn more about Emelie on her website, Facebook page or on Instagram.
