FACULTY
You are a lucky dog!
We are known for our exceptionally qualified teachers and their commitment to students.
You are a lucky dog!
We are known for our exceptionally qualified teachers and their commitment to students.
Laura Van Arendonk Baugh, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy Faculty. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program (2008). Laura believes wholeheartedly in the ability of clicker training techniques to improve not only a dog's behavior but human interaction as well. She has a special enthusiasm for working with what others consider "over-the-top" dogs—dogs that are too energetic and too rambunctious to be controlled by conventional means!
Laura is the owner of Canines in Action and the author of the best-selling dog training book, Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out: Training Crazy Dogs from Over-the-Top to Under Control. She is a member of the ClickerExpo Faculty where she teaches on a variety of topics including back chaining, puppy socialization, and teaching. Laura is also a professional member of APDT. Laura hails from the Midwest and teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program across the country. See upcoming classes
Steve Benjamin, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy Faculty. He teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program as well as Dog Trainer Foundations course. Steve retired from the federal government in January 2004 to pursue his passion for working with dogs and their owners. Steve hails from upstate NY where he owns the training center Clicking with Canines in Endicott, NY. Steve specializes in teaching clicker training to his clients, helping them teach their dogs to be socially acceptable, happy, and intelligent family pets. He teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program in upstate New York (spring/summer) and Florida (fall/winter).
See upcoming classes
Jen Biglan, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy faculty. She leads the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Jen has loved all things furry since her childhood, which included summers spent riding and caring for horses in Arizona.
Jen earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. In 2016, Jen and a business partner launched Training Spot, a 4,000-square-foot facility dedicated to community education, positive training, and improving the human-animal relationship. Training Spot has a training team of 7 trainers (and growing) and offers more than 35 classes a week, including group classes, private lessons, behavior consultations, and a unique video channel for current and past clients.
A Certified Dog Behavior Consultant as well as a KPA Certified Training Partner, Jen’s natural talent for understanding, addressing, and alleviating fearful and aggressive tendencies in dogs has earned her the respect of local veterinarians and the community.
Shelly Brouwer, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy Faculty. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program (2010). In addition to teaching, Shelly is a Course Developer for Karen Pryor Academy where she helps to develop new courses, and update curricula.
Shelly has been training animals since 1999 when she began as a marine mammal trainer at the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon, FL. She has also served as a marine mammal trainer at the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT, and at the Minnesota Zoo in Minneapolis and as the Training and Behavior Manager at the Humane Society of Boulder, CO. There, she oversaw the development and implementation of the Society's Behavior Modification Program for shelter animals and the public dog training classes.
Shelly teaches the Dog Trainer Professional Program around the Midwest of the United States and often in her home state of Minnesota. See upcoming classes
Lindsay Wood Brown, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy Faculty. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Lindsay is also a board-certified Associate Applied Animal Behaviorist (ACAAB) by the Animal Behavior Society and holds a Master's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Animal Behavior. Lindsay has served as a KPA Faculty member since 2012. Lindsay specializes in resolving behavior conditions with a focus on resource guarding, fearful behavior, and dog/dog incompatibilities. Lindsay has consulted for animal shelters on the design and implementation of behavior programs, effective modification methods for a range of behavior conditions, and development of robust operational strategies to achieve behavioral health within the shelter.
Lindsay lives in Virginia and teaches the Dog Trainer Professional Program in the Richmond area and other areas of the country. See upcoming classes
Carolyn Clark, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy Faculty where she teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program as well as the Dog Trainer Foundations course. Carolyn has a background in education. She has taught elementary school in Ottawa and, at the college level, classes in the continuing education department at Algonquin College and the Carleton Board of Education. A guest lecturer at the Veterinary Technician program at Algonquin College, Carolyn has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in pastoral group work, as well as an Ontario teacher certificate. She Teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program in her native Canada. See upcoming classes
Alexis Davison, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy Faculty. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Alexis also coaches students in KPA's Dog Trainer Comprehensive course.
Alexis began developing Un-Chase!® in 2012 to help clients and students seeking solutions to their dogs’ chasing behaviours. Since then, she has helped countless dog lovers curb their dogs’ chasing behaviours and shares her innovative approach with other dog training professionals.
Alexis is committed to positive reinforcement for both dogs and owners. She continues to learn about dogs, training, and behaviour, and regularly attends workshops, seminars, and conferences both in Australia and overseas. Alexis teaches the Dog Trainer Professional Program in her home country, Australia and lives in the Adelaide Hills. See upcoming classes
Juliana DeWillems, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy faculty. She leads the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Juliana is the owner and head trainer at JW Dog Training & Behavior Consulting in the Washington, D.C. area. She works fulltime as a private trainer, specializing in reactivity, anxiety, and aggression cases. Juliana enjoys applying the science of learning when she works with owners to improve their dogs’ behavior. Watching positive reinforcement training strengthen the bond between owners and dogs is her favorite part of the job.
Juliana regularly shares her training expertise on radio and TV, including on WTOP and Good Morning Washington. She was a regular guest on The Pet Show with Dr. Katy for many years. Juliana also presents seminars and webinars locally and nationally, spreading good training information to as many pet owners as possible.
Helix’s wish is for force-free training to become the social norm. She offers group classes and private consultations, all with the goal of helping people and their dogs learn to live together and have fun. Helix’s wish is for force-free training to become the social norm. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional course in the Pacific Northwest. See upcoming classes
Terrie Hayward, KPA-CTP, is a Karen Pryor Academy Faculty Member. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Terrie also coaches students of KPA's Dog Trainer Comprehensive course.
Terrie is the owner of PAW-Positive Animal Wellness, LLC in Rincon, Puerto Rico, where she specializes in canine Separation Anxiety cases. She works in person and remotely with families and their animal companions, presents workshops, travels, and consults focusing on positive reinforcement interactions and modifying behavior through applications in behavior analysis. She is also the author of the pocket guide to working with deaf dogs titled, "A Deaf Dog Joins the Family, Training, Education, and Communication for a Smooth Transition," "Your Ten Minute a Day Dog" with daily exercises for limited time, and co-author of "Grooming Without Stress" which focuses on positive husbandry and handling. Terrie teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program on both her adopted home island of Puerto Rico and on the mainland USA. See upcoming classes
Laurie Luck, KPA-CTP, is a Karen Pryor Academy Faculty Member. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. She served as President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), and is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). Laurie is the owner of Smart Dog University and has been working with dogs and their owners since 1994. Lauries specializes in teaching dogs and their people how to work together. She loves what she does and has developed many happy friendships, both canine and human, along the way.
When she is not teaching, Laurie raises and trains service dogs for a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing service dogs to assist people with disabilities and has raised and trained service dogs for Hero Dogs, a charitable organization based in Maryland. Laurie and her dog are Delta Society-certified Pet Partners. Tango is a therapy dog and we are involved in the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program, helping children to improve their reading skills. A social media junkie she can be found at all the usual hangouts and her Smart Dog Blog, Laurie is a also a regular speaker at the ClickerExpo conference.
Laurie teaches the Dog Trainer Professional Program in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area as well as other areas of the country. See upcoming classes
B
obbie Lyons, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy faculty. She leads the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Bobbie, a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer (CCFT) through the University of Tennessee, was on the team that created the program. Bobbie taught the CCFT lab program from 2015-2021.
Bobbie has been training dogs for 18 years. She owns Pawsitive Performance and Bobbie Lyons Canine Campus offering in-person and online classes, 1:1 lessons, and webinars focused on general dog training, canine fitness training, canine sport conditioning, and trick training. Bobbie enjoys the training process and communicating in the best way possible with students and dogs. She begins every training session with this question: “How can we arrange antecedents to give the animal the best information to complete the intended behavior successfully?” With her five awesome dogs, Bobbie trains a variety of skills for agility, obedience, fitness training, trick training, flyball, and dock diving.
Debbie Martin, KPA CTP, co-teaches and is the co-author of the course Puppy Start Right for Instructors. Debbie is among only 14 veterinary technicians to have achieved the status of a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior. She is also an avid trainer and teacher. Debbie graduated from, and went on to work as faculty for, the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Professional program from 2010-2016, Not only are Debbie Martin and her partner Dr. Ken Martin highly qualified veterinary professionals, they are also extremely experienced trainers and handlers. They have trained and handled their dogs in AKC Conformation, Obedience, Rally, Agility, Search and Rescue, Dog Therapy, and Ringsports. Debbie is also a frequent lecturer at veterinary conferences and speaks internationally in the dog training world, including ClickerExpo where she is a member of the Faculty. Debbie is the co-author of Puppy Start Right: Foundation Training for the Companion Dog and her writing has been featured in the Veterinary Technician, Today's Veterinary Technician, and American Veterinarian journals. Learn to Teach Puppy Classes with Debbie
Dr. Ken Martin, co-teaches and is the co-author of Puppy Start Right for Instructors. Dr. Martin is one of only 72 veterinarians in the world to obtain the status of a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. He completed a clinical behavioral medicine residency at Purdue University's Animal Behavior Clinic under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Luescher PhD, DVM, DACVB in 2004 and graduated from Louisiana State University - School of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. He was invited to join Phi Zeta, the honor society of veterinary medicine, while at Purdue University. Ken is not just a veterinary behaviorist, he is also an avid dog trainer. He began training dogs for AKC obedience and conformation when he was just eight years old. Dr. Martin also assisted with the training of search and rescue dogs in the New Orleans area. Ken is the co-author of Puppy Start Right: Foundation Training for the Companion Dog and his writing has been featured in the Veterinary Technician, Today's Veterinary Technician, and American Veterinarian journals. Learn to Teach Puppy Classes with Ken
Emma Parsons, KPA CTP, is a Karen Pryor Academy Faculty Member. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program. Emma specializes in managing and rehabilitating the reactive and aggressive dog. She is the author of two highly popular books on this subject: Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog; and Teaching the Reactive Dog Class: Leading the Journey from Reactivity to Reliability.
In addition to being a faculty member of Karen Pryor Academy, Emma is a Faculty Member of the ClickerExpo conferences. Emma delivers Click to Calm seminars around the world, teaching others how to manage and rehabilitate reactive and aggressive dogs. Emma is also a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and holds a BA degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She shares her life with her husband, Greg, and their four clicker-trained competition obedience/agility dogs; three Goldens, Lizzie-Taylor, Kayden-Blue, Austyn-Roque, and a Papillon, Wylie-Rae.
Emma teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program in the Massachusetts area. See upcoming classes
Michele Pouliot teaches KPA's Canine Freestyle course. Michele and her dogs are winners of multiple national and international competitions; they are known for creative behaviors and entertaining routines.
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 instructs seminars nationally and internationally each year on clicker training and on the sport of canine musical freestyle. She is a member of the ClickerExpo conference faculty where teaches a variety of training's core elements including strategic reinforcement delivery, competition environments, stimulus control and creativity. Learn Freestyle with Michele
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Academy and Karen Pryor Clicker Training where he both teaches and oversees all educational programming. Ken teaches courses online at Karen Pryor Academy, in-person at the ClickerExpo conferences, and at the KPCT National Training Center ("The Ranch”). His current online courses include his advanced courses on holistic reinforcement and training animals to understand and apply concepts (Smart Reinforcement, Concept Training,Modifier Cues)
A trainer and consultant for nearly 40 years with a global clientele, Ken has trained and cared for tens of thousands of species. Ken is highly active in animal conservation worldwide working with organizations to protect species from butterflies to elephants. Prior to joining KPCT, he served as Executive Vice President, Animal Care and Training, at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. Ken is the author of a seminal book on animal training, many articles, blogs and scientific publications. A selection of his lectures is available on streaming video.
Ken lives in the greater Seattle, WA area. Learn with Ken
Linda Ryan has been a veterinary nurse (VN) since 2000, beginning in general practice and then working in specialist clinics at two university referral hospitals. She has attained the Diploma in Advanced Nursing (Medical), the Veterinary Technician Specialty (Oncology), and the Veterinary Technician Specialist (Behaviour). Linda is a qualified animal trainer and behaviour practitioner, a Fear Free Certified trainer, and a Certified IAABC Behaviour Consultant (Canine & Feline).
Linda’s specialist interests are in clinical behaviour, medical/oncology nursing, and patient quality of life/welfare. She is passionate about low-stress handling and patient-friendly practice and regularly teaches on these topics to veterinary professionals.
Linda’s interest in training and behaviour has evolved over her nursing career. She has become more aware of its importance relative to patients as they receive medical care, especially in her work with felines, oncology patients, and animals requiring chronic care. Linda’s passion about the vet-trainer connection and patient-friendly veterinary practice allows her to meld her veterinary nursing and behaviour knowledge for the benefit of patients, staff, and owners.
In 2012, Linda became one of the first U.K. graduates of the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPA) Dog Trainer Professional program. She is now proud to be a KPA faculty member, leading KPA’s Dog Trainer Professional program in the U.K.
Linda owns and operates Inspiring Pet Teaching, a business aimed at pet and owner training and education. She also offers CPD provisions for VNs and para-professionals, both in person at local, national, and international events and online.
Linda collaborates and provides course content and/or instruction and review for Karen Pryor Academy, International Cat Care/International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), Fear Free, ONCOREePD and many other continuing education providers—locally, nationally, internationally, and online.
Linda lives in the beautiful New Forest, in the UK, with her lovely hubby, their fabulous little dog, Evie, a super-cool kitty, and two pet sheep. She loves learning from every pet, peer, owner, and student that she is lucky enough to work with!
Terry Ryan, KPA CTP, is a Karen Pryor Academy Faculty Member. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program. Terry founded Legacy Canine Behavior & Training in the early 1970’s with the goal of promoting humane and effective dog training techniques for a variety of pet, working dog and competitive applications.
For many years Terry was a competitor and is a former AKC Judge. She was the Program Coordinator for the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University,where she focused on human-animal bond and animal assisted activity projects. Terry has served on numerous boards of a variety of pet-related organizations. She maintains a busy national and international workshop schedule and speaks at ClickerExpo. Terry teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program in the Pacific Northwest and overseas. She has a fondness for teaching the DTP World format and working with students from all over the world. See upcoming classes
Laura Monaco Torelli, KPA-CTP, is a Karen Pryor Academy Faculty Member. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. In addition to her KPA CTP certification she is CPDT-KA, a TAGteach Level 2 Instructor, and Operation Socialization Certified Trainer (OSCT).
Laura is the founder of Animal Behavior Training Concepts. She and the company's training team work in collaboration with clients and animal health professionals to provide high-quality care for the animals in their lives. Force-free training principles and guidance are provided through seminars, interactive groups, and individual sessions. Laura is a frequent speaker at the ClickerExpo conference on creating stress free veterinary procedures through positive reinforcement training.
Laura teaches the Dog Trainer Professional Program near her home in greater Chicago and the Midwest. See upcoming classes
Kiki Yablon, KPA CTP, CTP, CPDT-KA, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy faculty. She leads the Dog Trainer Professional program and is herself a graduate of the program. Kiki has been training professionally since 2011. She started by teaching group classes, helping private clients, and serving as training manager for Animal Behavior Training Concepts, under fellow KPA faculty member Laura Monaco Torelli. Kiki now offers private in-home training and online consulting/training under her own name. Since 2014, Kiki has also worked under Dr. Susan Friedman as a co-instructor for the Living and Learning With Animals course.
A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and the Radcliffe Publishing Course, Kiki has recently completed all coursework for a master’s degree in applied behavioral science at the University of Kansas; she is working on her thesis. Kiki is TAGteach certified (Level 1). Each year since graduating from KPA she has earned “Client Endorsed” distinction through KPA’s voluntary Assurance, Commitment, and Education program. A former editor of Outside, Chicago, and the Chicago Reader, Kiki has also edited courses, articles, and books for other training and behavior professionals.
Andre Yeu, KPA CTP, is a member of the Karen Pryor Academy faculty. He leads the Dog Trainer Professional program and is himself a graduate of the program. In addition to his KPA CTP certification, he is a CPDT-KA and TAGteach Primary Certified.
Andre left a career in technology to pursue dog training as his profession. In 2010, he founded When Hounds Fly in Toronto, Canada. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and has grown his training business to include seven full-time trainers and three training facilities across the city, with more than 10,000 dogs (and their families) as clients.
Sherrie Yuschak, RVT, VTS (Behavior), KPA-CTP, Elite FFCP
Sherrie is a faculty member of the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Behavior and Training where she contributes to curriculum and teaches several courses. She is a Practice Certification Consultant for Fear Free℠ and has collaborated on several Fear Free℠ educational modules, certification standards and is a member of their speaker bureau. Over 25 years as a Registered Veterinary Technician with 12 years specialized in animal behavior, Sherrie’s experience encompasses general practice, academia, research, specialty practice and consulting. Still passionate about continuing education, Sherrie frequently attends events, lectures at veterinary conferences, and publishes articles and book chapters including the Low Stress Handling book revision and American Animal Hospital Association behavior education booklets. Sherrie is also an Editorial Advisory Board member of Today’s Veterinary Nurse and a Family Paws Parent Educator contributor.
Sherrie teaches the Dog Trainer Professional program in Columbus, Ohio and in Raleigh, NC. See upcoming classes.