Laurie Schlossnagle, KPA CTP, has been clicker training for 20 years. Her first training was with her own dog, in therapy work and Rally Obedience. Now the owner of Side By Side Dog Training, LLC, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Laurie works with people and their dogs of all ages across many training paths. Her training offerings range from manners, life skills, and problem behaviors to canine sports and competition, service- and working-dog behaviors, and tricks! Laurie is also a multi-level judge for several of these industry sectors.

Linda Randall, DVM, KPA CTP, owner and trainer at One Smart Dog in Seville, Ohio, graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program and became a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP) in 2022. However, she has been a positive trainer for many years, applying tenets of clicker training and other positive philosophies to her clients and herself, and toward understanding and coping with societal conflicts and challenges.

Stephanie Perkins, KPA CTP, is the Director of Animal Therapy (AT) at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. A lifelong animal lover, she marvels at what positive reinforcement can accomplish in learning, in contrast to force and intimidation. While completing many local training classes and attending seminars recommended to her by people who share her views about animal training, Stephanie learned about the KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program.

Samantha (Sam) Milner, KPA CTP, had heard about the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program, but attending a seminar conducted by Ken Ramirez in the United Kingdom, where she lives, led her to investigate the program fully. Sam remembers that Ken
incorporated DTP students’ work in his talk, which intrigued her.

As a high-school student, Taryn Schultz’s senior project was to volunteer at a dog training organization in her hometown of Lafayette, Indiana. She loved the work so much that she transitioned to an employee role and assisted with the training. Both the owner of the business and a coworker were Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Certified Training Partners (CTP). They encouraged Taryn to enroll in the KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program and become certified herself.

Stephen Bell, KPA CTP, describes himself as having a strong affinity for animals, especially dogs, from a very early age. Although he dreamed of working with animals, he followed a very different career path, to electronic engineering. After running multiple high-tech companies, Stephen launched his own tech business in the energy sector, which allowed him to work from home and provided time and opportunity to start working with dogs. He offered boarding services and could not resist adding in some training! With his interest in animal training only increasing, Stephen decided that he wanted to learn more.

Emilea Byrum, KPA CTP, is a registered veterinary technician with a special interest in behavior. She is particularly interested in service dogs and herding breeds, and in the team approach to a well-cared-for pet.

Jay (Jihyung) Seo, KPA CTP, offers animal-training services in Seoul, Republic of Korea. In addition to working with dogs and their families, she trains other species, including cats, birds, and zoo animals. An animal lover since childhood, Jay remembers the rabbits, hens, rooster, ducks, and geese that she cared for at elementary school. As a middle-schooler, she studied in New Zealand, where she could not have pets of her own, but dreamed of ways to work with animals.

Nina Daniel, KPA CTP, now a married mother of two grown children, had a unique family introduction to the idea of animal training. Her grandfather was a cinematographer and early pioneer of underwater photography who worked on the TV shows Flipper and Salty. As a young girl, Nina swam with dolphins and sea lions at Sea World. “This experience planted a little seed in my mind: animals could be taught to work with us.”

Camilla Chu, KPA CTP, is an experienced teacher, first instructing humans and now training animals as well as human/animal teams. Her business, Behaviours In Training, is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.