Animal Training Academy

When standing in front of a giraffe training partner, Amy is acutely aware of how lucky she is to have been surrounded by such amazing people and animals throughout her life.  All of those people have led her to her current role, which is the Senior Animal Behaviorist for the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe.  The organization is run by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and partners with Dr. Susan Friedman and The Behavior Works Team.  She's dabbled in field research, veterinary nursing, and zookeeping. While exploring all of the options of where she could best focus her time and energy to make a difference, she discovered the science of behavior change! ABA has changed how she's wors with both animals and people throughout the years. She enjoys coaching training sessions, running giraffe workshops, and continuing to learn from others. For links visit here >>> https://atamember.com/2023/01/02/amy-schliz-2/

When standing in front of a giraffe training partner, Amy is acutely aware of how lucky she is to have been surrounded by such amazing people and animals throughout her life.  All of those people have led her to her current role, which is the Senior Animal Behaviorist for the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe.  The organization is run by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and partners with Dr. Susan Friedman and The Behavior Works Team.  She's dabbled in field research, veterinary nursing, and zookeeping. While exploring all of the options of where she could best focus her time and energy to make a difference, she discovered the science of behavior change! ABA has changed how she's wors with both animals and people throughout the years. She enjoys coaching training sessions, running giraffe workshops, and continuing to learn from others. For links visit here >>> https://atamember.com/2022/12/19/amy-schliz/

Nikki Morrison has been in the animal training field for over 20 years. Starting off working with sea lions at the age of 19, where she established a passion for animal behaviour, training and welfare. She then moved on to become Animal Training Coordinator for a wildlife park in England, working with several species ranging from a variety of big cats, primates, small mammals and birds. She also started the UK’s first sea lion swim program and internship program here. After a 6-month sabbatical trip, spending time researching animal training programs around Australia, Nikki went on to work with dolphins in the Caribbean for a couple of years before being asked to help start a trailblazing penguin training program in Dubai. This earned Nikki’s team several international awards and recognitions and ultimately led to an offer of work as Director of Animal Training for a worldwide zoo and aquarium consultation company. At the peak of Nikki’s career, however, sadly, she gave up her role to move back home and care

Nikki Morrison has been in the animal training field for over 20 years. Starting off working with sea lions at the age of 19, where she established a passion for animal behaviour, training and welfare. She then moved on to become Animal Training Coordinator for a wildlife park in England, working with several species ranging from a variety of big cats, primates, small mammals and birds. She also started the UK’s first sea lion swim program and internship program here. After a 6-month sabbatical trip, spending time researching animal training programs around Australia, Nikki went on to work with dolphins in the Caribbean for a couple of years before being asked to help start a trailblazing penguin training program in Dubai. This earned Nikki’s team several international awards and recognitions and ultimately led to an offer of work as Director of Animal Training for a worldwide zoo and aquarium consultation company. At the peak of Nikki’s career, however, sadly, she gave up her role to move back home and care

April Sunshine Hawkins Bio Whether she is co-hosting the Marketing Made Simple podcast, on-stage speaking, or facilitating a StoryBrand private workshop her goal is to help people make marketing easy and make it work. For the past 5 years, April Sunshine has worked with clients from just about every industry and trained marketers from all over the globe. The StoryBrand Framework works for billion-dollar brands, nonprofits, churches, startups, and B2B companies. She is excited for you to take your StoryBrand skills to the next level to make your next marketing project a success. Outside of her position on the StoryBrand team, April Sunshine enjoys being outside hiking or playing pickleball with her husband, Brent, binging podcasts, and meeting up with friends for an adventure any chance she can get.

Carrie-Anne Selwyn is a dog trainer, podcaster, speaker, hoopers judge and competitor and the founder of Canine Hoopers World. Originally a riding instructor Carrie also worked at a groomers and a cattery. After passing her level 3 animal care Carrie pursued a career in dog training in 2012 Becoming a qualified trainer with the IMDT.  She is now an ambassador for the Pet Professional network, a guest speaker for the Distinctive dog trainer and IMDT and PPG Australia. A course tutor and assessor for the IMDT. Carrie also has two successful podcasts Canine Hoopers World and the Dog Training Dictionary. Carrie has taught internationally both in person and virtually. She set up Canine Hoopers World in 2019 and has taught over 500 instructors how to teach hoopers in over 15 different countries. Carrie competes regularly with her GSD Dodge and he was ranked 2nd in the large rescue dog league and won the shepherd league this year, He was also runner up in a winter series of competition and achieved his platinum warr

Carrie-Anne Selwyn is a dog trainer, podcaster, speaker, hoopers judge and competitor and the founder of Canine Hoopers World. Originally a riding instructor Carrie also worked at a groomers and a cattery. After passing her level 3 animal care Carrie pursued a career in dog training in 2012 Becoming a qualified trainer with the IMDT.  She is now an ambassador for the Pet Professional network, a guest speaker for the Distinctive dog trainer and IMDT and PPG Australia. A course tutor and assessor for the IMDT. Carrie also has two successful podcasts Canine Hoopers World and the Dog Training Dictionary. Carrie has taught internationally both in person and virtually. She set up Canine Hoopers World in 2019 and has taught over 500 instructors how to teach hoopers in over 15 different countries. Carrie competes regularly with her GSD Dodge and he was ranked 2nd in the large rescue dog league and won the shepherd league this year, He was also runner up in a winter series of competition and achieved his platinum warr

Lisa, PhD, CBCC-KA, is an Associate Professor at Coastal Carolina University in the Psycholgy Department and directors the laboratory for animal behaviour and welfare. Before beginning her graduate studies, she worked for nearly a decade with pets in animal shelters and with dogs and their owners. Lisa's research aims to better the lives of companion animals and their owners. Under the mentorship of Clive Wynne, Lisa earned her Masters in 2015 and her PhD in 2018 as a graduate student in the behavioural neuroscience and comparative psychology program at Arizona State University.  Prior to her graduate school, she worked as a behaviour consultant and trainer in San Francisco, where she taught group classes and consulted with owners experiencing issues of fear, anxiety, and aggression with their dogs. Her interest in canine behaviour began in 2002 as an animal shelter volunteer, training dogs in basic skills and assisting in shelter dog playgroups. That interest grew into a career where she managed the behaviou

Lisa, PhD, CBCC-KA, is an Associate Professor at Coastal Carolina University in the Psycholgy Department and directors the laboratory for animal behaviour and welfare. Before beginning her graduate studies, she worked for nearly a decade with pets in animal shelters and with dogs and their owners. Lisa's research aims to better the lives of companion animals and their owners. Under the mentorship of Clive Wynne, Lisa earned her Masters in 2015 and her PhD in 2018 as a graduate student in the behavioural neuroscience and comparative psychology program at Arizona State University.  Prior to her graduate school, she worked as a behaviour consultant and trainer in San Francisco, where she taught group classes and consulted with owners experiencing issues of fear, anxiety, and aggression with their dogs. Her interest in canine behaviour began in 2002 as an animal shelter volunteer, training dogs in basic skills and assisting in shelter dog playgroups. That interest grew into a career where she managed the behaviou

Angelica Hesselius Bio Angelica Hesselius is an internationally renowned reward-based horse trainer with a background as an instructor in classical dressage and academic art of riding. She specializes in positive reinforcement training for balanced movement in groundwork and riding. Developing proprioception, movement and communication through systematic reward-based strategies.  Angelica has developed new strategies for creating high precision movements and low frustration from the get-go when working with food reinforcers and is passionate about sharing her knowledge. She trains horses, teaches students and coaches colleagues all over the world. Together with dutch horse trainer Do Groen, Angelica has founded the Reward Based Horse Academy with the aim to help horse people build a strong foundation using reward based training techniques. They are offering short courses and are currently working on their year-long educational program. Her current projects include Exploring Nuances with Eva Bertilsson, with l

Angelica Hesselius Bio Angelica Hesselius is an internationally renowned reward-based horse trainer with a background as an instructor in classical dressage and academic art of riding. She specializes in positive reinforcement training for balanced movement in groundwork and riding. Developing proprioception, movement and communication through systematic reward-based strategies.  Angelica has developed new strategies for creating high precision movements and low frustration from the get-go when working with food reinforcers and is passionate about sharing her knowledge. She trains horses, teaches students and coaches colleagues all over the world. Together with dutch horse trainer Do Groen, Angelica has founded the Reward Based Horse Academy with the aim to help horse people build a strong foundation using reward based training techniques. They are offering short courses and are currently working on their year-long educational program. Her current projects include Exploring Nuances with Eva Bertilsson, with l

Monty Gwynne, founder of Equispeak and a self-proclaimed training junkie, is passionate about sharing her decades of training experience.  This depth and breadth of her experiences with many different breeds and disciplines allows her to draw on them to better solve issues using R+.  Monty’s training passions are classical dressage and driving.  Because of her long involvement in the horse world she is often called upon to help take and rehab ponies and minis who have been in difficult situations. Using R+ has been the saving grace for many of these rescues.  Monty’s approach is based on shaping without frustration and is unique in the R+ horse community. The focus of Monty’s journey is on bringing positive, science-based horse training to the forefront and working with people interested in discovering this powerful tool. Having seen the joy that positive reinforcement training brings to both partners in the horse - human relationship over the past 30+ years, there is no going back. Through her business, The

Monty Gwynne, founder of Equispeak and a self-proclaimed training junkie, is passionate about sharing her decades of training experience.  This depth and breadth of her experiences with many different breeds and disciplines allows her to draw on them to better solve issues using R+.  Monty’s training passions are classical dressage and driving.  Because of her long involvement in the horse world she is often called upon to help take and rehab ponies and minis who have been in difficult situations. Using R+ has been the saving grace for many of these rescues.  Monty’s approach is based on shaping without frustration and is unique in the R+ horse community. The focus of Monty’s journey is on bringing positive, science-based horse training to the forefront and working with people interested in discovering this powerful tool. Having seen the joy that positive reinforcement training brings to both partners in the horse - human relationship over the past 30+ years, there is no going back. Through her business, The

MELISSA MILLETT - Professional Stunt and Movie Animal Trainer Melissa is the founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust, The Ultimutts, and Ontario Animal Actors.  Melissa has taught thousands of family pets, holds training workshops for professionals in the pet industry including Veterinary technicians, Rescue Organizations, Professional Dog Trainers and sessions for the staff and volunteers at the London Humane Society. After joining the world of cat training, Melissa has offered online lessons to cat owners around the world and is part of the faculty for  ClickerExpo,  Melissa's own cat team (Sashimi, Tonic and Kit Kat) have acquired a Guinness World Record, travelled to California to earn 4 yesses on the America's Got Talent stage and performed in Hollywood Blockbusters and commercials.  Most notably, Melissa was the key trainer for the cats for Stephen Kings 2019 Pet Sematary.  The dogs and cats represented by Ontario Animal Actors have been featured in Commercials for Tim Hortons, Duracell, a 2019 SUP

MELISSA MILLETT - Professional Stunt and Movie Animal Trainer Melissa is the founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust, The Ultimutts, and Ontario Animal Actors.  Melissa has taught thousands of family pets, holds training workshops for professionals in the pet industry including Veterinary technicians, Rescue Organizations, Professional Dog Trainers and sessions for the staff and volunteers at the London Humane Society. After joining the world of cat training, Melissa has offered online lessons to cat owners around the world and is part of the faculty for  ClickerExpo,  Melissa's own cat team (Sashimi, Tonic and Kit Kat) have acquired a Guinness World Record, travelled to California to earn 4 yesses on the America's Got Talent stage and performed in Hollywood Blockbusters and commercials.  Most notably, Melissa was the key trainer for the cats for Stephen Kings 2019 Pet Sematary.  The dogs and cats represented by Ontario Animal Actors have been featured in Commercials for Tim Hortons, Duracell, a 2019 SUP

Dante Camacho Bio Dante is the founder of DanteDogWorks, he focuses on teaching other dog trainers and dog owners around the world about how to successfully train and live with dogs using positive reinforcement based training. He started his dog training career in the late 90’s and was one of the first dog trainers to introduce clicker training in Brazil. Dante is an international presenter and a dog sports enthusiast,  having represented Brazil and Canada in multiple World agility competitions,  titled dogs in Rally obedience and Dock diving, taught and performed Dog Dancing for almost a decade in Canada and the US and in recent years developed an online dog training platform that offers multiple courses for his Brazilian audience. He’s a teacher for the “Animal Behavior and Welfare” post grad course at the UNIRP University. Since 2020  Dante has worked as a volunteer developing training programs and training staff at the Rio Preto Zoo. To check all the links visit here -  https://atamember.com/2022/06/07/da

Dante is the founder of DanteDogWorks, he focuses on teaching other dog trainers and dog owners around the world about how to successfully train and live with dogs using positive reinforcement based training. He started his dog training career in the late 90’s and was one of the first dog trainers to introduce clicker training in Brazil.Dante is an international presenter and a dog sports enthusiast,  having represented Brazil and Canada in multiple World agility competitions, titled dogs in Rally obedience and Dock diving, taught and performed Dog Dancing for almost a decade in Canada and the US and in recent years developed and online dog training platform that offers multiple courses for his Brazilian audience.He’s a teacher for the “Animal Behavior and Welfare” post grad course at the UNIRP University. Since 2020 Dante has worked as a volunteer developing training programs and training staff at the Rio Preto Zoo.

Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD, is a veterinary genetics researcher who is fascinated by dog behavior. She works at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as a computational biologist, studying the genetics of behavior in pet and working dogs through the Darwin's Ark project and the Working Dogs Project. She teaches behavioral biology at the Virginia Tech online Masters program for Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare. She also offers webinars online and consults with breeders about genetic testing and breeding choices. She is one of the founders of the Functional Dog Collaborative (functionalbreeding.org), a non-profit which seeks to change the conversation around dog breeding in the dog loving community. Jessica lives in Raymond, NH with her husband and three dogs.

Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD, is a veterinary genetics researcher who is fascinated by dog behavior. She works at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as a computational biologist, studying the genetics of behavior in pet and working dogs through the Darwin's Ark project and the Working Dogs Project. She teaches behavioral biology at the Virginia Tech online Masters program for Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare. She also offers webinars online and consults with breeders about genetic testing and breeding choices. She is one of the founders of the Functional Dog Collaborative (functionalbreeding.org), a non-profit which seeks to change the conversation around dog breeding in the dog loving community. Jessica lives in Raymond, NH with her husband and three dogs.

Deborah Jones, Ph.D. is a retired psychology professor who now trains animals full-time.  She has been training for 25+ years and focuses on positive reinforcement based methods.  Deb has written 12 books on dog training and has helped develop several DVD series.  She has also trained and shown multiple breeds to high level titles in agility, rally, and obedience.  She is currently teaching online training classes and webinars at www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com.  Her newest project is the Cooperative Care Certificate program in partnership with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.  You can learn more about this at www.cooperativecarecertificate.com.  Visit her website at www.k9infocus.com for her blog and more information.