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/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 for her terminally ill mum. During this time, Nikki also supported re-evaluating a local sea lion facility and operation, which led to a new pool and advanced research on stereotypical behaviour in sea lions. Nikki is now working with Guide Dogs for the Blind, supporting the puppy development operation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as running her own consulting business to continue her passion for supporting zoological facilities to integrate animal-centred training programs that positively impact zoo operations in many ways but most importantly, the lives of the animals and their primary caretakers. For links check here >>> https://atamember.com/2022/12/05/nikki-morrison-2/

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 for her terminally ill mum. During this time, Nikki also supported re-evaluating a local sea lion facility and operation, which led to a new pool and advanced research on stereotypical behaviour in sea lions. Nikki is now working with Guide Dogs for the Blind, supporting the puppy development operation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as running her own consulting business to continue her passion for supporting zoological facilities to integrate animal-centred training programs that positively impact zoo operations in many ways but most importantly, the lives of the animals and their primary caretakers. For links check here >>> https://atamember.com/2022/11/21/nikki-morrison/

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 warrant. For links click here >>> https://atamember.com/2022/10/24/carrie-anne-selwyn-2/

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 warrant. For links click here >>> https://atamember.com/2022/10/10/carrie-anne-selwyn/

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 behaviour programs of several shelters throughout the West.  These experiences led Lisa to co-found Wagfield Academy, an online dog training and behaviour resource for owners (which was acquired by the Humane Society of the United States Pets for Life program), and the Institute for Shelter Dogs with past ATA podcast guest Dr Erica Feuerbacher, where they combine the latest in shelter research with the current best practices in workshops for staff and volunteers.Six years ago, she founded and annually organised the Canine Science Symposium, which regularly disseminated the latest applied canine science to practitioners from across the country and excitingly might be returning in 2023 For links CLICK HERE >>> https://atamember.com/2022/09/26/lisa-gunter-2/

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 behaviour programs of several shelters throughout the West.  These experiences led Lisa to co-found Wagfield Academy, an online dog training and behaviour resource for owners (which was acquired by the Humane Society of the United States Pets for Life program), and the Institute for Shelter Dogs with past ATA podcast guest Dr Erica Feuerbacher, where they combine the latest in shelter research with the current best practices in workshops for staff and volunteers.Six years ago, she founded and annually organised the Canine Science Symposium, which regularly disseminated the latest applied canine science to practitioners from across the country and excitingly might be returning in 2023 For links CLICK HERE >>> https://atamember.com/2022/09/12/lisa-gunter/

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 lectures and courses for horse trainers and behavior geeks curious to explore and expand their training systems. Eva Bertilsson Bio Eva Bertilsson (she/her) is a behavior consultant and educator with a master’s degree in behavior analysis and a passion for all things related to behavior, learning and animal welfare. She started out as a positive reinforcement dog sports trainer in the 90s and nowadays works with a wide variety of settings, helping individuals and organizations develop their practice of modern, science-based, empowering strategies for the benefit of learners of all species. Eva is a board member of the Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis and an enthusiastic disseminator of ethical practices based in behavioral science. She is a long-standing faculty member of Clicker Expo and of TAGteach, and an accredited speaker for Fear Free. Always striving to further our best practices, she hosts the Scandinavian CCC conference on Choice, Control and Communication and runs a Swedish membership group for husbandry training called Kul med Hantering (“Having fun with cooperative care”). Eva and her Carpe Momentum colleague Emelie Johnson Vegh are noteworthy influencers within reward-based training, having developed strategies and concepts such as start button behaviors, seamless training sessions and training session flow charts. Much of “E&E”‘s philosophy and approach to training is outlined in their book Agility Right From the Start, and you find them at www.carpemomentum.nu  If you are curious of Eva’s most recent projects, check out the webinars she hosts on the www.abc247.wtf/online  and look into her positive reinforcement horse training collaboration with with Angelica Hesselius, www.rewardbasedartofriding.com/exploringnuances For links, visit >>> https://atamember.com/2022/08/29/exploring-nuances-2/ 

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 lectures and courses for horse trainers and behavior geeks curious to explore and expand their training systems. Eva Bertilsson Bio Eva Bertilsson (she/her) is a behavior consultant and educator with a master’s degree in behavior analysis and a passion for all things related to behavior, learning and animal welfare. She started out as a positive reinforcement dog sports trainer in the 90s and nowadays works with a wide variety of settings, helping individuals and organizations develop their practice of modern, science-based, empowering strategies for the benefit of learners of all species. Eva is a board member of the Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis and an enthusiastic disseminator of ethical practices based in behavioral science. She is a long-standing faculty member of Clicker Expo and of TAGteach, and an accredited speaker for Fear Free. Always striving to further our best practices, she hosts the Scandinavian CCC conference on Choice, Control and Communication and runs a Swedish membership group for husbandry training called Kul med Hantering (“Having fun with cooperative care”). Eva and her Carpe Momentum colleague Emelie Johnson Vegh are noteworthy influencers within reward-based training, having developed strategies and concepts such as start button behaviors, seamless training sessions and training session flow charts. Much of “E&E”‘s philosophy and approach to training is outlined in their book Agility Right From the Start, and you find them at www.carpemomentum.nu  If you are curious of Eva’s most recent projects, check out the webinars she hosts on the www.abc247.wtf/online  and look into her positive reinforcement horse training collaboration with with Angelica Hesselius, www.rewardbasedartofriding.com/exploringnuances For links, visit >>> https://atamember.com/2022/08/15/exploring-nuances/