KAREN PRYOR - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Application and Enrollment Coordinator
Annie Chastain is the Application and Enrollment Coordinator at Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) and is a KPA Certified Training Partner (CPT). Annie enjoys meeting students and helping them achieve their goals to become positive reinforcement trainers. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in management and is always looking for opportunities to further her education by attending conferences and seminars. Prior to joining the KPA team, Annie worked in administration for the film industry and a professional photography workshop. Annie resides in New Mexico where she enjoys baking, knitting, traveling, and cheering on the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Her favorite travel destination is wherever the next ClickerExpo is being held.
Breanna Norris is the Alumni Relations Coordinator at Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) and a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP) herself. Breanna operates her dog training business, Canine Insights, LLC, in central Maine where she was born and raised. She owns a 57-acre farm in her hometown where she grows fruit and vegetables and enjoys maintaining trails in the woods for daily walks with dogs. Breanna is proud to be a CTP and is passionate about the CTP community. She enjoys training dogs as well as other domestic animals, from cats and horses to sheep and chickens. Breanna is currently working toward her master's degree in anthrozoology from Canisius College.
Job Titles:
- Featured Dog Trainer Professional Graduate
Dawn Gilkison, KPA CTP, has combined her lifelong "fancy" for dogs with her considerable experience in both animal behavior and education. The result is her business, Positive Solutions Dog Training in the Portland, Oregon area. Through Positive Solutions Dog Training, Dawn supplies personalized in-home training and consultations around many issues-from basic life skills for puppies to performance coaching with dogs in competition. All of her training is positive and fun!
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Karen Pryor Academy
Gretchen is Associate Director of Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) and a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP). She was hired as the first Alumni Relations Manager for KPA in 2011 and she completed the Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program with her Boston terrier, Daisy, in 2012. Gretchen's main focus now is growing the DTP program. She loves working with the KPA faculty and staff as well as traveling to industry conferences. Gretchen lives in New England but holds tight to her Midwestern roots as an avid Green Bay Packer fan. When she isn't working (or traveling), Gretchen enjoys playing sports with her friends, spending time with her family, and having fun with her dogs. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a bachelor of science degree in Business.
Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Hannah Branigan believes that clicker training is the perfect technology to teach new behaviors, especially for competitive performances. Here, she talks about how she got started with clicker training, and what she hopes to pass on to her students as both a graduate and an instructor of KPA's Dog Trainer Professional Program.
Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Helix Fairweather will lead a KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program in Portland, Oregon (application deadline 8/30/2018). Learn more about the DTP program or apply to this course in Portland. In this interview, Helix shares highlights from her own training career.Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Helix Fairweather will lead a KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program in Portland, Oregon (application deadline 8/30/2018). Learn more about the DTP program or apply to this course in Portland. In this interview, Helix shares highlights from her own training career.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator of Academic Affairs at Karen Pryor Academy
Kelly Leisten is the Coordinator of Academic Affairs at Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) and is a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP). In this role, she enjoys listening to, coaching, and guiding students on their journey to become KPA CTPs. Kelly is the owner and head Trainer of Applaud the Dog, where she provides customized private training and classes to dogs who are fearful, reactive, or impulsive in their surroundings. (She has one of each!) She also devotes her time to evaluating rescue dogs for adoption and providing training for their new families. For several years, she was a head trainer teaching reactive dog classes at a major animal rescue organization. Kelly resides in Connecticut with her family.
Ken MacLeod, KPA CTP, has been a newsmaker in recent months. Profiled in Modern Dog magazine and featured on the Oh Behave! podcast on Pet Life Radio, Ken has a training business, My Positive Pup, in New Jersey-and beloved dogs of his own! Demand for his training services, including virtual instruction, has increased dramatically over the past year, as many individuals and families acquired dogs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer at Karen Pryor Clicker Training
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer at Karen Pryor Clicker Training, overseeing all educational programming since 2014. Ken is one of the most respected animal trainers in the world. He is known for his boundless energy, his skill in every area of animal training, his experience with an enormous repertoire of species, and his commitment to positive training practices with animals and people.
Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Laura Monaco Torelli will lead KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) programs in Chicago, Illinois, (application deadline 05/28/2018). Learn more about the DTP program or apply to this course in Chicago.
Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Laurie Luck will lead KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program in St Louis, (application deadline 06/01/2018). Learn more about the DTP program or apply to this course in St. Louis.
Linda Ryan, one of the first graduates of the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program from the United Kingdom and now a KPA faculty member, recently attained accredited Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB) status from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB). Recognized by the U. K.'s leading professional society for the study of animal behaviour as a CCAB for both felines and canines, Linda adds this certification to her other attainments and accomplishments.
Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Lindsay Wood Brown will lead a KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program in Richmond, Virginia (application deadline 8/23/18), and Murfreesboro, Tennesee (application deadline 10/30/18). Learn more about the DTP program! In this interview, Lindsay shares highlights from her own training career.
Michelle Mullins is the owner of and Director of Training at Honest To Dog, LLC. She provides private, in-home training, focusing on vet/grooming tasks as well as on reactive and aggressive dogs. Michelle is also an animal handler on photo and video sets! Her emphasis is always on the dog's emotional experience. Since completing the KPA Dog Trainer Professional program in X, Michelle has worked even more steadily at her mission to show that "education is the best way to promote change." In this interview, we ask Michelle what it means to her to be a KPA CTP.
INTERVIEW WITH SHELLY BROUWERKaren Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Shelly Brouwer , CTP, will lead a KPA Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program in Boulder, Colorado (application deadline 11/26/18). Learn more about KPA professional certification Boulder location details In this interview, Shelly shares highlights from her own training career.Q: Tell us about the first animal you trained.A: Her name was Sadie and she was … Read More
Job Titles:
- Featured Dog Trainer Professional Graduate
Wayne Dooley, KPA CTP, left his corporate job at AT&T to work fulltime with animals. Now known as "The Dog Trainer Guy," Wayne offers in-home training through his business of the same name.