NAPWDA - Key Persons

Cameron has been in K9 for 27 years. He first worked as a Military Working Dog Handler in the US Air Force (Stationed in Germany). During his time in Germany, he graduated from the German Police Dog Handler School and attended training with Dutch Police Dog School in Nunspeet. Cameron was later a Police Officer in FL and worked as a K9 Unit trainer and a SWAT team member. Then in TX as K-9 Unit Trainer and handler, and SWAT K9 Handler. From 2010 to 2014 worked as a Government Contractor K9 Program Mgr. overseeing training for large K9 contracts in the middle east.

Job Titles:

• Director of Law Enforcement Operations

A retiree from the Terre Haute Police Department, Dan was assigned to the Organized Crime & Narcotics Unit working undercover and specializing in Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. He was the first K-9 Dual Purpose handler/trainer for Terre Haute PD, working 2 DPN and 1 SPE dog while on the street. Dan is a state certified instructor through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy as well as a certified K-9 instructor/trainer through Vohne Liche Kennels. He has instructed seminars and classes in several states. He also has taught many classes with foreign students at VLK. Dan has certified dogs with AWD, NNDDA, State of Indiana, and the State of Oklahoma. On top of all of this, Dan has judged K-9 competitions throughout the US and has even traveled to Afghanistan to train Afghan handlers on VLK bomb dogs destined to protect their president Karzai. He has been an instructor for Vohne Liche Kennels since 1996 and began his full time career in 2005.

Danny Villarino has over 11 years of Law Enforcement experience. He became a full service K9 Handler in 2016 at the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. Danny provided an essential role in developing and maintaining over fourteen K9 teams from eight local agencies. Danny was tasked with organizing in-service training where he developed individual programs to improve teams' ability in tracking, building/area searches, and criminal apprehension. Danny was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend over 1,200 hours of advanced K9 related training, and he continues to take every opportunity to train and share his experiences with other handlers.

Evan was a U.S. Army Paratrooper, Animal Care Sergeant, and certified USASOC dog handler with extensive operational k9 medical experience. He spent the majority of his 14-year career working independently of a veterinarian, providing direct medical support to Special Operation dog teams at home and abroad. Since leaving the Army, Evan has started training Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services, Search & Rescue, and other first responders through his training company, Paravet K9, and in partnership with non-profit organizations like K9s of Valor, Georgia Police K9 Foundation, and MediK9. Evan's goal is to continue to bridge the gap between first responders and realistic, experience-based pre-hospital K9 care.

Job Titles:

• Owner of NC K9 LLC

Jim is a 31-year police veteran canine handler/trainer who has been involved in the blasting industry since the 1980s. He works in the Science and Technology Field and is involved in explosives research. He has worked throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Ljunggren was an Explosives Odor Detection canine handler and deployed at the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013. He is the Homemade Explosives and Post Blast instructor for the Massachusetts Department and Fire Services Training Program. Jim is the owner of NC K9 LLC in Four Oaks NC. Jim has been handling and training police canines since 2005. Jim served as a police officer in New Hampshire for 18 years and handled two police canines during that time. Since moving to North Carolina in 2014, Jim has trained police canine handlers and military canine handlers from all over the United States and several foreign countries.

Job Titles:

• Instructor

is one of the country's leading experts in criminal vehicle interdiction. Sergeant Williams began his career in 2007, and currently works as a full time K9 interdiction officer. Williams has been personally responsible for the seizure of over 4 million dollars cash, several hundred pounds of illicit narcotics, and well over a ton of Marijuana. Williams has received countless awards for his work from numerous organizations and has established a national reputation. Williams is a fully certified EPIC and DIAP instructor.

Matt Lunsford is a Deputy Sheriff for the Preble County Sheriff's Office a prior K9 handler and the agency K9 coordinator. Mr. Lunsford has been with the Sheriff's Office for 30 years. Mr. Lunsford is an Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy k9 evaluator, and a K 9 trainer for OPOTA-based K9 academy. Mr. Lunsford is a firearms instructor and a criminal interdiction instructor. Mr. Lunsford is a published author with publications in AIRBEATS on the topic of combined arms manhunting. Mr. Lunsford has also written articles for the USPCA. The combined arms manhunting course was designed to use technology in conjunction with K9 teams and tactics to safely hunt those criminals or the lost who need law enforcement assistance. Topics covered will be deployment tactics, marine patrol use, manned aircraft, and unmanned aircraft. Mr. Lunsford is a member and southwest assistant coordinator for NAPWDA, a member of the USPCA, and a qualifying judge for AWD. Mr. Lunsford along with his wife also owns and operates Trifecta K9 which specializes in purpose-raised working K9s used for law enforcement.

Job Titles:

• Owner & Lead Trainer F.M. K9 LLC

Job Titles:

• Training Director and Founder of Grassroots

Michael Nezbeth is the Training Director and founder of Grassroots K9, an international training company that specializes in LEO canines. Michael also offers seminars and workshops to LEO and civilians aimed at giving actionable training plans based on theory to practical applications. Michael began his career in the canine industry after graduating with degrees in Psychology and Criminology. His background has given him the ability to apply a theoretical and systematic approach to practical applications in canine deployments.

Job Titles:

• Research Scientist and Program Manager for Excet, Inc

Michele Maughan, Ph.D., is a research scientist and program manager for Excet, Inc. a US Defense Department science and engineering contract firm. Michele works at the US Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Chemical Biological Center (CBC) in the Olfactory Sciences group at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In this role, Dr. Maughan, provides subject matter expertise on canine scent detection and training aids, explosive and other emerging CBRNE threats, sensor technologies, and research, development, test and evaluation of Military Working Dog and Homeland Security canines. In addition to being a scientist, Michele is also a certified explosives detection dog (EDD) handler, currently working on developing her second EDD from puppy to operational canine for R&D projects.

Job Titles:

• SERGEANT II ( Ret ) Mike Goosby / Chief Trainer - Metropolitan Division K9 Platoon - Los Angeles Police Department

Mike had 32.5 years (25 years of K9 experience) with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), where he was assigned as the Chief Trainer for the Metropolitan Division K9 Platoon. He is a nationally recognized expert in K9 Tactics, Perimeter Containments, Command Post Operations (Command and Control), as well as off leash search techniques. Mike was the overseer of all aspects of K9 training, maintenance, and K9 selection for the LAPD K9 Platoon. Mike has also worked and supervised other divisions / units within the LAPD, including patrol, narcotics, C.R.A.S.H., Vice, Safer Cities Initiative, Community Relations, and the Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR) unit.

Mike is a current 26-year law enforcement veteran and 17-year veteran in police service and working dog handler in the Chicago Metropolitan area. He has handled multiple dogs specialized in patrol, narcotic-contraband detection and human remains detection. Mike is currently a K-9 Team Sergeant for a multi-jurisdictional mobile field force, serving the Chicagoland area. He has more than 8,000 hours of training in law enforcement and police service dog operations. Mike is the lead instructor for Sheepdog Guardian Consulting and maintains the most comprehensive canine legal website, "Canine Legal Updates and Opinions" and contributed to multiple magazines, and podcasts. He has taught and written about police service and working dog operations, industry standards, and legal updates for over 10 years and studied under Terry Fleck, Ed.D. Mike is a committee member of the Illinois Tactical Officer's Association K9 Committee (Subgroup: Patrol K9) and a former member of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Working Group Canine Compliance.

At a very early age, Mike developed a deeply ingrained love for dogs and the training that went into making them operational. His father would have 15 to 20 hunting dogs in their kennels at any given time along with multiple litters of puppies. Mike and his younger brother were tasked with taking care of the dogs everyday which taught him early on how to properly tend to the needs of the animals. As Mike grew older, his love for raising and training dogs flooded over into his own line of dogs. Throughout the years, Mike has worked with many talented trainers where he gained a wealth of knowledge which he put into training countless working dogs. Mike became a State Law Enforcement Officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at the age of 24. During his career with FWC, he was voted Officer of the Year for his region and also the NWTF Officer of the Year. He was a member of the FWC Special Operations Group (SOG) as well as a founding member of FWC's Resource Protection Unit (RPU). After a few years, Mike went through FWC's interview and rigorous physical assessment in order to become a member of the FWC K9 program. He was ultimately selected where he was partnered with his first K9 partner, K9 Roscoe. After completing a seven-month K9 school, Mike and K9 Roscoe went back to their respective region certified in tracking, article recovery and fish and game detection through NAPWDA. Mike and K9 Roscoe were responsible for countless arrests along with assisting other agencies in the recovery of crucial pieces of evidence that would have otherwise gone undetected allowing dangerous criminals to walk the streets. After a couple of years, Mike decided to capitalize on an opportunity to work a dual-purpose patrol dog with the Hendry County Sheriff's Office (HCSO). Mike travelled to Royal Police Dogs in Tallahassee where he tested several candidates but ultimately selected a 10-month-old Belgian Malinois named "Neko". Mike and K9 Neko attended their patrol school with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit (PBSO.) After completing over 800 hours of training, Mike and K9 Neko certified in Patrol, Tracking and Narcotics detection through FLECA. Mike was invited back to PBSO where he assisted with instructing a large K9 school with teams from multiple agencies. After completing almost two years training, he was given his Police K9 Trainer's certification.

Job Titles:

• C.E.O

Mike Pennington is the C.E.O. and founder of Storm Dog Tactical, a disabled Law Enforcement owned company located in Sunbury, Ohio. Mike was a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office in Ohio where he handled a K9 for the patrol and swat division. As a result of an on duty Swat Injury Mike retired from Law Enforcement and founded Storm Dog Tactical in 2007. By training dogs, he continues to support the mission of public service and his passion of working with dogs in an advanced patrol and tactical environment. Mike is certified by The Ohio Attorney General's Office, The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy and The South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy as a Police Dog Trainer and Police Dog Training Company.

Job Titles:

• Scientist at the US Army Futures Command 's Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center

Mrs. Jenna Gadberry is a contract Scientist at the US Army Futures Command's Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM-CBC) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Mrs. Gadberry earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Davis in 2003 and enjoyed a 12 year career at the DoD's Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) where she was a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and program coordinator for two Technical Support Working Groups (TSWGs). Since 2016, Mrs. Gadberry has been part of the Olfactory Sciences Team, working on enhancing canine detection capabilities. She now manages a diverse portfolio of active Military Working Dog projects (everything from olfaction to wearables and decon solutions), specializing in the spiral development process of getting applied research and development solutions into end-user's hands.

Job Titles:

• Veterinarian

Paul Fedyniak is a veterinarian in Chicago. Paul started the non-profit, MEDIK9USA NFP INC in 2018 to increase the availability of medical training resources and supplies for working canines.

Rich has 25 years of experience in the dog world. He has held positions within Military Special Operations groups, been a consultant for a myriad of Law Enforcement agencies, written a variety of courses and trained 1000's of pet dogs. He served as a police officer for over 20 years, holding positions as a K-9 officer, academy instructor, firearm's instructor and SWAT team member. Rich is the founder of Double H Canine and Co-host of the Working Dog Depot Podcast.

Ricky Farley has owned and operated the Alabama Canine Law Enforcement Officer's Training Center since 1992. He has had the privilege of training police service canines for over 28 foreign countries as well as over 1700 police departments inside the United States. Over his 25 year career Mr. Farley has trained canines in areas of narcotics, explosives, accelerant and cadaver detection as well as apprehension. He has made numerous television appearances on issues pertaining to police service canines, assisted both large and small departments in writing their canine policies and procedures, given civil liability lectures along with search and seizure law updates and lectured over 2500 individuals in the area of canine bite prevention. Mr. Farley has been involved with the University of Alabama, assisting in cadaver dog research and security involving athletic events. He has testified as an expert witness in several court cases. Ricky is the only civilian to teach classes at the MVCI (motor vehicle criminal interdiction). In addition to MVCI he has taught classes for HIDTA (high intensity drug trafficking area) program.

Job Titles:

• MEDIC Lead Instructor / Advisor

Robin is an ER Veterinarian that has been actively supporting working Dogs for 25 years and is a Certified Working Dog Practitioner (pending). She was an integral contributor to the nation's first PreVeterinary Care Act in CO. She provides subject matter expertise to committees incl ACVECC VetCOT, VetATLS, K9 TECC and Penn Vet Working Dog Center. She is equally active in the field, supporting local LEO K9s and deploying with SAR Dogs of CO. For the past decade, she has been teaching and supporting LEO/Military Handlers across the country with K9 MEDIC.

Job Titles:

• Owner and Founder of High Drive

Scott Clark, Owner and Founder of High Drive K-9, has been a Police Officer for the City of Coral Springs Police Department, Broward County, Florida since January 1999. Since 2001, he has been assigned to the K-9 Unit where he currently serves as an active K-9 Handler & Head Trainer. He has been working and training patrol and detection dogs since 2002. He is a current certified State of Florida FDLE K-9 Team Instructor and FDLE K-9 Team Evaluator. In addition, Scott is the K-9 Unit Head Trainer, Multi-Jurisdictional K-9 Head Trainer, SWAT K-9 Team Leader, Trainer and SWAT K-9. Scott has a vast knowledge in Canine Behavior, Decoy Development, Bite Building, K-9 Tactics, K-9/SWAT Tactics and has countless K-9 & SWAT Deployments.

During his 46-year K9-centered law enforcement career Steve White was the only person to serve as a handler, trainer, training sergeant, and commander for the Seattle Police Canine Unit. Accredited as a Master Trainer in 1993 by the Washington State Police Canine Association, Steve is also a past Executive Board Member of that body. He served as Vice President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and is a consultant and instructor for the K9 Academy for Law Enforcement. Steve has instructed seminars in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, Finland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, and Zambia. He has served as a primary instructor for Karen Pryor's ClickerExpo and the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. He currently serves on the Victoria Stillwell Academy Advisory Board. His articles have appeared in police K-9 and dog training publications in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Finland, and Japan. He specializes in teaching behavior modification, tracking, and scent work through the use of positive reinforcement-based operant conditioning. He provides consultation and training to K-9 units on administrative and legal issues and has been recognized as an expert witness by Washington and Federal courts in Police K-9 and dog behavior matters.

Ted has been involved in Police Working K9's for over a decade. His specialties are grip work and development, patrol and utility work and proper decoy work, detection training and K9 policy and case law. Ted acts as the training director for our PSA club and is a certified trial decoy. Ted teaches decoy, handler schools and our SWAT/SORT integration seminars for Torchlight K9 as well as our decoy camp for police service trainers and handlers and does numerous camps for military special operations. Currently, Torchlight K9 is the only private company in Oklahoma with CLEET Accredited courses in K9. Ted is also one of the co-hosts on working dog radio and Co-own's HRD Police K9; a scenario based training company for police K9 handlers.

Todd is a former special operations (tier 1) bomb technician and explosive materials expert. He has identified/disposed of/decommissioned several thousand bombs (IED to nuclear). He has done additional work with several USG agencies as a subject matter expert, project manager and operations. Todd is an adjunct professor at New Mexico State University where he lectures and instructs on explosive identification, detonation and disposal. Mr. Wilber if the founder and President of Precision Explosives, LLC.