Oh, Behave
Our Instructors
Dog Behavior
Aaron grew up an animal enthusiast, caring for fish, hamsters, gerbils, lizards, birds, amphibians and cats. He’d have to wait quite a few years into adulthood, before he had the resources to get his first dog. Bartholomew (Bart) the rambunctious German Shepherd crashed (in to) his life a few years ago, launching Aaron’s journey into dog behavior and training.
His mission is to enhance the lives of animals and their humans through education. Understanding our animals better leads to their happiness and health, which in turn, improves our own lives.
Aaron lives in Oakland with his human partner Gretchen, along with Bart, and Bart’s brother, Revok (REV-ock), an old Maine Coon rescue. When Aaron’s not absorbed in learning animal behavior and training, he’s working as a Director of Finance & Operations or gaming.
Candace joined the nose work instructor team in 2022. After she adopted her bully-mix dog Boomer in 2017, she started taking nose work classes at Marin Humane and found that they both loved the sport – especially Boomer! They are drawn to nose work because of its positive, dog-driven approach to solving fun, challenging odor puzzles. Nose work has also increased their special bond and they enjoy practicing scent work wherever they go.
Candace enjoys teaching all levels of nose work, particularly watching dogs develop their understanding of the game, gain confidence and independence, and benefit from the positive aspects of the sport. Candace is currently trialing at the NW3 level. When not doing nose work with Boomer, Candace is the Volunteer Engagement Manager at Marin Humane, which keeps her very busy! She and Boomer enjoy hiking, taking nose work classes, volunteering at a horse rescue in Sonoma, and reading.
Carrie Alongi, CNWI, began at Marin Humane first as a student, then as a volunteer, and in 2020 joined as an instructor. She believes that positive, choice-based training is the best method to produce good behavior and a confident, happy dog. Carrie teaches nose work, and originally discovered it when looking for a way to build her young dog’s confidence and manage his reactivity. She continues to attend workshops, seminars, and online courses to expand her knowledge and skills. Carrie has an interest in a variety of dog sports, and currently trains in flyball, agility, and nose work with her Entlebucher Mountain Dogs, Oliver and Poppet.
Jane Aten, KPA CTP, is the Shelter Dog Behavior Coordinator at Marin Humane. Jane’s primary role at Marin Humane is working with shelter dogs, assessing their behavior, creating training plans, supporting their adopters, and supervising the volunteers who work with them. She also provides behavior consultations and occasionally teaches specialty classes.
Jane’s interest in animal behavior started when she adopted Albie, an 8lb terrier-poodle-mix with a range of issues including leash reactivity and separation anxiety. Her love and dedication to Albie led her to discover positive dog training methods. Jane’s goal in life is to help animals and the humans that love them live happier lives together. She currently lives with a trio of cats, a violently affectionate Boston terrier/Cairn terrier named Rugby, and a formidably intelligent Border Collie mix named Cricket.
Martin Bergamaschi tiene una maestría en Ciencias caninas de la Universidad de Bergin de estudios caninos. En 2016, se mudó a Texas para establecer una organización sin fines lucrativos, dedicada a la enseñanza y el manejo de un programa terapéutico para veterinarios. Este programa se enfoca en entrenar perros de servicio para veteranos heridos, y Martín jugó un papel principal en criar y entrenar a mas de veinte perros y cachorros de servicio. También apoyó el conocimiento de entrenamiento canino en numerosos veterinarios.
En 2019, Martín volvió a California, donde, hasta el día de hoy, colabora con importantes entrenamientos de perros mientras continúa su trabajo. Él es un miembro activo de la Asociación de Entrenadores de Perros Profesionales.
A Martín le apasiona la idea de forjar fuertes lazos entre los perros y sus familias. Se destaca en “conectar” y eliminar las faltas de comunicación entre los humanos y sus respectivos acompañantes caninos a través de enseñarles efectivas técnicas de comunicación, juegos para reforzar la confianza, y facilitando momentos de risas y distensión. Él ha presenciado en primera persona los beneficios terapéuticos que los perros traen a los veteranos heridos y está comprometido a ayudar a las familias a experimentar esta conexión a través de lecciones privadas y clases grupales.
Creciendo en Argentina, Martín estaba rodeado de perros desde que era un niño, lo que lo ayudó a desarrollar un entendimiento del lenguaje corporal y comportamiento canino desde una temprana edad. También se ofreció como voluntario para ser un evaluador de comportamiento y entrenador en la Sociedad de Sonoma County Humane y en el Refugio de Animales Rohnert Park.
En su vida personal, Martín disfruta entrenar y competir con su esposa, Lindsey, y sus tres perros; Reina, una hermosa Cane Corso; Chai, una Poodle Standard; y Rex, un Shih Tzu. Sus actividades incluyen entrenamientos caninos, NADD, dock diving, trabajo de olfato, Rally de obediencia, y conformación de AKC.
Cuando no está trabajando con perros, Martín se mantiene activo saliendo a correr, escalando montañas y haciendo pilates.
Martín holds a Bachelor of Science in Cynology (Canine Science) from Bergin University of Canine Studies. In 2016, he was working to establish a branch of a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching and managing a therapeutic program for veterans. This program focuses on training service dogs for wounded warriors, and Martin played a pivotal role in raising and training over twenty service dogs and puppies. He also supported numerous veterans in pet dog training.
He is an active member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. Martín is passionate about fostering strong bonds between dogs and their families. He excels in bridging communication gaps between humans and their canine companions through teaching effective communication skills, confidence-building games, and facilitating “ah ha!” moments. He has witnessed firsthand the therapeutic benefits that dogs bring to wounded warriors and is committed to helping families experience this connection through his training work.
Growing up in Argentina, Martín was surrounded by dogs from a young age, which helped him develop an early understanding of canine body language and behavior. He also volunteered as a behavior evaluator and trainer at the Sonoma County Humane Society and Rohnert Park Animal Shelter.
In his personal life, Martín enjoys training and competing with his wife, Lindsey, and their three dogs: Reina, a Cane Corso; Chai, a Standard Poodle; and Rex, a Shih Tzu. Their activities include trick dog training, NADD dock diving, Scent Work, Rally Obedience, and AKC Conformation.
When he’s not working with dogs, Martín stays active with running, mountain biking, and Pilates.
Darlene Blackman has worked in animal welfare for nearly 40 years. She is a dog training instructor as a part of her role as the director of community engagement, where she manages the Pet Care Assistance, Pet Safety Net, Animal-Assisted Programs, and Share a Book programs as well as Humane Education. Darlene is well known in the industry for having created the Your Dog to Share and the Share a Book animal assisted therapy dog programs. She presents workshops at many local and national conferences featuring the work of Marin Humane community engagement programs and the human-companion animal bond. During her tenure at Marin Humane she has also held positions in education, adoptions and the behavior and training departments.
Before joining the team at Marin Humane, Darlene worked for 10 years at the Massachusetts SPCA in animal care, humane education and volunteer coordination. She also worked at the Massachusetts Audubon Society, a farm education center, and at a livestock auction where she worked to create a safer, more humane place for the animals.
Darlene graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where she studied animal science/veterinary medicine.
Originally from Fremont, California, Jenna graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in psychology with an emphasis in animal behavior and began her career at Guide Dogs for the Blind in 1997. Over the years Jenna has held the positions of Master Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, Training Supervisor and Research and Development Assistant. In 2007 she represented GDB internationally and completed a three-month Orientation & Mobility course with Guide Dogs Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. In 2011 Jenna became the breeding manager at GDB and managed the largest breeding colony in North America, collaborating and consulting with partner service dog organizations all over the world. Now semi retired, Jenna continues to provide consulting services to GDB and other service dog organization while spending more time training and competing with her own dogs
Actively training her dogs and competing since the 90s in the American Kennel Club (AKC), first with Rottweilers and now with Portuguese Water dogs, led to her interest in behavior, training, breeding and genetics. Over the years Jenna has trained and titled her Rottweilers in numerous dog sports including; Schutzhund, Tracking, AKC conformation and obedience, and Herding. Currently she competes with her Portuguese Water Dogs in Agility, Water Work, Conformation, Rally and Obedience.
Jenna shares her home with her husband and 3 PWDs and when not training her dogs, Jenna enjoys tennis, photography, and adventure travel.
Kathleen Call, CPDT-KA, CNWI, CBA I & II, AKC CGC Evaluator, has been a professional trainer since 2009. A lifelong animal lover, she began her in-depth education into behavior modification and training when she adopted a beloved dog with aggression issues. Her journey led her to discover the power of K9 Nose Work and its ability to transform reactive dogs. Kathleen completed specialized training through the National Association of Canine Scent Work and earned her CNWI in 2018. Kathleen has also taught Marin Humane’s rewarding Train-to-Adopt and Shelter Scents classes for the shelter dogs, in which volunteers bring adoption dogs to class to learn basic obedience, scent work and some cute tricks.
Kathleen’s specialty is teaching people how to “read their dog.” She believes that with a better awareness of dog body language and behavior, all human/canine relationships can improve in amazing ways. She enjoys seeing dogs and their people become more confident and comfortable through training. Kathleen lives with her husband and multiple Marin Humane canine alumni in Muir Beach, CA. She actively trains and competes in K9 Nose Work with her Elite level dog, Mighty Casey.
Chad is the Behavior Coordinator at Marin Humane. His responsibilities include evaluating strays, surrendered, and transferred dogs. Chad manages the San Quentin Pen Pals Program which is a rehabilitation program with the inmates at San Quentin State Prison. The Pen Pals Program is all about second chances. A second chance for the handlers (inmates) to gain responsibility, accountability, compassion and often times love for the dogs in their care. The dogs get a second chance by being rehabilitated giving them the help they need to get adopted.
Chad’s love for dogs began as a kid but this love became a passion when he managed, trained and raced sled dogs (called Dog Drivers not mushers). He worked with a 39-dog kennel training them to pull a 350 pound “rig” on dirt at a winery in Sonoma. These races were held all over the Sierras, like Lake Davis Forest Hill and Diamond Lake Oregon and Chad’s fastest time was 28 minutes over 8 miles earning first place.
Chad has a marketing degree from the University of Minnesota and played football and ice hockey through college and still plays in hockey around the bay area. Chad currently has two dogs, Rhea and Chance with an active, loud Bengal cat who runs the house. His favorite trick he taught his Kelpie mix is to recycle. This is where Chance takes paper, bottles, empty paper towel rolls to the recycling can. He also taught her to find money, which was disallowed by his wife after Chance started to go in her purse to take money out. Chad teaches Puppies in the Park, Beginning Puppy and the Family dog series.
Terri Dente entered the world of agility training in early 2022 and has not looked back. Originally self-taught, she discovered Marin Humane classes and has been avidly studying ever since. Recently retired from a 25-year career in healthcare, Terri finds agility to be fun and healthy for her and her dog and looks forward to sharing her passion with others.
Terri lives with her husband Jim and their two dogs, an Aussie named Marvin, and a border collie named Lincoln. She also has two human children, a grandbaby, and a granddog.
Yuching Desch, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CTDI, CNWI, FDM, teaches Family Dog 1-7, Tricks, Nosework, CGC Prep and other workshops. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant from The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer from Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers® (CCPDT).
Because of her own fear-aggressive dog, Yuching strives to learn everything about canine behaviors as much as possible. Her canine learning journey started with the completion of Marin Humane’s Canine Behavior Academy in 2012. She continues to learn and attend webinars and conferences and is a graduate of Michael Shikashio’s Aggressive Dog Master Course. In 2023, Yuching completed Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S.® Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation® Professional Course and is now a certified Family Dog Mediator. Yuching specializes in working with fearful and fear-aggressive dogs using fun and confidence building activities via tricks, games and nosework.
Yuching enjoys sharing her knowledge on canine behavior and helping dog owners to problem-solve behavior related issues. When not working with client dogs, Yuching enjoys baking (dog treats), knitting (dog sweaters), reading (about dogs) and hiking (with her fearful but very cute dog).
Having spent the greater part of her life enriched by dogs, Allison has been involved with obedience, rally, nose work, agility and therapy dog work. After retiring from business, Allison completed the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy’s master program and was certified as a professional dog trainer. While working on that certification, Allison was a volunteer dog training assistant at Marin Humane for a number of multi-level obedience, tricks, and agility classes, along with behavior consultations. Allison’s approach using positive methods in her coaching results in strengthened bonds, great clarity, and predictable communication. She now enjoys teaching both agility and obedience classes.
When not teaching, Allison spends her time with her Papillons doing agility and nose work, and also with her children, grandchildren, and her wonderful husband.
Virginia Grainger found her way to positive reinforcement dog training like many people, because she had a challenging dog. A consultation with Dawn Kovell quickly led to Virginia becoming a volunteer with Marin Humane in 2001. Shortly thereafter she was training all the volunteers in the Behavior Department. As time went on Virginia joined the staff and became an Instructor, Volunteer Coordinator, Evaluator, Consultant and a few more positions.
Some of the many initials Virginia can put after her name include, B.A, J.D., CPDT-KA, CBA I & II. Virginia is the Marin Humane Shelter Behavior Manager and oversees canine evaluations, adoption dog consultations and is also teaching classes and doing private consultations.
Virginia currently shares her home with her husband Jason and her 100% Marin Humane dog pack, which currently is made up of one Old English Sheepdog/German Shepherd mix, two Australian Shepherds and one 7 pound Chihuahua, who really runs the show.
Fiona is part of the nose work instructor team teaching in Sonoma County. She discovered nose work in 2022 and was immediately drawn in by the sport and the opportunity to follow her dog’s lead. And, Tulah, her high-drive, high-energy dog had finally found a respectable job to do! What a relief for all involved!
Fiona enjoys sharing what she has learned and watching dogs and their handlers have fun and bond as they practice scent work together. She has benefitted from taking the entire series of Marin Humane nose work classes, with a variety of instructors. She draws on that experience when teaching and combines it with what she continues to learn in seminars, workshops, books and podcasts. She and Tulah are also trialing in nose work, which always reveals new twists to navigate in training.
Annie Humphrey, MSW, CPDT-KA, CBA I & II, is professional trainer with more than 20 years’ experience working with companion animals in veterinary, shelter and private settings. She brings her background in psychology and social work, including many years serving at-risk children and their families, to her current focus on animal assisted interventions training. She co-teaches the Your Dog to Share and Share a Book classes as well as Agility classes.
Annie has loved and lived with animals her entire life. As a kid growing up in Novato, she rode her pony to do her paper route and a few years later earned ribbons showing her horse, a Thoroughbred/Arab cross. Annie lives with Dillon, a beautiful Border Collie and Harper, a sassy Border Terrier mix. She has trained her dogs (past and present) in Rally Obedience, Agility, Flyball, Dock Jumping, Disc and Lure Racing.
Heather Johnson has been playing flyball since 1999 and teaching it since 2005. Teams coached by Heather have won multiple North American Flyball Association Regional Championships in both the Regular and Multibreed divisions. While flyball is her first passion, over the years Heather and her dogs have trained, competed, and titled in multiple other sports, including agility, regular and rally obedience, dock jumping, and lure racing.
Heather’s primary focus when training is to create confident flyball dogs and handlers who understand and love the game. She uses positive reinforcement and lots of different games to build enjoyment and teach the skills needed for successful flyball racing.
Heather currently loves, spoils, and plays flyball, agility, lure racing and coursing with Xena (Parson Russell Terrier), Talent (Sport Mix), and Dare (Sport Mix).
Dawn Kovell, KPA-CTP, CBA I & II, is the director of the Behavior & Training Department at Marin Humane. A member of the Behavior & Training staff since 2000, she has developed in-depth training and behavior modification skills through hands on experience with thousands of dogs and people over the past two decades. Dawn grew up on a dairy farm in Ohio and currently lives at FDSA Ranch where she manages the animal population including cattle, guinea fowl, chickens and a fluctuating number of ever pregnant sheep. In addition to her animal-related skills, she utilizes her extensive education, including a BA from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from UC Berkeley , and her early career in business and finance to keep the Behavior & Training Department of more than 100 staff and volunteers running smoothly. Dawn is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Professional Dog Training Academy.
Dawn’s responsibilities, in addition to designing and teaching classes, include rehabilitation work with shelter dogs. She has created various internal behavior modification programs to meet changing shelter animal populations and performed behavior triage in the case of natural disasters and emergencies.
Dawn lives with a working Belgian Tervuren, two Border Collie/Whippet mixes and two cats. She is particularly adept at addressing multi-species co-habitation issues and finding techniques to address problematic behaviors. Dawn’s training specialty and passion lie in sport dog training including building motivation and advanced obedience. She has titled dogs in flyball and obedience, scent work, MondioRing, and dock diving and dabbled in lure racing, schutzhund and tracking. All three of her current dogs are trained through the Masters level in agility, but to her dismay there aren’t enough hours in the day to compete in everything!
Dawn’s responsibilities, in addition to designing and teaching classes, include extensive rehabilitative work with shelter dogs. She created the B Team, an internal behavior modification team, in response to the many behavioral needs seen in the shelter population, devised specialized kennel enrichment protocols for shelter dogs and personally performs behavior triage when needed in the case of natural disasters and emergencies.
Dawn’s training specialty and passion is in sport dog training including building motivation and advanced obedience. She has titled numerous dogs in flyball and obedience, done agility at the master’s level and dabbled in schutzhund, dock diving and tracking. Dawn enjoys the particular challenge of finding techniques to address unusual problematic behaviors. Having grown up on a dairy farm in Ohio, she is also adept at addressing multi-species co-habitation issues. Dawn lives with her daughter and houseful of dogs and cats and actively trains and competes in flyball.
Callie Lowther is a dedicated Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) with a lifelong passion for dogs. She pursued her interest of canine behavior through Medicine Hat College in Alberta, Canada, where she earned a diploma in Service Dog Training and Canine Studies Management. Her education focused on canine physiology, psychology, behavior, nutrition, learning theory, and advanced service dog skills, all rooted in the principles of positive reinforcement.
After completing her studies, Callie gained hands-on experience at an ADI service dog school in Edmonton, Alberta, where she continued to refine her skills in training and working with service dogs.
Having recently moved to California, Callie is excited to focus her expertise on family dogs and behavior modification. In addition to her training work, she manages a canine nutrition store and is currently completing her certification in canine nutrition. While she remains passionate about service dog training, her current goal is to integrate her knowledge of behavior and nutrition to improve the lives and relationships of families and their pets.
Megan moved to the Bay Area from the east coast in 2015 and, as part of a continuous effort to add more dogs to her life, began volunteering at the SF SPCA. She assisted with public dog training classes and exercised shelter dogs awaiting adoption. This volunteer work sent her down the dog training rabbit hole and she eagerly absorbs everything she can about dog training and behavior.
In 2020, Megan adopted a spirited husky mix named Indiana (a.k.a. Indy) who worked through the Family Dog series at Marin Humane. In 2022, she joined Marin Humane as a Dog Pet Pal volunteer. Most recently, she has decided to leave the tech industry to fully dedicate herself to animal welfare. Megan also works as a dog walker and pet sitter, focusing on reactive, high-energy, and otherwise “difficult” dogs. She is particularly driven to improve the quality of life for both dogs and their owners, helping them thrive together in a world designed for humans
Amy McPherson began her professional dog training career as an assistance dog trainer for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). During her 12 year tenure with CCI she was immersed in all aspects of assistance dog training and found the detailed work of training dogs to become high functioning partners for members of the disabled community to be thrilling on many levels. After she become a mother, Amy joined the teaching staff at Marin Humane, bringing with her the precision and techniques used to train service dogs to the highest levels to the Marin Humane Family Dog classes.
Amy teaches every class using modern dog training techniques where she emphasizes putting each skill into every day, practical use. Amy’s focus is on helping people develop a relationship with the family dog based on trust, understanding, kindness and common sense application. She strives to make the experience of living with a dog better for both human and canine alike.
For the past 25 years Tim has been the CEO of an online company. Tim started dog training 12 years ago as a hobby. In the fall of 2020, Rocket, a Belgian Malinois entered his life. Tim trained Rocket in all fundamentals but it was clear Rocket wanted a job and nosework always interested Tim so they signed up for a class. He started learning and training Rocket in this discipline. Not to be left out, his other dog, Beatrix, a 13 year old Dutch Shepherd wanted to take part in the fun and started training as well. Tim now trains and competes with both dogs. Beatrix got her Nosework 1 (NW1) title recently and is ready for a Nosework 2 (NW2) trial. Rocket got his NW2 Title a few months ago and scored high in trial. Beatrix and Rocket are two very different dogs which keeps Tim on his toes and helps him learn. Tim enjoys teaching and sharing knowledge, which will be a nice fit for his new position with us.
When he is not acting as the founder and CEO of an online company specializing in high end custom made bikes, Tim enjoys climbing, biking, and of course training with his dogs. Tim is a co-owner of the beautiful Champ d’Utopie, Home to the Spirit of Competition Mondio Club in Santa Rosa.
Nancy Mimms, APDT, CBA I & II, CSCC, is a dog training instructor. She has been a volunteer Dog Training Assistant at Marin Humane for nearly a decade. For the past twenty years, Nancy has also served as a Puppy Socializer and Puppy Raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind which gave her exposure to the critical importance of early training and socialization on creating a stable companion dog.
Nancy has 35 years of experience coaching people as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor. Passionate and inspiring, Nancy brings the skills she developed guiding people to reach their goals to the process of training dogs. Her focus is on developing and enriching the relationship people have with their dogs as the foundation for all training.
Nancy recently became Certified in Canine Strength and Conditioning through Bobbie Lyons’s Canine Campus.
Currently, Nancy teaches Beginning Puppy and Family Dog 1 through Family Dog 4. Additionally, she teaches Foundation Skills for Agility and Canine Fitness (all levels)
Alissa Porter CPDT-KA is an agility instructor and has competed in dog and horse sports since she was young. Her dog sport career started with a large enthusiastic golden retriever who needed a job to do. Since then, she has competed in both obedience and agility with her dogs. Alissa thought she was done with competitive dog sports, until she and her husband adopted a very energetic labradoodle named Oliver, and she knew he needed an outlet for all that extra energy, so off to the Marin Humane agility classes they went.
Alissa began teaching obedience and family dog classes for her local dog training club in Salt Lake City. She also worked as a Humane Educator for an Animal Control agency teaching dog safety and bite prevention to children and adults. She is excited to be teaching at an organization that also focuses on animal welfare with the ultimate goal of making all lives happy. Alissa specializes in teaching beginning agility teams the complex “art “of agility and breaking it down so every team is successful and has fun.
Angela has been a part of the Marin Humane community for almost ten years, originally as a student, then as a volunteer, and now an instructor. Prior to joining Marin Humane, she taught foundation skills classes in San Francisco. She is an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and Trick Dog evaluator, a certified Pro Dog Trainer with Absolute Dogs and a current student in the L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional course.
As a recently retired elementary school teacher, she is excited to be a part of Marin Humane’s team and devote her time to all things Dogs!
Angela has been actively training and competing in a variety of dog sports with her two papillons for the past 10 years. The dogs decided they love nose work best! That’s no surprise given the numerous benefits of the sport: increased confidence and independence, enhanced enjoyment of learning, and a strengthened bond between dog and handler. Angela LOVES competing in nose work!
Angela teaches Small Dog and Nosework classes. She enjoys helping families develop a deeper bond with their dog through games based training.
Angela holds a degree in Psychology from the University of San Francisco and a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University. She lives in Novato with her husband, Eevee & Ziggy the papillons, and Pono the cat. She is an accomplished artist and her favorite subject is, of course, dogs!
Saffell Sproul, CPDT-KA, CCDT, started down the dog training path working with his own challenging rescue dogs over the last 15 years. After a particularly difficult foster dog led him to a behavior consultation at Marin Humane, he joined our Behavior and Training volunteer team and took every opportunity to become a better dog handler and trainer.
Saffell focuses on using positive reinforcement to help strengthen the bond between dogs and their guardians and strives to keep up to date with the most current, science-backed behavior modification techniques. He’s a graduate of the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy and the Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
Saffell’s current dogs are Rusty, an adorable Maltese/Pug mix, and Bodhi, a Pitbull he rescued from Marin Humane, who is working through his own reactivity with Saffell’s guidance.
Annette Thomason has been training dogs since she was 15, when she dabbled in obedience and herding with her first Australian Shepherd. Annette and her second Aussie, Sydney, discovered agility in 2001 and she was quickly bitten by the bug and has enjoyed being a student of the sport ever since. She currently competes both locally and nationally in UKI, AKC, and USDAA with her border collies, Savvy and Moxxy.
One of the things she loves most about agility is the incredible bond and partnership you create with your canine teammate. Annette loves training, attending seminars, and learning all she can about the best methods to train the behaviors needed to create the most efficient teams possible. Her focus is on the use of verbal cues in conjunction with motion and positional cues, which helps teams find the fastest lines for the dog. When she is not obsessing about dog agility, Annette enjoys nosework, man trailing, hiking and gardening.
Maggie received a BS and BA from the University of Oregon in Psychology and Sociology and a Masters in School Counseling at Sonoma State University. She grew up in Marin with Golden Retrievers, an Australian Shepherd, and three cats. When she isn’t training, teaching, or playing with dogs, she works for her family’s commercial painting business.
Maggie Thompson is a local gal through and through. She started her dog training career with her Australian Shepherd/Golden Retriever, Blue, as first a Marin Humane student, then a volunteer dog training assistant and finally as one of the Sports Program agility and flyball instructors! Blue simply wouldn’t allow for anything less with his eager spirit and enthusiasm to try anything. Sarge, an Australian Shepherd, joined her pack where she learned how to channel problematic reactivity into sharp, precise competitive sports performance.
Maggie’s instructor experience includes Puppies in the Park, family dog classes, flyball and agility. As a competitor she has titled her dogs in flyball, agility, scent work and dock diving. She dabbles in Rally and FAST CAT and just for fun both dogs have AKC Advanced Trick Titles and are shooting for their Performer titles.
Mary van Kriedt, CCDT, is a Marin Humane agility instructor, lifelong trainer of dogs and horses, and Marin County native. She’s a graduate of the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy.
She began her journey with Marin Humane as an agility Dog Training Assistant volunteer, where her dedication and natural ability working with both dogs and their people quickly led her to become an instructor. Mary is passionate about helping dogs and their owners build clear communication, confidence, and strong, trusting relationships through thoughtful, reward-based training.
When she’s not teaching, Mary enjoys training and competing in agility with her Australian Shepherd, Quinn. Their partnership reflects her belief that training should be both purposeful and fun, strengthening the bond between dog and handler.
Ali Vorhies, CPDT-KA, CBA I & II, professional member of APDT dog trainer and behavior consultant. Ali teaches family dog obedience, Rally Obedience and Nose Work classes and workshops with an emphasis on keeping training fun and practical for all involved. She was fortunate to have learned from some wonderful mentors and teachers early on in her career and today continues to improve and expand her dog training and behavior knowledge through certification testing, seminars, online education courses and reading respected authors in the field.
Ali’s strength is in helping students and dogs develop a stronger relationship through respectful training and in finding positive new approaches to any behavior issue. A lifelong dog lover, Ali has trained and competed with her own dogs in Rally Obedience, scent work, agility and water performance sports, earning Rally Obedience Novice, NACSW NW3-Elite and Apprentice Water Dog titles with her beloved Portuguese Water Dog, Magic. Magic serves as Ali’s demo dog, and comic relief, in many of her classes.
Marisa Walker, CPDT-KA, CSAT, is a Family Dog and reactive dog group class instructor, behavior consultant, behavior modification trainer and Marin Humane’s Companion Dog Program Supervisor. She specializes in reactivity and separation anxiety behavior modification, using scientifically sound positive reinforcement methods to teach dogs that their triggers – whether dogs, people, or alone time – are safe. Along the way she helps guardians establish realistic goals for their dogs and understand their dogs’ big feelings better.
Marisa shares her home with her partner, two children, two Great Pyrenees (one reactive), an English Shepherd, five cats, two goats, a sheep, and chickens. Dog training is her career of choice after 20 years in nonprofit marketing and communications. She holds a BA in English and Psychology from Northwestern University.
Lorraine Wilson, MSW and graduate of the Victoria Stillwell Dog Training Academy, believes that living harmoniously with dogs and puppies is one of life’s greatest joys, and that training should be fun. Our approach to, and expectations of, our best friends have a massive impact on our success in building a strong bond. As a trainer her goal is to help dog parents:
- find ways to bring joy and light heartedness to training.
- have a strong relationship and bond through games and consistent and clear communication.
- approach the human/canine partnership with curiosity and empathy– Why do dogs exhibit these behaviors? What is the need and how can we support meeting the need in a way that works for all?
Teaching at Marin Humane provides an opportunity for Lorraine to integrate all her greatest passions—continuous learning, coaching others, teaching effective use of body language and bonding with dogs. Lorraine is continuously studying the best modern, science-based approaches to collaborating with canines and humans. She looks forward to joining you in your training adventures.
Cat Behavior
Janian is a Feline Behavior Associate and works with the Cat Behavior Team to evaluate shelter cats. She also provides behavior consultations, designs shelter cat environmental enrichment, and works with Marin Friends of Ferals (MFF) to place working cats. Janian grew up with a wide variety of animals. Her love of cats grew when a family member, who was working at a spay/neuter clinic, took a kitten out of the abortion bucket, opened up the amniotic sac, and brought the tiny neonate home. Janian adopted and raised this kitten and that’s when her passion for cats took off! Since then, Janian has been building her knowledge base of cat behavior and training. She spent several years volunteering with non-profits to better the lives of rescue animals, doing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), and taming feral kittens. She also advanced her medical skills at a veterinary clinic and in wildlife rehabilitation.
At Marin Humane, Janian draws from her work and volunteer experience to bridge the communication gap between humans and cats, who are often misunderstood. Whether it’s a phone consult or showing cats to a potential adopter, every interaction is an opportunity to improve the lives of animals and their people. Janian lives in a multi-animal household graced by 2 fabulous ferals who have chosen to live there for 10 and 15 years.
Beth Weil is the Feline Behavior Program Manager. She develops and teaches many of the classes and workshops Marin Humane offers for cat lovers. She draws on her background in Zoology and Biology from UC Davis in her role as shelter cat evaluator and private feline behavior consultant. Beth grew up with cats, dogs and horses but found her passion in cat rescue and behavior after her 20-year-old kitty passed away. She spent 10 years improving the lives of rescue cats before starting to volunteer at Marin Humane. In 2012, Beth retired from her role as an academic biology librarian at a university and joined the Marin Humane Behavior & Training team as the resident feline expert.
Beth specializes in improving people’s relationship with their cats. She firmly believes that training cats is a great way to improve the relationship between people and cats by helping them speak the same language. Her expertise runs the gamut but includes strategies and techniques for the most common feline problems including litter box issues, aggression and helping guardians understand a cat’s perspective when integrating a new dog into the house. She lives with a well-trained kitty, who reminds her to give him his pills and doesn’t wake her up in the morning.
