Nathan Andrews is the Education Initiatives Coordinator at Karen Pryor Academy. He has worked in animal care and welfare for over 15 years spending much of that time in zoos but also working in animal laboratories and wildlife rehabilitation. Over this time, he has worked with dozens of species of many taxa and has co-published two peer-reviewed articles on Ursid behavior under human care and management. Nathan maintains a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner designation.

Dot Baisly is the executive director for the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Dot also holds a master’s degree in Animal Behavior from Tufts University and is a certified dog behavior consultant (CDBC), certified cat behavior consultant (CCBC), and certified shelter behavior specialist (CSBS). Dot was a core member of the Shelter Playgroup Alliance team where she facilitated course content for the on-line program and in-person workshops. She was the director of behavior for Northeast Animal Shelter where she built a behavior program and transformed the organization’s approach to behavior as a result of her leadership. Prior to this she was also the lead behavior staff at the SPCA of Westchester and then the Animal Rescue League of Boston. 

Dot also worked as a consultant for Paws With A Cause, working with service dogs and the clients they serve for over 10 years.  She has been working in animal welfare and behavior for over 20 years, both in animal welfare and rescue organizations and as a private consultant.  Dot has consulted with private clients since her initial certifications, working with owned cats and dogs on a regular basis.  In her private practice, Dot specializes in working with dogs and cats exhibiting significant behavioral concerns, including human-directed aggression.

She also provides consultations to shelters across the country where she has evaluated dogs, educated staff and volunteers and continues to be recognized as a key leader in the animal welfare and shelter behavior community where she is sought out for her expertise, compassion, and skill in leading change efforts. Prior to working in sheltering, Dot managed a veterinary clinic and worked as a technician where she developed her knowledge and skills in low-stress veterinary handling.  Since that time, Dot has taught those techniques in shelters and at veterinary practices across the country.

Lisa Clifton-Bumpass served as a street patrol officer for over 9 years starting in 1987, retiring in 1996. Very early on in her career, Lisa was involved in a fight for life incident that changed the course of her life and career because of her under diagnosed injuries. She continued to work the streets not knowing that she had PTSD, with brain and significant nerve damage. At that time, there was little known about PTSD as Lisa started to put her life back together. As Lisa recovered, she turned to her interests in animal behavior and quickly became a tour de force and was recognized as the dog trainer of the year by the AKC and other animal training organizations. She eventually became recognized within the zoo communities for her work with endangered giraffes and started work within the conservation fields in Africa. Lisa Clifton-Bumpass, of Behavior by Design, has become a training systems analyst specializing in Team Building and the constructional approach to building Whole Life Training. Lisa is known for her work within and is a sought-after consultant for teaching and building training skills designed for animals with unique physical challenges. She has presented for a wide number of conferences including the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the Association of Zoo and Aquariums, the Animal Behavior Management Alliance, the International Marine Animal Trainers Association, Convergence of Human & Animal Training and Technology, international conferences for giraffe conservation groups, and the Shelter Playgroup Alliance creating unique thought-provoking discussions. She has won numerous awards for excellence and her expert contributions in creating and implementing training programs for various facilities. She recently guided the creation of a zoo training policy and procedures manual that is now considered an exemplar for other zoos and aquaria nationwide. Lisa is a court certified expert in humane training methodology, providing expert testimony for governmental agencies, has been featured in multiple books, provided expertise in animal behavior for movies and documentaries, and has consulted for pet food and product advertising and branding companies. Lisa values the animals and their people involved in the deepening and expanded exploration of welfare through collaboration and the advancement of training methodology, enrichment, and behavior modification. She believes that success is not the byproduct of the species of animal being trained but found in the design and implementation of a well-crafted change in behavior. One of her current projects is the Change Makers Foundation which acknowledges people for their selfless long-term involvement in shaping the future welfare of animals through sharing their knowledge, skills, and experience.

Amy Phelps has worked in the zoo field for 25 years, starting as entry level zookeeper and holding the positions of curator and Vice President of Animals.  Over the years, and across several zoological facilities, she and her colleagues have developed animal training programs that pioneered the Constructional Approach in zoos, and giving human and animal learners assent in the zoological environment which allows them to be active participants in their own care. Over the arc of her career, she has applied the Constructional Approach to build behavior for more than 20 species, 40 individual animals, and has mentored the careers of over 30 trainers.  She is considered a progressive pioneer in the zoological advancement of animal welfare and training and is a court certified expert in animal husbandry and giraffe care. Amy is particularly known for expertise in giraffe and her work as a pioneer of giraffe training.

In October 2014, Ken Ramirez began his role as Executive Vice-President and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training where he helps oversee the vision, development and implementation of training education programs for the organization. This role aligns with Ken’s philosophy of helping to bring positive reinforcement training to all corners of the animal training world. 

Ken previously served as the Executive Vice-President of animal care and animal training at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, where he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development as well as public presentation programs for the entire animal collection of more than 32,000 animals. He worked at Shedd for nearly 26 years.

A 40+ year veteran of animal care and training, Ramirez is a biologist and animal behaviorist who served nine years at Marineworld of Texas.  He also was a trainer and coordinator at Ocean Safari in South Padre Island, Texas, as well as acting as a consultant to many zoo and aquarium programs throughout the world.  He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and has maintained a close affiliation to pet training throughout his career.  He hosted two successful seasons of the pet training television series Talk to the Animals that compared pet training to the important work done with training and caring for animals in zoological facilities.  He has also recently worked closely with several search and rescue dog organizations, service dog groups, as well as with bomb and narcotic dogs.

Mara Velez is a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA), and has spent time working in both open-admission and limited-admission shelter facilities. Mara was formerly a board member for the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and is the executive director for the Shelter Playgroup Alliance (SPA), a shelter enrichment educational organization that helps shelters implement enrichment programs, including playgroups. Mara holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology and completed all of the course work for a doctorate in education. Mara is currently back in graduate school pursuing her master’s degree in animal welfare at Virginia Tech. She completed the following certificate and/or certification programs:Trish King’s Canine Behavior Academy, levels I and II (CBA); Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior (KPA); Dr. Susan Friedman’s Living and Learning with Animals (LLA); International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Principles and Practice; Aggression in Dogs Mentorship (IAABC); Shelter Dog Behavior Mentorship (IAABC); Summer Shelter Institute; University of the Pacific Animal Shelter Management Program; Fear Free Shelter Program; Fear Free Animal Trainer Certification Program; Fear Free Veterinary Certification Program (2017) in addition to more than 2,500 hours of animal-related continuing education. Mara is also a learning and development consultant to corporations across a variety of industries, where she advises and works on projects related to leadership development, process improvement, and learning program management.