IAABC Division Heads

Cat Division

Pam Johnson-Bennett

Co-chair

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Pam Johnson-Bennett is the founder and co-chair of the cat division and former vice president of the IAABC. She is the author of seven books on cat behavior. Pam is the resident cat behavior expert for Friskies, where she writes a weekly blog. She is also the cat behavior expert for Yahoo. Additionally, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Winn Feline Foundation. Pam is often living out of a suitcase as she travels around the country doing television appearances and speaking at various conferences.

Marilyn Krieger

Co-chair

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Marilyn Krieger, owner of The Cat Coach, LLC(R), member of the Board of Directors and Co-chair of the Cat Division of the IAABC, specializes in resolving cat behavior problems through on site and phone consultations. Besides consulting with clients, Marilyn authors the monthly cat behavior column for Cat Fancy Magazine and writes the weekly column for CatChannel.com, Cat Fancy Magazine's web presence. Her new book, which focuses on changing unwanted behaviors through clicker training, education, environmental management and other positive reinforcement methods is scheduled for release fall 2010.

Marilyn also offers cat behavior seminars and classes. She donates her time at the Peninsula Humane Society as a cat behaviorist and is also the coordinator for California Bengal Cat Rescue.

Dog Division

Nan Arthur

Chair

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Nan has been involved in the behavior and training field for more than 16 years with dog and over 20 with cats, and has a deep belief that her mission is to help pet parents and their animals understand and communicate clearly with one another using the science of positive-only behavior and training methods.

Nan is a 5-year member of the IAABC, with a CDBC certification, and a 9-year member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and holds many other certifications in the behavior and training field, earning her CPDT-KA the first year the certification was offered. She is also a certified Veterinary Assistant as well as an award winning writer and photographer. Nan graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy and is also a faculty member of the Karen Pryor Academy. She also completed her preliminary certification in TAGteach (teaching with acoustical guidance).

And finally, Nan is the proud pet parent to Austin, Willow, and Ginger; all of whom came to her life with special needs and the opportunity to learn more about animals.

Horse Division

Barbara Handelman

Chair

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Barbara Handelman is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Canine Behavior: A Photo Illustrated Handbook. This book grew out of Barbara's close relationships with her dogs Moon, Luca, and Pan who filled her days with opportunities to observe the fascinating variety of canine behavior. With her book Barbara offers readers, devoted to dogs, a colorful tapestry of interwoven words and woofs.

Barbara has been a Clinical Mental Health Counselor for forty years. Early in her career, her work focused on relationship therapy with non-verbal children. In that context, Barbara became a careful observer of human body language. Studying the ways dogs and horses use their bodies to communicate became a natural extension of her work with children. She is now a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant specializing in clicker training assistance dogs for people with disabilities. For the last twenty years Barbara has had a second career as a professional photographer, using her camera to capture the moods and movements of people, horses, and dogs.

Barbara was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine, and the University of New Hampshire where she taught for many years. Currently, she teaches an on-line course: Understanding Canine Behavior, and moderates a lecture series on Ethology and Canine Behavior, both under the auspices of www.e-trainingfordogs.com.

Currently, Barbara’s animal training energies are divided between her giant horse Santé and her assistance dog, Nate. Nate is a career change dog from the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, who came into Barbara’s life a year ago – after the winter, 2009, deaths of both Luca and Pan. Nate and Santé have remarkably similar personalities. Both have the innate capacity to pull with considerable force. Barbara has adapted Alexandra Kurland's "Why Would You Leave Me" clicker exercises to train both her horse and her dog to walk quietly by her side.

Parrot Division

Kashmir Csaky

Chair

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Kashmir Csaky is an international speaker, writer and behavioral consultant. Her papers have been translated into Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Dutch and Czechoslovakian. Her articles have appeared in Bird Talk, Companion Parrot Quarterly, Parrots Magazine, Parrot Information Pages, Psittascene, Watchbird, the German and Czech publication Papageien and Nova Exota and in numerous newsletters and journals. She has advised zoos and private aviculturists on breeding Macaws, artificial incubation procedures, hand-raising chicks and parent-rearing chicks. Kashmir was the first breeder known to co-parent Hyacinth Macaws.

Working Animals Division

Janet Velenovsky

Chair

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Janet is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) and a Professional Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). She is a graduate of Purdue University's 2004 DOGS course, and holds a Counseling Certificate from the San Francisco SPCA's Academy for Dog Trainers. Janet is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Trainer Partner (KPA CTP). Janet was honored with the "Animals as Other Nations" award at the 3rd annual IAABC conference held in Houston April 24-26, 2009. Janet has gained the respect of veterinary and training professionals nationwide and followed Dr. R.K. Anderson and Dr. Lore Haug as the recipient of this award.

Janet is a past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and the current chair of its Working Animals division. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and a Therapy Animal Consultant (TAC) with IAABC. Janet is a regular speaker at national training and behavior conferences including the APDT and IAABC. She conducts presentations at veterinary programs and conferences. Janet has published articles in Off Lead & Animal Behavior, Animal Wellness, and APDT Chronicle of the Dog.

Janet currently teaches puppy socialization classes, basic obedience, rally, and agility through Richmond SPCA and Dude Ranch Pet Resort in central Virginia. In addition, she offers private behavior consultations and expert witness testimony. She is a Canine Good Citizen evaluator and a therapy dog consultant. She has titled in agility and Rally with her dogs. In addition to living and working with three wonderful dogs, Janet also has a strong feline side. She has been owned by cats since the age of six, and has a special interest in both finding ways to enrich the lives of indoor cats and in helping owners understanding the enigmatic feline. Janet shares her home with Cally and Griffin, and a very understanding husband. Janet is a co-creator of the patented "Come With Me Kitty" Cat Harness and Bungee Leash by Premier Pet Products, where she serves as Training & Behavior Education Department Manager.