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Noses for Nature
The Conservation Canine Community Conference
February 15 & 16, 2025
Please note this is a tentative list that will be updated regularly and is subject to change at any time.
Aimee Hurt
Aimee received a B.A. from the University of Montana in biology. She feels very grateful to have been part of helping the field of conservation dogs get a foothold in the US in the late 1990s, and continue its growth around the world over the last few decades. She’s had the opportunity to work with a number of very talented dogs in service to over 40 imperiled species in over a dozen countries. She enjoys tackling new and challenging projects and mentoring new conservation dog programs, trainers, and handlers.
Amanda Ott
Amanda received her B.S in Animal Science from Texas A&M University. She has been in dog sports, training, and medicine since she was 16 including work with exotics where she became passionate about science based animal training. She has twelve years of experience in canine search and rescue running dogs in many disciplines. Amanda obtained the title of Certified Professional Dog Trainer and opened her own dog training and dock diving business. As the Canine Team Training Coordinator Amanda utilizes her experience in detection dogs and training handlers. Amanda’s professional interests are in the science behind dog training, canine cognition, and how to give clear communication between dog and handler.
Anna Ciecka
Anna Ciecka is a Consulting Biologist and Detection Dog Coordinator with WEST, an environmental consulting group. She spent 10 years conducting visual searches for wind farm fatalities before leaning heavily on her previous experience using operant and classical conditioning in the zoological realm to help initiate the use of detection dog teams for these same searches. Building on the success of partnering with detection dogs for fatality monitoring, Anna is interested in seeing the detection dog method expand into other survey efforts.
Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth PhD
I am founder and leader of the working group Conservation Oriented Population Ecology - COPE at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Conservation Biology, Germany, where we use various biodiversity monitoring methods, including wildlife detection dogs. I did my PhD in Ecology at the University of Potsdam, Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Germany, together with the UFZ (see above) and the University of Canberra, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Institute for Applied Ecology, Australia. I am also running a small company called Monitoring Dogs. My research focus in general is population ecology and conservation.
Christina Brewster
My name is Christina Brewster and I have been working with Paul Bunker of Chiron K9. I have recently completed Simone Mueller’s Anti Predation Instructor Course and I am using the gained knowledge to help off leash detection working canines work along side wildlife and see the handler as more productive and fun.
Cindy Otto PhD
Dr. Otto, a tenured Professor of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine is board certified in veterinary emergency medicine/critical care and canine sports medicine/rehabilitation. As executive director and founder of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (www.vet.upenn.edu/WDC ), she oversees fitness and medical care of the program’s detection dogs, provides rehabilitation and conditioning for police and other working dogs and conducts vital research on and by detection dogs.
Colette Yee
Collette Yee is a field researcher and special operations manager for Rogue Detection Teams. Her passion lies in growing the detection dog field by sharing knowledge and mentoring dog teams, both within Rogue and across other organizations far and wide. Collette has extensive experience conducting noninvasive surveys including surveying for threatened and endangered species, cryptic species, invisible targets, mortalities, and invasive species. She has surveyed for animals as large as killer whales and as small as bumblebees, but is always looking for new targets and applications to apply this unique method.
Kayla Fratt
Kayla Fratt is a co-founder of the nonprofit K9 Conservationists, the host of the K9 Conservationists Podcast, and an NSF-GRFP funded PhD student at Oregon State University. Alongside her multi-species teammates, Kayla has worked on projects including cheetah scat detection and discrimination, multi- carnivore surveys in Guatemala, and wind farm surveys. Her PhD centers on the efficacy of conservation dogs to aid in wolf scat surveys in Alaska's Alexander Archipelago while combining dogs, spatial analysis, and molecular methods to dive deep into the movement and diet of imperiled wolves. Kayla is extremely passionate about helping others join the field of conservation dogs through the podcast, social media, short videos, and the K9 Conservationists online course. When not working or training, Kayla spends her free time dancing and cross-country skiing.
Kyoko Johnson
Kyoko has been training dogs and their people in Hawai‘i since 2008. Her passion for scent detection began with a Golden Retriever named Luka that didn't like normal dog activities such as fetch, swimming and playing with other dogs, but absolutely loved and gained confidence through "nose work." Since then, Kyoko has been teaching scent work to the pet dog community, as well as training and working ecological scent detection dogs to assist conservation efforts in Hawaii. In 2019 Kyoko founded the non-profit organization Conservation Dogs of Hawaii to facilitate the use of conservation dogs in the islands. CDH’s projects and targets consist of both invasive and endangered species including plants, insects, seabirds and sea turtles.
Laura Holder
Driven by her boundless curiosity about how dogs think, learn and detect scent, Laura has been nose-deep in the professional fields of scent-detection, nose work and dog training since 2009. Her lifelong fascination with canines, especially their unique ability to work alongside humans, inspires her every day in her work. Her passion lies in leading and deploying the Finder-Keeper teams of Conservation Dogs Collective to support clients in their critical conservation efforts, and especially loves working alongside her two Finders, Ernie and Betty White. Beyond her work with Conservation Dogs Collective, she enjoys sharing her learning with the 50+ K9 Nose Work teams she coaches each month.
Lauralea Oliver
Lauralea is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Ecological Detection Dog Trainer and Handler and an International Speaker on canine scent work and scent detection dogs. Through the National Association of Canine Nose Work she is a Certified Nose Work Instructor®, Trial Judge and Certifying Official. Lauralea has made a career working with dogs which began in 2000. Her years of experience include working with dogs in many environments and disciplines including shelter and rescue dogs, working dogs, sporting dogs and companion dogs. Lauralea is the owner and operator of k9inSCENTive, LLC where the focus is on providing ecological scent detection dog training and ecological scent detection dog team services and ecological scent detection handler training. Her work includes projects training scent dogs to detect and survey for a wide variety of targets; California tiger salamanders, giant garter snakes, western pond turtles and their nests, and San Joaquin kit fox scat. Recent work includes botanical targets including some of Arizona’s most rare plants; Pima pineapple cactus, Spiranthes orchids and Pediocactus species. For years she worked training dogs to detect pathogenic Phytophthora fungi in native nursery plants in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Garbelotto Lab. She contracts and partners with many different agencies and private clients including National Parks Service, US Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service, USGS, private zoos, and botanical gardens in California and Arizona.
Lauren Wendt
For more than 20 years, Lauren’s passion for both conservation and dogs has driven her work. Over the last 8 years Lauren has had the incredible opportunity to work with detection dog teams on vital conservation projects, from the vast landscapes of the U.S. to the wild terrains of Africa. Lauren has worked with her own dogs and other dog teams to protect endangered species, preserve ecosystems, and make a difference in wildlife conservation. Lauren holds a degree in wildlife management from Cal Poly Humboldt and spent 11 years as a wildlife police officer before working with conservation dogs full time. Lauren has also been a disaster SAR K9 handler and participated in a number of other dog sports and working dog disciplines. Lauren is owner of Momentum K9 LLC, providing training, coaching, and consulting services plus professional detection dog services.
Michele Lovara
Michele has worked in wildlife for over eight years. For the last three years she has worked for working dogs for conservation on a variety of projects. She is doing her masters research on dogs detecting disease in bighorn sheep.
Nathan Hall PhD
Dr. Hall is an Associate Professor of Companion Animal Science at Texas Tech University and the Director of the Canine Olfaction Research and Education Laboratory in the Department of Animal Science. Dr. Hall earned his PhD at the University of Florida, specializing in the study of Behavior Analysis and canine olfaction. As a post-doc, he continued his studies at Arizona State University investigating the optimization of training to enhance canine’s detection of Homemade Explosives. At Texas Tech, his work continues to explore canine olfactory perception and how experience influences odor perception. His lab also investigates predictors and correlates of problem behavior, behavioral predictors of working aptitude, and canine health. Dr. Hall has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and 4 book chapters with extensive research on canine olfaction and detection.
Ngaio Richards PhD
Ngaio Richards has been with Working Dogs for Conservation since 2011. She came on as the first Canine Field Specialist, and has since progressed to the role of Forensics & Field Specialist, incorporating her background in ecological monitoring and environmental contaminant assessment into canine handling and team support. She has fielded on a range of projects and targets, including invasive plants, lizard and kit fox scats, and mink scats for paired habitat occupancy and environmental contaminants. Ngaio is also an online Instructor and co-coordinator of the University of Florida's Wildlife Forensic & Conservation Sciences program for which she has developed course on environmental and non-target risk assessment of pesticides and veterinary products, and on the value of reporting on 'negative' findings and 'non- findings' in research.
Paul Bunker
Paul Bunker is the Owner and Principal of Chiron K9 LLC, a canine consultancy specializing in detection dog training and research. He has been professionally training canines for over 40 years. In 2017, Paul founded Chiron K9 to focus on detection dog research, conservation, and environmental detection. He has supported research with leading universities, authored scientific papers, and published Imprint Your Detection Dog in 15 Days. Paul is known for his innovative approach, and developing protocols to address complex challenges in detection projects.
Renae Counter
Renae grew up in Montana, where her early years were spent exploring the outdoors, always accompanied by at least one dog—often two or three. Her passion for working dogs followed her into adulthood, leading her to train, run, and develop a deep admiration for sled dogs across Alaska and Colorado. In her fifth year with Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C), Renae thrives in her ability to tailor training methods to meet the unique needs of each dog, with a special skill for working with 'challenging' dogs." She finds immense fulfillment in the remote and stunning locations her work with detection dogs takes her.
Sally Yannuzzi PhD
Sally is a Detection Dog Coordinator and Consulting Biologist with Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc., where she works with her team to support seasonal detection dog teams conducting post-construction monitoring at renewable energy facilities. Originally from Virginia, Sally has worked in wildlife research and management across the country for a decade, completing her M.S. at West Virginia University and PhD at the University of North Dakota. Training and recreating outdoors with her dogs has been a lifelong passion turned career in her current role. In her downtime, she likes to hike, hunt, and train with her two dogs, a labrador (Grebe) and Irish setter (Red), and husband David.
Simon Gadbois PhD
Simon Gadbois studies animal behaviour and spent the first half of his career in behavioural neuroscience with wild animals (wolves and socioendocrinology). He later (2006) opened the Wildlife Ethology and Canine Olfaction Laboratory at Dalhousie University, focusing on two main research programs in applied canine olfaction: 1) Wildlife Conservation Canines, and, 2) Biomedical Detection and Alert Canines. He uses "learning theory" (conditioning), olfactory psychophysics, and incentive theories of motivation to study dogs as research assistants.
Tracy Darling
Tracy joined the SDF team in 2018 with decades of professional experience in canine health, wellness, and federal disaster response. As a member of the National Disaster Medical System for almost 20 years, Tracy has deployed in support of animal and public health to numerous national disasters, most notably Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Florence. In addition, she has provided field veterinary care and contract support to working canines of multiple federal law enforcement agencies on location during high-risk, special security missions within the U.S. and U.S. territories. As Senior Director of Canine Operations, Tracy oversees our Canine Training and Lifetime Care Programs in addition to a special focus on the ongoing health and performance of our graduate canines. In her role at SDF, Tracy utilizes her professional experience in managing the health and wellness of dogs, with certifications as a Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS), and Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner (CCRP) to oversee the development, performance, and management of the dogs in our program. Tracy has spent much of the last decade focusing on the health, development, and management of US&R canines, and is a certified Canine Search Specialist with her Human Remains Detection dog, Mazie, as a member of California Regional US&R Task Force 7.
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