Abie Alfrey is a clinical psychologist with a special interest in animal-assisted mental health care. She is employed as a senior clinician within the UK’s National Health Service and as a sessional academic by Canterbury Christ Church University, and also maintains a nature-based private practice.
Jessica Schwartz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology at UCLA. Inspired by Bandit (canine companion), Schwartz has begun to research histories and practices of interspecies co-musicality, focusing on dogs and humans, particularly around questions of health and healing.
Paul J Zak is a professor of economics, psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University. He is one of the most cited scientists and has started four technology companies as well as a mobile app (available for free) for those who want to improve their emotional fitness
Ariann Robino, Ph.D, LPC, NCC is a licensed professional counselor and national board-certified counselor with a PhD in Counselor Education from Virginia Tech. She was previously an Assistant Professor at Nova Southeastern University where her research focused on the human-animal bond in animal-assisted interventions. Ariann now lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, two dogs, […]
Jeff Stevens is a Susan J. Rosowski Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Brain, Biology & Behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He directs the Canine Cognition and Human Interaction Lab, where he uses biological and psychological approaches to understand dog behavior to improve how owners and handlers train, work with, […]
Greg Elvers received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Purdue University. He teaches Research Methods and Perception at the University of Dayton. He lives with his wife and three cats and together, they have fostered close to 200 kittens for the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.
Genie Joseph, PhD is the Executive Director of a non-profit organization, The Human-Animal Connection. She is a therapy dog trainer and was formerly on the board of the Red Cross Human-Animal Bond Program at Tripler Army Medical Center. HAC’s Canines Teach Compassion is a program that brings therapy dogs into high school classrooms which reduces […]
Jessica Bibbo, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist in the Center for Research and Education at Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, where they work on research and evaluation studies to better serve older adults and their caregivers. Dr. Bibbo’s research focuses on aging, caregiving and human-animal interaction. Their work investigates the impact of pet ownership and […]
Anastasia Stellato is an Assistant Professor in Companion Animal Science at Texas Tech University. Dr. Stellato earned her PhD in Epidemiology, in the Ontario Veterinary College Companion Animal Behavior and Welfare lab. Her research uses epidemiological methods to study companion animal welfare. Dr. Stellato’s research focuses on improving our interactions with companion animals, specifically examining […]
Anthony Coy is an Associate Professor of Psychology on the Sarasota-Manatee campus of the University of South Florida. Dr. Coy’s research focuses on bidirectional influences within different types of relationships. This includes the relationship between people and their pets, to better understand not only how pets promote personal well-being, but also how people influence the […]
Kathryn Kerns, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist whose research has focused on how children’s close relationships with parents, friends, and pet dogs in middle childhood contribute to children’s social and emotional development. She is currently an Emeritus Professor at Kent State University. Check out her study here
Check out here research HERE
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Colorado State University | Human & Horse Health Check out her research HERE
Nichole Anderson is an Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. At TTU, Nichole teaches animal behavior and welfare to first-year veterinary students and is currently researching equine welfare during equine-assisted service sessions.
Patti Mandrell, M.Ed., LPC, EAP (Advanced), is cofounder of REFUGE Services. She serves as director of therapy services supervising other therapists, horse professionals, volunteers, and intern students. Prior, Patti served as a program director for a residential treatment center for girls with eating disorders in south Texas. Patti was the first professional counselor to be […]
Michele Pickel PhD is the Creator and Director of Horse Powered Reading®, an Equine Assisted Learning program that engages the mind, body, and emotions of struggling readers with horses, around games and activities to learn critical reading skills. Since 2012, over 620 Horse Powered Reading® facilitators have been trained in all 50 US states and […]
Colleen is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Virginia. Her work uses linguistic and cultural anthropology to understand human-horse relationships and communication. She grew up in Alaska riding horses (dressage, cross country and stadium jumping, and vaulting) and more recently has been volunteering at an equine rescue in Virginia and, in her […]
Dana Spett, DSW, MSW, is the Founder and Executive Director at Pony Power Therapies, a nonprofit community-based center in Mahwah, New Jersey. With a passion for equine-assisted services, nature, and social work, Dana actively conducts research and aims to develop an ethical and competent model for Equine Assisted Social Work. Listen as Dana talks about […]
Dr. Fournier is a professor of psychology and licensed psychologist who specializes in human-animal interaction (HAI). Her career in human-animal interaction is quite broad and includes multiple roles. These roles can be categorized broadly as teaching, research, and clinical practice. Listen as Dr. Fournier shares what life as an academic involved in HAI research and […]
Safe Animal Friendly Environments (SAFE) Janette talks about a risk management tool specifically developed for use in high level, residential aged care settings to facilitate continued pet-animal relationships for frail older people. Needing to part with a loved non-human companion or choosing not to continue having pets because of the fear of such parting, has […]