Hi, I'm Alyssa!
My mission is to improve the welfare of companion animals through collaboration with veterinary teams and pet professionals to elevate patient care, and education for pet parents to become empowered advocates for their pets.
I'm a Licensed Veterinary Technician...
...and hold a master of science concentrated in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare. My experience working as a black bear technician as an undergraduate sparked my interest in pursuing a career in medicine, and my role as team leader on those research projects helped me realize my passion for mentorship and education.​ Since hearing Dr. Marty Becker speak about Fear Free prior to its official release in 2016, I have been actively and enthusiastically contributing to Fear Free’s mission to prevent and alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets by educating and inspiring the people who care for them. Now, I strive to be a leader in animal wellbeing through education and advocacy on the global scale.
I believe animal behavior education should be approachable and accessible.
​We share our world with animals; it's our responsibility to understand and communicate effectively with them.
​
Animal behavior can be complex because it is influenced by a fusion of factors including the context or environment, genetics and maternal care, individual learning history, physical health, sense of safety and security, and the human-animal bond. But that doesn't mean it should be complicated to learn about behavior.
I believe that both treatment plans for behavior problems and behavior education should be as simple as possible, multimodal, evidence-based, data-driven, and administered using a team approach.
SIMPLE & MULTIMODAL
EVIDENCE-BASED
DATA-DRIVEN
TEAM APPROACH
My approach to behavior education and care focuses on developing mutual understanding and trust between humans and animals through effective communication. I place emphasis on ethology (natural behaviors) and management (setting up the environment for success).