Leadership
Mara Velez, Executive Director, MA, CPDT-KA
Mara Velez, MA, CPDT-KA, is the Executive Director of the Shelter Playgroup Alliance and is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Mara has worked as a behavior and training consultant at both open- and limited admission shelters where she designed, developed, and implemented behavior program structures, including volunteer training, behavior evaluations, canine enrichment, and playgroups.
Mara splits her time between the Shelter Playgroup Alliance and corporate clients who engage her for her expertise on leadership, coaching, and learning and development.
Mara holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology and completed all the course work for a doctorate in education. In addition to completing several animal behavior and training-related programs, Mara continually develops her skills and knowledge of canines by attending seminars and reading science-based canine literature. To date, she has completed over 3,000 hours of continuing education.
Mara shares her home with three dogs: Ivy, Pluto, and Bruce Lee. Her current favorite hobby is being back in graduate school at Virginia Tech in the on-line master’s degree in Agricultural and Life Sciences (OMALS) with an emphasis in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare, and she’s learning how to dive so she can swim with the fishes.
Selena Brown, Director of In-Person Education, MA, CPDT-CBCC, FFCP - Trainer and Elite Veterinary Professional, NACA ACO
Over the years, Selena has worked in shelter behavior, field operations, shelter medicine, and private behavior consulting. She is passionate about safe, gentle animal handling, community programming, and working with cross-functional shelter teams to improve the welfare of all animals in their care. Selena is currently pursuing an MS in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare at Virginia Tech, focusing on canine shelter behavior.
Before diving into animal welfare full-time, Selena volunteered with animal shelters and taught German, English, and psychology to learners of all ages. In 2019, she received her MA in Germanic Languages and Literatures from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in eastern Tennessee with her husband, three dogs, Xena, Nyx, and Calypso, two cats, Juno and Archer, and a rotating crew of foster animals and community cats. In her free time, Selena enjoys hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, playing recreational sports, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
Brandy Nicoll, Director of Online Education, RVT, CPBC
Brandy Nicoll earned her Associate of Science degree in Veterinary Sciences from Western Career College and has worked as a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) for over 18 years. She spent much of her clinical career at the Medical Center for Birds, where she developed extensive experience in avian medicine.
Brandy has been an active contributor to the veterinary and behavior communities, lecturing at organizations such as North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), Western Veterinary Conference (WVC), and Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV). She also supported lab coordination for AAV conferences for over 11 years.
Driven by a passion for behavior and training, Brandy has pursued advanced education through programs such as Karen Pryor Academy, Behavior Works (Susan Friedman) (Living and Learning with Animals course), and Pet Harmony mentorship programs. Her special interests include all things birds and dogs.
In addition to her professional work, Brandy has volunteered at her local animal shelter, further expanding her hands-on experience. She currently volunteers with SPA as the Director of Online Education.
Currently, Brandy works full-time as a trainer and behavior consultant for both birds and dogs. She is dedicated to helping people and their animals build harmonious, happy relationships by integrating her expertise in veterinary medicine, behavior, and training. Outside of her professional work, Brandy enjoys continuing her education in animal behavior and sheltering, spending time with her husband and daughter, and sharing her home with her beloved fur and feathered family members.
Yona Rappaport, Director of Marketing and Educational Development, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA, CSB-D
Yona Rappaport, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA, CSB-D, got her start working with dogs in 2012 at Metro Dog Daycare and Boarding after graduating from Mills College with a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Sociology. She transitioned to the world of sheltering in 2018 at Contra Costa Animal Services which is when she started volunteering with Shelter Playgroup Alliance. Yona currently works at Pasadena Humane Society as a Behavior Specialist where she has taken the initiative to support the welfare needs of the animals through developing two enrichment programs. The Playgroup and Enrichment Circuit programs are designed to help improve the knowledge and skills of current volunteers while having a more organized approach to providing enrichment, resulting in a larger percentage of dogs leaving their kennels each day. While Yona loves working directly with dogs and other animals, she is passionate about teaching humans so that more animals can have their needs met.
One of Yona's favorite activities is teaching volunteer classes and works with Shelter Playgroup Alliance to continue coaching shelter staff and volunteers while still focusing on furthering her education. Yona is on the SPA in-person handling workshop team, the grading team, the CORE and BEAR content teams, manages the SPA social media presence and manages the Bonfire store. Yona shares her home with her partner Michael, two birds Chicle and Dilla and a cat, Aurora. Yona’s hobbies include crafting and driving.
Instruction and Content Development Team
Connie Chen, CPDT-KA, SBA, first got involved in animal sheltering when she began volunteering at her local humane society, and soon thereafter adopted her current (and first!) dog. She spent just under a year volunteering in a variety of programs, including rabbit husbandry and enrichment, special events, and training new dog handling volunteers, before joining Pasadena Humane as an Adoptions Counselor. In this role she developed a passion and desire to learn more about animal behavior and training and has spent the last six years working as a Behavior Technician. Connie is on the SPA in-person handling workshop and grading teams and is loving every minute of it. She shares her life with her dog Doudou (“bean” in Mandarin) and cats Moose and Fig. When not being a homebody, you are likely to find Connie at a restaurant with friends or catching a live performance.
Bailey Kuhn Thurston, MS, CPDT-KA, FFCT, is the owner of Tinker Tails Training LLC. She is passionate about accessible and compassionate behavior education and brings that mission to a wider community as a volunteer with Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS), where she leads and continues to evolve a program that has brought behavior education and support to hundreds of adopters and fosters across Indianapolis through classes and private consultations.
Bailey holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University, a background that informs her thoughtful and analytical approach to behavior change. She is also a Living and Learning with Animals graduate and part of the SPA grading and in-person workshop team.
She shares life with her husband Eric, their dog Macklin, and backyard chickens Ellie, Regina, and Fergie. When she’s not working with clients, Bailey enjoys growing vegetables, hunting down the best ice cream spots around Indianapolis, and sharpening her training mechanics by working with the chickens.
Grace Linden, CPDT-KA
Beverley McKee, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is the Senior Manager, Public Support Services at Toronto Humane Society. In her role she oversees effective operation of the organization’s Public Support Services including Public Training Services; Pet Parent Support Network (PPSN); Retail Initiatives; Urgent Care Program and Food Bank Programs. She is a Fear Free Shelter Graduate, a Living and Learning With Animals Graduate under Dr. Susan Friedman, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University along with a certificate in Organizational Management from the Association for the Advancement of Animal Welfare. Bev has published articles on dog behavior in industry publications serving both the animal behavior community and the veterinary medicine community and has presented on various animal behavior topics at international conferences. Bev has extensive program management, project management, business development, and operations experience through leadership roles in both the entertainment industry and in animal welfare. Bev is the former chief operating officer for the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC), an organization for which she also served as board secretary for three years, and volunteers with both the IAABC and with the Shelter Playgroup Alliance as part of the BEAR education team. Bev shares her home with two Australian Cattle Dogs, Luke (adopted from Toronto Humane Society) and Promise. They train and compete regularly in dog sports events and have achieved numerous sporting dog titles
Martha Moore, MA, CPDT-KA, first got involved with animals as a volunteer puppy raiser for a guide dog school. Seeing how these dogs learned such incredible skills sparked her interest in animal behavior and led her into a career in animal sheltering.
With experience across operations, behavior, and medical departments, Martha especially enjoys finding ways to collaborate across teams to improve outcomes for animals in care.
She currently serves as the Animal Health and Wellness Manager at a county shelter, where she leads the medical team and focuses on delivering high-quality care, prioritizing pain and stress management, and implementing low-stress, adaptive approaches to exams and treatment.
Outside of work, Martha enjoys hiking with her dogs or curling up with her cats and a good book.
Mikayla Moore, KPA-CTP, SBA, currently works for Pasadena Humane as a behavioral health technician, where she assesses risk, implements behavior modification plans, and tries to pet as many kittens as possible. Mikayla is also Fear Free Shelter certified, a Living and Learning with Animals graduate, First Aid and CPR certified, and dabbles in dog sports. Mikayla got her professional start in animal behavior and welfare at a positive reinforcement-based dog daycare in Southern California in 2014. However it was her first shelter dog that made her realize that the complexities of behavior were more interesting than dog sports. Since then she’s been seeking out continuing education to develop mechanical skills (clickers, leashes, oh my) as well as behavioral knowledge to enhance the lives of animals and their human caretakers. MIkayla is on the SPA in-person handling workshop and grading teams and is the primary content writer for the SPA newsletter. In a vague attempt to keep a work-life balance, Mikayla reads over 100 books a year and chauffeurs her Vizsla to dog sport lessons.
Alyssa Vincent, CPDT-KA, is the owner of Blueprints Dog Training LLC. Alyssa is the Humane Education Program Manager at Napa Humane Society. Alyssa has worked with dogs since 2009. Alyssa worked in a large, social, dog boarding facility for 7 years, working her way through each position and stopping as the Operations Manager. After an internship working with trainers at a local municipal shelter and obtaining her CPDT in 2016, Alyssa jumped from the world of boarding into the world of animal sheltering. Alyssa and Yona spear-headed the development of a special team of handlers whose goals were to implement enrichment programs, track behavior change, train volunteers, perform behavior evaluations and begin a foster and field trip program. This program came on the heels of Mara and Shane’s work at the shelter and allowed for great progress. Alyssa has stepped away from sheltering and into the private sector, for a little less chaos. Alyssa is on the in-person handling workshop team. Alyssa shares her home with her dog, four lizards, a community of fish and a brood of chickens. Alyssa’s hobbies change like the wind, though she’s currently into home projects.
Sam Wolfman, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Ferdie Yao, MA, CPDT-KA, is an ecologist and animal trainer who has been educating audiences and clients about nature and animal behavior since 1998. His approach to teaching and connecting with animals is inspired by lessons learned as a zookeeper, ecologist, canine behavior consultant, and coyote researcher. Ferdie is the Staff Trainer at the Humane Society of Westchester (NY), Lead Instructor for CATCH Canine Trainers Academy behavior workshops, workshop instructor for the Shelter Playgroup Alliance, and owns Sits & Wiggles Behavior Consulting in New York. He speaks at national dog training conferences, teaches online shelter dog behavior courses for Maddie’s Fund, and was the host of the "Worry Less, Wag More" podcast (2021-2024).
Before working with dogs, Ferdie trained dozens of exotic species at the Bronx and Central Park Zoos and restored wildlife habitat as an ecologist for New York City. He holds a BS in Ecology from the University of Michigan and an MA in Conservation Biology from Columbia University. His diverse background reflects a lifelong passion for learning about and saving animals – whether in homes, shelters, zoos, or the wild.
Board of Directors
Lisa Colvin, MA, MS
Lisa Colvin is the board president for the Shelter Playgroup Alliance and is on the Ontology and Data Modeling Management team at a global finance company. Lisa has extensive experience in managing large, complex projects and has a background in computational linguistics, data science, and ontology engineering. Lisa brings her project management and critical analysis to the board. Lisa shares her home in Oakland with her three cats.
Andee Connors, BA
Andee Connors is the board secretary for the Shelter Playgroup Alliance and is the Manager of Catalog and Creator Services as well as the head of Metal and Punk Programming at Pandora SXM. Andee studied at UC San Diego, focusing on art and literature before leaving to pursue a career in music. He’s been a touring and recording musician ever since (30 years and counting) and currently plays in three bands. He’s been a music writer, a promoter, ran a record label, is a photographer and is the previous owner of Aquarius Records in San Francisco. Andee has a love of all animals, but cats in particular. While he plans to start his own animal rescue, he currently shares his apartment in San Francisco with three cats -- TONY HARRISON, LUGBURZ, and TUNGSTEN.
Kat Ferreria
Kat Ferreira is a board member-at-large for the Shelter Playgroup Alliance. Her professional background spans the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, with an emphasis on nonprofit technology consulting, community advocacy, membership fundraising, public policy research, online marketing, and social media. Kat’s nonprofit and technology consulting work focuses on helping organizations streamline operations, grow constituencies, market services, and improve program outcomes. After a decade in multi-channel marketing and online community engagement, she finds social impact storytelling to be most rewarding. Kat never met an animal she didn't like but Penny the pitbull will always have her heart.
Randy Hoskins, MPH
Randy Hoskins is a board member-at-large for the Shelter Playgroup Alliance. Randy brings extensive leadership and change management to the SPA team. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, and meaningful customer engagements. Coming from the pharmaceutical industry, Randy's experiences span a wide array of leadership roles across multiple therapeutic areas.