Ann Aiko Bergerson
Ann Aiko Bergeron is a Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theatre at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Ann received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and Master of Fine Arts in Directing from The University of Texas at Austin.
Ms. Bergeron was recognized as a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Teaching Artist in 2009. She is a two-time Fulbright-Hays Seminar awardee, representing American dance and theatre educators both in the Peoples Republic of China and in India. Her directing, choreographing, teaching, guest workshops, and performances, have taken her across the U.S.A. as well as to China, Australia, England, Finland, Hungary, India, Taiwan, Romania, Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Ann has directed and/or choreographed over 60 musicals and plays, including FOOTLOOSE, SEUSSICAL, CRAZY FOR YOU, GUYS AND DOLLS, SWEET CHARITY, CABARET, INTO THE WOODS, DAMN YANKEES, CHICAGO, OKLAHOMA, and the World Premiere of the musical THE ODYSSEY.
Ms. Bergeron is recognized by the American Tap Dance Institute as a Top Tap Teacher. Currently, she is the only University professor in the USA to be a certified Level II TAG teacher (Teaching with Acoustical Guidance).
Dr. Susan Friedman
Dr. Susan Friedman is a psychology professor at Utah State University who has pioneered the application of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to animals in human care. ABA, with its roots in human learning, offers a scientifically sound teaching technology and ethical standard that can improve the lives of all learners. Students from 31 different countries have participated in Susan's online courses, Living and Learning with Animals for Professionals and Living and Learning with Parrots for Caregivers. She has written chapters on learning and behavior for three veterinary texts and is a contributor to popular magazines. Her articles appear around the world in thirteen languages. Susan has presented seminars for a wide variety of professional organizations around the world, including the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Moorpark College Exotic Animal Training and Management program, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Clicker Expo. She has been nominated for the Media Award given by the International Association of Behavior Analysis for her efforts to disseminate to pet owners, veterinarians, animal trainers and zookeepers the essential tools they need to empower and enrich the lives of the animals in their care. Her website is www.behaviorworks.org
Martha Gabler
Martha is the author of the inspirational Chaos to Calm. Chaos to Calm describes how Martha Gabler discovered that effective solutions really did exist for the overwhelming behavior problems of her own son with profoundly nonverbal, severe autism. Martha Gabler is the mother of a teenage boy with severe autism who is nonverbal.Experts believed he was untrainable, and that he would never even be able to dress himself. Using the ABA-based principles of TAGteach, Martha taught her son many skills. Most important were the skills that allowed the family to take him out safely and calmly to the store, the park, and doctors’ offices. Her son is now a happy, cheerful teen who enjoys life and loves to go out.
I. Martin Levy, MD
Professor of Clinical Surgery and Program Director, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. When not performing surgery or leading the way in orthopaedic education, Dr. Marty Levy has been competing (and winning) with his disc dogs for more than 15 years. Marty enjoys nothing more than teaching handlers and their teammates how much fun playing disc with your dog can be. He teaches handlers to throw and dogs to catch with a systematic approach that emphasizes dog safety and fun. He has contributed to Clean Run Magazine, writing articles on issues of injury to dogs participating in agility. He has a good slant on what makes dogs succeed, physically and mentally and he’s not so bad with humans either.
Theresa McKeon B.A.
Cofounder TAGteach International.
After more than 30 years as a national level gymnastics coach, Theresa was determined to find a way to speed up skill acquisition for her athletes while simultaneously decreasing frustration all around. The answer was in the science of learning. The problem was the most beneficial tools defined in the “science” were clunky and difficult for coaches to procedurally implement.In response, Theresa along with Joan Orr and Karen Pryor created TAGteach, a vehicle that transported the science of learning from the rigid rules of academia to the riotous world of live teaching and coaching.Today, Theresa designs and presents TAGteach workshops and seminars around the world and has adapted the technology in multiple fields including: education, business management, industrial education and safety, military, medical training, corrections, professional sports, and family communication.
Laura Monaco Torelli
Laura Monaco Torelli (KPA CTP, CPDT-KA, TAGteach Level 2 Instructor) is the founder of Chicago-based Animal Behavior Training Concepts . Laura began her professional animal training career in 1991 at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago where she trained beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters, seals, river otters, and penguins. In 2000, she joined the San Diego Zoo and then later the Brookfield Zoo as a supervisory keeper. Working within the zoological community, Laura has trained a wide variety of species, including primates, large cats, birds of prey, horses, parrots, tree kangaroos, red pandas, and dogs.
Laura serves as a faculty member of Karen Pryor Academy, and is a staff trainer for veterinary behaviorist, Dr. John Ciribassi at Chicagoland Veterinary Behavior Consultants. She has been a speaker at many professional conferences, including the American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association, Animal Behavior Management Alliance, International Marine Animal Trainers' Association, ClickerExpo, Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians, and the Interdisciplinary Forum for Applied Animal Behavior. She has appeared on various broadcast media, including The Chicago Tribune, WGN Midday and NBC 5 Chicago News, and has published articles with Karen Pryor Clicker Training, American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, The Chronicle of the Dog, and Clean Run Magazine.
Dr. Kelly Ballantyne DVM
Dr. Kelly Ballantyne received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with honors from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005 and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois in 2001. Following graduation from veterinary school, she practiced primary care veterinary medicine at a private hospital in Oak Park, IL. In late 2008, Dr. Ballantyne began a private practice residency in Veterinary Behavior Medicine with Dr. John Ciribassi of Chicagoland Veterinary Behavior Consultants. She currently consults on behavior problems in dogs and cats through Chicagoland Veterinary Behavior Consultants and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Chicago, IL. Additionally, Dr. Ballantyne teaches companion animal behavior in the professional veterinary curriculum at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana, IL.
Dr. Ballantyne lives in Chicago with her husband Rob, dogs Bludger and Tonks, and cat Aengus. While not working, she enjoys traveling, gardening, and crafting.
Emelie Johnson Vegh
Emelie lives in the very south of Sweden with her husband and three children between the ages of 1 and 12. She is trained as high school teacher in English and Swedish, and takes a special interest in children’s literature. She is a level 3 TAGteacher and part of Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expo faculty. She runs Carpe Momentum together with Eva Bertilsson, where she gives seminars and lectures on behavior for both humans and other animals. Emelie is also a writer and translator. She very much enjoys thinking about and pitching in with ideas for her sons’ football teams, riding lessons and other endeavours, and implements TAGteach in the family’s everyday life.
Joan Orr M.Sc.
Joan Orr M.Sc. is a scientist and internationally recognized positive reinforcement-based teacher and trainer. Joan is a cofounder of TAGteach International and has applied TAGteach in numerous fields. She was a member of the Clicker Expo Faculty (2003-2011) and content creator and advisor to the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. She has trained dogs using positive reinforcement methods and has instructed others in clicker training and TAGteach techniques for more than 10 years. Joan is a co-founder and president of Doggone Safe, a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention. She has co-created the dog bite prevention board game Doggone Crazy!, the “Be a Tree” bite prevention education program for school children, the Clicker Puppy DVD. Joan has authored many published articles, ebooks and online courses on dog bite prevention, the promotion of force-free training and understanding dog body language and has received numerous awards for her work.
