Current Council of Regents

President

Shanna Rayburn, RVT, VTS (Behavior)

President Elect

Rachel Lees, RVT, VTS (Behavior)
Olmsted Falls, OH

Rachel Lees, one of the newest Registered Veterinary Technician Specialists in Behavior in 2016, is also a Certified Training Partner through Karen Pryor Dog Trainer Professional Academy. She currently lives in Parma, Ohio and is the lead veterinary behavior technician at The Behavior Clinic.

Rachel graduated from Cuyahoga Community College in May of 2009 with her Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology. Immediately after graduation, Rachel was employed at a multi doctor practice located in Parma, Ohio. Here was where she began running puppy socialization classes, seeing private training appointments, and teaching basic obedience. Rachel also became the behavior advocate of her veterinary hospital conducting happy visits and working with all the veterinary related aggression cases in the clinic. In June of 2013, Rachel resigned from her position at her general practice and accepted her current position at The Behavior Clinic in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. In April of 2014, she had graduated and became a Certified Training Partner with Karen Pryor Academy.

Rachel is ecstatic to be a VTS-Behavior and looks forward in continuing to aide owners in creating and maintaining a strong human animal bond. Rachel holds a special interest in puppy/kitten socialization and development and enjoys teaching cooperative care techniques for veterinary protocols to small animals. Rachel has recently become a Fear Free Certified Professional ℠ and is also on the Fear Free Speakers Bureau and a member of the Fear Free Advisory Panel. Rachel is the speaker committee chair and website chair for the Clinical Animal Behavior Conference and is also on the Wellness Committee Task Force, which is a committee under the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America.
In her personal time, Rachel enjoys spending time with her Miniature Pincher Mix, Connor and her Orange Tabby Cat, Ernie. You can also catch her practicing yoga or spending time with her long time partner, Chad.

Secretary

Linda Campbell, RVT, VTS (Behavior)
Granite City, IL 62040

Linda first began her career at the Humane Society of Missouri in 1975 as a shelter exam room attendant. There she witnessed first-hand the negative impact behavior problems had on the human/animal bond and the resulting pet relinquishment. Linda became committed to learning more about how to improve pet retention through owner education, animal training and encouraging good adoption matches.

She received a scholarship from the HSMO Auxiliary to attend Jefferson College where, in 1990, she graduated with an Applied Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology and became a Registered Veterinary Technician. In addition to attending school and working at the animal shelter, Linda spent eight years working part-time at an animal emergency clinic.

During her 40+ years of service at HSMO, Linda participated in multiple projects that provided her with opportunities for growth and development. Oftentimes she worked hands-on with animal survivors of natural disasters and victims of cruelty and abuse; such as the Great Flood of 1993, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 1999 Oklahoma City tornado, numerous hoarding and substandard commercial breeder confiscations, and the 2009 FBI five-state raid of dog-fighting operations. (Although there were originally 350 dogs another 150 puppies were born while at the holding facility. The entire case took over 6 months to complete).

Currently, Linda is the Shelter Animal Behavior Manager where she works to improve behavior of all animals passing through the doors of HSMO. Linda hosts volunteer and staff trainings on behavior and low stress handling, and oversees shelter animal enrichment and training programs. Special areas of interest include working with shy and fearful rescue animals and adopter education. She was a founding member of AVBT, was a member of the AVBT board of regents, has served on the board of directors of SVBT and is a CPDT-KA as well as being Fear Free Level 1 certified.
Linda shares her home with 2 dogs, an African grey parrot and her very supportive spouse. Free time is spent training her therapy dog Sunny and reading all types of historically-themed books.

Past President

Lynnsey Klassen, RVT, VTS (Behavior)
City: Saskatoon, Province: Saskatchewan, Postal Code: S7K 5C5

Lynnsey is an RVT working at a small animal practice in Saoskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada She graduated from the tech program at Lakeland College in 2006 where she obtained her first fur baby as an adult, and started learning about all things behaviour. It very quickly became evident that there was a lack of behavioural care for the creatures she encountered on a daily basis in clinic and she focused her attention on how that could be remedied. She is passionate about supporting and growing the human animal bond in every interaction that she has with clients and their furry family members. In 2018 she obtained her VTS(Behaviour) and has been working very hard at public education since. She has introduced low stress handling and fear free practices to her clients and staff team and is so excited to see the difference that is being made for every animal that walks through the doors. She is excited to be the first VTS(Behaviour) in Canada, but can't wait until the behaviour bug bites other techs and a strong force of appropriate behavioural care can be developed all throughout Canada!

Treasurer

Debbie Martin, BS, RVT, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior)
Spicewood, TX 78669

Parliamentarian

Ginny Price, MS, CVT, VTS (Behavior)
St. Petersburg, FL 33702  

Ginny Price graduated from Saint Petersburg Junior College, Veterinary Technology Program, in 1981 and became certified the same year. She worked at a small animal practice from 1981-1999 and began teaching the Small Animal Breeds and Behavior Laboratory at SPJC (Saint Petersburg Junior College, which is now Saint Petersburg College) in 1995. In May of 2000 she attended the five-day lecture and practicum class at Purdue University, DOGS 2000!.

Ginny was an animal behavior laboratory research assistant at the University of South Florida from 2001-2006 where she also earned her BA in psychology. She earned her Masters degree in General Psychology at Walden University in 2007.

From 2002 – 2005, Ginny worked at Main Street Animal Hospital, a progressive, bond centered small animal practice in Dunedin, Florida. She continues to teach small animal behavior as well as various other courses at Saint Petersburg College, Veterinary Technology Program. Advanced Veterinary Behavior was developed by Terry Curtis, DVM, DACVB and Ginny for the BAS program.

Ginny has given lectures on animal behavior for various local, state, and national veterinary conferences.

She is a member of FVTA (Florida Veterinary Technician Association), AVTE (Association of Veterinary Technician Educators), AALAS (American Association for Laboratory Animal Science), and NAVTA (North American Veterinary Technician Association). She is a founding member and past president of SVBT (The Society of Veterinary Behavior) and a founding member of AVBT (The Academy of Veterinary Behavior Technicians).

Member at Large

Monique Feyrecilde LVT, VTS (Behavior)
Auburn, WA 98001

Since 1997, Monique Feyrecilde has been a team member at Mercer Island Veterinary Clinic in Mercer Island, Washington. In 1999, she began serving as clinic manager, and was credentialed as a technician in 2002. Monique currently manages the clinic and serves as head technician. Realizing more pets become homeless and are euthanized for unwanted behaviors than any disease, Monique spearheaded implementation of behavior protocols within her clinic.

Monique’s consulting and training business is called Teaching Animals, established in 1999. She provides private behavior consultations as well as group classes and community education.

Aside from her duties as a technician, manager, instructor and consultant, Monique enjoys presenting and lecturing at CE events, reading, singing, spending time at the beach, and training her own pets. She has lectured at numerous conferences including NAVC, WVC, AVSAB/ACVB, AVMA, PacVet, ACVC, WSVMA, and more. Her particular areas of interest include compassionate animal handling, behavioral medicine for the general practice team, cooperative veterinary care and husbandry, learning theory, behavior modification, and human-animal bond. She has served on the board of directors of SVBT and the board of regents of AVBT. Monique was also named 2015 Veterinary Technician of the Year for the US and Canada by PetPlan Pet Insurance.

Sharing her home with 3 dogs, 1 cat, an African grey parrot and her wonderful husband, Monique enjoys competing with her own dogs in agility and sheepdog events.

Member at Large

Danielle Bolm, RVT, VTS(Behavior)

Danielle graduated from The Vet Tech Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her associate degree in Veterinary Technology in 2007. She was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, after graduation from the Vet Tech Institute, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she worked in emergency and general practice for a total of 10 years. During her 10 years in practice, she became passionate about animal behavior and started to dedicate herself to it. Since 2016 to 2022, she has worked in veterinary practices that were only limited to behavior. Her interest in behavior led her to become a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner in 2017 and finished her journey to become a Veterinary Technician Specialty in Behavior in the fall of 2021. Her behavioral interests are, but not limited to, aggression, reactivity, and resolving fear-related issues in horses.

In July 2022, Danielle opened her own behavior consulting business in Howell Michigan, Dedication-N- Behavior.