Felicia Ako joined Courthouse Dogs Foundation (CDF) in 2024 after spending 20+ years leading people, strategy, operations, and program delivery across a diverse slate of companies including AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Expedia, Starbucks, and BECU credit union. She’s a human-first, empathetic people leader focused on building a strong organizational structure, a secure financial foundation, and a focused vision and strategic plan to deliver on the imperative CDF mission.
Having grown up with dogs and having them in her life since childhood, she saw the incredible value professionally trained courthouse dogs could play in alleviating trauma and stress in adults and children navigating the judicial process.
Felicia enjoys traveling to experience different cultures as well as exploring the Pacific Northwest and making local family memories with her wife and two children.
Dr. Emily Bray is an Assistant Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Behavioral Research Across Years (BRAY) Lab. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her PhD in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Prior to starting her current position, she was a postdoctoral scholar working jointly with the Arizona Canine Cognition Center and Canine Companions, the nation’s largest provider of service dogs for people with disabilities. Over the past 10 years, she has developed and implemented cognitive tasks in hundreds of dogs from both pet and working dog populations, forming the basis for projects ranging in scope from early maternal care to cognitive aging to understanding the contribution of genetics to behavioral traits. Since 2023, she is also credentialed by the Animal Behavior Society as a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. By building a comprehensive understanding of dog behavioral and cognitive health, she aims to enhance both canine and human welfare.
Her work on how dogs solve problems and interact with their world over their life course has been funded by nonprofits, including the AKC Canine Health Foundation and the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, as well as government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute on Aging, the Office of Naval Research, and the Department of Defense. Coverage of her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including the Washington Post, National Public Radio, CNN, the BBC, and Netflix.
Carrie-Leigh Cloutier
Married to Drew
Mother of Joe, Natalie, Sam and Ben
CEO of Casakids for 38 years
Chaves County CASA serves over 2500 abused and high risk children a year in the following programs:
• Court Appointed Special Advocates
• Custody & Domestic Violence Advocacy
• Supervised Visitation Center
• Courthouse Facility Dog Program
• Caskids Store
• Intensive Youth Advocacy
o Leadership Program
o Girls Circle
o Juvenile Court Advocacy
o Alternative Education
o Drop-In Center
• Domestic Violence & Custody Advocacy
• Family Resource Center
• Children’s Advocacy Centers
• Crisis Response Team
• And more
Founding member of:
• New Mexico CASA Network
• NM CASA Association
• NM Supervised Visitation Network
• NM Child Advocacy Networks
• And others
Non-Profit Consultant – specializing in strategic planning and program evaluation
Yoga Teacher – 500 YTT, Certification in Somatic Healing
Denise Conus is the Mental Health Program Director at Kids House Children’s Advocacy Center (where she has been a Director for 14 years) and the Handler for Certified Facility Dog Jordon. Denise is a graduate of Boston University and has over 41 years of experience working in various aspects of child welfare in Florida, managing all aspects of child protective services. As a Certified Facility Dog Team, Jordon and Denise work with children who receive services through Kids House’s Child Protection Team, Medical Trauma Program, Child Advocate and Mental Health Programs. They also serve as an “approved” victim/witness accommodation, for children going to court in Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit. Denise has been certified as a Child Protection Professional, State Contract Manager, Family Readiness Advisor for the USMC, a Handler for Facility Dog Jordon (through Canine Companions), a Therapy Dog Evaluator (through Canine Companions) and a Canine Good Citizen Approved Evaluator (through the AKC). Denise is the Florida State Coordinator for Justice Facility Dogs US. Denise’s special interests include victim advocacy, animal assisted intervention, the neurobiology of trauma, and working on her small farm.
Jim Ha
Dr. Ha’s academic and practical training is in the social behavior of birds and mammals, with a special focus on highly social species like domestic dogs, crows and jays, primates, and killer whales. His background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Millersville University (1980), a Master’s degree in Biology from Wake Forest University (1983), a Ph.D. in Zoology, with a specialization in animal behavior, from Colorado State University (1989), and professional credentialing as a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), the highest level of certification in applied behavior that is available. At the University of Washington since 1990, he is currently an Emeritus Research Professor in Psychology (Animal Behavior Program). He served as a member of the Animal Behavior Society’s Executive Committee for many years, and currently chairs their Board of Professional Certification.
During his graduate training, Jim interned with Dr. Philip Lehner (Colorado State University) and was active in his early behavior consulting business in Colorado, Animal Behavior Associates of Colorado. Dr. Ha started his own consulting business in companion animal behavior in 1999, Animal Behavior Associates of Washington, LLC. He has performed in-home evaluations and treatments on behavior issues (80% aggression) in dogs, cats and parrots (averaging 45 cases/year) and advises on additional cases seen by his colleagues.
Currently, he is co-director of the University of Washington’s Certificate in Applied Animal Behavior education program. He is a Co-Principal Investigator and faculty member at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville studying the effectiveness of Humans Remains detection dogs. He has published a popular book, Dog Behavior: Modern Science and Our Canine Companions, with his co-author Tracy Campion, and recently released Breed Differences in Dog Behavior: Why Tails Wag Differently with his wife Renee, and Tracy Campion. In addition, he continues to participate in legal cases as an expert witness, both Consulting and Testifying, and on cases involving both dog bites and dog tracking behavior.
He is the Research Director for the Courthouse Dogs Foundation.
Dr. Renee Ha is currently a Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychology (Animal Behavior Program) at the University of Washington where she has taught courses in animal behavior, animal learning, statistics, introductory psychology, and developmental psychology. Dr. Ha previously co-authored a textbook about statistics for the social and behavioral sciences. She is also the co-developer (along with Dr. James Ha) of a Certificate Program in Applied Animal Behavior at the University of Washington, a program that has a focus on Companion Animals. In 2017, this program won a National award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association as an “Outstanding Credit Program”.
Mari Johnson is a certified hearing dog instructor and senior instructor in the Southeast region of Canine Companions. Since 2000, she has held multiple positions within Canine Companions: kennel technician, kennel manager, apprentice instructor and senior instructor. In 2018 Mari became a ADI accredited hearing dog instructor.
For nearly 25 years now, she has had the honor and privilege of not only training dogs but also training the people that receive our dogs. For the last nine years, Mari has been working primarily in the hearing dog program, training dogs to assist clients who are d(D)eaf or hard of hearing, as well as working in the applicant program of the department.
Mari is married with two very active sons. She has a photography business, enjoys running, and her family enjoys time out on their boat and traveling, when the boys aren’t on the lacrosse field.
Tamara Martin has spent over 40 years in the criminal justice system, having worked with both offenders and victims. Tamara earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Auburn University at Montgomery. Tamara spent her first nine years of her professional career counseling and advocating for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Starting in 1992 and continuing for 21 years, Tamara worked as a federal probation officer with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Following her retirement in 2013, Tamara began working on starting the first Courthouse Facility Dog program in Alabama. In May 2014, facility dog Willow was placed with Tamara to serve victims and witnesses in the Alabama court system. Tamara and Willow went on to start the first statewide facility dog program in the United States. Tamara is employed by the Office of Prosecution Services in Montgomery, Alabama, and Facility Dog Handler for the HERO program. Tamara serves on the International Board of Directors for the Courthouse Dogs Foundation, and is the National Coordinator for Justice Facility Dog, US. After Willow’s retirement in May 2021, Tamara was matched with facility dog Yahini. Willow and Yahini were bred and raised by Canine Companions, a service dog organization accredited by Assistance Dogs International.
Megan Nettles serves as the Victim Witness Coordinator and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida. With nearly two decades of service in the federal government, she supports the Department of Justice by assisting in criminal, civil, appellate, and post-conviction litigation. For the past five years, Mrs. Nettles has also led the district’s Victim and Witness Program, providing vital support to individuals impacted by federal crimes—including violent offenses, sexual assault, and child exploitation—across offices in Jacksonville, Orlando, Ocala, Tampa, and Fort Myers.
Mrs. Nettles and her husband have three dogs—Sadie, Killian, and Walker—and a cat named Gracie. She’s well accustomed to removing fur from suits and understands firsthand how canines reduce the stress of the courtroom.
Nick Nicholson is a police captain with the Seal Beach (CA) Police Department and handler of Facility Dog Yosa. A nationally sought-after speaker, Nick has presented a TEDx talk on public-sector innovation and delivered sessions at various industry conferences on leadership, frontline safety, and program design. He teaches Administration of Justice at Fullerton College and has earned honors including the National Parking Association “40 Under 40” and OC TIP’s “Hero with Heart” award for his trauma-informed work with Yosa. Nick holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration. He blends command-level insight, academic rigor, and media savvy to help agencies build sustainable, high-impact facility-dog programs.
Rebecca Petty is a nationally recognized child and crime victim advocate, former Arkansas State Representative, and instructor for law enforcement through Fox Valley Technical College. She currently serves as a Facility Dog Handler for Arkansas’ Paws for Justice program.
After the abduction, rape, and murder of her 12-year-old daughter Andi in 1999, Rebecca transformed unimaginable grief into relentless advocacy. For over two decades, she has worked to protect children, support victimized families, and strengthen the criminal justice system.
A founding member of the Surviving Parents Coalition and longtime volunteer with TEAM HOPE at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Rebecca has provided comfort and guidance to countless grieving parents. She participated in a national roundtable discussion with President George W. Bush and played a key role in lobbying for the Child Safety Act, which helped launch the National AMBER Alert System.
Holding a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in leadership and ethics, she brings both education and lived experience to her work.
From 2015 to 2021, she served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, where she was Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee and a member of the Aging, Children, Youth, and Veteran Affairs Committees.
Today, alongside her facility dog Ari III, Rebecca continues to advocate for crime victims, ensuring no child or vulnerable adult victim has to face the criminal justice system alone.
Diane Rampelberg
With SPARKLE and PIZZAZZ Diane and her dogs have been providing creative, interactive canine/client activities since 1999. Supported by 50+ years teaching experience with a variety of age groups in a variety of settings at various levels, she and Leopold are now serving at Idaho Pediatric Therapy Clinic in Meridian, Idaho and doing private tutoring. Over the years she has been blessed to handle six dogs all trained by Canine Companions. For the past 25+ years she and the dogs have been spreading the word about what these dogs can do through presentations all the way from the trainers at Canine Companions to The Alabama Hero Dogs. Her heart and passion rests with those who are experiencing challenges. For more information, please visit www.dustinspaw.com
Leopold II is a five-year-old Canine Companion Facility Dog. With a wagging tail and gentle demeanor, he loves to snuggle yet can play fetch with the best of them. He executes his skills in such an infectious way that his clients want to take that next step towards independence. Eager to serve, he was raised at Coffee Creek Correctional Institution in Oregon and trained at Canine Companions NW Regional Center in Santa Rosa.
Jamie Reinschmidt serves as the Assistant Chief of the Criminal Division at the Stearns County Attorney’s Office, where she has worked as a prosecutor since 2018. She leads the Special Victims Unit, a team dedicated to cases involving sexual violence. Jamie’s caseload primarily focuses on child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault, but she also prosecutes a wide range of crimes—from drug offenses and property crimes to animal cruelty and homicides.
A graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, Jamie is deeply committed to advocating for the most vulnerable—children and animals. Her passion for supporting victims in an often intimidating and complex court system has driven her work, both inside and outside the courtroom. In 2019, her office welcomed its first courthouse facility dog, Nova. Since then, Jamie has worked closely with Nova and her handler on numerous sensitive cases. In 2023 Jamie successfully litigated the first case in Minnesota to allow a facility dog to accompany a child witness on the stand during a jury trial.
She actively trains and advises prosecutors across Minnesota, sharing best practices to help others implement courthouse dog programs in ways that support victims while ensuring legal durability—specifically aiming to build a strong foundation that will withstand appellate scrutiny.
Jamie spent much of her youth in North Dakota before settling in Minnesota. She now lives just outside the Twin Cities with her husband, their two young children, and their British Lab.
Sharon Rose serves as a Community Services Officer 3 within the Redondo Beach Police Department. She began her career in 1989 as a jailer and over the following 16 years, she held various leadership roles, including Jail Manager, Fleet Manager, Facilities Manager, Evidence Manager, and Peer Support civilian team leader.
In 2017, Sharon took on the pioneering role of the first Facility Dog Handler at the Redondo Beach Police Department, partnered with K9 Meredith, a lab-golden cross from Canine Companions for Independence. Her career focus shifted to community engagement, collaborating with local school districts for student outreach, supporting victims in partnership with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, and providing peer support both in Redondo Beach and to external agencies. In November 2023, Sharon was matched with her successor dog, K9 Cadbury, also from Canine Companions. Presently, Sharon and K9 Cadbury operate within the Court Liaison Unit at the police department and continue their impactful work in the community, aligning with the RBPD Victim Advocacy Unit to provide support for victims in and out of court. Together, they travel throughout Southern California to various police agencies, educating command staff about facility dog programs and the significant benefits of utilizing dogs certified by Assistance Dogs International (ADI).
Eric Thompson brings 25 years of business development, marketing and client facing leadership to Courthouse Dogs. Eric has worked in numerous marketing and business development roles at companies including Intel, Adobe and Microsoft’s MSN and Xbox Divisions as well as his own business development agency.
His work with Courthouse Dogs continues his lifelong commitment to service, having formerly served as President, Community Advisory Board for the American Diabetes Association and as a volunteer/fundraiser for Microsoft’s Day of Giving and King County United Way. He holds a B.A. in English/Communications and an MBA in Technology Marketing.
His greatest loves in life are his children, Ben and Claire, and his dogs, Oreo and Rosie. Like peanut butter and chocolate, they go together – and make everything better.
Dayle Urquhart is originally from Montreal, Quebec and has made Tampa her home for the last 28 years. She has worked for Voices for Children in various capacities for the last 6 years and is currently their Lead Courthouse Facility Dog Handler. With Lorne in tow, Dayle assists children in medical exams, forensic interviews, closed circuit testimony and has even started attending courtroom testimony and criminal trial support. She has led VFC’s Courthouse Facility Dog Program’s efforts to directly support hundreds of children by giving them the courage they need to tell their story. In addition, Dayle has also been a volunteer for the Guardian ad Litem Program for 10 years, including 3 years with the SWAT Program. Through the SWAT initiative, she visits and provides necessary items to infants and children who are admitted to hospitals due to egregious abuse. Her hope is that through the guidance of the Courthouse Facility Dog Program, every child will feel supported and gain the courage to move forward.
Mark Zahner