Judith Anderson-Wright, MA CPDT-KA (Project Canine board vice president), is well versed in human as well as canine learning styles, effective teaching techniques, and the many aspects of providing support and services to individuals with special needs or medical fragility. She holds a Masters of Art degree in Special Education with an endorsement in Orientation and Mobility and Education of the Visually Impaired. She has trained individuals and their service dogs and has spent time in training on-site at the Seeing Eye School in New Jersey and the Helen Keller Center for Deaf-Blind and Guiding Eyes for the Blind, both located in New York State. Judith has been a professional educator for over thirty years and a canine enthusiast since she was a child. She has been training dogs professionally for over ten years as co-owner of Great Dog daycare and Canine Education Center. Identifying a void in the Animal Assisted Therapy field, she and Laurie Hardman collaborated to create the Project Canine/Connecting Canines program in an effort to raise the standard of care in training and evaluating both humans and canines for therapy team work. Ultimately, in conjunction with a world-renowned canine behaviorist, Judith created the first protocol for examining not only dog behavior but the effectiveness of the relationship between the dog and its human counterpart. Judith has placed many Animal Assisted Therapy teams at Ronald MacDonald House while also visiting there herself with her canine partner Opie.

Laurie Hardman (Connecting Canines Program Director and Project Canine board member) has over fifteen years service with several therapy animal organizations serving as an instructor, evaluator, and international student mentor while giving thousands of hours of Animal Assisted Therapy to people in need all over the Puget Sound region. Laurie began her therapy career with her two Portuguese Water Dogs Mandy and Rio, who were nationally ranked obedience champions. Laurie brings her unique combination of therapy and dog training experience together as a founder of Project Canine. Laurie has worked with her dogs at Swedish Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Ronald MacDonald House, and the Washington State Correctional Facility in Monroe among many others. As the founder of Sirius Healing/Sirius Fun Laurie brought therapeutic canine interactions to nursing and retirement facilities all over Seattle. Laurie was instrumental in the development of the highly regarded Reading with Rover program, has participated in the R.E.A.D. program, and has successfully trained therapy dogs to also serve as seizure alert service dogs. She is also an AKC CGC Evaluator. Laurie has been teaching the Project Canine Therapy Animal Preparation Class and the Project Canine Instructor and Evaluator Preparation Class, and conducting examinations on a regular basis since the inception of Project Canine. As Program Director Laurie conducts most Connecting Canines shadow visits, a role which allows her to connect personally as a mentor with most incoming Connecting Canines teams. She has most recently launched the Campus Canines program to provide stress relief to college students in the Puget Sound region. This program is immensely popular with recipients as well as with our teams and is expanding rapidly.

Monica Payson, MA PhC (Project Canine board president) has been providing Animal Assisted Therapy with her bullmastiffs for thirteen years. She was a Delta Society member for twelve years before moving to Connecting Canines. Monica has visited in many settings with a variety of populations including Swedish Hospital, multiple Seattle area nursing and retirement facilities, schools, children’s homes, and the King County juvenile court system. Her partner Marley was a nationally recognized therapy dog (Delta Society and American Kennel Club) who visited at Ronald MacDonald House for the year and a half after he completed chemo therapy for lymphosarcoma. Monica’s primary emphasis in her therapy work is animal assisted crisis response. She and her partner Ramona are members of the Snohomish County Critical Incident Stress Management Team providing stress relief services to first responders throughout northwest Washington. They are a nationally certified crisis response team through National Animal Assisted Crisis Response. Most recently she qualified for puppy certification with her new bullmastiff, Silas. Monica is a former educator who currently works as a freelance editor and writer. She has written about dogs for the last ten years and brings those skills to Connecting Canines’ ongoing education program. She is also an AKC CGC evaluator and a certified Connecting Canines examiner.

Mary Patterson (volunteer coordinator, Project Canine board member) brings her thirty-five years of business experience to managing Project Canine’s volunteers and volunteer data. After retiring several years ago, Mary was introduced to Animal Assisted Therapy through her Papillon, Misty. Since Misty came into her life Mary has pursued many training opportunities while also visiting regularly at Ronald MacDonald House. Misty and Mary have been a regular presence at Ronald MacDonald House since November 2008. In 2009 and again in 2010 Mary was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her many hours of volunteer work at Ronald MacDonald House. Mary is also a certified Connecting Canines Examiner.