IAABC Foundation

Alejandra Lopez Irala is a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant, CCBC. She is the owner of Rasca y Pica in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose goal is to help everyone learn about cats and highlight their welfare.
Her life focuses on the domestic feline so she can help people better understand and relate to their pets, leading to a stronger bond and a more rewarding relationship between animal and human.
She loves teaching others through writing, behavior consulting on all things cat related, including feline behavior. She is an active member of Pet Professional Guild, Member of International Companion Animal Network, and Fear Free.
Ale is passionate about continuing education and has completed university level veterinary extension courses, AVEPA, Karen Pryor Academy, NAC, Maddie’s Fund. She has a degree in Management as well as being a Veterinary Assistant for over 8 years and has worked many times at the University of Florida at Operation Catnip. She has worked in organizations, rescues, and with pet owners throughout Argentina and part of the USA. She is currently completing her degree in Environmental Management.

Dr. Ilona Rodan is a feline specialist with ISFM Advanced Certification in Feline Behaviour with Distinction. She is a past-president and active volunteer of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association. Rodan co-chaired the 2024 Intercat Tension Guidelines, as well as other guidelines, an educational toolkit, and feline welfare position statements. She presents internationally on feline medicine and behavior, and leads workshops on cat-friendly interactions and handling. In her spare time, she loves spending time outdoors in nature and spending time with her family.

Lisa Stemcosky (she/her) is the owner of PawLitically Correct, a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant (CCBC) and Shelter Behavior Affiliate (SBA) with the International Association for Animal Behavior Consultants, and a Fear Free Certified Trainer. With over 16 years of experience in private behavior consulting, shelter behavior, and behavior modification, she provides comprehensive support to cat guardians locally and internationally.

Based in Washington, DC, Lisa specializes in behavior plans tailored through species-specific training and environmental modifications. She spent a decade at the Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA), where she developed training plans, performed behavior work with both cats and dogs, and supported adopters and
fosters via consultations and group classes.

Lisa has delivered workshops at shelters and national conferences and served as Cat Division Chair for the IAABC, where she is now a Board member. From 2017 to 2021, she mentored shelters nationwide through the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive Pro program.

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Maggie O’Brian completed her undergraduate degree in Animal Nutrition at Ohio State University and graduated from the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2017. Following graduation, Dr. O’Brian worked in an emergency and primary care practice for one year before completing a 3-year residency training program in Behavioral Medicine at Ohio State in 2021. In October of 2021, she earned her board certification in behavior.

Dr. O’Brian is the managing partner at a behavior specialty practice in Charlotte, NC, as well as the managing partner at a consulting service to help pets with behavior problems across the country.

Dr. O’Brian lives in Charlotte with her husband, Colin, her son, Wally, and her Beagle mix, Mashed Potatoes.

Misty Hampton, CCBC, FFCP, is an educator, and a cat trainer and behavior consultant. She has been teaching for over 25 years. Her experience includes working with a local home-schooling community, tutoring high school students, teaching summer classes for the local science museum, and leading a birding club through Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation. She is a certified resilience and wellbeing coach through the Youth Coaching Institute, and she brings her coaching skills into working with clients.
Misty has always loved animals. She worked at a cat rescue for two years before starting her business, Fellow Creatures Pet Consulting. Her passion is helping people better understand misunderstood animals. She shares her life with her husband Jesse and their five cats: Linus, Jasper, Abigail, Pearl, and Piper.

Joey Lusvardi is a an IAABC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and Accredited Professional Feline Trainer. He runs Class Act Cats where he helps cat parents solve behavior concerns using science backed, modern, and ethical behavior modification methods. As part of his work, he creates free resources on his award winning blog and YouTube channel.

Joey holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree from Concordia University. He started working with cats following his normally very sweet cat developing aggressive behaviors toward him and wanted to help others who struggle to figure out what to do with their own cats. Because of his strong background in the behavioral sciences and behavioral health, working with cats came naturally to him. He currently lives with his two feline overlords, Poutine and Prozac, in Minneapolis, MN.

Dr. Pankratz graduated with her veterinary degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2014 and pursued a small animal rotating internship in New York. She completed her behavioral medicine residency program at North Carolina State University and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2018. She stayed on at NC State for her fellowship and as a clinical instructor before joining the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, OR in 2019. She teaches veterinary behavior to the public, veterinary students, and fellow veterinarians through conferences hosted throughout the US and Canada.