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.

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.

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. Radosta is a board certified veterinary behaviorist and owner of Florida Veterinary Behavior Service since 2006.

She lectures nationally and internationally for veterinarians, their staff and lay people. She has written book chapters for textbooks including Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat; Blackwell’s Five Minute Veterinary Consult and Canine and Feline and Small Animal Pediatrics. She is the coauthor of From Fearful to Fear Free, out April 2018.

She has published scientific research articles in Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science and The Veterinary Journal and written review articles for Advances in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Compendium, NAVC Clinician’s Brief and AAHA Newstat. She is the section editor for Advances in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. She serves on the Fear Free Executive Council and the AAHA Behavior Management Task Force.

She has been interviewed for many publications including Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Palm Beach Post, NAVC Clinician’s Brief, Sun Sentinel, WebMD, AAHA trends, Real Simple, Chewy, and AAHA News Stat. She has appeared on Lifetime television, Laurie Live, News Channel 25 (West Palm Beach, WPBF), Mitch Wilder's Amazing Pet Discoveries, Nat Geo Wild, Animal Planet, News Channel 10 (Miami, ABC), and Steve Dale's Pet Talk. She podcasts and teaches webinars for VetGirl and Dog Nerds.