PEAK K9s for Kids is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children through animal-assisted social-emotional learning programs.

I have always had a love of animals and nature, so majoring in biology was a natural choice. I graduated from James Madison University in 1999 with a B.S. in Biology and a secondary education certification. I taught high school Biology and Earth Science for 11 years in Rockingham County Public Schools, where I loved connecting with students and helping them connect with plants, animals, and the planet we all share.

I have also been an agility competitor since 1999 and began teaching dog training classes and private lessons part-time. In 2010, I took a break from classroom teaching to teach dogs and their people full-time, starting Peak Performance Dog Sports. Through Peak Performance, I teach a combination of classes and private lessons in agility, barn hunt, obedience, rally, tricks, and nose work.

In 2014, I decided to bring both of my passions, teaching children and working with dogs, into one program called PEAK K9s for Kids. PEAK K9s for Kids is an animal-assisted social-emotional learning program designed to help young people build confidence, connection, responsibility, and the skills they need to face challenges and make positive choices.

Through PEAK K9s for Kids, we have offered camps, demonstrations, and school visits. More recently, we have begun developing a program that brings students and shelter dogs together. With guidance and support, students help train shelter dogs and build skills that may make those dogs more adoptable. At the same time, students practice patience, communication, empathy, responsibility, and trust. It truly is a win-win for both ends of the leash.

I returned to education in 2019, teaching for a semester in an alternative program in the city. Then, in 2021, I began working in a middle school as the in-school intervention coordinator, also known as ISS. After a worldwide pandemic, working with middle school students who had just been removed from class was challenging, meaningful, and exactly the kind of work that reminded me how much students need connection, support, and a chance to repair.

That experience led me to the Restorative Justice in Education program at Eastern Mennonite University. The district was seeking staff to join a cohort for a 15-credit certificate, and I loved the classes so much that I decided to continue and earn my master’s degree. I continued my work in alternative education with the help of Vixen, my real-life therapy dog, whose steady presence with students helped bring the mission of PEAK K9s for Kids to life in a deeper way.