The Story
The Family Dog Mediation Education Center was established in 2020 as a project of the Dog Door Canine Services, LLC. The Dog Door was established in 2001 by Kim Brophey and has provided direct client support for dog behavior and training cases in the WNC region as well as educational courses/seminars for colleges, universities, and conferences nationally and internationally.
With the rapid growth of and demand for the L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional Course upon the establishment of the Family Dog Mediation Education Center, Kim was forced to choose between the continuation of her local facility operations or the online educational platform in 2024. Given the profound importance that Kim observed in extending the reach of applied ethology education to the pet dog industry, the Dog Door Canine Services was sold to trusted colleague FDMs so that the grassroots mission of the L.E.G.S. Initiative – L.E.G.S. in Motion – could be furthered and expanded for the benefit of dogs and their families.
Kim Brophey and the FDM leadership team are fully dedicated to the proliferation of welfare education and its practical application in the industry, and work closely with colleagues around the world in a range of collaborations, projects, and resource development strategies to make welfare provision accessible to dog lovers everywhere.
The FDM leadership team is fully dedicated to the proliferation of welfare education and its practical application in the industry. We work closely with colleagues around the world in a range of collaborations, projects, and resource development strategies to make welfare provision accessible to dog lovers everywhere.
Our Team
Behind every course, resource, event, and community initiative the Family Dog Mediation Education Center offers, is a passionate leadership team dedicated to advancing welfare education and its application in the industry.
Our leadership team is made up of Division Heads, Library Team members, and administrative leaders who work collaboratively to bring the principles of the LEGS Model, Total Welfare, and Behavioral Diversity to the forefront of the pet dog world. Together, we are committed to fostering a deeper understanding of dogs as complex individuals, empowering professionals and guardians alike, and creating meaningful change in the way we support the welfare of animals.
United by a shared vision, our team strives every day to expand access to science-based education, build a thriving professional community, and help shape a future where welfare-informed practices are the standard—not the exception.
Our Leadership
Danielle Smith
Family Dog Mediation Administrator
Danielle Smith, CPDT-KA, CSAT, LFDM-T,S, FDM-BDWA, is the Administrator for all things Family Dog Mediation. She has worked not only on the animal shelter side of things but also in the training and behavior world seeing clients as well as teaching group classes. Her goals now involve working behind the scenes to continue to spread the important work that the Family Dog Mediation Education Center is doing with L.E.G.S., Total Welfare, and Behavioral Diversity.
Jamie Shellington
Library Team Leader
Jamie Shellington, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, LFDM-L, is Library Team Leader for the Family Dog Mediation Education Center. Within FDM, her focus is collaborating on projects, resource creation, and maintaining the resource library for the FDM community. Through the lens of L.E.G.S ® and Total Welfare, her outside work is devoted to bridging the communication gap between pet dogs and their families; supporting the human-end of the leash on the journey to more deeply understanding who their dog is and what they need.
Laura Gendron
Handling Division Head
Laura Gendron, CPDT-KA, LFDM-H, is the Handling & Care Division Head for the Family Dog Mediation Education Center. Her work focuses on developing education and resources around handling, husbandry, grooming, veterinary care, and cooperative care through a Total Welfare lens. She helps professionals consider the emotional experience, communication, L.E.G.S.®, and ability to safely participate for both the dog and the humans involved in hands-on care.
Andrew Marrangoni
Support Pros Division Head
Andrew Marrangoni, LFDM-SP,T,W, FFCP, is the head of our Support Pros Division. Andrew started his career as a dog walker and quickly decided to follow his passion for behavior. He started Steel City Pack Leader and has expanded his offerings to include an entrepreneurial development program to support pet care professionals with the tools, education, and support they need to grow and succeed.
Angie Cook
Sheltering Division Head
Angie Cook, CDBC, CBCC-KA, LFDM-B,S, is the head of the Sheltering division for Family Dog Mediation. She has spent over 15 years working professionally with dogs in many capacities. She was the Director of the Asheville Humane Society for several years and worked very hard to create a behavior program at a time when it wasn’t as prevalent. Angie currently serves as the Director for Canine Cohesion.
Delores Carter
Training Division Co-Head
CDBC, LFDM-T,B, UW-AAB, KPA-CTP, is Co-Head of the Training Division for Family Dog Mediation. Based in Michigan, she founded Learning Dog Behavior & Enrichment Services on a simple belief: that dogs and their families deserve a good life together. Within FDM, her deepest goal is helping the next generation of mediators bring that belief to life through the principles of L.E.G.S., Total Welfare, and Behavioral Diversity.
Lisa Rynston-Lobel
Training Division Co-Head
Lisa Rynston-Lobel, VSA-CDT, LFDM-T, is the co-leader of the Family Dog Mediation Training Division. As a trainer, Lisa uses FDM, L.E.G.S.® and the Total Welfare Model to make sure the welfare needs of her clients are met. She works with both the dogs and particularly the humans to help them understand how their dog’s behavior is directly linked to the dog’s Total Welfare. As the co-leader of the training division, Lisa, her co-leader, Delores, and the entire division are working to develop creative ways to work with clients and their dogs using all things FDM, L.E.G.S® and Total Welfare to figure out why problematic behaviors are occurring and to develop simple, effective methods to handle these issues.
Helen St.Pierre
Behavior Division Head
Helen St. Pierre, CDBC, CPDT-KSA, LFDM-B, FDM-BDWA is head of the Behavior Division for Family Dog Mediation. She has been involved in the professional behavior and training industry for over 20 years and is incredibly passionate about helping people understand dogs for who they are, and helping them live together happily. Helen’s goals within the FDM community is to help encourage curiosity, diminish conflict, and come to a better understand of how we can be helping dog thrive better in today’s society.
Sarah Dixon
Working Division Head
Sarah Dixon, CDBC, LFDM-B,T,W is the head of our Working Division. She has been in the training and behavior industry for over 20 years. She has worked many complex cases in different environments including chaotic cities. Sarah and her dogs enjoy competing in different dog sports. She currently owns and operates Barks & Recreation in British Columbia Canada.
Sarah Batcher
Library Team Member
Sarah Batcher, CVT, BS, VTS-Behavior, LFDM- Handling & Care, CBCC-KA, LSSC, FFCP, specializes in canine and feline behavior- incorporating Total Welfare® for each family she partners with. Drawing on her own experience as an AuDHD person, Sarah believes that lasting behavior change starts with understanding each individual pet and owner, offering compassionate, tailored support for fear, anxiety, and aggression to pet owners and veterinary professionals in their homes, in the vet clinic, and virtually throughout North America.
Megan Synk
Library Team Member
Megan Synk, CBCC-KA, LFDM-L,S, FFCP, FDM-BDWA serves as a member in the Shelter Division and is the Facebook Coordinator in the Library Division. She helps facilitate and guide discussions toward L.E.G.S® and the Total Welfare principles while actively advancing the grassroots movement through engagement with both the community and shelter professionals.
Cheryl Salvador
Library Team Member
LFDM-T, IAABC-ADT, is a member of our Family Dog Mediation Library Team. She works hard behind the scenes on creating handouts, social media posts, and creating copy for the FDM community. Cheryl has a passion for educating others about Aspins (free living Filipino dogs) as bringing the L.E.G.S. and Total Welfare models to the people she works with.
