Don Cherry

Join us for a conversation with Alison Leslie and Sanjoni Sethi talk about the human animal bond within the context of EMDR. Alison Leslie, LCSW, SEP, is an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Trainer and Consultant whose work explores the intersection of EMDR, somatic therapy, and the human-animal bond. She is particularly interested in sentience-centered approaches that honor animals as relational partners and in how embodied connection with animals can support safety, attachment, regulation, and trauma healing.Sanjoni Sethi is an RCI-registered Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist based in Delhi NCR, India, with over six years of experience. Her work draws on psychodynamic, relational and trauma-informed approaches, integrating EMDR, parts work and animal-assisted elements. She writes about relationships, emotional life, attachment, trauma and the possibilities of repair and connection.

Join us to hear Melina Jacques talk about her new book, What it Really Means to Love Dogs: A Cultural and Ethical Exploration. The book examines the social and ethical consequences of the modern elevation of dogs. It explores how dog devotion has become intertwined with moral identity, social expectations, and ideas about virtue and belonging, while examining the often-overlooked costs to people, other animals, and the environment. The book challenges widely held assumptions about what it means to love dogs and asks who bears the consequences when an animal becomes a cultural ideal. Melina Jacques is an independent researcher and writer whose work examines the cultural, historical, and symbolic dimensions of human-dog relationships. She has spent many years researching the subject across animal studies, psychology, sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy, ethics, and related fields.

Join us to learn about Joni Delanoeije’s recent publication in HAI. Joni Delanoeije is a psychologist, ethologist and business economist. She is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in organizational psychology and human-animal interaction at KU Leuven (Belgium), funded by the Research Foundation Flanders, and is also board member of the International Association for Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO). Combining insights from social psychology and anthrozoology, she aims to further the transdisciplinary understanding of human-animal psychological processes across organizational, societal and everyday life contexts to ultimately improve people and animal well-being.Check out the IAHAIO White Paper HERE

Join us to hear about Don Cherry's latest publication. Don Cherry is a PhD student in Pathobiology and Biomedical Science at the University of Missouri, studying mammalian behavior, welfare, and the connection on both ends of the leash. His research integrates behavioral, biological, and human perceptual measures to better understand animals’ experiences during training and in their environments.

Listen to Kimberly Illeah Marie Francisco talk about her recent publication. Kimberly is a licensed psychologist and a graduate of the pioneering batch of the Straight Bachelor of Arts–Master of Arts (SABMA) in Psychology program at Angeles University Foundation (AUF) in Angeles City, Pampanga. Her research interests include human–animal interactions, their implications for mental health, and the potential integration of human–animal interaction into clinical practice to promote psychological well-being and inform therapeutic interventions.

Join us to hear about Dr. Suárez-Yera's recent publication. Dr. Claudia Suárez-Yera is a researcher at the University of Almería (HUM-743 research group), where her work focuses on psychometric and theoretical models of attitudes toward animals from an intergroup perspective. Together with her team, they developed the HERA model and the HERAS instrument, and she has also worked on research addressing social inequalities and self-perceived health among immigrant and refugee women.

Learn about Catharina’s latest publication. Dr. Catharina Carlsson is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She holds a PhD in Social Work, with research focusing on Equine-Assisted Social Work and the role of horses in relational processes involving young people with complex needs and professionals in residential care settings. With a lifelong engagement with horses, her research has increasingly developed from exploring horses as relational partners in social work practice toward the multispecies turn in social work. Her current work examines how relationships between humans and other animals challenge anthropocentric understandings of social work, with particular attention to relationality, agency, participation, ethics, and justice. Through the emerging framework of Relational Multispecies Justice, her research seeks to extend social work’s relational and ecological traditions by recognizing other animals as sentient participants in shared communities of care, interdependence, and flourishing.

Learn how topical pet flea and tick preventives impacts our water and our environment from Stephanie Hughes, a registered Chemical Engineer with 30 years of experience in water quality and regulatory compliance. Stephanie teaches at Santa Clara University and advises California municipalities. Since 2014, Stephanie has been evaluating less-toxic options to on-pet topical flea control due to water quality and public health concerns.

Join us as we talk with Christopher Morales about his latest publication. Christopher is a science educator and college instructor with a broader background in education andapplied research. His recent work has also examined human–animal interaction and disability access, including questions surrounding how ADA requirements may be expanded to avian species. 

Join us to hear about Christine Olsen's latest publication. Dr.Christine Olsen is an ethologist and CEO of the International Community of Anthrozoology, with a PhD in public health science focusing on the effects of animals on human health. With a lifelong commitment to understanding animals asindividuals and promoting their welfare, she is, together with Line Sandstedt, the co-developer of the Animal Personality and Welfare Assessment – ICofA (APWA-ICofA), a structured method for understanding animal personality, emotional responses, coping capacity, and welfare-relevant needs.