Laura's lifelong fascination with canines, especially their unique ability to work alongside humans, inspires her every day in the field. She loves training and deploying the CDCI Finder-Keeper teams to support clients in their critical conservation efforts. Laura’s ability to bring people together for the greater good and natural leadership skills truly shine in her “let’s do it!” attitude. She understands the interconnectedness all species have with each other and is honored to be working alongside dogs to make a difference in the health of our planet. Driven by her boundless curiosity about how dogs think, learn and detect scent, Laura has spent more than a decade as a professional in the fields of scent-detection, nose work and dog training. She is a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI™) through the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NASCW) and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) through the CCPDT. Laura has also trained for obedience and agility. In addition to her involvement with Conservation Dogs Collective, Laura is also owner of Connecting with Dogs, co-founder of the Force Free Trainers of Wisconsin, and has a long list of continuing education credits. Her two Labrador Retrievers, Ernie & Betty White, are her current canine partners for detection work and she oversees the training for all of the organization's Finder-Keeper teams. Pronouns: she, hers