WElcome to our team

Brie Blakeman, CEO, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA

She/Her

Organizational Leadership, Human-Centered Systems Thinking, Cooperative Care/Husbandry, Behavior Modification

Brie Blakeman is an executive leader, Certified Canine Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA), Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), Founder & CEO of Noble Woof Dog Training. She is an animal welfare leader, educator, and entrepreneur passionate about helping people, animals, and organizations thrive.

Over the past decade, Brie has built a reputation for combining organizational leadership with deep expertise in canine behavior, Human-centered systems thinking, and animal welfare. As Founder of Noble Woof, she grew the company from a solo training practice into a multi-service behavior and education organization serving the Portland metropolitan area.

Brie oversees all aspects of organizational leadership, including strategic planning, finance, human resources, operations, regulatory compliance, community partnerships, and staff development. She is particularly passionate about building high-trust cultures where both people and animals can thrive. Her leadership philosophy centers on communication, accountability, transparency, vulnerability and creating systems that empower others to succeed.

While Brie leads the organization's strategy and team development, she also maintains an active behavior consulting practice and has served more than 3,500 dogs and their families. Although her background includes extensive work with aggression, reactivity, and fear-related behavior, her current area of specialization is cooperative care; improving canine stress and anxiety during veterinary or grooming procedures. Her knowledge has been shaped through years of mentorship with former marine mammal trainer, Laura Monaco Torelli of Animal Behavior Training Concepts. Brie’s work focuses on helping dogs build confidence, agency, and resilience while supporting caregivers and professionals in creating lower-stress handling outcomes. Most recently, Brie has enjoyed stepping into the role of teacher’s assistant for Torelli’s Karen Pryor Academy Cooperative Care course, Husbandry at Home.

Before founding Noble Woof, Brie worked in the Training and Behavior Department at the Oregon Humane Society, where she educated adopters, trained volunteers, and conducted behavior assessments. That experience provided exposure to the operational realities of public animal services, including intake flow, adoption systems, resource constraints, and the importance of aligning service delivery with community needs. It continues to inform how she thinks about scalable systems, cross-functional coordination, and operational decision-making under constraint.

A frequent speaker and educator, Brie has appeared as a recurring behavior expert on KATU's Afternoon Live, presented at the Western Veterinary Conference, and served as a keynote speaker for Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s Science Pub.

Prior to her work in animal welfare, Brie spent more than a decade in a vibrant career as a professional circus artist, mindfulness educator, and entrepreneur. Those experiences continue to shape her belief that meaningful learning and lasting change emerge through trust, vulnerability, and authentic connection.

Brie lives with her fiancé Caralyn and their two dogs Yuka and Coltrane. When not developing Noble Woof, she enjoys Skijoring, Rally Obedience, and Trick Training with her canine companions. Her ten-year-old husky, Yuka, has earned Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert Trick Dog titles, has her NACSW ORT and NW1 titles, and has appeared in commercial work (featured on our TV & Media page).

Brie’s greatest teachers have and will always be the dogs and humans she has the honor of working with every day.

Brie credits her knowledge and work to Susan Friedman, Karen Pryor, Laura Monaco Torrelli, Leslie McDevitt, Suzanne Clothier, Jean Donaldson, Tanya Roberts, Donna Hill, Emma Parsons, Emily Larson, Annika McDade, Dr. Chris Pachel, Hannah Branigan, Grisha Stewart, Ken Ramirez, Pamela Reid, Patricia B. McConnell and many more!

Credentials:

• Certified Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA), through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

• Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

• Aggression In Dogs Master Course Graduate

• Bachelors of Arts in Business Development, Collaborative Design and Interdisciplinary Arts

 Katrina Gimbel, FDM

She/Her

Director of Operations

Katrina has worked with and been fascinated by dogs since June 2020 when she adopted a California street dog and weeks later started working at a dog daycare.

Katrina is an avid student of all things animal behavior, especially canine, with a special interest in the history and improvement of inter-species relationships.

Katrina’s dog Takaia came into her life with some challenging behaviors which led her down the path of study. She devoured as many scientifically focused dog training and animal behavior books and podcasts she could find. Katrina’s learning journey eventually and fortuitously led her to Brie Blakeman and the vast educational content Brie has created and shared with the world via Noble Woof. After completing the Noble Woof Training Foundations Course Katrina reached out to Brie to express her interest in working in the evidence-based, positive reinforcement dog training community and the rest is history!

It’s Katrina’s dream to get to work with the Noble Woof team where she can nerd-out with other behavior nerds!

When she’s not writing emails, making spreadsheets, or doing other operational stuffs, Katrina can be found (although she tries not to be) adventuring in nature and chasing sunrises with Takaia. You can check out their highlight reel @takaia_quyana

Credentials

• FDM, Family Dog Mediator Certification through Kim Brophey's Applied Ethology L.E.G.S.program

 Kaia Wilson, CPDT-KA, SAPBC, FDM

She/They

Reactivity/Aggression, Separation Anxiety, Adolescent Dogs, Behavior Modification, Positive Puppy Training

Kaia has been working with dogs professionally since 2013. She loves changing the way people see and understand our (captive) canine comrades!

Kaia’s mission as a dog trainer is to provide human dog guardians with a clear understanding of how dogs learn, as well as techniques and protocols for effecting positive behavior change using fun, compassion-centered methods, and to support the human side of the relationship while on the training journey together.

Kaia firmly believes in putting yourself in your dog’s paws. Treat your dog as you would like to be treated. Kaia applies this golden rule to their own dogs and their human and canine clients.

Alongside dog training, Kaia is also a lifelong musician. They are still active in with their band that started in 1993, Team Dresch, and is currently composing a rock opera based on thier wife’s rescue dog, Ponyo. She enjoys merging her love of dogs and music through Canine Freestyle dance moves with her dog Pocket.

Kaia splits their time between Portland and Los Angeles with her wife, Nicole, and their dogs Ponyo (a blind pomchi who is the actual boldest dog I’ve ever known), Pocket (a border collie rescue who has the most sublime submissive smile) and Lirael (a chihuahua who was born feral and who doubles as a fawn).

Credentials:

• Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

• Separation Anxiety Professional Behavior Consultant (SAPBC)

• Family Dog Mediator (FDM) through Kim Brophey's Applied Ethology L.E.G.S.program

Madeline Doss, CATCH (in progess)

She/Her

Associate Dog Trainer, Group Class assistant

 Madeline is a lifelong animal lover with eight years of experience in dog daycares, pet sitting, and dog walking. She left the daycare industry in 2019, but never stopped longing to work with animals in some form. In 2024 she adopted her dog Olive, a sensitive rescue mutt with several behavioral challenges, and quickly realized she wasn’t equipped to help Olive on her own. After an exceedingly disheartening search through the murky waters of online dog training, Madeline found Noble Woof.

Through working with Noble Woof to help Olive overcome her separation anxiety and reactivity, Madeline discovered she had a deep passion for positive reinforcement training. She spent her free time learning as much as she could about dog behavior, before eventually enrolling in CATCH Canine Training Academy. She is currently on track to graduate in 2027, with the hopes of becoming CSAT and CCPDT-KA certified beyond that. Madeline feels strongly that you should never stop continuing your education in this (or any!) industry, and she could not be more humbled and grateful to be learning under such a dedicated, inspiring team of people.

While she’s still brand new in her career, she knows that she wants to build it on the foundation of compassion and respect for struggling dogs and their guardians. She firmly believes in treating all creatures (humans included!) with kindness, patience, and empathy. Madeline is eager to help bridge the communication gap between dogs and their guardians, and to make training engaging and accessible for all parties.

When not working or studying, Madeline spends her free time reading, taking long walks in the city with Olive, crocheting, and having movie nights with friends.

Credentials:

• CATCH, with Canine Training Academy, in progress

 Meredith Jennings, CPDT-KA, KPA-CTP

She/Her

Puppy Training and Socialization, Reactivity and Fear, Adolescent Behavior, Adult Basic Manners, Puppy Playschool and Day Training facilitator

Meredith is committed to the well-being of dogs and the people who care for them. Her approach to dog training is rooted in compassion and scientific evidence, aiming to build strong, positive relationships between dogs and their guardians.

Meredith's enthusiasm for dog training started when she was a puppy raiser for a service dog organization in college. After teaching high school for five years, she switched from working with two-legged learners to teaching both two- and four-legged learners as a professional dog trainer. Meredith attended the Karen Pryor Academy where she developed a strong understanding of learning theory, clicker training, and how to shape desired behaviors. As a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner and Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed she taught group classes, puppy socials, and private consultations at the Arizona Humane Society along with working on behavior modification for dogs in the shelter.

One of Meredith’s favorite parts of working in a shelter was helping shy or fearful dogs find their confidence to explore the world around them and form bonds with new people!

Meredith followed her joy for both human and canine learners to Texas where she worked with a service dogs organization, training hearing and mobility assistance dogs. She specialized in assessing shelter dogs as possible service dog candidates, teaching basic manners and public access skills, along with advanced task training.

Meredith is passionate about helping dogs and their guardians learn how to communicate harmoniously with each other and build strong life-long bonds. She is dedicated to ongoing education and staying at the forefront of advancements in the field of dog training and behavior.

In her free time Meredith enjoys hiking, camping, and gardening with her husband and their two rescue dogs Winona and Penelope.

Credentials

• Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

• Certified Training Partner with the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA-CTP)

Priscilla Torres, KPA-CTP

She/Her

Private Training, Reactivity and Fear, Resource Guarding, Multi-dog households, Adolescent Behavior, Adult Basic Manners

Priscilla has loved dogs since a young age, despite growing up in a family that wasn’t a dog household. As she got older, she adopted rescue pitties, and now has two herding boys with whom who she loves training, working, and learning new things. Priscilla has done various dog sports with her pups, including rally, nose work, search and rescue sport, agility, and fun tricks. 

Priscilla got deep into her training journey when one of her dogs needed help existing in the world, and now has a soft spot for helping dogs with similar anxiety struggles. She’s a big believer in meeting dogs where they are, and setting goals that will help people and their pups thrive. 

Outside of dog stuff Priscilla is likely reading a book, hanging out with her husband and friends, or doing some house project. (But it’s mostly a lot of dog stuff.) 

Credentials

• Certified Training Partner with the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA-CTP)