MEET OUR TEAM

Our team are looking forward to getting to know you and your dog.

Lisbeth Borg de Waard

Lisbeth Borg de Waard

Owner and Manager, based in Norway

Lisbeth is Principal of the International Dog Trainer School and the founder of Nordic Education Centre for Dog Trainers.

She was certified as a dog trainer by internationally-renowned dog trainer and behaviourist Turid Rugaas and has 21 years’ experience with problem solving and behaviour in dogs.

Lisbeth is a former college and university lecturer in Norway.

Eva Navarrete

Eva Navarrete

Executive Assistant, based in Spain

Eva has been an assistant in international research institutes for 15 years, and she now supports the Nordic Education Center for Dog Trainers in administrative matters.  She lives in Barcelona and speaks English, Spanish and Catalan. She is also a dog and animal lover and lives with her two rescue dogs, Nina and Scout.
Jonas Christensen

Jonas Christensen

Faculty Member and Quality Manager, based in Norway

Jonas specialises in pedagogy, instruction methods, course quality and first aid for humans and for dogs.

The past 18 years he has worked with developing training courses for the Norwegian Ambulance and Police.

Elena Kichinskaia

Elena Kichinskaia

Teacher, based in Estonia

Originally from Russia, Elena lives in Tallinn, Estonia and speaks fluent English, French, German and Russian.

She is a co-founder of ‘Redog’ and has worked as both a trainer and a behaviourist. Elena is constantly updating her knowledge by attending in-house training and external courses, including Specialising in Dog Aggression and Sensory Integration.

Elena is currently studying to be Massage Therapist with Galen Myotherapy.

Amber Batson

Amber Batson

Teacher

Dr. Amber Batson graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London as a veterinarian and surgeon in 1999. She has researched companion animal welfare, including subjects relating to responsible pet ownership, and psychoneuroimmunology, a branch of veterinary medicine that deals with the influence of emotional states (such as stress) and nervous system activities on the immune system. Dr. Batson has undertaken voluntary work for international animal charities including a position as welfare consultant for WPA.

Lyubov Elupova

Lyubov Elupova

Teacher and mentor

Originally from Russia, now living in Bulgaria with her rescue dog Heidi. She is a graduate from Turid Rugaas International Dog Trainer Education in Spain and a co-founder of the Smiling Leash Project. Lyubov has several additional courses in dog behaviour and training including specializing in dog aggression and in puppy courses. Lyubov is working full time with individual consultations and classes in Sofia, Bulgaria and teaching at Nordic Dog Trainer.

Turid Rugaas

Turid Rugaas

Author and Dog Trainer, based in Norway

Turid Rugaas is a world-renowned Norwegian author and dog trainer. She has published several books and DVDs including the popular best seller On Talking Terms with Dogs.

Turid is famous for her pioneering work in how dogs communicate, and has identified over 30 ‘calming signals’ that have since helped many dog trainers, behaviourists and ethologists understand dog language.

In 2017, Turid was awarded the King’s Badge of Honour by His Majesty King Harald VI of Norway, in recognition of her contribution to the field of canine behaviour over the last 40 years.

Stephanie Rousseau

Stephanie Rousseau

Teacher, based in dublin

Steph is a dog trainer and canine behaviour consultant based in Dublin. She has been working with dogs since 2013 and holds a certificate in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour in addition to Turid Rugaa’s Int. Dog Trainer’s Education.
Steph has published 2 books:  ‘Office Dogs: The Manual’ was published by Hubble & Hattie, and ‘How to Raise a Puppy: A Dog-Centric Approach’, co-authored with the inimitable Turid Rugaas. Both books has subsequently been published internationally and multi-lingually.
She has appeared on Irish television and radio, as well as on radio stations and podcasts in the UK, US and Australia. She has spoken internationally on a range of dog-related topics, and is passionate about education as a means of improving canine welfare.
Her non-dog related qualifications include an honours degree from Trinity College Dublin, where she held a Foundation Scholarship, and an MPhil from Cambridge University.
Lisa Dickel

Lisa Dickel

Teacher, based in Norway

Originally from Germany. Lisa lives in Trondheim, Norway.
To combine her interest in science and dogs, Lisa runs the journal club “Tiny Science Chats”. She is currenlty a PhD candidate in evolutionary ecology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and since 2022 also teaching at the Nordic Education Centre for Dog Trainers.
Julia Robertson

Julia Robertson

Teacher

Julia Robertson is the founder and global head of the Galen Myotherapy organisation. Established in 2002, Julia was one of the very first in the UK to treat and understand the effects of adaptive change in dogs.
In this time she has treated over 8,000 dogs and trained hundreds of people in Galen Myotherapy techniques. She is considered an expert, pioneer and leader in her field of Canine Myotherapy both in the UK and worldwide. 
Julia is a published author of three books and has produced two DVD’s including ‘Tongue to Tail’ which was the winner of the coveted US Maxwell Award – from the Dog Writers Association of America in 2012.

Trainees

Alessandra Trona

Alessandra Trona

Belgium

Janne G. Jensen

Janne G. Jensen

Denmark

Kateryna Volkova

Kateryna Volkova

Ukraine

Robert Kotrc

Robert Kotrc

Austria

Marianne de Leuween

Marianne de Leuween

Netherlands

Chrysa Tsipi

Chrysa Tsipi

Greece

Evy Kapanieri

Evy Kapanieri

Greece

Elena Belaya

Elena Belaya

Russia