2027 Keynotes

Paul Bunker

Keynote Address

Paul Bunker is the Founder and Principal of Chiron K9 LLC and has dedicated nearly half a century to the training, handling, and development of working dogs across military, law enforcement, conservation, environmental, and research applications. A former British Army Royal Army Veterinary Corps canine instructor, he is recognized internationally for his contributions to detection dog training, canine olfaction research, and the advancement of evidence-based practices within the working dog community.

Aimee Hurt

Conservation K9 Keynote

Aimee is a co-founder and Director of Special Projects at Working Dogs for Conservation. She feels very grateful to have been part of helping the field of conservation dogs get a foothold in the US in the late 1990s, and continue its growth around the world over the last few decades.

Aimee’s had the opportunity to partner with a number of very talented dogs in service to over 50 imperiled species in over a dozen countries. She enjoys jumping into the deep end with new and challenging projects and mentoring new conservation dog programs, trainers, and handlers.

Simon Prins

Keynote- K9 detection meets technology

Simon Prins is an internationally recognized K9 innovator, author, and speaker with more than 30 years of experience in operational dog training, animal learning, and technology. After serving for over 25 years in the Dutch Police Special Operations, he pioneered programs in hard surface tracking, laser guidance, radio directed camera dogs, and advanced detection dog training.

Working alongside legendary trainers Bob and Marian Bailey profoundly shaped his scientific approach to animal learning. Today, Simon focuses on bridging the gap between behavioral science, technology, and operational K9 work.

His presentations explore how robotics, sensors, artificial intelligence, and objective measurement can strengthen rather than replace the working dog. From robots working alongside detection dogs to electronic systems that improve reliability, calibration, and double blind training, Simon demonstrates how technology can help trainers better understand, support, and trust the extraordinary capabilities of dogs.

As founder of ACT! and creator of innovative K9 training systems used worldwide, Simon continues to challenge conventional thinking while helping police, military, customs, and professional trainers build more reliable, science based detection dogs.


Cynthia M. Otto, DVM, PhD, DACVECC, DACVSMR

Keynote- Managing occupational hazards of working dogs

Dr. Otto, a tenured Professor Emeritus of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine is board certified in veterinary emergency medicine/critical care and canine sports medicine/rehabilitation. As former executive director and founder of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (www.vet.upenn.edu/WDC ), she oversaw fitness and medical care of the program’s detection dogs, provided rehabilitation and conditioning for police and other working dogs and conducted vital research on and by detection dogs.  With over 150 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters, she is an internationally recognized expert in both emergency medicine and working dog science. She was Pennsylvania’s 2002 “Veterinarian of the Year”, received Ohio State’s Distinguished Alumnus Award (2008), AVMA’s Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year (2018), Mark Bloomberg Award (2019) and Asa Mays DVM, Excellence in Canine Health Research award (2021) and the AVMA Career Achievement in Canine Research Award (2025).

Lindsay D. Waldrop, Ph.D.

Keynote- The role of head morphology in odor detection by dogs

Lindsay Waldrop, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) earned a BS in biology with a minor in physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently an associate professor in the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University in Orange, CA. Her research program focuses on fluid-structure interactions in biology, including odor detection by domestic dogs.


Sally Dickinson, PHD

Keynote- Lessons from Human First Responders on Conditioning for Performance and Stress Resilience

Sally has dedicated her life to training, handling, and coaching search and rescue dog teams worldwide. Alongside her 20-year career as a firefighter/paramedic and technical rescue specialist, she has trained and deployed SAR dogs at local, national, and international levels, a combined experience that gives her a first-hand view of the parallels between human tactical athletes and working dogs. She holds a PhD in Applied Animal Behavior from Virginia Tech, where her research examines the intersection of welfare and performance in SAR and conservation detection dogs. Sally is dedicated to advancing SAR dog training through science-based, practical instruction that helps handlers and dogs excel in mission-ready deployments.