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*Last year's info below
Speakers
Kelly Knight
Kelly is a National Certified Master Groomer, who has been grooming for over 20 years. She started competing in 2009 and won the 2010 Rising Star of the Year, while making GroomTeam USA top 10. This year, she made the top five. Kelly is also known for her exquisite work with creative abstract design, where she has multiple wins. She is the owner of Goin' to the Dogs in Cleveland, TN.
Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins
Jennifer has been grooming, breeding, and showing several breeds of dogs and cats for four decades. She opened Love Fur Dogs in Glencoe, Illinois and was later named "Best Groomer in Chicagoland" in 2015 by the Chicago Tribune. She was also featured on Season Three of the Hulu TV series "Small Business Revolution" as a Grooming Expert. A retired career teacher, an ICMG, and PGC credentialed, Jennifer is a grooming educator who also writes grooming articles and an award-winning blog. She founded the Illinois Professional Pet Groomers Association. Jennifer and her husband live with their retired show dogs, two miniature poodles and two Australian Shepherds. Jennifer looks forward to hosting groomer retreats in her new Forestway home in Virginia.
Nadia Bongelli
Nadia Bongelli has been grooming pets since 2009 and competing since 2012. Her accolades include Barkleigh Honors Up and Coming Groomer of the Year in 2016, Best All Around International Groomer at Intergroom 2017, five Rising Star Gold Medals, Rising Star of the Year award at Intergroom 2016, two Canadian BIS awards and had numerous Open Level placements in Canada and several in the United States. Nadia's proudest moment was being awarded Canadian Groomer of the Year at the very first Canadian Grooming Industry Awards. She is a Nationally Certified Master Groomer with the National Dog Groomers Assoc. of America, Inc. and a certifier with the Intellectual Groomers Association. Her ultimate goal is to represent her country on Groom Team Canada with her peers.
Dennis Brooks
Dennis Brooks is a second-generation, full-time Certified Master Sharpener with over 25 years of experience. Dennis and his wife Tonya are the owners of Sharp Edges Sharpening Service - IL and Hamaguri USA, where he manufactures sharpening equipment and provides training for those in the sharpening industry. Specializing in the sharpening and service of pet grooming tools and equipment, Dennis is dedicated to his craft and believes strongly in sharing that knowledge with his customers. He helps empower groomers to maintain their equipment, which makes their grooms easier, faster and more economical, as well as extending the life and performance of their valuable tools.
Elli Bultemeier
Elli found her passion for grooming over a decade ago when she started as a bather at PetSmart. Not long after training to be a groomer there, she moved to the private sector. She is an award-winning competition groomer, certified pet aesthetician, NCMG, and co-owner of Retro Stylist wear. In 2017, Elli started at Smoochie Pooch and currently wears many hats as she is currently a marketing development and regional manager, helping run a company with more than 7 locations and about 40 employees. She is passionate about helping the business grow and creating an employee first, compassionate work environment for her team.
Stephenie Calhoun
Stephenie Calhoun is a mobile groomer in the north suburbs of Chicago with 10 years' experience as a groomer. She is captain of the Illinois State Grooming team and Certified Instructor with Nash Academy. Stephenie specializes in rehabilitating difficult dogs and loves to add a little bit of flair to all of her haircuts.
Dave Campanella
Dave Campanella is an informative and entertaining seminar speaker, contributing trade columnist and genuine grooming enthusiast. He has over 30 years of pet industry knowledge, and has been Best Shot Pet Products sales, marketing, and product director for 15 years. He and his wife Tracy have co-owned a full service pet salon and self-wash in Ohio prior to relocating with Best Shot to Kentucky. Together they enjoy exhibiting at grooming shows, being industry ambassadors and showing their Kerry Blue Terriers, Lowland Polish Sheep Dog, and Samoyed.
Dana Chavez-Rey
Dana began her career in animal care as a lead veterinary technician at the North Peninsula Humane Society. In 2005, Dana and her husband founded A Purrfect Groomer, then after 10 years they ditched the salon and hit the road in their new mobile grooming van, bringing the care and attention they gave to their salon clients to them. In 2016, Dana joined the Intellectual Groomers Association as a founding member and was on staff as an expert in feline grooming. As a staff member of IGA, Dana traveled the country giving seminars on feline grooming and certifying qualified groomers. In 2018, she joined Andis as a feline educator and tours the country giving demos and presentations on feline grooming, feline grooming certifications and the benefits of Andis products.
Jonathan David
Jonathan David has been the recipient of multiple scissoring awards, multiple Best All Around Groomer awards and Best in Show earning him a position on GroomTeam USA in 2008 and 2009. Jonathan was also a contestant on Animal Planet's "Groomer Has It" and has been featured as a grooming expert on multiple television shows. Currently, Jonathan owns and operates his salon, Lap of Luxury Dog Spa in Delray Beach, Florida and is a board member of multiple dog clubs.
Teri DiMarino
An industry veteran, Teri has owned and operated successful salons and mobiles in Florida and California. A winning grooming contest competitor, Teri was a member of three GroomTeam USA Gold Medal teams. A multiple Barkleigh Honors and Cardinal Crystal Award winner, Teri was a regular columnist for Groomer to Groomer Magazine as well as a popular speaker and judge at seminars and trade shows across the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Misty Gieczys
Misty is an IGA Certified Master Groomer and has won many Best in Shows, Best All Around Groomer. She was on the US Gold Winning Model Dog Team in Taiwan and took BIS Creative. She won the Cardinal Crystal Grooming Achievement Award for her Charity "Groomers for Groomers." Nominated for Creative Groomer Barkleigh Honors and awarded IJA Creative Groomer. Misty started grooming in 2005 and helped open 3 other salons. She owns 2 upscale salons in Columbus Ohio with a staff of 15; Designer Paws Salon. 1st opened in 2013 and second in 2018 with receiving multiple service awards.
Denise Heroux
Denise Heroux owns Awesome Paws Pet Salon, a Cleveland-based chain with two locations and active plans for expansion. Awesome Paws fosters a healthy environment for employees and pets with a focus on employee investment and learning. While managing both locations and a staff of over 20 employees, Denise finds time to work with the Ohio Professional Pet Groomers Association, which she founded. The association focuses on setting a higher standard for pet safety, business-building opportunities, versatile learning experiences, and creating legislative fluidity in the industry. You may have listened to Denise on both the Women PetPreneurs and Small Business Hiring podcasts.
Judy Hudson
International Grooming Industry Speaker and Judge, Judy Hudson, holds an Associate Degree in Veterinary Technology and is a National Certified Master Groomer and certifier for the National Dog Groomers Association of America. Judy owns and operates Groomingtails Mobile Pet Grooming in Nashville, Tennessee. Judy has multiple Best in Shows and Best All Around Groomer awards to her credit and stayed in GroomTeam's top 10 groomers for four years. Having retired from the contest ring, Judy enjoys sharing her knowledge and experiences with new groomers. She is also a level V Rodan and Fields skin care consultant.
Meg Ioffredo
Meg Ioffredo has been a pet professional since 2012, beginning as a bather at a corporate salon. Since then, they have taken every continuing education opportunity available to them and proudly have numerous titles under their belt: certified Pet Tech instructor, certified feline master groomer, rabbit groomer, certified canine esthetician, fear free certified, and more! Now, they turn their gaze on being an educator to give back to their grooming community, with a focus on cat and rabbit grooming. They also run Elevation Media Management, a small business that can do everything from managing social media posting to graphic design. This interest in social media blossomed when Meg ran a successful house call business in Florida. They realized how powerful of a tool social media can be for businesses, and now they want to share with you!
Melissa Jepson
Melissa Jepson has owned the award-winning Pupscale Pet Salon in California since 2013. As a founding member of the Association of Holistic Pet Professionals, she believes in creating a soothing environment for all aspects of grooming. She is thrilled to partner with Precision Sharp to offer high-quality products and also enjoys teaching webinars through Pawsitive Educational Training when she isn't traveling. Nearly two decades of experience and a comprehensive knowledge base have made it possible to impart a fresh take with practical applications to her students which she hopes they'll use long after the seminar has ended.
Milena Kon
Milena started off in graphic design and direct sales before realizing that she wanted to do more with animals. So, she went into grooming in 2013. She is now the owner of Driving Me Knots (Mobile Grooming), DMK Bowtique (Pet Accessories), and DMK Marketing Solutions (Custom Graphic Designs). She started competing in Extreme Creative Styling & Creative Abstract grooming contests in 2015, and won Up-and-Coming Creative Groomer that same year. Her creative work has also been seen on "The Greatest Showman" with Hugh Jackman and "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix. She was awarded the Barkleigh Honors Creative Groomer of the Year in 2018.
Jameson Kon
Jameson has a degree in International Business Management & Marketing, and has always had interests in working with animals at a young age. After working for a massive online retail company, managing over 300+ employees amongst 7 different call centers both domestically and internationally, he decided to jump right into the world of grooming with his wife, Milena. Now the proud owner of Driving Me Knots (Mobile Grooming), DMK Bowtique (Pet Accessories), and DMK Marketing Solutions (Custom Graphic Designs), his ability to multi-task and market the companies since 2013 is only the beginning for the DMK branding.
Angela Kumpe
Internationally renowned creative stylist and instructor, Angela Kumpe has more placements in creative styling than anyone, worldwide. She won the first ever Barkleigh Honors Award for Creative Competitor. She is the author of A Creative Collection, a step-by-step guide to creative styling. Angela's work has been featured on Animal Planet, TLC, The Today Show, Regis and Kelly, and ABC Nightline as well as in The New York Times and on the cover of Groomer to Groomer magazine. Angela is the owner of Angela's Grooming and Pet Spa in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Jodi Murphy, NCMG, MPS
Jodi, NCMG and MPS, Meritus, owns the Puppy Spa Mobile Grooming Salon in New Jersey. Jodi was a four-year member of Groom Team USA and ended the 2004 season as #1 team member. She won Best American Groomer in 2005 and 2006 at Intergroom, and in 2006 she won the World Championship title in the Oster Invitational Tournament of Champions. Jodi has also won gold and bronze medals in 2005 in Barcelona Spain and a gold medal in 2007 in Milan Italy. Jodi has produced an instructional DVD Series for all levels of grooming, designed her own line of grooming apparel for groomers which is made in the USA, and written top selling grooming books.
Samantha Palya
Samantha Palya started her grooming career in the year of 1996 at Great Lakes Academy of Professional Pet Styling. She entered her first competition at the All American Grooming Show in 1996. From then she earned placements in poodles, and handstripping in her division. She was awarded Best Groomer and Best Groomed Dog in Show for a handstripped terrier at Groom Expo in 1998. At the age of 21 she opened Absolutely Pawfect Pet Styling. Samantha apprentices to help give opportunities to future pet care professionals. She holds certificates for CPR and Pet Safety, Skin and Hair, Salon Sanitation, Canine Body Language, Dog Gurus College, Pricing for profits, and many more.
Adriane Pope
Adriane Pope is an award-winning Pet stylist in Breed Profile and Creative Grooming. Her specialty is extreme creative styling and creative abstract design. Adriane is owner/groomer of Adriane's Groom and Go Mobile Grooming in Conway, SC., and also the owner of Rivertown Bed and Biscuit Luxury Kennel since 2004. She has 24 years of grooming experience, and has been mobile for 22 years. She started competing in breed profile in 1997 and started the creative world in 2004.
Victor Rosado
With 26 years of experience in professional grooming and conformation, Victor Rosado is a NCMG with NDGAA, ICMG, and is a certifier with IPG, as well as a Grooming Contest Judge and a Licensed All Breeds Conformation Judge for FCPR/FCI. As a competitive groomer, Victor Rosado is a multiple Best All Around and Best in Show winner, and one of the top groomers on GroomTeam USA. Victor is a member of American Spaniel Club, an AKC Breeder of Merit, and an exhibitor of American Cocker Spaniels for 20 years with multiple Best in Show and Best in Specialty Shows wins. Victor is also an Oster Ambassador in Latin America and owner of Davis Puerto Rico.
Kelsey Ann Sexton
Kelsey Ann Sexton is an award winning Nationally Certified Master Groomer, International Speaker and Journalist with two decades of Professional Pet Grooming experience. She owns an award winning salon outside of Nashville, TN that focuses on customer relationships for routine pet grooming services. Kelsey was nominated for Barkleigh Honors Speaker of the Year in 2022 and 2023. She has a passion for continued education in the Pet Grooming Industry collaborating with several brands to help everyday pet groomers both seasoned and new.
Elena Volnova
Elena Volnova is a co-founder of Dog Fashion Spa brand and PetStore Direct distribution company. She has over 10 years of retail, e-commerce and marketing experience in the dog grooming industry.