Meet Your Instructor

Carolyn has been teaching dog owners at The Dog Alliance since 2008.  She has been credentialed as a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT_KA), American Kennel Club Evaluator (AKC CGC), and therapy dog evaluator since 2009.  She has been a therapy dog handler since 2005. 

As an educator of humans who are deaf and hard of hearing, Ms. Honish is skilled at adapting her teaching methods to meet the needs of her human and canine students.  She has been providing leadership for the Bow Wow Therapy Dog program at the Dog Alliance since 2009.  

Cindy lives for adventure, whether it's traveling or competing in agility competitions with her boxer Franklin. As the Train Your Own Service Dog Program Manager, Cindy helps people select and train their own dogs so that they can become certified service dogs. She enjoys teaching everything from manners classes to agility and service dog task training. Cindy has been a Certified Professional Dog Trainer since 2018.

Debi Krakar founded the Dog Alliance in 2006 with a vision of improving the lives of families in her community based on the powerful bond we have with dogs.  She is the driving force behind creating the therapeutic programs of The Dog Alliance.   She has fostered over 1,000 dogs in her home and, for the past five years, always has at least one service dog in training with her 24/7. She has whelped 12 litters and is eagerly anticipating expanding the breeding program at the Dog Alliance to allow us to provide service dogs for more disabled Texans.  

Through Texas Workforce Commission, she had credentialed for job coaching, director, job placement, supported employment, and autism specialist as part of the Dog Alliance's programs to help individuals with disabilities obtain jobs working with dogs.  

In 2012, Debi led the effort to purchase land and build the Dog Alliance's current facility.  With the support of professional builders on a team, Debi led the effort to build the first building and complete the site work in 2013.  Since the Dog Alliance quickly outgrew its space, Debi led the effort again to build a second building in 2016.  Debi will be forever grateful to the professional builders who worked with her and to our community for being so generous.  

Debi led the effort for the Dog Alliance's service dog program to become a full member of Assistance Dogs International in 2021.  The project began before the first service dog was placed in 2014.   Debi is a member of the International Working Dog Breeders Association.  

She has a BS in Math and Computer Science from the University of Illinois and a MAS Degree in Accounting/Information Systems from the University of Illinois. Debi has a long history of working with non-profit organizations. After the birth of her four children, Debi developed Mothers of Preschool Children, an organization sponsored by several local churches to support mothers. She also spent 10 years immersed in the PTA, holding board positions, which included room mom, president, vice president, secretary, and events coordinator. She spent 3 years volunteering for the Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue. Debi also has over 10 years of experience in large-scale project management, primarily in nonprofit and governmental entities through various consulting firms.

Ms. Thompson's involvement with the organization began in 2014 when she was the Executive Director of the Tony Stewart Foundation, a supporter of Dog Alliance programs.  Joni joined the Dog Alliance as the Community Outreach Director in 2019.  With 35 years of fundraising and senior management experience, Ms. Thompson has a proven track record of effectively managing projects and relationships, establishing lasting partnerships, and growing organizational visibility.  Her expertise is in project planning and execution and engaging the public through social media.  

Joni has promoted the goals of the University of Notre Dame, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Indiana University School of Law, and the Tony Stewart Foundation.  

Kathleen is the Agility Program Manager at The Dog Alliance. Kathleen merged her extensive experience with education and her love of dog training when she started teaching at The Dog Alliance in 2014. As an athlete and adventurer, agility work is one of Kathleen’s favorite classes to teach. She also loves agility work because it is a great sport for strengthening the bond between an owner and their pet. Kathleen and her dog Ryder competed in the Master’s Level of the AKC Invitational in 2019 where her dog was awarded Top Welsh Springer Spaniel. As a training instructor, Kathleen’s greatest asset is her patience. Whether students are just doing agility work for fun or whether they are interested in trying to show, Kathleen is a skilled and understanding coach.

Nancy first joined The Dog Alliance in 2010 as a pet therapy handler, volunteering with her dog, Jessie.  She joined The Dog Alliance Board of Directors in 2012 and served as Board Chair 2013-2017.  Nancy’s passion for working with people and their animals inspired her to work with our pet therapy outreach program, service dog program, and pet dog training programs.  Nancy earned her certification as a Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) in 2016 and as a Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA) in 2018.  Her current areas of study are the use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to address behavior challenges and canine nutrition and fitness.

Nancy enjoys participating in classes with her own dogs – manners, agility, nose work, rally, fitness, and tricks.  She also partners with several animal shelters and rescue groups in our area to help adopted dogs and their families resolve challenges and find a deep level of lifelong connection and happiness!

Naomi Boyar is a dog sport enthusiast.  She has competed in agility, K9 Nose Work, and AKC Barn Hunt. Naomi has been instructing students in dog sports for over 15 years.