Meet Your Instructor

We can't wait to meet you!

Angela Almazan

Angela brings careful attention to detail and strong research skills to our Service Dog Program, keeping ADI and other compliance records on track. She has 11+ years in medical and medical-admin roles, including five at a nonprofit health system in Arizona. She has recently transitioned from corporate work into a nonprofit role using her skills to help her community. Angela is excited to help the Dog Alliance Service Dog Program thrive.

Barbara Smith

Barbara joins the Dog Alliance as an experienced administrator having worked in a variety of office settings throughout her career. She brings her strengths in customer service, anticipating needs, and attention to detail, to ensure the Dog Alliance campus runs smoothly and looks beautiful. Previously, she was the Onsite Director for Crystal Falls HOA and an Office Manager for Century 21 Western.

You can find Barbara around campus greeting clients, helping direct students to classes, working on our beautiful landscaping, re-stocking our dog treats, taking Service Dogs that are in training to class, updating client vaccination records, and so much more. She is the bight smiling face at the Dog Alliance willing to help in any way she can!

Barbara is also a Therapy Dog team with Rufus. Together they make visits to community corporate offices, schools, and events! Barbara loves bringing Rufus out to meet and greet the community; bringing a smile to someone's face makes both of their day! She is also currently fostering program dog, "Margie", and works to keep developing her training and skills. Barbara also is the proud owner of a chicken palace, home to 12 chickens. She generously shares her fresh eggs with Dog Alliance staff.

Betsy Roberts

Betsy Roberts combines a strong business background with a deep commitment to pet care. With experience as a former business management professional, pet care business owner, and puppy raiser for service dogs, Betsy has developed a comprehensive understanding of both the corporate and canine worlds. She holds an MBA, is Pet First Aid Certified, and is a Certified Professional Pet Sitter. Currently, she leads the administration of our Bow Wow Pet Therapy Program, where she applies her expertise with dedication and care.

Outside of work, Betsy focuses on creating the best life for her family, which includes her husband, John, and their two dogs, Ozzy and Monte. She enjoys hiking and traveling with them, finding balance between her professional responsibilities and personal passions.

Debi Krakar

Debi Krakar founded the Dog Alliance in 2006 with a vision of improving the lives of families in her community based on our powerful bond 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 the Texas Workforce Commission, she was 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 forever be grateful to the professional builders who worked with her and 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 has over 10 years of experience in large-scale project management, primarily in nonprofit and governmental entities through various consulting firms.

Hallah Ghanem

Hallah is a lifelong dog lover and Apprentice Service Dog Trainer at the Dog Alliance, actively learning across our Service Dog and Pet Dog Training programs. She brings more than 15 years of experience from nonprofit and tech work, so she’s organized, calm, and great at helping people. Hallah uses positive, reward-based training and keeps lessons simple, friendly, and focused on real-life manners. Her goal is simple: stronger bonds between dogs and their people.

At the Dog Alliance, Hallah is growing her training skills through hands-on work and guided lesson observations. She also helps with daily kennel care and practices foundation skills with dogs. Her background leading global security teams taught her to plan, communicate clearly, and solve problems under pressure—useful strengths for teaching real-life skills in class.

Joni Thompson

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 Reish

Kathleen joined the Dog Alliance in 2014 after 11 years of teaching first grade in Pflugerville ISD. She is the Agility Program Manager with Dog Alliance and is an active dog training student herself, constantly learning new skills and adapting her teaching style. Kathleen has merged her experience in early childhood education and her love of dog training to create a fun and accessible Agility experience for anyone who wants to be involved!

In her time with Dog Alliance, Kathleen has taught a variety of classes; from Puppy Manners and Dog manners to Tricks Classes, she is a well-rounded instructor! As a training instructor, Kathleen’s greatest asset is her patience. She works with students to understand their dog and how best to work together as a team.

As an athlete and adventurer, agility work is one of Kathleen’s favorite dog sports to teach. She also loves agility work because it is a great sport for strengthening the bond between an owner and their pet. Whether students are doing agility work for fun or they are interested in trying to show, Kathleen is a skilled and understanding coach helping students reach their goals!

Kathleen attends seminars and takes online classes throughout the year. She has worked with Kim Collins is currently taking online lessons with Alenka Skrabec and Melanie Miller with her dog, Danie. She has been taking Susan Garrett's Online Classes since 2012 and is currently in H360 and Agility Nation.

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. Ryder also has his AKC Advanced Tricks Title. Kathleen has been working with her latest pup, Danni, to start showing in the future!

Kellye McMaster

Kellye McMaster has been competing in, training, and teaching dog Agility for 22 years. She has taken 3 of her dogs to AKC nationals, and has competed in AKC, USDAA, UKI, and NADAC competitions. Prior to teaching Agility in the Austin area, Kellye worked at a kennel board and train program and eventually owned her own training facility in Waco. She is a retired math teacher of 25 years and uses a logical step by step process to teach dogs that she learned from teaching math.

Kellye’s experience comes from many years of participation, observation, and attending seminars on a variety of subjects with leaders in the dog training industry. Kellye is a problem solver and takes a scientific approach to training dogs. She believes in teaching layers of skills with a positive reinforcement-based training system. For Kellye, the joy of training dogs is more important than any competition.

Lisa Mohr

With more than 36 years of experience as a finance professional, Lisa brings a deep passion for numbers, problem-solving, and operational excellence.

A lifelong animal lover, Lisa has always shared her home with pets—including a Springer Spaniel she happily welcomed into her family after finding him outside a grocery store.

After a 26-year career with Dell Technologies, she recently retired and began exploring meaningful part-time or volunteer opportunities. That search led Lisa to The Dog Alliance, where she will serve as Finance Manager. She is excited to apply her background to help strengthen and optimize financial operations while supporting a mission that aligns with her love for animals and respect for Veterans and others who benefit from service and therapy dogs.

Nancy McIntire

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!