~ Our People - IPFD Board, CEO, CFO and Consultants ~

IPFD Officers and Board

Marc Ralsky – CEO, International Partnership for Dogs – Canada

Marc joined IPFD as its new CEO on October 3, 2022.

He has broad experience as a not-for-profit leader and has worked extensively with fundraising and corporate sponsorship with various organizations.

Marc is a board member of the Canadian Kennel Club. He owns and breeds Siberian Huskies, and co-owns Toy Manchesters, and Samoyeds and shows them in conformation shows worldwide. Marc is also an experienced writer on dog-related topics.

 

Pekka Olson – Chair, IPFD Board – Sweden

Veterinarian 1975, DVM, DR. h.c. (Honorary Doctorate Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) 2013. Clinician/lecturer at the faculty of veterinary medicine, SLU, 1976 – 1996. Worked at Agria Animal Insurance from 1996 to 2017, where he has had various roles including Veterinary Manager, Marketing Manager, Managing Director of Agria Pet Insurance, in the UK.

Currently:
Board member, Hundstallet (Swedish dog shelter and humane organization)
On the boards of the Agria/SKK Research Fund

Former Chair, Swedish Kennel Club, board member of the Swedish/Norwegian horse research foundation, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and Trofast AB (an IT company providing service to 50% of Swedish veterinary practices).

Bill Lambert – Vice Chair, IPFD Board – UK

Bill Lambert is Health, Welfare and Breeder Services Executive at the Kennel Club, where he has worked since 2005. He has overall responsibility for their numerous health and welfare initiatives, which include the Breed Health and Conservation Plans, tools for breeders to help breed healthy dogs and the numerous health schemes that the Kennel Club are involved in as well as having overall responsibility for Kennel Club Breed Rescue.

In addition, he is the chief Kennel Club spokesperson, and as such represents the KC both in the media and on internal and external committees and groups, including in Parliament. He is an IEMA approved Lead Auditor and formulated the process for assessing breeders’ premises on behalf of the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme – the Kennel Club is the only body worldwide currently able to provide UKAS certification to dog breeders.

Bill is also a recognised authority on the Bull Terrier Breed, is a successful breeder and judge, and was former Vice-Chair of the Bull Terrier Club as well as being a volunteer for The Bull Terrier Club (UK) Welfare Trust. He has lobbied for changes to the Dangerous Dogs act since its inception in 1991.

His previous career involved providing customer service where he has a long history in raising and applying accreditation standards as well as being involved in the specialised IT and print industries, where he ran a successful printing business for a number of years as well as being employed in the advertising industry, where he was responsible for the delivery of the world’s largest newspaper advertising campaign.

Currently: Health, Welfare and Breeder Services Executive, The Kennel Club

Peter Friedrich – IPFD Board Member – Germany

Education and Profession Studies in Psychology and Biology; Professor for Psychology and Criminology: Analysis of extremely violent actions, especially cases of murder in the context of investigations, when the offender is unidentified, in the context of interrogation and questioning of accused, suspects and witnesses, in the context of court cases, in the context of prevention

Memberships: Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub since 1980, Deutscher
Windhundzucht- und Rennverband since 2000, Deutscher Doggen Club 1888 since 2005 Breeding and Racing Society 2008 - 2011

Working Judge (IPO, FH, BH) since 1990; Specialist Breed Judge since 2008
Honouring : Großes Hundeführer-Sportabzeichen mit Kranz of the German Kennel Club (VDH) 1989
Kennel Rottweiler "vom Sternbogen" together with Elvira and Reinhold Mühle and Manfred
Mayer; Tahuara's Greyhounds and Sloughis , Owner: Heide Friedrich (Teamwork)

Currently:
President of the German Kennel Club (VDH) since 2009
Professor for Psychology and Criminology
    

Kirsi Sainio – IPFD Board Member – Finland

Education: Ph.D., University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine 1998

Adjunct Professor in Developmental Biology, University of Helsinki 1999 - ; Principal Investigator, Institute of Biomedicine, Biochemistry and Developmental Biology 2003 – ; Senior University Lecturer, Institute of Biomedicine 2008 –

Research Activities: 50 original scientific articles; Other publications: 15 (chapters in books, reviews); Supervisor of numerous Ph.Ds and master’s thesis
Public Relationships: Specialist in Radio Broadcasting and TV news and special programs (Finnish Broadcasting Company News, Finnish Broadcasting Company Prisma-program; Swedish Radio Vega etc.), interviews to Newspapers; Numerous articles in magazines

Currently:
Member of the Board of The Finnish Kennel Club 2008
Finnish Kennel Club: Chair of the Breeding and Scientific Commission
Finnish Kennel Club: Chair of the DNA-group
Nordic Kennel Union: Chair of the Scientific Committee and DNA-group
Fédération Cynologique Internationale; Scientific Commission, member
Fédération Cynologique Internationale; Breeding Commission, member and secretary
Finnish Kennel Club: conformation judge (FCI group 3; Terriers)
The Skye Terrier Club of America, Health Committee Chairperson
Skye Terriers since 1974, breeder (prefix of Skyeline).

Dave Eikelberg – IPFD Board Member – USA

Dave Eikelberg lives in Knoxville, Tennessee in the USA and has been married 38 years to his wife Kennetha. They have one son (an attorney in Boston, Massachusetts), and Dave and Kennetha are expecting their first grandchild in January of 2020.  

Dave grew up on an apple orchard in Indiana and learned the value of hard work. He later joined the United States Navy as a propulsion engineer and served in the Pacific and Atlantic fleets earning commendations and an honorable discharge. From the Navy, Dave went directly into industry refueling commercial nuclear power plants and eventually went on to work at the Department of Energy as a nuclear safety analyst, where he currently works.

Throughout those years Dave earned a Master’s degree in Information Technology and completed all his coursework for a PhD in Business specializing in Project Management. He also became a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute.

Throughout all those years, Dave and Kennetha enjoyed raising and breeding dogs of many types including Maltese, Boxer, Bull Dog, Afghan Hounds, and currently, they breed Black Russian Terriers. Their four Black Russian Terriers, Zeus, Enya, Hunter, and Saphira keep them busy and passionate about responsible breeding, health testing advocacy, and the future health of canines throughout the world. His work with the Black Russian Terrier Club is an example of his dedication to canines of all types as he is developing a health research program in cooperation with various U.S. institutional research organizations to benefit the BRT.  

Dave looks forward to bringing his business, financial, and practical dog breeding and rearing experience to the IPFD and helping to further the position of the IPFD as the global leader in canine advocacy.

Marty Greer – IPFD Board Member – USA

Dr. Marty Greer received her Bachelor of Science in 1978, her DVM in 1981 from Iowa State University, and her JD in 2010 from Marquette Law School.

Dr. Greer and her husband, Dr. Dan Griffiths, own Veterinary Village and International Canine Semen Bank WI-IL. She has a special interest in Pediatrics, Small Animal Reproduction and behavior. They have 2 married grown children, Katy (Tim Anderson) and Karl (Kelly) and one grandson, Jorin. In addition, they raise and show Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Danish-Swedish Farmdogs (and Bengal cats in the past). Her family has raised six puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, a bona fide service dog program that trains all varieties of assistance dogs except those for visually impaired handlers. She is Director of Veterinary Services at Revival Animal Health, a catalog company. Dr. Greer practices law part-time with her law partner, Sheila Kessler, at Animal Legal Resources, LLC. Her passion is to educate clients and keep puppies and kittens healthy.

Dr. Greer's work on education and outreach extends to a wide range of breeders, e.g. through her work with AKC on the Bred by Heart program, as well as commercial breeders on topics of theriogenology, breeding standards, and kennel management.

She is a serious foodie, loves beer, cooking, knitting, and photography. Dr. Greer has recently published the book: Canine Reproduction and Neonatology – for Veterinarians, Veterinary Staff, and Breeders.

Currently:
Veterinarian, Co-owner Veterinary Viillage, Lomira, WI; Law partner at Animal Legal Resources LLC.

Barbara Thiel – IPFD Board Member – Germany

Education and Profession: Veterinarian, graduated in 2000 at the Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen. Worked for Royal Canin since being a student, then in the department for training and development as well as in the private label department at Fressnapf / MaxiZoo for seven years. Since 2013 and ongoing employed at Bewital petfood.

Memberships:
Rassezuchtverein für Hovawart-Hunde e.V. since 1991, Deutscher
Windhundzucht- und Rennverband since 2002, De Greyhound Club (NL) since 2018.

Co-Breeder of "Koseilata’s"-Whippets from 2003 – 2018. Doing temperament tests for breeding licenses in many different breeds for the VDH and the DWZRV since 2012.

Former Head of the Breeding Board of the German Sighthound Association (DWZRV)

Currently:
R & D, training and development, Bewital petfood, Germany
Liaison for IPFD at the German Kennel Club (VDH)

Alexandre Balzer – IPFD Board Member – France

Alexandre is a vet practitioner in his clinic in France. A prolific writer, he frequently authors articles on pet health and collaborates on training resources for vets, breeders, and dog trainers, and he is the author or co-author of a several books and numerous scientific articles. Alexandre often works with the Société Centrale Canine (SCC) and with breeders on health issues, and he has considerable experience talking to owners and the public about dog health and well-being. He and his wife breed Newfoundlands and Golden Retrievers.
 
Education:
DMV, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse
CEAV (Advanced Veterinary Studies Certificate), Internal Medicine
DU, Veterinary Psychiatry

Currently:
Président, Société Centrale Canine (SCC)
Member of CNEAC, CUNSE, and the SCC Scientific Commission
Président, Association Canine Territoriale du Bourbonnais
Président, Club Canin de Sauvetage Aquatique

Eva Lejdbrandt – IPFD Board Member – Sweden

Eva is a retired Air Force officer with a long career thereafter as manager, mainly in the public sector. She is a breeder of Kerry Blue Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Eva has been president of the Swedish Kerry Club, the Swedish Terrier Club, and has been a board member of the Swedish Kennel Club for 10 years. She has developed digital distance breeders education for SKK during the first eight years and been president of the breeding committee for the last two years.

Dino Muto – IPFD Board Member – Italy

Born in Piedimonte Matese, Dino Muto is a consultant for community agricultural policy and for the health requirements of hygiene and operation of livestock farming - primary production, and he has held the position of Director of the C.A.A. Servizi Europei S.r.l. since 2002.

In 1991, he began his journey in dog breeding as an exhibitor, then as a breeder of the Dalmatian breed under the kennel name "Saude di Boezia". Among the founders of the "Club Amici Dalmata", Dino currently holds the position of President.

Dino was a member of the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana (ENCI) Exhibition Committee from 2002 to 2010 and has served as ENCI representative within the FCI Exhibition Committee.

Dino collaborated in the organization of the European Exhibition in Genoa (1998) and the World Exhibition in Milan (2000). In 2015, he coordinated the World Dog Show in Milan.

Dino has been a member of the ENCI Board of Directors and Executive Committee since 2003. He became ENCI Vice President in 2010 and has served as President since 2014.

Ulf Uddman – CFO – Sweden

Ulf is former CEO of Svenska Kennelklubben (SKK), a position in which he served since 1984. Before that he was employed at EY (firm of accounts) after studying economics at the Stockholm University. Ulf has been the SKK representative in a number of governmental investigations regarding animal issues e.g. animal protection, disease control and import of pets. Representing the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in various international working groups e.g.: the development of an ISO-standard for chips for pets, FCI Task Force 2010 producing an operational plan for a modernization of FCIs activities.

Currently:
Member of the board of the animal insurance company, Agria Pet Insurance
Member of several election committees for non-profit organizations

IPFD Consultants

Katariina Mäki – Business and Project Coordinator – Finland

Katariina joined IPFD as Business and Project Coordinator in August, 2021. She served as Acting CEO from November, 2021 until September 2022.

Katariina is a researcher who previously worked as a breeding expert for the Finnish Kennel Club. She studied animal breeding and genetics in the University of Helsinki. Her dissertation dealt with dog breeding (‘Breeding Against Hip and Elbow Dysplasia in Dogs). She is specialized in population genetics (genetic diversity and small populations), canine hereditary disorders and breeding value estimations.

During her kennel club career, Katariina was actively engaged and involved with the scientific committees of the kennel club and the Nordic Kennel Union. She was also a permanent contributor of the kennel club magazine ‘Koiramme’. She was the main developer of the general breeding strategy, which was introduced for all breeds in 2012. She was also responsible for the estimation of breeding values for hip and elbow dysplasia and spondylosis.

In 2019, Natural Resources Institute assigned Katariina to write a dog breeding investigation commissioned by The Finnish Food Authority. The Investigation, ‘Improving the implementation of animal welfare legislation in animal breeding. Part II: Preliminary analysis of problems and means of intervention in the breeding of dogs’, was published in 2020. The work led to the award of the Act of Animal Welfare 2020 by SEY Animal Welfare Finland. The award was given to Katariina and her colleague Riitta Kempe, who worked as the project administrator. During 2021−2022 Katariina works with a follow-up of the investigation.

Katariina is at her best when working in and between scientific research and practical advisory work, taking the results of science to the field. Her extensive cooperation network with various stakeholders guarantees her work a multi-stakeholder approach.

Katariina lives in the countryside with her family and their four horses, two dogs (a Hovawart and a Jack Russell – Lancashire Heeler mix) and two cats.

Aimée Llewellyn-Zaidi – HGTD Project Director – USA

Aimée is responsible for maintaining and developing IPFD's Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs database, as well as resources for genetic and health education and support. This includes updating the generic phenes (test) information, Breed Relevance Rating, and communication with our Collaborating Experts. In addition, Aimée fields queries from our DogWellNet.com members and breeders on issues related to genetics and genetic counselling.

You can contact her:  Aimee.Llewellyn-Zaidi@IPFDogs.com

Formerly Head of Health and Research at the (Royal) Kennel Club, Aimée provided bespoke advice to Kennel Club clients, and developed evidence-based canine health resources and engagement programs for the public and professional. Aimée's experience includes development of health teams and collaboration building, active engagement and involvement with committees such as the Kennel Club and British Veterinary Association (Canine Health Schemes); direct collaboration with international universities, and the former Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust, and engagement with projects such as Vet Compass (RVC). She is an experience presenter, with engagements ranging from BSAVA Congress to virtual genetic education meetings, as well as numerous publications and media engagements. Aimée was also involved in the initial development of the journal “Canine Genetics and Epidemiology,” and remains active as an editorial board member.

When not working on the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs, Aimée spends her time walking her Pembroke Welsh Corgis, McDuff and Poppy.

Dave St. Louis – Communications Specialist – Canada

Dave is a seasoned communicator with more than two decades of diverse experience in communications, public relations, and marketing.

Since 2014, his multi-faceted role at IPFD has included the development of content for DogWellNet.com, production of the DogWellNet Digest e-newsletter and annual reports, coordination of many aspects of webinars and International Dog Health Workshops, and management of IPFD's social media accounts.

In his spare time, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife (Jen), his puppy (Mika), his horse (Theia), and his extended "barn family".
     

IT Consultants

Updates coming soon

IPFD Founding CEO (Retired)

Brenda Bonnett – Founding CEO (Retired), International Partnership for Dogs – Canada

Ever since Dr. Brenda Bonnett proposed the development of a canine health and welfare information network in 2011, she has been the driving force behind the IPFD and DogWellNet.com.

As IPFD’s first Chief Executive Officer, Brenda was responsible for the development and operation of the IPFD including its technical infrastructure, partnership building, programs and projects, and more. She stepped down from the CEO role on 31 October, 2021 and continued to share her expertise with the international dog community as IPFD’s Veterinary Science Officer until July 2022. The wealth of information that Brenda and IPFD the team created during her tenure remain on DogWellNet.com as an enduring resource to support the health and welfare of dogs.

Formerly tenured faculty at the Ontario Veterinary College, Brenda is a veterinarian and Consulting Epidemiologist. Her research and projects in Europe and North America have included the development of national and international programs with kennel clubs; extensive work with / publications on animal insurance data; human-animal interactions, numerous pet welfare initiatives spanning the National Council on Pet Overpopulation (1993) and for the American Humane Association: Cat Welfare Forum (Sept. 2013) and Keeping Pets (Dogs and Cats) in Homes: A Three-Phase Retention Study. As Lead Scientist at Morris Animal Foundation (2010) she assisted in development of the (now titled) Golden Retriever Lifetime Study.

Brenda played a major role in organizing and presenting the first four IPFD International Dog Health Workshops (IDHWs) and subsequent virtual IDHW sessions on canine genetics. She has also been a frequent speaker on topics of animal health, welfare, and human-animal interactions at scientific meetings, as well as to many stakeholders in the dog world (i.e., breed and kennel clubs, judges, and veterinarians). Most recently, Brenda made virtual presentations at the April 2022 Embark Canine Health Summit and the July 2022 Symposium on Healthy Dog Breeding (presented in collaboration with the Canadian Kennel Club and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association).

We are hopeful Brenda will have many opportunities to continue supporting the health and welfare of animals with her extensive knowledge and experience. We invite our members to leave their best wishes for Brenda in the comments area below (login required) or through her IPFD email account, which will remain active in the near term.

On behalf of IPFD’s Board, Consultants, and Partners, we thank Brenda for her tireless efforts in the creation of IPFD and for her immense contributions in advancing dog health, well-being, and welfare.

Other affiliation:  President, B Bonnett Consulting, Canada