Our Spectacular team of Speakers
Silke Wittig, CNWI
Silke was introduced to K9 Nose Work® in 2010 and became one of the first two Certified Nose Work Instructors (CNWI™) in Pennsylvania in 2011. She teaches group classes, private sessions, coaching clinics, and video reviews, and has hosted numerous NACSW™-sanctioned ORTs, trials, and workshops.
She regularly teaches and presents at national events and educational programs, including camps and webinars hosted by Dogs of Course, the K9 Nose Work® Education Division, ScentWorkU, and Training Fest West. She will also be teaching at Training Fest Texas in 2026.
In 2024, Silke became a Certified Mental Management® Coach (Level II) after experiencing its powerful impact on her own competition performance.
Silke serves as a Supervising Certifying Official and Judge for NACSW™-approved trials and ORTs and is the Director of Education for the K9 Nose Work® Education Division. She is also the owner of HeRo Canine Consulting LLC and now focuses exclusively on K9 Nose Work® and Mental Management®.
She currently competes at the Elite level with her 10.5-year-old Pit Bull, Snap, and is passionate about helping both dogs and handlers thrive in a safe, supportive learning environment.
Coming Soon
Another exciting presenter will be announced soon.
Chris Mason, CNWI
Chris Mason is a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW). She has been training her own dogs since 1989 across multiple sports and began competing in K9 Nose Work in 2008. She became a CNWI in 2013 and teaches regularly at K9 Nose Work camps, gives clinics across the US, and teaches weekly classes in Southern California.
Chris and her dog GoGo were the first Bull Terrier team to achieve the Elite Level in NACSW competition. GoGo eventually achieved ELT2 before retiring from competition. Chris’s 2nd Nose Work dog, Badger, recently retired at ELT1 and she is handling her young Bull Terrier, Pixie, at NW2.
Chris specializes in working with breeds not typically associated with performance sports and has developed innovative exercises to help independent-minded dogs succeed. She is also actively creating curriculum to support puppies and young dogs as they build strong foundations for future scent work training.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two Bull Terriers.
Teah Anders
Teah Anders is a Certified Management Instructor (Level III) through Mental Management Systems and has been teaching mental management skills to dog sport handlers since 2013, with a strong focus on Nose Work. Through in-person seminars, online presentations, and private coaching, she helps handlers manage their thoughts under pressure so they can perform consistently at their best in competition.
Teah has been a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) since 2010 and currently teaches Nose Work classes. She is also a NACSW Certifying Official (CO) and Judge for trials and Odor Recognition Tests (ORTs), and has hosted numerous NACSW events. In addition, she has instructed at NACSW/Dogs of Course Nose Work Camps across the country.
As the founder and lead trainer of Gentle Touch Pet Training for over 21 years, Teah has taught a wide range of classes and worked with thousands of families through group classes and private training.
Teah actively competes in Nose Work with her Lab/Border Collie mix, Reacher, at the NW3 level. She holds degrees in Business and Natural Resources Policy and lives in California with her husband and dogs.
Bridget Beardsley
Bridget Beardsley is the owner of Gold Standard Pet Services, where she and her team deliver science-based training programs for a wide range of animals, from shelter dogs to purpose-bred working dogs, cats, and even elephants. She began her training career in 2007 and holds a degree in Small Animal Science with a focus on animal behavior from Delaware Valley University.
Bridget spent nearly a decade at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, where she helped develop and place more than 100 working dogs nationwide and internationally, including placements in high-security locations such as the Pentagon. Her work has supported groundbreaking programs, including the country’s first dual-purpose accelerant detection and live-find dog. Her specialties include early olfaction, puppy development, cooperative care, and behavior shaping for operational tasks, drawing on experience across disciplines such as search and rescue, explosives, narcotics, cadaver, biological detection, pest and species conservation, accelerant detection, and NACSW odors.
Bridget is a frequent speaker at International Working Dog Conferences and mentors trainers through workshops and hands-on coaching. Her mission is to bring the standards of professional working dog training into everyday homes through humane, evidence-based practices that help dogs and people thrive together.
Alena Asher
Alena Asher is a working dog trainer with roots in Germany, where she began her career at 16 with her first German Shepherd, Baily. She earned her dog handler’s license, competed in Schutzhund, and assisted for four years at a local training club across obedience, tracking, protection, and agility.
After moving to the U.S., Alena joined the Penn Vet Working Dog Center in 2017. From 2018 to 2024, she trained detection, law enforcement, and search-and-rescue dogs full-time—many now operational with FEMA task forces, police departments, and correctional facilities nationwide.
Alena currently serves as the Training Director at BarkU and Development Specialist for BarkUplift, a nonprofit focused on therapy and service dog development. She is also raising and training Sawyer, a live find SAR candidate for Arizona Task Force, and works an operational HRD K9, her Belgian Malinois, with the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance & Rescue Squad.
Her training approach is rooted in science and focused on building reliable, functional partnerships between handlers and working dogs.
Host
Lisa Iffland
Lisa Iffland is the owner of Sniff Sniff Hooray, where she hosts nose work trials and events in the King of Prussia, PA area.
Her journey into nose work began in 2016 with her first yorkie Zoe. She's now competing with her second nose work dog, a 4lb yorkie named Maple. In 2026 she'll start training with her Maltese/Biewer Terrier mix puppy, Charlotte.
What started as a fun activity with one special dog has grown into a passion for creating meaningful experiences for the nose work community.