Meet Our Team
Melanie Yoder | Owner, Behavior Consultant
Melanie is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Certified Ohio Behavior Analyst. She has over 20 years of experience in the field of education working to support students with Autism and other developmental needs in home-based, public and non-public school based and clinical settings. She also worked remotely for a well established organization out of California to further create and implement a Parent/Caregiver Training model, a service she now privately offers. Additionally, Melanie provides training and/or consulting services to Community Organizations interested in understanding and strengthening their services in the field of behaviorism.
Melanie's career in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis began when she was selected for an internship with The Ohio State University Chimpanzee Center; assisting in teaching trials such as pairing different schedules of reinforcement with tacting (labeling) stimuli. After this time and for many summers, Melanie worked at Windy Ridge Kennel (boarding kennel) caring for the dogs during their owner's absence, while also knowing one day dogs would be incorporated into her professional endeavors as an innate connection to dogs was established at an early age.
Melanie is a Board Member of Friends of the Shelter Dogs (FOSD) and the Executive Director of Behavior Analysis Reform for Companions (BARC), a nonprofit organization that provides support to the dogs in the Athens County Dog Shelter and other Animal/People Organizations (in Athens County and throughout the Southeastern region). The foundation of all design utilizes positive behavioral methods and technologies to target, capture and shape preferred behaviors and teach replacement or alternate behaviors to those that are problematic in nature or situation. Her work with BARC and being a part of each success and setback has encouraged her to pursue the opportunity to apply her skill set and practice through various services related to both humans and animals.
Nikki Balderson | Dog Trainer Consultant
Nikki Balderson has been working with pets for over 25 years. She started out as a teenager pet sitting and walking dogs for neighbors. She then went on to work in a boarding kennel where she quickly became Kennel Manager. She absolutely loved taking care of everyone’s pets and connecting with clients to assure them their fur babies were in loving hands.
Then the big move to Austin Texas happened where she got a job at another boarding kennel that offered group play daycare and training. She immersed herself into all the new knowledge this brought and started to learn the fundamentals of dog behavior and basic obedience. After many months of study and shadowing other trainers she was finally ready to take on clients herself. It was so rewarding to see relationships between owners and dogs blossom and she knew this was what she was meant to do. She continued to train in Austin for over 10 years and even started her own personal training service.
After 12 years in Austin, she and her partner decided to move closer to home to Athens Ohio, where she dove into volunteering at the local dog shelter. After a week or so she discovered BARC- Behavior Analysis Reform for Companions and started volunteering with them as well, becoming an important part of the team with all the skills she had obtained through the years. After a few months of volunteering at the shelter she was voted in as a Board Member for Friends of the Shelter Dogs. Nikki loves and appreciates all the opportunities that her passion for animals has brought her and she is always excited for what the future will bring.