Our Team
Management & Support Team

Megan Stanley, CPDT-KSA, CBCC-KA, FFCP (Trainer)
Founder & President
Megan has been a strong advocate for animals since a young age, and that passion, along with her first dog, led her to a career in dog training. Guinniss, came to Megan as a dog that was terrified of the world and highly reactive. Through her work with him, she recognized a need for qualifed individuals to help dogs like Guinniss overcome their concerns. She also recognized that the proper approach was needed for young puppies to prevent them from developing. In an unregulated industry, Megan set out to create a business that set the standards for care and training of dogs and help develop the dog trainers that would continue to improve the lives of dogs and the people that love them.
Opening Dogma in 2006, Megan went from being an independant contractor working privately with clients, teaching classes out of multiple vet clinics, and developing behaviour programs for the Cochrane Humane Society and Animal Rescue Foundation. She opened the Chinook location in 2008 and launched Dogma Academy in 2009. The second facility was opened in Killarney in 2012.
Since then, Megan has become an active volunteer through local rescue organizations. Wanting to do more for her industry, Megan served on the Board for the Assocation of Professional Dog Trainers for 5 years. She served as Chair in 2018 and was the first Canadian in this role. Megan currently serves on the City of Calgary Licensing and Community Standards Appeal Board and the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers. She will become Chair of this organization in 2023.
Regularly featured in various publications, podcasts, and more, Megan provides education to dog owners and trainers through her business, online resources, and through speaking engagements. She believes life is too short to not do what we love, so strives to inspire and encourage others to follow their dreams.

Kris Stanley, DCBC
C.O.O. (Chief Operations Officer)
Kris Stanley was born and raised in Clarenville, NL, and moved to Alberta 2001. He is a Red Seal Journeyman Glazier and made his way to Calgary in 2006. He brought home two pitbull puppies, Duke and Mya, in 2010 and found his way to Dogma. Duke and Mya became regular students at Dogma and Kris's interest in dog training developed from there.
He graduated from our DCBC program in 2011 and became an active assistant in Dogma's classes. His favourite part of working with dogs is helping fearful/reactive dogs overcome their fears and become his best buds. Kris's passion for dogs flourished over the years and him and Megan connected on a more personal level and were married in 2016.
Since then, Kris has become more invovled in the business and has shifted his focus from his glass business to taking on the role of C.O.O. in 2019. He manages multiple areas of the business and is a favourite to many of our four-legged friends.

Shelley Cherniawsky, DCBC, CPDT-KA
Director of Behaviour & Education
Similar to many trainers in the dog industry, Shelley found Dogma when she found herself with a dog of her own presenting challenging behaviors she was unsure of how to address. At the time, Shelley owned and operated a successful business as a certified Equine Therapist practicing holistic treatments along with working with disabled youth through respite work. When a 6 week old puppy, Gus, injected himself into Shelley’s life through a client at the time her professional life changed directions. This is when Shelley found Dogma.
Shelley has been with Dogma since 2012 beginning with successfully completing her DCBC (Dogma Certified Behavior Consultant) and moving on to earning her CPDT-KA and Fear Free (Trainer) certificates. Education has always been a strong driving force in her career and she continues to stay up to date in the industry through multiple continuing educations courses each year.
You will see Shelley both in person at facilities as well as virtually through a variety of services at Dogma. When the Dogma Academy moved online, Shelley was thrilled to jump on board focusing time “training the trainers” working primarily with DDT students.
Shelley currently shares her home with her two dogs, Gus and Ferro, husband, Nick, and two daughters, Hannah and Isabelle. Even though Gus was not what many would traditionally call a dream dog, he is Shelley’s soul dog that continues to inspire her work with fear and reactivity cases to unlock every dog’s full potential. Gus being on the more extroverted side, it seemed fitting that Ferro found Shelley as a shy, under confident dog when Gus was 6 months old. Learning firsthand the challenges, and subsequently the joys, of living with fear and reactivity behaviors with a family dog has been the driving force behind Shelley’s passion in dog training.

Adria Lem, DCBC, CPDT-KA
Location Manager, Killarney

Elizabeth Bilous, DDT, CPDT-KA
Head of Behaviour & Education, Killarney
Krissy Chutskoff
Office Administrator
Originally from Saskatchewan, then Manitoba, Krissy is a Prairie girl at heart (Go Riders!) who has now called Calgary home since 2005. She has been working in office management and administration for over 15 years. Although she works behind-the-scenes at Dogma, she loves seeing daily updates from the Day School locations and is honoured to be a part of a company which prioritizes and sets the highest standard for dog care in the industry, all while doing good for the local community.
When not enjoying time at home with Flirt, their free roam pet bunny, Krissy and her husband, Chad, love spending time taking in the local theater, markets, and sporting and music events. She is also extremely grateful to have recently earned a “cancer survivor badge” and now focuses on supporting and advocating for and alongside fellow Young Adult cancer patients.
Training Team

Lydia Reid, DDT
LEAD, Chinook

Megan Coleman, DDT
Day School Trainer, Chinook
Megan has been with Dogma since 2009 and has loved every moment of it! She lives with her 2 dogs Kipper her 9 year old Border Collie Mix and Maisie her 2 year old Mixed breed. She started out dog sitting and walking for friends and wanted to persue a career in helping to better dogs! She is living the dream job and earned her DDT in 2022!

Candace McManus-Goodwin, DDT
Day School Trainer, Chinook

Taylor MacDougall, DDT
Day School Trainer, Killarney
Day School Attendant (DDT's in training) Team

Jae Bec, DCP
Day School Attendant, Chinook
Jae has always had a passion for animals and training her own dog, Griffin! Jae first started her animal career taking her Animal Health Technology Diploma and worked in a few vet clinics. After finding out more about her passion for animals, she knew dog training was where her heart was set.
Jae enjoys building a relationship with each dog she works with, and loves watching them all grow! She is eager to learn more and grow in the dog training industry. When she is not training at facility, working on her education or training with her own dog, you can find her out exploring nature with her closest family and friends and her pup Griffin!

Lina Chaparro, DCP
Day School Attendant, Killarney

Ella Enns, DCP
Day School Attendant, Killarney
Bio Coming Soon

Share Mickler, DCP
Day School Attendant, Killarney

Larissa Verhoog, DCP
Day School Attendant, Chinook
Larissa has lived in Calgary her whole life and worked as a chef for 5 years but wanted a career working with animals. She started out working at a dog day care where she found her passion and wanted to focus on dog training to better understand dog behaviour. The guidance and knowledge that Dogma provides is her ideal career path and cannot wait to continue her career with Dogma.
When she isn’t at Dogma you can find Larissa trying all the new restaurants, going fishing with her fiancée Jordan and bird watching on her balcony with her 2 cats Milo, Otis and soon to be dog!