Our staff has years of personal and professional experience training service dogs and providing care to children with autism spectrum disorder.
Kirsten Becker, Executive Director
In 2006, after a terrible personal tragedy involving her young autistic son’s loss, Kirsten knew something needed to be done to promote safety for autistic children who wander or elope.
In 2010, under the tutelage of a senior Delta Society trainer, she learned the foundations of the anchoring behavior for giant breed dogs. While finishing the training of her 120 lb. demonstration anchoring dog “Moses,” she returned to her education. In 2012, Kirsten completed her coursework at the Animal Behavior Institute (ABI) of North Carolina as a Certified Animal Trainer and Enrichment Professional. She is continuing her education towards certification in Animal Assisted Therapy. Additionally, she holds a B.A. from Whitman College, has been a dog breeder with Sunbrass Kennels, and is currently Executive Director at Autism Anchoring Dogs. Kirsten serves on the Board of Directors for Sam’s Legacy, a foundation promoting the use of anchoring service dogs for the safety of autistic children.
Stephen Meck, Head Trainer
Stephen Meck is a graduate of the Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) Program based near Simi Valley, CA. After obtaining his A.S. Degree in this specialized 2-year program, which provided a hands-on approach to working with and training a large variety of wild and exotic animals, he went on to work in the US Navy’s marine mammal program for 15 years. Here he trained sea lions, bottlenose dolphins, and beluga whales in the open ocean for a variety of research and fleet support applications.
After moving to Oregon in 2001, he worked as an Apprentice Instructor at Guide Dogs for the Blind for 2 years before moving to Canada and doing energetics research with Steller sea lions. Upon returning to the US, he obtained his B.S. in Biology (Summa Cum Laude) at Oregon State University (OSU), and recently completed his Master’s Degree in Wildlife Science at OSU. While interested in scientific investigation, training animals of all kinds has been his lifelong passion. In addition to his work at AAD, Steve enjoys training and competing with his own personal dogs in agility, partaking in a number of outdoor activities, and writing.
Esther Louie, Volunteer Puppy Raising Coordinator
Esther joined us in 2015 and has become an integral part of our mission, now serving as our volunteer Puppy Raising Coordinator for our anchoring service dogs. She brings a wealth of experience to her task, often coordinating with puppy raisers from other organizations as well. So far, she has raised 5 pups for AAD and has helped numerous others become knowledgeable raisers.