Biography: Kelley Bollen

Kelley Bollen, MS, CABC is the owner and director of Animal Alliances, LLC - Companion Animal Behavioral Services. Ms. Bollen has a Master's Degree in Animal Behavior and is a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant (CABC) and a clinical member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). She is also a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). Her goal as a companion animal behavior consultant is to improve the human-animal bond by increasing her client's understanding of animal behavior and behavior modification.

Prior to opening Animal Alliances, Ms. Bollen served as the behaviorist for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). During the four years she spent with the MSPCA, she implemented many programs including temperament evaluations of shelter dogs, behavioral and environmental enrichment for all the animals at the shelter, clicker training programs to decrease stress and increase adoptability for both dogs and cats, and educational programs for staff, volunteers, local animal control officers, and the general public on animal behavior related issues. Additionally, she handled a behavior help line which fielded over 100 calls per month and conducted private behavior consultations for both adopters and the general public.

Ms. Bollen started her animal career working as a veterinary technician in a small animal practice. She later managed a boarding kennel and dog obedience school, where she was also an apprentice trainer. After several years in the dog field her lifelong desire to work with wild animals drove her to pursue an education in the study of wildlife and environmental science.

Ms. Bollen earned her undergraduate degree in wildlife biology from the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry and then began her career in the zoo field. During the last five years of her zoo career, Ms. Bollen worked mainly with primates as the lead keeper of the Burnet Park Zoo's nine species of our endangered relatives. She also served as the enrichment coordinator for the zoo, working with other keepers to find ways to enrich the lives of all the animals held at the facility. She has worked with elephants, lions, leopards, sloths, fox, otter, rhinoceros, and giraffes, in addition to her favorites, the primates. Throughout her zoo career, her goal was to improve the lives of the captive animals by providing mental and physical stimulation through daily enrichment and operant training sessions.

After seven years working in the zoo field, Ms. Bollen returned to college to earn a Masters degree in animal behavior from the University of Massachusetts. Her Master's research involved a study of abnormal behavior in captive primates. She found that captivity often leads to aberrant behaviors such as stereotypies and self-injury. In the course of conducting this research she became interested in the abnormal behaviors exhibited by other species, both wild and domestic, and eventually changed her focus to studying and working with companion animals. She feels she has come full circle and she brings the experience and knowledge she gained working with wild species to her work with companion animals.

Kelley Bollen is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all animals and she is passionate about sharing her knowledge of animal behavior with the humans who live and work with them.