At Atlas, every course and program is built through collaboration and with guidance from expert service dog trainers, behaviorists, and instructors who share a deep commitment to ethical, science-based training. Our trainers bring decades of hands-on experience working with diverse clients and dogs, ensuring that everything we teach is practical, compassionate, and rooted in real-world success.
Together, they embody the Atlas mission: empowering people and dogs to reach their full potential, side by side.
Sabine Johnson
Sabine Johnson is a certified Karen Pryor Academy CTP and an Atlas Assistance Dogs® Trainer with over 40 years of experience in animal training. Her impressive career includes a decade as a certified Search and Rescue (SAR) K9 team handler, instructor, and evaluator in Wilderness Search and Human Remains Detection.
Sabine specializes in service dog training and is passionate about working with both ends of the leash. Her background includes serving as a puppy raiser coordinator and an advanced assistance dog trainer for mobility service dogs at a nonprofit organization in Colorado.
Currently, Sabine volunteers as a Team Facilitator Lead with Atlas Assistance Dogs, where she also contributes as an instructor and course developer at the Atlas Trainer Academy. She considers it an honor to be part of such an impactful organization and finds deep fulfillment in supporting aspiring trainers as they pursue their dreams in the service dog field.
Sabine lives in Missouri with her husband and her assistance dog, where she continues to provide private training services.
Debby Kay
Debby Kay has been a pioneer in scent detection work for over 55 years. She worked with the first search and rescue groups where the idea of using dogs to detect cadavers underwater to the training protocols was introduced. She has worked with many scientists to develop dogs to assist in locating biological specimens in the field for research projects; she trained the first toxic waste detection dog, and produced the first proof of concept accelerant detection dog. She has taught detector dog handler teams and instructors from all over the world while serving as head instructor for the Department of State’s Anti Terrorist Assistance program, including developing the Federal ATF’s explosive detection program. Debby teaches her Super SnifferÒ workshops for amateur dog owners and professional trainers alike.
In competition, Debby’s dogs from her Chilbrook bloodlines established in 1969 have earned over 800 titles and awards, including all breed Best in Show, Best in Specialty Show, & Highest Scoring Dog in Trial in obedience. Her breeding stock is highly sought after by Service Dog schools and top performance trainers. She is an internationally recognized author and lecturer, an all breed conformation judge (having judged in China), hunt test.
Debby is a founding officer of the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac, and a breed mentor and member of the Labrador Retriever Club Inc. and the Mason Dixon Kennel Club. She is a professional member of the Dog Writers Association of America and the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. She has written 9 books on dogs and training, including the best seller Scent Games.
Jennifer Kolar
Jennifer has been surrounded by animals and active in their training and rehabilitation since she was a child. Just as she’s seen many a stray or shelter dog through fear and reactivity issues, they have seen her through hard times too.
Jennifer recognizes that working with service dog teams is at least as much about the person as about their animal. She is deeply committed to positive, ethical treatment of both dogs and people. She is excited to be a co-founder of Atlas Assistance Dogs and to redefine the notion of service dog training to benefit as many people as possible.
Jennifer has worked as a leader in technology firms for over 20 years and is Vice President of Engineering at her current company. She has volunteered with environmental, animal, and human rights organizations throughout her life. She is a volunteer at the Seattle Animal Shelter. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a professional service dog trainer and instructor.
Jennifer has a BS in Applied Mathematics in Engineering and an MS in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences. She is a Karen Pryor Certified Training Partner, Certified Behavioral Adjustment Training Instructor, Atlas Certified Trainer, Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), Diabetic Alert Dog Certified Trainer, and a Certified Peer Supporter.
Jill Mohr
Jill’s professional career spans 40 years across all aspects of education—teaching (K–12 and adult education), administration, and curriculum development. After earning both a BA and an MA in Education from Oregon State University, she taught elementary education for 10 years before returning to school to complete her administrative certification and her doctoral coursework in adult education and curriculum development.
Having grown up “on the back of a horse,” Jill has always had a passion for working with animals. She began with a love of competition obedience and agility, and later sought opportunities to partner with her dogs to give back to others. Over the past four decades, she has earned certifications in Applied Animal Behavior (University of Washington UW-AAB), Animal-Assisted Therapy (Pet Partners/Delta Society), Professional Dog Trainer (CCPDT-KA), Search and Recovery-Cadaver (Yamhill County Sheriff’s Association/Oregon K9 Search Teams), Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (HOPE Crisis Dogs), Assistance Dog Trainer (Atlas), Canine Good Citizen (AKC), Low Stress Handling (Sophia Yin), L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation, Learning and Living With Animals (Susan Friedman/BehaviorWorks), and PAWS With a Cause Field Representative training.
Jill has also worked with or volunteered for numerous organizations, including Autism Service Dogs of America (trainer and puppy raiser), Atlas Assistance Dogs (team facilitiator and curriclum development team), Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (puppy raiser and trainer), MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility (lead trainer), Columbia Agility Team (volunteer and member), 4-H Dog Program (assistant leader), Bergin University of Canine Studies (advisory team), PAWS With a Cause (field rep), Oregon K9 Search Teams (search and rescue), HOPE Crisis Dogs (crisis response), and the Read to the Dogs Program (Delta Society).
Molly Neher
Molly is passionate about accessibility, disability justice, and supporting handlers and their service dogs thrive together.
Since 2018, she has been Atlas’ Director of Operations and Programs. In this role she oversees Atlas’ programs, manages all day-to-day operations and is the primary point of contact for all of our trainers, clients and Team Facilitators. She is also an Atlas Team Facilitator herself and Family Dog Mediator (FDM).
As a service dog handler of over 10 years, Molly understands the rewards as well as the complex challenges that go into navigating the world with a service dog.
Originally from France, she currently lives in Portland, OR with her husband and trusted service dog, Reid.
Shelly Phillips
Shelly is a dedicated animal lover with extensive experience in animal training and care. She owned and operated a horse farm for a decade, employing the Natural Horsemanship method to train horses. She also spent a summer working with dolphins and seals at Theater By the Sea.
In 2010, Shelly began volunteering with a service dog organization and trained her dog, Goose, as a psychiatric assistance dog. For four years, they traveled from Washington, DC, to the Florida Keys, raising awareness about PTSD, TBI, and other psychiatric disorders.
Recognizing the demand for qualified service dog trainers, Shelly joined Atlas in 2018 to help individuals train and certify their own service dogs. By 2019, she completed the Atlas Service Dog courses and now works as a certified Atlas Assistance Dog Trainer, Team Facilitator Lead, Canine Fitness Coach, AKC Canine Good Citizen and Trick Evaluator and Fear Free Professional, making a meaningful impact in the lives of people with disabilities.
Shelly, her husband, Miami, two sons and chocolate lab, Mo, currently live in West Virginia where they are raising goats and chickens.
Sugako Sasaki
Sugako, originally from Japan, is a highly qualified professional with credentials
including an AS in Canine Behavior Analysis and Counseling, and a BS in Animal
Assisted Therapy as well as being a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge
Assessed (CPDT-KA). Sugako is a certified service dog trainer through Atlas Assistance
Dogs. She is also bilingual, fluent in both Japanese and English.
After witnessing the transformative impact of dog training programs in jails, where they
improved inmates’ social and communication skills while reducing violence and
relapses, Sugako was inspired to make a positive difference in the world through dog
training.
Currently serving as an active lead team facilitator for Atlas Assistance Dogs and
teaching classes and training camps for puppies and teens at Dog’s Day Out in Burien,
WA, while also training dogs at Happy Stretch Dog Training, Sugako is dedicated to
helping people and dogs forge stronger relationships while promoting a safer and more
compassionate world.
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA)
IAABC's Accredited Dog Trainer (ADT-IAABC)
Certified Family Dog Mediator (FDM)
Certified Fear-Free Animal Trainer (FFCP)
AKC Canine Good Citizen and Trick Evaluator
Atlas Certified Service Dog Trainer
AS in Canine Behavior Analysis and Counseling
BS in Animal Assisted Therapy