2026 International Courthouse Dogs Conference: Full Schedule

9:30am PDT

KEYNOTE: From Survivor to Advocate: Transforming Trauma into Justice and Empowerment

Wednesday October 7, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am PDT

Kara Robinson Chamberlain is one of the most compelling survivor advocates of our time. At age 15, Kara was abducted from her front yard in Columbia, South Carolina and held captive for 18 hours before making a daring escape. Rather than letting that experience define her as a victim, she transformed it into a lifelong commitment to justice, advocacy, and the empowerment of survivors everywhere. Her story has reached millions — through television, speaking engagements, and her own advocacy work — and her voice continues to inspire those who work on the front lines of trauma every day.
We are honored to welcome Kara to Vancouver as our opening keynote speaker for the 2026 International Courthouse Dogs® Conference.
The opening keynote at the 2026 International Courthouse Dogs® Conference is made possible through the generous support of the Vancouver Police Foundation. We are grateful for their partnership in bringing this extraordinary voice to our stage.

Speakers

Kara Robinson Chamberlain

I never set out to become a public speaker—but my story made sure I wouldn’t stay silent.

In 2002, at age 15, I was kidnapped from a friend’s front yard at gunpoint. For 18 hours, I gathered every detail I could while enduring the unthinkable, and when I escaped, I gave law enforcement the information that identified my captor—a man responsible for the murders of at

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Wednesday October 7, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am PDT
Coal Harbour Ballroom

Keynote, Opening

4:00pm PDT

The Science of the Bond: What Research Tells Us About Dogs, Stress, and Human Healing in High-Stakes Settings

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT

Coal Harbour Ballroom

We know it when we see it — a child's shoulders drop, a witness takes a breath, a survivor finds words they couldn't find before. But what is actually happening in those moments? Science is beginning to tell us.

Dr. Kerri Rodriguez, one of the world's leading researchers in human-animal interaction, closes Day 1 with a session that gives the justice facility dog community something powerful: the evidence to match the instinct. As Director of the HAB Lab at the University of Arizona, Dr. Rodriguez has spent her career investigating the measurable impacts of the human-animal bond — from stress buffering and trauma recovery to the wellbeing of both the humans and animals in these partnerships.

Drawing on her extensive body of research — work that has been featured in the BBC, Washington Post, National Geographic, People Magazine, and beyond — Dr. Rodriguez will explore what the science tells us about dogs in high-stakes settings, what we still don't know, and why that research matters for the future of the justice facility dog model.
For handlers who have always known this work changes lives, this session will give you the language, the data, and the confidence to say exactly why.

Speakers

Kerri Rodriguez

Assistant Professor of Human-Animal Interaction, University of Arizona

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Coal Harbour Ballroom

Keynote, Closing

9:15am PDT

When Comfort Hurts: Empowering Handlers to Navigate Secondary Trauma

Thursday October 8, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am PDT

Coal Harbour Ballroom

You are the one who holds the space. You sit with survivors, support witnesses, and show up for victims on their hardest days — and you do it with steadiness, compassion, and a dog by your side. But the weight of that work goes somewhere. And for too many handlers, it goes unacknowledged.

Secondary traumatic stress is real, it is common in this field, and it is not a sign of weakness. It is the cost of caring deeply — and there is a path through it.

Katie Gray, founder of the Empowered Heart Foundation and a tireless advocate for handler wellness, opens Day 2 with an honest, grounded exploration of what secondary trauma looks like for facility dog handlers, how to recognize it in yourself and your colleagues, and the evidence-based strategies that make this work sustainable over the long arc of a career.

This is not a session about pushing through. It is about building the inner resources to show up — for your dog, for the people you serve, and for yourself — year after year.

Speakers

Katie Gray

President, The Empowered Heart® Foundation

Thursday October 8, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am PDT
Coal Harbour Ballroom

Keynote, Opening

3:20pm PDT

Closing Keynote: A Dog That Saved My Life — The Story of Jesse and Jade

Thursday October 8, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm PDT

Coal Harbour Ballroom

On July 16, 2022, Constable Jesse Schellenberg and his canine partner PSD Jade responded to a call like so many before it — dangerous, unpredictable, and requiring everything they had. What happened that day would stay with Jesse forever. He credits going home alive that night directly to the training and preparation he and Jade had received together — a testament to what true partnership between a handler and a dog can mean when it matters most.

In this closing keynote, Sgt. Schellenberg reflects on that day, on the bond that carried him through it, and on what it means to place your life — and your trust — in the paws of your partner. His story is a powerful reminder of why this work matters, why the training behind it matters, and why the dogs we honor in this community are extraordinary in ways that go far beyond the courtroom.

It is a full-circle moment for the 2026 conference: the Vancouver Police Foundation — whose generosity supports the training and equipment that keeps VPD handlers and their dogs safe — sponsors our opening morning and closes our final day with this remarkable story. We are deeply grateful for their partnership, their commitment to this community, and for making both the beginning and the end of this conference possible.

The closing keynote of the 2026 International Courthouse Dogs® Conference is proudly presented by the Vancouver Police Foundation.

Speakers