Our Coaches

Ace’n Agility offers high quality instruction using the most current and progressive training methods

Our coaches are active in competitive dog sports and multiple dog sport venues. They frequently attend seminars to learn new training methods so that they can bring back relevant information to our classes.

Julie has a M.S. in Animal Sciences, focusing on dog behavioral studies. She is a CPE Canine Scent Sport Judge and National Dog Agility League Judge and Host, Animal Behavior College Authorized Mentor Trainer, AKC Evaluator and Temperament Test Examiner, C.L.A.S.S. Evaluator, APDT Professional Member, Be A Tree Presenter from Doggone Safe, Dog Scouts of America Scoutmaster and evaluator for multiple badges, Alliance of Therapy Dogs Tester/Observer and ongoing student of Say Yes Dog Training with Susan Garrett and the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.

Julie and her Bernese Mountain Dog, Ace earned many advanced titles in agility, rally and NACSW before he passed in 2017. Her Bernese Mountain Dog, Seven logged 513 therapy dog visits before she passed in 2020. Both dogs earned their AKC CGC, ATTS Temperament Test Titles, all levels of the AKC Trick Titles and were members of the Dog Scouts of America with many badges. Her lil girl, Starr passed at 2 years old after just beginning to compete in CPE Agility and earning all levels of the AKC Trick and CGC titles.

She has welcomed another Bernese Mountain Dog to her family named Chance. He is trained in Search and Avalanche Rescue, and a golden girl named Rebel that enjoys agility and hoopers agility.

Cecily grew up in Texas camping and exploring in the hills and rivers. Her love for dogs stems from early childhood bonds with family dogs. Cecily brought home her first Australian Cattle Dog at age 12 and quickly fell in love with their tenacity and loyalty. Their high energy drive makes them the perfect hiking and adventure buddy. 

Cecily is currently enhancing her expertise in dog training as an ongoing student in Dr. Ian Dunbar’s Sirius Dog Trainer Program. She shares her life and home with two Cattle Dog companions – a white heeler named Moro and a blue heeler named Bivy. She enjoys applying the techniques from the Dunbar program to train her own dogs and loves seeing them develop into well-behaved companions. Cecily is excited to help you strengthen your bond with your dog through training, active engagement, and having fun together.

Natalie Ferguson comes from a crazy dog family, and has been fostering rescue dogs, volunteering at shelters, and doing dog sports since her middle school days. She adopted her current dog, Zelie, during the pandemic and began obedience and agility training. Zelie struggled with anxiety and confidence but has thrived since starting agility. Seeing the difference agility made in her own dog’s life, Natalie jumped at the chance to become a trainer. She wants to help others who are just starting out to find the joy and benefits of agility training. 

Natalie has a lifelong love of teaching, and works at a high school in West Phoenix teaching English as a Second Language to immigrants and refugees. She has a B.A. in English, B.A. in French, and an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language. Spending all her days with teenagers makes her more than prepared to help you with your pups! She loves that she can transfer her teaching skills to agility! 

Nico grew up in Quito, Ecuador. He moved to Phoenix in 2017, after teaching Spanish at an all-boys boarding Catholic school in Connecticut for four years. During Covid, he and his wife adopted Mac, an “Aussie-Lab” mix (without an ounce of lab in him). Seeing Mac’s rambunctious nature, love of weaving in and out of backyard furniture, and independence, Nico knew Mac needed to be educated. Introduced to Agility by Lisa, Nico loves partnering with Mac, and hopes to eventually compete. 

During his free time from working in Financial Crimes Compliance, Nico loves hiking, playing video games, and finding the best mimosa in town. Nico loves learning and teaching and looks forward to working with all aspiring Agility junkies. 

Jenna is a California native that moved to Arizona October 2020. For as long as she’s had a beat to her heart, she’s had dogs in her life. She grew up in a family owned dog and cat grooming salon and has had a passion for working with animals the entirety of her life. If she’s not at the grooming salon, you can catch her outdoors with her boyfriend and four and a half year old Belgian Malinois, Astro. Many of you may recognize him as the tallest Mal that ever lived! Having such a smart, high energy dog is what brought her to Ace n’ Agility and you could say the rest is history. She looks forward to learning all the ins and out agility has to offer and passing on her knowledge to the next future agility star.