Melinda Farrell, Chief Executive Officer
Meet the Delta Institute Team
Master of Business Administration (with Distinction), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.).
Melinda joined the Delta Institute and Delta Therapy Dogs in 2019 as its Chief Executive Officer and has been at the forefront of transformative change for the two organisations. The role of CEO plays a key role in developing the synergy of both organisations and Melinda has more than 15 years of leadership experience in the not-for-profit community sector.
Melinda has a proven track record of leading growth in an organisation, fundraising and corporate partnerships; all with a commitment to quality of service for the community and stakeholders.
Bianca Nichols, Educator Lead
Cert IV Animal Behaviour and Training (Delta Institute), Cert IV Training and Assessment.
Bianca has always worked with animals and her passion for animal behaviour and training began through her work with shelters including the RSPCA and the Lost Dogs’ Home.
Bianca went on to study with the Delta Institute and recently joined the Delta team as a trainer and assessor. She is passionate about education and regularly works with students, children and the wider community to promote positive interactions, animal behaviour awareness and responsible pet ownership.
Driven by empathy and a genuine love for animals, Bianca is committed to helping any animal live a happy, healthy life. Shelter dogs hold a particularly special place in her heart, something reflected in her own Bull Arab, Floss, whom she proudly watched grow from an underconfident, underweight pup into a thriving and confident adult
Bobbi Burgman, Student Experience Coordinator
Cert IV Animal Behaviour and Training (Delta Institute).
Bobbi has a strong background in dog training and education support. She is currently an Assessor and Trainer for mindDog psychiatric assistance dogs and has previously worked in the veterinary behaviour, university, and health spaces.
Tracey Taylor, General Manager - Institute
PhD Candidate, BSc Animal Behaviour (Hons) (Adelaide University), Cert IV Animal Behaviour and Training (Delta Institute), Cert IV Training and Assessment (TAFE SA), Fear Free Elite certified.
Tracey brings more than 25 years' experience spanning leadership, education, communications and the animal care sector.
As General Manager, she combines extensive experience in vocational education with a strong commitment to student success, underpinned by qualifications in animal behaviour, training and assessment, and ongoing doctoral research at the University of Adelaide into canine cognitive health and wellbeing.
Alison Campbell, Educator
BNatSc Animal Science (WSU), Cert IV Training & Assessment (TAFE NSW), Cert IV Companion Animal Services (Delta Institute), Cert IV Veterinary Nursing (TAFE NSW).
Alison started her career in the animal industry back in 2008 and found her passion for animal behaviour and training during this time. She wanted to be able to positively educate pet owners about animal behaviour and how people should be interacting with their pets. This led her to study with the Delta Institute and become a trainer and assessor when invited to join the Delta team.
Kate Denman, Educator
Cert IV Companion Animal Services (Delta Institute), Cert IV Training & Assessment, Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, Diploma Dog Behaviour Consulting (Dognostics), Fear Free™ certification, Delta Therapy Dogs Assessor, mindDog psychiatric assistance dog trainer, state government certified greyhound green collar assessor, Bachelor of Arts in Politics and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism.
Kate’s passion is private consultations for the ‘difficult’ dogs; working closely with the guardian to identify and resolve issues through ethical, science-based behaviour modification, training and management. Kate also spent four years as the Head Instructor at Canine Behavioural School, Adelaide’s largest force-free dog training school, staffed entirely by volunteers.
Kate is owned and (hopefully!) loved by Alaska, the blue heeler cross, and Wiscy (Wisconsin) the koolie, both of whom have given her an insight into undesirable behaviour. In a former life she was a police officer and then a government media/communications adviser but investigating and resolving her dogs’ training issues led her to pursue dog training as a career.
Kate is committed to ongoing education and regularly attends workshops and conferences. In addition to her qualifications, she has completed Dr Susan Friedman’s Living and Learning with Animals and Karolina Westlund/Illis ABC’s Advanced Animal Training course (on scholarship). She is a member of the Delta Institute, the Pet Professional Guild Australia, and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia.
Dr Ana Goncalves Costa, Educator
PhD (University of Adelaide), BIntSt BIntBus, Hons (Animal Science), Cert IV Animal Companion Services (Delta Institute), Cert IV Training and Assessment.
Ana believes it is a privilege to share our lives with animals and therefore our responsibility to ensure we have the skills and knowledge to allow them to thrive in our care. For those of us lucky enough to work in this industry, our role is to decrease the friction between animals and the home in which they live. We are their professional advocates.
Ana has spent the last four years completing her PhD on puppy development and researching the experience of puppy raising and is currently working at the University of Adelaide and Pawly Understood (a veterinary behaviour clinic) as an educator and rehabilitation trainer. She has previously worked for the RSPCA and spoken at animal behaviour conferences worldwide. She is passionate about education and is committed to creating force-free and safe learning environments for both human and furry learners.
For those interested, Ana’s published research can be found here : https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1459-456X
Dr Rimini Quinn, Guest Presenter
Dr Rimini Quinn is a Veterinarian and Principal of Kind Animal Behaviour Services, a Veterinary Behaviour Clinic in South East Queensland. Having graduated with honours from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science, Rimini worked in small animal Veterinary practice for over 20 years.
Her work includes experience with rescue and welfare organisations, which is a lifelong passion along with Animal Behaviour. Interest in Behaviour and Welfare lead to further study and Membership with the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in 2016. Rimini volunteers her time for the worthwhile endeavours of Pets in the Park and the Animal Care Committee for the local refuge. She lives with her human family and a dozen animals – cats, ducks, rats, bantams and a very special Papillon.