Dr. Andrea Breen, Director
Andrea Breen (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Family Relations and Human Development at the University of Guelph where her research interests include dog human-relationships, respectful engagement with Indigenous knowledges, family care relationships, and identity narratives. Andrea holds degrees in education and developmental psychology from McGill University (B.Ed), the Harvard Graduate School of Education (Ed.M.), and the University of Toronto (Ph.D.).
In preparation to launch FIDO, Andrea spent several years learning about the dog side of dog-human relationships. She earned both her dog training certification and the Advanced Diploma in Canine Behaviour through the International School for Canine Psychology and Behaviour (ISCP) and specialized training in canine aggression and families living with children and dogs. She is based in Toronto where she lives with her partner, teenage children, and 2 canine kin, Ash and Esme.
Julia Linares-Roake
Research Coordinator/PhD Candidate
Julia (she/they) is a PhD Candidate at the University of Guelph, in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition. She received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s degree in Learning, Developmental, and Family Sciences at the University of Colorado, Denver. Their research interests include critical feminist posthumanism, more-than-human care relationships, and interspecies play.
She lives-with and thinks-with her partner, three dogs (Tabitha, Scarlett, and Bree), infant, and cat-in-residence, Hopper. Julia is the Research Coordinator of the SSHRC-funded study, Family Care Work in Interspecies Homes.