Speakers and Staff

Amie’s passion is cat grooming and has dedicated her career to finding the safest, most effective ways to groom our feline friends. She also specializes in difficult and special needs pets. She has taught at Groom Expo, PetQuest, the Northwest Grooming Show, All American Grooming Show, was nominated for a Barkleigh Honor in 2014 for Up and Coming Speaker and is appearing at this show for the 9th consecutive year.  Amie lives in Summerville, SC with her husband, 2 of their 4 children, 2 spoiled cats and 3 Chihuahua mixes. Amie loves cooking and feeding people. Her love of cooking has turned into a hobby that has lead to a small catering career. She has been grooming since 2002. She has been employed with the same veterinary clinic since 2017 and is very happy to have found her people. She is a donation coordinator for the Carolina Coonhound Rescue and is frequently tasked by the cat distribution system to rescue and home felines in need.

Barb has been active in the pet grooming industry since 1985.She has recently earned her CCE and NCMG status. Believing in the importance of continuing education, Barb organizes, attends and teaches classes throughout the country on all aspects of the grooming industry. She has been interviewed by, and written articles for various trade magazines, been nominated for several Barkleigh Honors awards and won the prestigious David G. Salzberg Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Grooming Industry in 2007. Her book, The Difficult Dog, was awarded the 2018 Barkleigh Honor Award for Book of the Year.

 Prior to entering the grooming

industry, BBird earned a B.A. degree in psychology from

University of Arizona, and a Master of Social Work (MSW) from

Arizona State University, where she also worked as a research

associate. After an ungraceful burnout, she resurrected as a pet

groomer in 1971. As a side hustle, she became a speaker, writer

and grooming educator and hasn’t shut up since. Being a science

geek, Barbara is passionate about product ingredients and keeps

informed on scientific advances that pertain to pet grooming. She

reads science studies, so you don’t have to. BBird has a

reputation for being able to explain difficult concepts in

understandable terms with a hefty mix of humor and fun. Along

with her bestie Susy Scot, She is one-half of The GroomPod, a

weekly podcast for groomers, and she teams up with Chris

Pearson for occasional webinars. She is also currently writing for

the Canine Esthetician Journal, a new online journal.

Gia's connection to animals began at home — her parents ran a no-kill animal shelter, and from an early age she was involved in the care of every cat and dog who came through their doors. After graduating from UMKC, a chance opportunity to train as a groomer changed everything — including introducing her to her future wife, Jen. In January 2011 they opened their salon, Simply Grooming By Gia.    After watching two of her dogs defy dire diagnoses through the power of diet and supplementation, Gia became passionate about animal nutrition. She formalized that passion in 2022 by completing a 16-week course with a holistic veterinarian and continues to study traditional Chinese herbal medicine. She is dedicated to helping pet owners and grooming professionals understand how nutrition can support — and even transform — the health of the animals in their care.

Laura has been grooming since 2015 and opened Laura’s Paw Spaw in 2019. She opened the Paw Spaw wanting to work with a wide variety of pets and provide individual care for each of them. Though she loves getting to work with all dogs and cats, Laura has a passion for doodle and poodle grooming. She also loves being able to rehabilitate nervous or aggressive dogs that have been turned away from other groomers. Laura finds fulfillment in providing a positive, safe, and relaxing environment for the Paw Spaw staff and the pets in her care. She also offers creative grooming services including permanent and temporary hair dye, which really helps to bring out a dog’s personality! A frequent speaker at The Kansas City Grooming Conference, Laura has a passion for continued education and is a Certified Canine Esthetician. Laura has two dogs at home (Ezdeath and Buddy) and two ferrets (Pike and Grog).

Misti is the one that makes it all happen. From the swag bags, raffle donations and contests, she works non stop to help make the Kansas City Grooming Conference a success.