The Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) is advancing awareness and understanding of the interrelationships among people, other animals and the environment. Keep up with the latest news about IHAC and our work related to human-animal-environment interactions.
What's New at IHAC
Equine Behavior Course Starts January 17, 2024!
The second cohort of our popular Equine Behavior course starts January 17! Join us as we learn about equine behavior and how it relates to human-horse interactions and equine health through a fully online, instructor-led course, with short, weekly assignments.
Over 15 weeks, you will learn how to understand the behavior and cognition (mental capacities and learning) of horses within the context of how to care for, handle and train horses using best available scientific information. This course is designed for working professionals of any skill or education level and can be accessed internationally.
We are excited to announce that we have been able to bring our part-time research associate, Ximena Salgado-Santamaria, up to full-time! Ximena has been an integral part of the animals and communities research team and has already contributed a great deal to the organization. We are so grateful to have Ximena at IHAC. Welcome, Ximena!
IHAC Receives Grant from Green Chimneys
IHAC is pleased to share that we have received a $50,000 grant from Green Chimneys to continue the amazing research projects on which we have partnered. This grant includes working together on evidence to practice projects in which IHAC's research will help the staff at Green Chimneys implement therapeutic interventions to best serve their students.
Andrea Sierra graduated from our Animals and Human Health (AHH) certificate program in 2022. She is now a clinical supervisor at The Crossroads Inc., in Phoenix, Arizona, one of the largest non-profit residential and outpatient substance abuse treatment programs in the United States. At Crossroads, she utilized the knowledge she gained in AHH to assist her in implementing a human-animal interaction program that incorporates psychoeducational topics, such as communication skills, trust building, trauma, and mindfulness.
Molly DePrekel graduated from IHAC’s Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist (CAIS) certificate program in 2022. She has been an IHAC adjunct faculty member since 2017 and has taught many courses within IHACPro’s Animals and Human Health certificate program.
Laurie Albright, a 2023 graduate of IHAC’s Humane Education Practitioner Certificate (CHEP) program, wears many hats in her professional life. She is a part-time hospice social worker, a teacher-in-training, and a volunteer adoption guide at the Denver Animal Shelter. In all these roles and more, Laurie incorporates elements of humane education.
Macie Dominique, a 2017 graduate of IHACPro’s Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner Certificate (EAMH), completely shifted her professional path after realizing her passion involved integrating animals into her professional work. In both of her professional settings, her therapeutic work is supported with equine, canine, and farm animal interactions.
Since 2005, the Institute for Human-Animal Connection has been committed to providing high-quality, flexible education to professionals incorporating animals into therapy, education, and beyond. 2022 was another successful year with exciting milestones and growth!
Research at the Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) uses innovative approaches to answer seminal questions in the human-animal-environment interactions field. From animal welfare to nature-based therapeutic interventions, and a lot in between, IHAC’s unique research informs practitioners, communities, and the field at large.
For Dr. Vicki Kirsch, the Equine-Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) Certificate program was life changing. With a hybrid model featuring online courses and three, in-person workshops, Kirsch had found a program that offered a deeper learning experience.
Darlene Brace, Behavioral Health Director in an integrated medical and dental clinic, is a graduate of both the Animals and Human Health (AHH) and Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist (CAIS) certificates. In both of these programs, Brace learned valuable skills and knowledge that she has been able to take into her personal practice.
Dimensions of Humane Communities Online Lecture Series
With human behavior at the center of the most pressing issues facing humanity, other animals and the environment, the Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) aims to reflect, explore and discuss how human change mechanisms at the individual, community and organizational levels are needed to create sustainable improvements for all. IHAC’s Dimensions of Humane Communities webinar series features natural and social science-informed education, research and advocacy efforts that work toward a more compassionate and humane world, one community at a time.This online lecture series will feature events with experts in each of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection’s three core areas: Therapeutic Human-Animal Interactions, Animals & Communities, and Conservation Social Work.
Why Access to Pet Resources is a Social Justice Issue
Amanda Arrington, Senior Director of the groundbreaking Pets for Life (PFL) program at the Humane Society of the United States, discusses how pet ownership crosses all geographic, racial, ethnic and socio-economic boundaries, but access to information and services does not. Institutional bias and systemic inequity can have a negative impact on pets and there is a great need to understand and deepen the connection between animal welfare and social, racial, and economic justice. Recorded Wednesday May 6, 2020.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
Sarah Schmidt, the founder and president of The Big Fix Uganda’s Comfort Dog Project and Meg Daley Olmert, Director of Research for the Warrior Canine Connection will present the first One Health animal assisted therapy model fighting cruelty and despair in Northern Uganda. The Big Fix Uganda—a non-profit , based in Port Townsend, WA--operates the only veterinarian hospital in Northern Uganda. Recorded Wednesday May 20, 2020.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
The Missed Opportunities of Shying Away from Public Policy Engagement
Vince Wong serves as Director of Collective Impact for the Michelson Found Animals Foundation talks about how public policy engagement is a long, drawn-out process that we tend to shy away for myriad reasons – time, resources, attention, anxiety, exhaustion, fear, inexperience – just to name a few. But to effect long-term and sustainable change, you need multiple stakeholders – corporate, nonprofit, community, philanthropy, and yes even government – from diverse areas to all come together on collective action that actually makes a difference. Recorded on Wednesday June 3, 2020.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
Traditional Stories of the Relationship between the Arikara (Sahnish) and the Animal World
The Arikara, or more accurately “Sahnish,” are a northern Great Plains tribe currently living on the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation in central North Dakota, USA. In this session, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird (Arikara) will share a series of short teaching stories of the relationship between the Arikara people and the animal world. The stories are intended to nurture participant’s understanding of the important connection between humans and animals and how renewing this tradition can help restore this relationship.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
Educating Human Children about Animal and Other Alterity: A critical foundation for moving toward a plant-based and more compassionate society
Maneesha Deckha, professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria, argues that any advocacy or policy agenda directed at transitioning to plant-based societies should include education that combats the anthropocentric, gendered and colonial cultural messaging human children typically receive. Deckha will discuss how this cultural messaging can be delivered through a critical iteration of humane education focused on cultivating empathy and disrupting the Othering/dominating messages children receive and internalize about animals, the earth’s “resources” and human Others. Recorded Wednesday July 1, 2020.
The need for humane education has never been greater
Dr. Sarah Bexell, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work and Director of Humane Education at IHAC, believes that humane education is needed now more than ever before. In this session, Dr. Bexell will talk about humane education as a comprehensive and needed methodology that equips learners with the tools to think critically to identify impactful solutions to the interconnected global challenges of violations of human rights and well-being, the protection of other species, and mass environmental degradation. Recorded Wednesday July 15, 2020.
View Anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
This conference highlights the latest research, best practices and future directions of human-animal-environment interactions and inspires attendees to rethink human relationships with other animals.
This public lecture series features natural and social science-informed education, research and advocacy work to create a more compassionate and humane world, one community at a time.
