ABOUT OUR TEAM
Shannon Walker
Leveraging her three decades of experience across professional dog training, entrepreneurship, and advocacy, Shannon Walker steps into her role as Executive Director equipped with an exceptional skill set and a visionary approach.
Shannon’s contributions to the service dog industry have been transformative. From her impactful work as the founder of Northwest Battle Buddies to her proactive role within our Association, Shannon has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to our mission. She understands that service dogs are more than companions for Veterans; they are crucial partners in restoring their freedom, dignity, and independence.
Widely respected as an industry thought leader, Shannon has tirelessly worked to bring national awareness to service dogs‘ vital role in assisting veterans and their challenges. From her impactful TEDx Talk, PTSD and Service Dogs: Beneath the Surface , to her regular appearances on FOX News Radio, Shannon’s efforts have played a significant role in shaping public perception and understanding of PTSD, service dogs, and veterans.
Jeremiah Blocker
Jeremiah was a former State prosecutor and Drug Court Liaison for the State of Florida. He is partner in a small law firm practicing Business and Land Use law with a focus on assisting Military Veterans. Jeremiah is a former board member of the Florida Bar Committee on Military Law and is certified in Veteran Benefits Appeals.
Jeremiah is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he obtained a degree in history. While attending college, he participated in the Army ROTC program, commissioning as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation.
In the military, Jeremiah served as an Army officer for over 13 years, both on active duty and in the reserves. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jeremiah commanded a Military Police company in combat operations in Northern Iraq.
Jeremiah continues his military service in the Air Force Reserves as a Judge Advocate General officer with the rank of Major. Awards Jeremiah has received include: Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
Jeremiah graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law. He has also earned graduate degrees in Military History from Norwich University, Land Use & Development from the University of Miami and Business Entrepreneurship from the University of Florida.
Jeremiah was recently elected to the St. Johns County, Florida, Board of Commissioners as the County Commissioner for District Four and is serving a four-year term in elected office.
He is an active member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Military Officers Association of America and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.
Jeremiah and his wife Lauren live in Florida with their two young children.
Amanda Baity
Wife of a Marine Corps combat veteran, Amanda co-founded Semper K9 Assistance Dogs in 2014 with her husband Christopher. She is currently Director of Operations for Semper K9 and an advocate for the military community with a focus on invisible wounds.
In her early work career, she was Controller for a multi-million dollar corporation in Atlanta as she attended college. While finishing her degrees in Optometry and Astro-Biology she worked as a family service worker for the Department of Health & Human Services Head Start Program.
DeeDe Baker
Dog Tag Buddies Founder and Executive Director, DeeDe Baker is the wife of a combat veteran with 21 years of service. She founded Dog Tag Buddies after seeing the relief their own dogs brought her husband when he returned from Iraq in 2005. Assisting veterans and rescue dogs brings together the best of both worlds, especially knowing she is giving two lives a second chance. She is active with Pet Partners, is an AKC CGC Evaluator and has successfully received her IACP Dog Trainer Foundations Certificate. She is also a Certified Trauma Informed Care Super-trainer and QPR Gatekeeper trainer.
Jordan Kaye Colvin
Jordan brings various government, legislative, and non-profit experience to the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans. She most recently served as the Legislative Director for Congressman Ron DeSantis (FL-06), where managed an extensive policy portfolio and drafted the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers Act(P.A.W.S.).
Previously, Jordan served as a policy advisor and investigator for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Previously, she held the role of Director of Outreach and Policy for FAIR Girls, a D.C.-based anti-human trafficking organization which provides direct services to victims of trafficking.
In addition, Jordan served in the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C., where she was selected to the Human Traffic Unit within the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division. In that role, Jordan worked directly with the FBI’s task force on human trafficking, Project Innocence Lost.
Jordan holds a JD from the David A. Clarke school of law at the University of the District of Columbia and a BA from the George Washington University. She lives in Baltimore County, MD. with her husband a former Army Ranger and two rescue dogs, Colonel (Ret.) Darby and Spanky.
Jacob McCrea
Jacob has an extensive background in criminal law. Before joining North Florida Lawyers, Jacob was an Assistant State Attorney for nearly ten years. He served all across the State in a variety of circuits and in front of a variety of judges. Having tried over 50 jury trials and conducting countless motion hearings, he has handled almost any issue that could present itself in criminal litigation. As a former prosecutor, Jacob has tried cases ranging from Driving Under the Influence (DUI) to attempted murder and murder. Jacob also has an extensive background in white collar crime, organized crime, and complex narcotics investigations. He participated in investigating and prosecuting such cases while serving in the Duval County State Attorney’s Office Special Prosecution Unit for over three years.
Currently, Jacob also serves as an Assistant Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the Air Force reserves. He quickly obtained the rank of Captain and completes his annual trainings, and duty at his base in Little Rock Arkansas. As a reservist, Jacob had to complete the challenging Officer Training School (OTS) and Judge Advocate General Staff Officer Courses (JASOC). As an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, Jacob has gained extensive knowledge of Trust and Estates. Jacob has helped many service members in this field of law.
Before beginning his career as an Assistant State Attorney, Jacob attended law school at the Stetson University College of Law. While a Stetson, Jacob completed a two-year clerkship with a local private attorney where he worked on all facets of different civil and criminal law cases. Jacob also partook in Stetson’s nationally renowned Trial Advocacy program and had one of the highest rated mock trials among his peers. Jacob also partook in the school’s certified legal internship program, where he became a de facto prosecutor with the Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office. He tried multiple cases even before becoming an attorney and also argued motions to suppress. Upon graduation, he received the Pro Bono Award for his community service.
As an undergraduate, Jacob attended the University of Florida in his hometown of Gainesville. Jacob obtained a B.S. in Journalism. While in college, Jacob was the editor of the Independent Florida Alligator’s entertainment section, a staff writer for the Gator Times, and interned for the Gainesville Sun. After the internship at the Gainesville Sun, Jacob’s editor allowed him to stay on as a freelance writer where he wrote several feature articles.
Jacob currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his four-year old daughter. Currently, his interests include working out, community growth, and trying to keep up with his daughter’s constantly changing fascinations.
Craig H. Metz
Mr. Metz is a Partner in the Washington, DC Office of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP, an AM LAW 100 Firm. He has more than 30 years of experience in Federal Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, with a background in Defense, Healthcare, and Information Technology. Mr. Metz served as the Chief of Staff to the Late Congressman Floyd Spence (R-SC), who was a Member of both the Armed Services Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee over his thirty years of service in the Congress. During the six-year Chairmanship of the Armed Services Committee by Congressman Spence, Mr. Metz was also a Legislative Coordinator for the Chairman, as a member of the Professional Staff of the Committee. Mr. Metz has served as a Counsel to the United States Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee (now the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee), and he has been appointed to positions in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, including, serving in the Senior Executive Service. He was also an Assistant Director of the Congressional Affairs Division of the American Medical Association (AMA). Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Metz represented the Federal Government Relations interests of the EMC Corporation, which was acquired by Dell in 2016, and is now Dell EMC.
Mr. Metz is a member of the Bars of South Carolina and the District of Columbia. He is the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor of the State of South Carolina, and a number of other recognitions from the South Carolina Military Department, as well as the Legislative Award of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States (ROA).
Joan Nold
Labs for Liberty co-founder, Dr. Joan Nold, was raised serving her community. One of eight children, her family was comprised of first responders. As a neonatologist, she cares for the sickest and smallest of newborns. As an Honorary Commander with the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, she supports the individuals of the US Air Force and their efforts to protect our nation. When Joan’s older son, Zach, joined the military, Joan was compelled to serve our nation’s military and first responders. Choosing to exploit her gift with animals and interpersonal skills, Joan established a revolutionary service dog program; hand selecting, custom training, and personally gifting each dog to Veterans and first responders. While the custom training of each dog is integral to the success of the Veteran/dog team, the personal relationships formed between the dog recipients and Labs for Liberty volunteers result in the quintessential family. Just as their service dog is their battle buddy and best friend, Labs for Liberty becomes their extended family.
Mary Peter
Mary Peter has trained dogs professionally since 1987. She is a Certified Master Dog Trainer (CMDT) and a graduate of the National K9 Learning Center, Columbus, OH, one of the premier schools for dog trainers whose alumni include the top tier of K9 trainers in 45 countries. Her expertise in K9 training & behavior is nationally known.
Mary began training service dogs in 1997 when asked to help two law enforcement officers injured in the line of duty with service dog training. Since then, Mary has trained service dogs for private clients through Stillwater Dog Training, her private dog training business. Mary closed Stillwater Dog Training in 2014 when she saw many of her veteran clients struggling with the inability to adapt to civilian life after their military service. She founded K9 Partners for Patriots to offer her services to veterans with PTSD/TBI and/or MST at no cost.
Mary was the founder and K9 instructor for the K9 Forensics Recovery Team, Inc., a law enforcement-certified search dog team specializing in the recovery of human remains. Their services were engaged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement (FDLE); and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Mary and her team assisted the FBI & Texas Equusearch efforts in Aruba in search for Natalee Holloway’s body. She also contributed to FEMA’s cadaver recovery efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina (2005). She’s since been cited in specialty investigative textbooks, such as Forensic Recovery of Human Remains, Archaeological Approaches, by Tosha Dupras, PhD. (published by CRC Press).
Brett Simon
Brett Simon is a founder of K9s For Warriors. He currently serves as the Director of Standards and Membership for the Association of Service Dog Providers to Military Veterans. Brett oversees more than 10 organizations throughout the country and created the standards for membership and dog training curriculum utilized by these programs. In his former career, he worked as a police officer for nearly 15 years (10 of which were spent as a K9 handler). Following his law enforcement career, Brett became a private investigator. Although he was challenged by this endeavor, he found himself wanting to go back to his true calling: working with dogs.
In 2005, Brett was selected for a new program implemented by the military that cross trained tracking and explosive dogs. During his tour in Mosul, Iraq, he was attached to the US Army 2nd Infantry Division as a DOD contractor. Brett and his dog Hugo were very successful on their missions, discovering multiple inventories of weapons and explosives. After returning home in 2005, Brett was diagnosed with PTSD. He completed a second trip to Iraq, teaming up with an explosives dog. Upon his return, he and his mother, Shari Duval, began developing the plan to establish K9s for Warriors to assist post - 9/11 veterans diagnosed with PTSD, TBI, and/or MST. He is a dog training/handling thought leader and public speaker. Brett has appeared on local and national programming, including HLN and Fox News. He has also been featured in stories and articles around the country – one being People Magazine. Brett is a member of Leadership Jacksonville’s Class of 2018. In his free time, he enjoys hitting the golf course with his family and going on fun outings with his wife and son.
The Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans Committees
Membership Committee
Chairman: Amanda Baity, Semper K9 Assistance Dogs
Member Representatives:
- K9s for Warriors
- K9 Partners for Patriots
- Northwest Battle Buddies
- Patriotic Service Dog Foundation
- Got Your Six PTSD Support Dogs
Standards Committee
Chairman: Shannon Walker, Northwest Battle Buddies
Member Representatives:
- K9s for Warriors
- K9 Partners for Patriots
- Paws 4 Liberty
- Semper K9 Assistance Dogs
Policy & Advocacy Committee
Chairman: DeeDe Baker, Dog Tag Buddies
Member Representatives:
- K9s for Warriors
- Operation Freedom Paws
- Semper K9 Assistance Dogs
- Clear Path for Veterans
Conference Committee
Chairman: Amanda Baity, Semper K9 Assistance Dogs
Member Representatives:
- Got Your Six PTSD Support Dogs
- Dog Tag Buddies