Meet your Board of Directors
President: Sheila Mills
Hello! My name is Sheila Mills, and I am the current WBA president. A little about myself, I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with my husband Jason, and daughter Kalyn. We are currently owned by 2 Beaucerons (Lina and Bane) and our cat Sonic. I have been in the world of purebred dogs for over 30 years. My original breed was the German Shepherd where I started in junior showmanship (conformation) when I was 6 years old. From there, my passion for dogs and training continued to grow and expand over time. I have also owned Toy Fox Terriers, but now strictly have Beauceron and have for approximately 9 years. My kennel prefix is ‘Allora’.
With my first Beauceron Odin, I discovered my love for obedience training through the sport of IGP. This is where my appreciation for dog sports and working dogs really started. I have trained and competed in IGP, CKC Obedience, CKC Rally Obedience, Scent Detection, Agility, and French Ringsport over the years. Odin was the first Beauceron to receive a Rally Masters title in CKC history which I am very proud of. I’m currently very involved in French Ringsport with my female Beauceron Lina. French Ring was not an intentional thing for me, in fact I did not buy my female specifically for French ring. However, from day 1 this girl needed a job and had a lot of grit. I wanted a high-level obedience dog originally, however a friend talked me into going out to the local FR club to have her evaluated. I was intrigued, I made arrangements and well… the rest is history!
I’m very proud of Lina’s ring career to date. It is no easy task competing in a sport as an ‘off breed’. However, we are determined. Lina obtained her French Ring Brevet at 15 months old, and last summer she obtained her level 1 title with 2 first place finishes under some challenging panels. We are currently preparing for our level 2 title and hope to trial this year. I feel very strongly about preserving the working attributes of the Beauceron and am excited to support any efforts to promote our wonderful breed in this capacity.
Vice President: Casey Nowtash
I’ve always dreamed of having a dog that was bold, formidable, trustworthy, protective, and versatile – and the Beauceron was the perfect fit. I’ve been involved with the breed for nearly eight years, starting with our Beauceron, Xerxes.
Xerxes and I explored various AKC sports like dock diving, herding, and conformation, but our true passion developed when we began training in IGP. It was through IGP that we honed our skills in tracking, obedience, and protection. Over the course of five years of training and competing, we earned several awards, including High in Protection, High in Tracking, First Place in IGP1, Second Place in IGP2, and Fourth Place in IGP3. He was also the first Beauceron to compete at IGP Nationals in the USA.
Now, I’m looking forward to new adventures, including exploring a new sport and training in French Ring with Xerxes' daughter, Addie. The future is bright, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us!
Secretary: Ellen Douglas
I live on a farm with my three Beaucerons and one German Shepherd. My journey with Beaucerons began in 2018 when I got my first Beauceron, Zada. I jumped headfirst into IGP with Zada, and I’ve been actively involved in the sport for the past six years. After we earned our BH I decided to switch gears with Zada due to a lack of helpers who could work an off-breed in our area, but continued in the sport with my GSD.
That’s when I started training in scent work. Zada and I earned High in Trial Novice at our first scent work trial, beating 40 other novice dogs that day. Then more recently, I did some dabbling in herding with Zada, who has earned her AKC Herding Temperament Test. Herding is a goal I’m working toward, and I hope to add sheep to the farm soon.
My other two Beaucerons are Nova, my Poland import, and Epic, who is the daughter of Zada. Nova is currently being trained for her BH, while Epic is learning how to be a show dog and will soon start her training for IGP.
My goals for joining the Working Beauceron Association board as secretary are to help promote the working aspect of the Beauceron breed and preserve their working heritage. This is an amazing breed that has taken my life in a direction I never would have expected, and I hope to help others find the joy I have found in this breed.
Treasurer: Bee Nelissen
Brooke "Bee" Nelissen has been in the Beauceron breed since 2019. Her main sport is herding. Her dogs actively train, trial and clinic on the West Coast region on all stock in AKC, ASCA and AHBA. She has the first Beauceron to title in the French Herding Style program under the Belgian Sheepdog Club of America. She and her dogs are also active in training for scent based sports and hope to trial soon. She loves the versatility of the breed and that they do everything with their whole heart. The partnership these dogs offer their handler is a gift that she treasures. She looks forward to seeing more Beaucerons and their handlers be recognized in the performance and working fields.
Director Region 1: Steve Garvin
I enjoy training. Getting inside of a dog‘s mind and seeing how you can communicate with them. There will, your will . How can you make it beneficial to both. Seeing how you can confirm that a dog is man’s best friend. Every team is different. Every relationship with a dog is different. This I find very intriguing and fun. My goal is to see how far I can take a female Beauceron in sports. As of today I’ve trained a female Beauceron to IGP3 ,French Ring 1. And worked with other peoples Beaucerons over the years. Where I learned Beauceron’s are soft in a different way. Pass Dogs, three malinios to IGP3 ,French Ring1. One malinios MondioRing3 . Competed with the world team in Switzerland and Belgium. Competed in AKC obedience open Level. Competed with top dog the best dogs in California for obedience. Titled a malinios AKC herding novice. Defeated 340 and something Dogs in the 90s. Making him the six highest scoring dog in the United States that year in herding. Trialed three border collies on the Scent hurdle races in California. Precursor to flyball. Coached it and we were the highest-scoring team 3 years in a row. Competing in AKC and other agility things at an excellent level with the malinios and border collies. Competed in PSA3 with a malinios at the 3 level. Cost my dog PSA3 title three times for early call-offs. I guess Ive got a nerve problem. Finished a malinios in the AKC breed ring to champion . Small amount of scent work . All dogs HOT trained. Training Director at a IGP Schutzhund club for over 10 years. Best regards.
Steve Garvin
Director Region 2: Mandy Ewing
My name is Mandy, and this is Mercury. He is my first beauceron and I couldn’t be happier. I fell in love with the breed nearly a decade ago, and it was a dream of mine to own them. I’ve finally gotten one and let me tell you, I’ll never not have one! Mercury has been my ride or die, dabbling in many sports and activities. He has been my training demo dog, we have dabbled in many sports, including bikejouring, kick sledding, bitework, Sprinters and Chase ability (Lure Coursing for off breeds), weight pull, barn hunt, rally obedience, obedience, and looking forward to starting scent work, agility and dock diving! He donates blood for the Canadian Animal Blood Bank too! We currently have titles in Rally, Bitework, trick dog, Temperment test, and canine good neighbour, virtual home manners too!
I am a believer in working the dog in front of you, but mainly balanced based training. I believe that training should be fair, and that it should always end in a positive. Strong relationships between you and your dog can be amplified just by doing things that work for you and your dog.
My goal for joining the board are to help better the breed in all its glory. As the beauceron is a working dog, that means encouraging people to come out and work your dogs. Come out and see our working dogs work! Whether in tracking, search and rescue, bitework, herding, all of it! I look forward to the journey that will come being on the board!