Rosalyn Berne, Ph.D, is a professor, ethics scholar, equine empath, and author of many articles and five published books including a near-term science fiction novel, two academic works on ethics, and two books which document her own personal experiences of intuitive interspecies communication: When the Horse Whisper and Waking to Beauty.

Dr. Berne will share the inception and evolution of her experiences of intuitive interspecies communication, including her direct experiences communicating with animals and the moral compass she uses to guide such encounters. She will also share how these experiences have begun to shape her scholarship, and how as a professor of engineering ethics, she is using interspecies communication as a foundation for an academic inquiry into human and planetary wellness. This work is inspired by the hope that if the capacity of human and non-human animal communication can be established as experientially valid, and the connection it represents can be shown to be of value in the dominant, technological culture, then that knowledge could redirect human activity into more deeply attending to an ethical responsibility for the non-human animals of the planet. For more details click here.

Dr. Cara Gubbins began conducting scientific research as a high school student. She holds a PhD  in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology and has published her research on dolphin ecology and behavior in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Cara and her research have been featured on BBC, the Discovery Channel, CNN and National Geographic Specials. In 2012, Cara returned to graduate school and completed an MA in Spiritual Psychology with an emphasis in Consciousness, Health and Healing. For over a decade she has been a professional animal communicator and animal communication instructor for clients around the world. She is author of 5 books spanning the topics of natural history of animals, animal communication, and personal growth. Each year, she hosts the Animal Communicator and Healer online summit, bringing together thousands of animal communicators from all over the world. 

In her keynote presentation, Dr. Cara Gubbins will share her perspective on the history and future of the field, highlighting the need for scientific collaboration, documentation, and study. For more details click here.

Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Cree/Halfbreed; German/Polish): interdisciplinary artist, singer-songwriter, thinker! Her family roots and connection to land are from Papaschase First Nation / amiskwaciy wāskahikan (Edmonton) and Kikino Metis Settlement, AB. Her interdisciplinary work investigates and articulates a dynamism of nēhiyawin (Cree worldview) in contemporary time-place to create immersive environments towards ‘radical inclusion’ and decolonisation.

As a songwriter, L’Hirondelle’s focus is on both sharing nēhiyawēwin (Cree language) and Indigenous and contemporary song-forms and personal narrative songwriting as methodologies toward survivance. Cheryl has exhibited and performed nationally and internationally and is the recipient the 2021 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art. She is currently a PhD candidate at SMARTlab/University College Dublin.

Cheryl will gift us with the song “gchi miigwech maskihkiya”. Written in 2 languages - Anishnaabemowin and nēhiyawēwin, the song was inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass where she states “the plants have their own stories and their own songs.” 

An early leader in the field of contemporary intuitive interspecies communication, Penelope Smith is well-known across the world as a teacher and role model for those who are learning, re-learning or awakening their ability to intuitively communicate with animals. Her book Animal Talk has been republished at least 8 times and translated into over 15 different languages. She is the author of the 'Code of Ethics for Interspecies Telepathic Communicators' originally published in 1990 in Species Link: The Journal of Interspecies Telepathic Communication.

Penelope will be joining the symposium and close the event by providing translations from intuitive communications with animals.

The International Multispecies Methods Research Symposium: Shifting Paradigms in Human-Animal Relations is intended for a diverse audience of researchers, practitioners and other individuals interested in intuitive interspecies communication – often known as “animal communication” in lay terms.

We value the participation of each registrant and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Accordingly, all attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to other attendees throughout the symposium events.

To make clear what is expected, all delegates/attendees, speakers, organizers and volunteers at the International Multispecies Methods Research Symposium: Shifting Paradigms in Human-Animal Relations are required to conform to the following Code of Conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event. 

 International Multispecies Methods Research Symposium: Shifting Paradigms in Human-Animal Relations is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion or species. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. 

All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Avoidance of colonizing language is requested. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks and small breakout rooms. 

Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for International Multispecies Methods Research Symposium: Shifting Paradigms in Human-Animal Relations. 

Attendees violating these rules may be asked to leave the symposium without a refund at the sole discretion of the event organizers. 

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact: 

• Avantika Mathur-Balendra avantika.mathur@usask.ca 

We will be happy to assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the sympoisum. We value your attendance. 

Attendee Procedure for Handling Harassment

This procedure has been adopted from the Ada Initiative's guide titled "Conference anti-harassment/Responding to Reports” and PyCon 2017’s policy.

1. Contact staff personnel (Avantika Mathur-Balendra) (info below). The staff will also be prepared to handle the incident. All of our staff members are informed of the code of conduct policy and guide for handling harassment at the conference. There will be a mandatory virtual staff meeting prior to the conference when this will be reiterated as well.
2. Report the harassment incident (preferably in writing) to Avantika- all reports are confidential.
3. When reporting the event to staff, try to gather as much information as available, but do not interview people about the incident - Staff will assist you in writing the report/collecting information.
4. The important information consists of:

• Identifying information (name) of the participant doing the harassing
• The behavior that was in violation
• The approximate time of the behavior (if different than the time the report was made)
• The circumstances surrounding the incident
• Other people involved in the incident

The staff is well informed on how to deal with the incident and how to further proceed with the situation.

If everyone is presently physically safe, staff will involve law enforcement or security only at a victim's request. If you do feel your safety in jeopardy please do not hesitate to contact local law enforcement by dialing 911. If you do not have a cell phone, you can use any hotel phone or simply ask a staff member.

All reports should be made directly to:

Avantika Mathur-Balendra:  avantika.mathur@usask.ca

This Code of Conduct was forked from the PyCon 2017 Code of Conduct which was forked from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers which is under a Creative Commons Zero license. Conference Code of Conduct is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.