Meet the Trainers
The Starmark family was founded in 1997 and includes approximately 40 staff members—15 of which are certified training and behavior specialists.
All of our certified training and behavior specialists are handpicked from the top graduates of our Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers, the largest and most comprehensive dog training school in the world.
Your dog is a member of your family, and we look forward to welcoming your dog to ours!
Erica Fernandez
Erica’s love and passion for dogs started at young age. By the time she turned 15 she had save up enough dog walking and pet sitting funds to put herself through school for dog grooming. At the same time taking up internships with local dog training facilities and continuing to study for education and experience. She officially started her small business when she was 16 years old and won awards and community nominations for her services and dedication to the community rescue efforts. She graduated from Starmark Academy School for Dog Trainers in 2020 as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist and is certified in Pet Tech First Aid. Erica works alongside her Demo Dog Raven, a 5-year-old Doberman pincher who assists in the training process. Erica’s goal here at Starmark is to bring pet owners and their dogs closer together through a balanced relationship-based training experience.
Bella Barna
Bella entered the world of dog training at the age of 12 when she was first introduced to dog agility. With the help of a mentor she and her dog, Ace the border collie, worked their way up to competing in agility and disc dog competitions. Since then Bella continued work in agility, helping people and their dogs learn the obstacles and handling skills required for agility. In 2022, Bella attended StarMark Academy and earned her certification as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. After completing the 3 month course, Bella was chosen to participate in a 3 month internship at StarMark Academy that allowed her to work withwith behavior modification cases and dogs with disabilities. With the help of her demo dogs Ace and Jupiter, Bella aims to help owners and their dogs achieve a better connection through training.
Andrew Garcia
Drew’s dog training career began after seeking out training for his German Shepherd Odin. This sparked his passion for dog training and his path to becoming a dog trainer started. Drew shadowed under multiple mentors who helped him learn the ins and outs of training dogs. He worked as a dog trainer privately for 6 years before making the decision to further his knowledge of the profession. Drew attended and graduated from StarMark Academy in 2022 where he was certified as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. After graduating he brought home Yokai, a German Shepherd puppy who is in training to become a demo dog. After a few months of training dogs privately, Drew returned to StarMark to work as a dog trainer with the goal of helping dog owners understand their best friends better.
Paige Seymour
Paige’s passion for animal training began at age six when she started riding horses. Both of her parents are practicing psychologists, which sparked her interest in learning theory and how it applies to animals. For fourteen years, she rode and trained horses under different mentors before deciding it was time for a change. Wanting to stick with animals, Paige looked to dogs, incorporating her knowledge of equine behavior and general learning theory. After adopting Grimm, her service dog prospect, she decided to fully dedicate herself to dog training. In 2023, Paige attended StarMark Academy and earned her certification as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. Alongside her demo dog, Kol, she works to help owners understand their canine partners better in order to strengthen the bond they share.
Marcus Gumbs
Marcus’s interest in dogs was sparked at a very young age, being that he already had 2 in his household before he had a chance to take his first steps. He was extremely fascinated by the human-canine bond which led to him owning and caring for many dogs over the course of his lifetime. In his teenage years he began expanding his knowledge of dogs and started training his personal as well as his family and friends’ dogs. Despite his longing to be a professional dog trainer, after high school he decided to join the military and serve his country for 6 years before returning home and starting his career with dogs. In 2023 Marcus attended Starmark Academy and earned his certification as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. Alongside him are Rampage and Lyla, his two demo dogs which he uses to showcase the unbreakable bond and obedience that can be built through love and training.
