Sarah Meikle is the founder and CEO of Diggity Dogs Service Dogs, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to producing the highest quality medical alert, psychiatric and mobility service dogs for children and adults in need, as well as being a University of Massachusetts Amherst Animal Science course instructor for almost ten years. Ms. Meikle has pioneered the innovative and life-saving use of service dogs for a myriad of disabilities including obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, autism, seizure disorders, anxiety & phobia disorders, and PTSD, among others.Through groundbreaking partnerships with MIT, Harvard and UMass Medical Center, Ms. Meikle and Diggity Dogs Service Dogs have been instrumental in furthering the understanding of canine developmental stages and distinctive physical and behavioral developmental differences in various dog breeds. Ms. Meikle is also an active lecturer, a TEDtalk speaker and a frequent guest lecturer for Universities and events. As a teacher and mentor, she has helped several mentees to become expert dog trainers certified through CPDT, as well as aiding multiple students in working towards becoming veterinary behaviorists, a highly sought after title in the veterinary work, with less than 100 veterinarians qualified around the world. In addition to her ground-breaking work with dogs and disabilities, Ms. Meikle is an award winning artist most recently recognized by Smith College Museum of Art as Best New Media Artist, and enjoys a variety of methods and mediums, including sculpture, painting, photography and digital art. Ms. Meikle has also received recognition for her work in peace studies, social justice and conflict resolution, which continues to inform and inspire her.Prior to pursuing psychology and the world of service dogs, Ms. Meikle had a vibrant career in the technology and marketing fields. As an early adopter, she played key roles in establishing early internet service providers and later served as vice-president in charge of marketing for a pioneering web directory in the pre-Google era. Not all of Ms. Meikle’s early accomplishments were in the technology field, however. She relished serving as Marketing & Promotions Coordinator and then Marketing Manager for Dymocks Sydney, the largest bookstore in the southern hemisphere, for several years.Ms. Meikle is a dog lover, a seasoned and enthusiastic world traveler, and a lover of comedy, music, art, history, technology, psychology and science. She is insatiably curious, inventive, positive, and a spirited problem solver.