Judges
DIANE BETELAK
Diane is a Nationally Certified Master Groomer and has owned Heads and Tails Professional Dog Grooming, Inc. in Liverpool, NY, since 1982. She has groomed competitively in the U.S. and abroad and has multiple Best in Shows and Best All-Around Groomer wins as well as multiple placements at prestigious competitions. Diane has also competed and won the Creative Styling class at Groom Expo three times and placed every time entered. Diane is a National Grooming Consultant for the Andis Company. She also does demonstrations, speaks, judges and offers private consultation for conformation and competitive grooming.
TERI DIMARINO
An industry veteran, Teri has owned and operated successful salons and mobiles in Florida and California. A winning grooming contest competitor, Teri was a member of three GroomTeam USA Gold Medal teams. A multi Cardinal Crystal Award winner, Teri is a popular speaker and judge at seminars and trade shows across the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Korea and Australia. Teri is a 2011 Barkleigh Honors Award winner for her writing in Groomer to Groomer magazine.
VIVIAN NASH
She won the title International Groomer of the Year in 1986 and the Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award for Judge of the Year. She has been an international grooming judge for two decades. As President of the Nash Academy of Kentucky, she and her late husband, John Nash, revolutionized dog grooming education with the first, in-depth, instructor-driven online classes. The Governor of Kentucky has appointed her to the State Board for Proprietary Education, a position she held for more than six years. She is co-founder of the International Judges Association for Dog Grooming Competitions and has co-developed the Canine Reference and Groomers Reference, two encyclopedic online references.
KENDRA OTTO
Kendra graduated from the Great Lakes Academy of Professional Pet Styling in 1997 and started competing in creative styling. She soon moved onto regular classes and won multiple Best in Show and Best All Around Groomer awards, the Will Stone Memorial Award and the Liz Paul Scissoring Award. She has been on the 2007, 2008 and 2009 GroomTeams. She was ranked in the top ten for GroomTeam for four years. Kendra is on the Andis Staff. She works closely with Woburn Scottish Terriers and actively fosters dogs. She works at The Barker Shop in Countryside, IL.
IRINA PINKUSEVICH, NCMG
Irina Pinkusevich has been in the grooming industry for over 20 years. She was a 2011 Barkleigh Honors Awards nominee. She is a multiple Best In Show and Best All Around winner, Winners Circle champion and Best American Groomer 2008 at Intergroom. A member of Travel GroomTeam USA 2008, Irina also competed at the World Team Championship in Dachau, Germany, in September of 2009 and helped bring back gold for the U.S. Currently Irina teaches the art of pet syling at Merryfield School of Pet Grooming in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
CHRISTINE SPEERIN, CMG
Grooming has been Christine’s passion since she was 12 years old. Christine competed in the very first grooming competition held in Australia, Groomalong 1992, and has been a leading figure in the Australian grooming industry ever since. Christine is a multi-award winning groomer whose work has been featured on prime time television segments Sydney Weekender and Talk to the Animals and also in numerous print media magazines including the Australian Women’s Weekly. Christine is the Grooming Ambassador for Purina Petlife. Christine is an original member of GroomTeam Australia and is the current team manager. In 2010 she became the first Australian groomer to be accepted onto the International Judges Association panel. Christine is the leading instructor at The Grooming School, which she co-founded with her husband, Les, in 2004.
KOMAKO TANAKA
Komako “Koko” Tanaka was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. When an injury ended her professional dancing career, she discovered dog grooming. She began competing in 2003 but was “hooked” after winning the 2006 Rising Star of the Year Award. Koko earned her place on GroomTeam USA in 2007 and 2008, represented the U.S. in the 2009 World Team Grooming Championship in Germany, and helped her team win the gold. After retiring from competition, Koko started mentoring advanced grooming students from Japan. She currently lives in Tennessee and owns her own mobile grooming business, Koko’s Paws.