About Us

Julia

Julia broke in to the world of education leadership at Teach For America shortly after graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago. By 2009 she grew tired of travel and conferences and decided to return to her childhood love: dogs. For two and half years, Julia worked as an animal handler and dog walker, learning as much as she could before putting her entrepreneurial mind to work. At the start of 2012, Julia launched Rover-Time Dog Walking & Pet Sitting and finds this wonderful experience of running and owning a small business to be a gift. In her free time she loves to cook and entertain friends and family, create projects at home, work on her blog, and find different ways to live simply.

Julia is a graduate of CanineLink’s Fundamentals Program which broadened her perspectives on so many important topics, all of which Julia sees playing out every day she’s with her own dog or someone else’s. Julia learned about the dog’s evolution and its ways communicating with us. Her knowledge of breeds expanded. She developed an understanding of dog training and learning theory. And the class defined canine behavior and solved real-life problems. Most importantly, she left the experience empowered with a comprehensive understanding of how to prevent dog bites and how to humanely work with an animal. In addition to all of this wonderful stuff, CanineLink also encouraged her to look at what’s next. Julia will remain committed to all she learned and looks forward to expanding her staff’s professional development with their fantastic programs.

Marc

Marc began working in the pet care industry as a part time job while pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Northeastern Illinois University. Three years later, he is still working with dogs but he is now pursuing his master’s degree at DePaul University. Marc spent the first eighteen years of his life with his family dog, Gretchen. He now has two of his own, a not-quite-a-dachshund and a pit bull/boxer mix, both of which are adopted. In addition, he also fosters dogs. When he’s not hanging out with other people’s dogs or his own, he likes to ride his bike, read, and dine out at restaurants. Marc is dog first aid certified by the American Red Cross.

Jonina

Jonina has surrounded herself with animals since meeting her first furry best friend, Bo, at the age of 3. After completing her undergraduate degree in Communications from Ithaca College, Jonina entered the corporate world of public relations where she worked for several years. In 2010 she rediscovered her dream and desire to help cats and dogs have better lives, and made a career change, taking a position at PAWS Chicago. Jonina continues to work with animals as a veterinary assistant at Animal Medical Center of Chicago and as a dog walker for Rover-Time. She looks forward every day to being excitedly greeted by the wagging tails of happy dogs. In her spare time, Jonina enjoys spending time with her friends and family, especially her husband and four-legged loves, Buddy and Gigi.

Stephanie

Stephanie graduated from Earlham College as a Sociology/Anthropology major in the spring of 2010. Shortly thereafter, she relocated to Chicago from her native Indiana. She took a job as a teacher’s assistant in a daycare and got to know the city by riding her bike everywhere. After a year at the daycare, she left to work as a nanny. After a year of working 50+ hour weeks, she was able to go down to part-time. She is using her new found spare time to prepare for the grad school admissions process. She is hoping to enter into a masters of social work program this fall. When not nannying, walking dogs, or writing application essays, she enjoys cooking vegetarian cuisine, riding her bike, and brewing beer.

Cody

Cody is formally from Lafayette, Indiana and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Computer Graphics Technology. In his free time from dog walking he’s a freelance designer and musician. This is his first position working with animals but he’s a natural. Cody connects with pets on a new level by understanding how every interaction affects their behavior. He’s exploring topics in canine body language, breed characteristics, and learning theory as it relates to dog training to become an asset to Rover-Time. In his former professional life, Cody worked in customer service and loves working with people as much as he now loves working with dogs.