Nice to meet you, and welcome to the spa. Below, read all about our staff and get to know each of us a little bit better! We can’t wait to meet you in person!
Olivia Glynn Ackerman
Founder/Owner/Expert Stylist
she/her
Olivia has been honing her craft as a expert pet stylist for 20 years and is a certified L.E.G.S. Family dog mediator and Fear Free Stylist. After working in both large corporate environments and small privately-owned salons, she saw what the industry was really lacking: compassionate grooming with a holistic focus. Olivia opened Pawsitivity Pet Spa in 2014 with the firm belief that all dogs deserve a safe and positive grooming experience. With an emphasis on respecting dogs’ boundaries and offering the highest quality pet styling, she aims to bring compassion to the forefront of the grooming industry.
The most rewarding part of Olivia’s job is witnessing the transformation of pets from fearing grooming to becoming comfortable and feeling safe. She believes there’s nothing more gratifying than building a trusting relationship with the dogs in her care. She loves teaching her stylists, and offering living wage+ positions with career worthy work/life balance, while expanding the vision of exceptional styling and the pawsitive grooming experience.
Outside of the spa, Olivia enjoys spending time with her son, Rune and her dog, Winnie (Medusa Winnifred, aka Winnie-penny-pie). She also is currently pursuing her Certification as a Companion Animal Death Doula through the University of Vermont. She has been a tarot reader for more than a decade and is also currently studying animal communication.
Paige Webb
Pet Stylist
she/her
Paige has been grooming since 2016, including 5 years pet spa management experience and she’s a certified Canine Esthetician through PGC. We were lucky to have her join our team in February 2022, moving to Asheville from snowy Minnesota! She excels at teddy bear cuts and has a soft spot for Australian Shepherds. Since her arrival at Pawsitivity she has quickly gained rapport with our clientele, and is popular with our large dog clients especially Doodles and Herding dogs. She enjoys a satisfying Deshedding treatment and her clients floofy booties are recognizable strutting around town. She’s impressed with her scissoring skills and has made consistent strides in her technical skill set. She’s in her last phase of training with Olivia, preparing to join Kristyn as a lead stylist.
In her free time she loves spending time with her two cats, Bertie and Peachy. She is an avid gamer, both board games and video games. She also enjoys embroidery and reading. She is a great baker and helps lead the kitchen every year for our annual holiday cookie bake days!
Kristyn Maresca
Lead Pet Stylist
she/her
Kristyn is Fear Free Certified, L.E.G.S. Family Mediator Certified and has been in the grooming industry since 2011, joining Pawsitivity in 2019. She’s passionate about her focus on making dogs feel comfortable and safe during the grooming process. She loves when once-nervous clients return to Pawsitivity excited for their appointments! She most enjoys styling Muppet-style haircuts, and scissor finishing perfect poodle cuts. Kristyn seeks every opportunity to better herself as a groomer and is continuing her education to become a certified master stylist. Continued study with Olivia in rehabilitation and dog behavior is a passion, as well as studying Asian fusion grooming techniques. With 5 years of Pawsitivity experience she has a talent for desensitization and remediation.
In her free time Kristyn enjoys crocheting, trail running, and spending time with the 4 best dogs in the world, her pups Koji, Loki, Mila and Opus.
Heidi Fritz
Pet Stylist/ Spa Manager
she/her
Heidi is Fear Free certified and has been a pet stylist since 2009. She prioritizes attending continuing education conferences and workshops annually, especially enjoying observing grooming competition and learning the latest techniques. We welcomed her to our team in 2022 after a few years of mutual admiration! Her favorite breeds to groom are terriers, especially yorkies. She enjoys desensitization and working with nervous pets to help them feel more comfortable. She’s particularly skilled with anxious and senior small dogs, and has a very loyal clientele base. Olivia and Heidi are working on collaboration for small dog rehabilitation techniques.
On the weekends she enjoys spending time with her family including her two dogs Asta and Jason, caring for her plants, cooking delicious vegan cuisine or kayaking. She is also a video gamer.
Naturally artistically talented, Heidi also has a bachelors in fine arts and especially enjoys print making and painting.
August Kushner
Pet Stylist/Client Relations
he/him
August has been in the pet care and grooming industry since 2013. Initially trained on show terriers and poodles, August groomed and managed a salon and boarding facility for 9 years. He reached out to Pawsitivity for opportunities to broaden his technical skills and to became a part of the Pawsitivity pack in 2022. His years of experience in a salon setting help inform his patience and love for slowly helping dogs overcome their fears and building a trusting grooming relationship; he’s a perfect fit for our compassionate care model. He is passionate about his continuing education and the dog industry as a whole, and watches grooming videos, confirmation and agility shows regularly. He is currently studying on his Master Grooming Certification. His specialty is terriers and he is skilled at hand stripping rough coats gently, a particularly rare skill in the pet grooming industry. August appreciates heritage breeding and has many favorites, which include Chow-Chows, Belgian Malinois, Kerry Blue Terriers and Beauceron.
In his free time he enjoys hiking with and training his dog, Kairo. Caring for his plants, invertebrates, and collecting oddities. He also collects vintage AKC memorabilia.
