Women’s History Month: 15 to watch in 2023
Women’s History Month is about honoring those who came before, but the NEWStat editorial team and the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative (WVLDI) also want to shine a light on vet med professionals who are shaping the future today through their work from clinics to classrooms and laboratories to lecture halls.
Here they are, alphabetically by last name:
- Angie Arora, MSW, RSW
- Nicole Buote, DVM, DACVS
- Andi Davison, BA, BS, LVT, CAPP
- Genine Ervin-Smith, DVM, MPH
- Alea Harrison, DVM
- Kelly Drescher Johnson, BA, M.Div.
- Stephanie Jones, DVM
- Katie Kuehl, DVM
- Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT
- Melody Martínez, CVT
- Sam Morello, DVM, DACVS-LA
- Karen Perry, BVM&S, MRCVS, CERTSAS, DECVS, MSC VET ED
- Sara Pizano, DVM
- Laura Pletz, DVM
- Kate Toyer, BVSc, MANZCVS (Surgery)
Click their names to be taken to their bios, and read on to find out what guides these amazing women in their work!
Angie Arora, MSW, RSW
Veterinary Social Worker
“As we work on the systemic change needed in the profession, I’m honored to hold space for people to process their stressors to reduce feelings of isolation and improve coping skills. Systems don’t change without people, and I believe in the power of groundswell change.”
What guides you in your current work?
At a time when the veterinary profession is grappling with mental health and wellbeing issues, I see that change is possible. When we better understand the causes of burnout and secondary traumatic stress which can lead to compassion fatigue, we’re better positioned to develop appropriate responses. With knowledge and the right tools, comes the power to change!
Fundamentally, I believe people have an innate desire to be seen and heard. As we work on the systemic change needed in the profession, I’m honored to hold space for people to process their stressors to reduce feelings of isolation and improve coping skills. Systems don’t change without people, and I believe in the power of groundswell change.
Veterinary medicine is highly exposed to trauma on many levels, whether experiencing it oneself or through the exposure to other’s pain and suffering which overwhelms a person’s capacity to cope. This is a profession that can benefit from integrating trauma-informed principles to improve safety and belonging for professionals and clients alike. Integrating social workers and other mental health professionals into veterinary teams is a powerful way to start this change!
Nicole Buote, DVM, DACVS
Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Science and Founder, Veterinary Minimally Invasive & Interventional Surgery Lab (MIISL), Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Founder, Association of Women Veterinary Surgeons
" I am energized by the prospect of bringing new techniques and new equipment into veterinary surgery.”
What guides you in your current work?
My most ardent focus and passion lies with innovating new procedures for our patients. I am energized by the prospect of bringing new techniques and new equipment into veterinary surgery. Right behind that is my love of training surgeons—the feeling of seeing one of my residents perform a surgery well is like nothing else.
One thing I am very excited about is that my lab at Cornell (the Minimally Invasive and Interventional Surgery Lab – MIISL) is the first veterinary lab in the country to have a robotic simulator for research and training and we will also be the first veterinary school with a surgical robot (Da Vinci Si). I plan on using these two pieces of equipment to explore new surgeries for pets as well as new training techniques for students.
I am the founder of the Association of Women Veterinary Surgeons which I am very proud of. This nonprofit organization’s mission is to support women surgeons to reach their personal and professional goals (www.awvs.org). I have worked tirelessly to create the website and offer services to surgeons and residents such as research support and mentorship.
I am also a Founding Fellow in Minimally Invasive Surgery (Soft Tissue). I received this distinction due to my expertise in MIS and my devotion to MIS research.
Andi Davison, BA, BS, LVT, CAPP
Positive Change Agent, Flourish Veterinary Consulting
“I know that this is the best profession in the world, and I believe in the difference that each of you are making every day. I also believe that we shouldn’t have to do it alone; we aren’t meant to.”
What guides you in your current work?
One of my favorite quotes is from Rumi, who said, "Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart."
Veterinary medicine is a profession that stems from the heart—a profession that is built upon kindness, compassion, and dedication. This foundation can lead to all sorts of emotional encounters as we navigate our day.
I have seen the incredible highs and heartbreaking lows that inevitably accompany this career choice. I have seen this in myself, and more importantly I have seen it in all of you. As advocates for animals, every veterinary professional’s own wellbeing is critical to their ability to promote healing in their patients. I believe that flourishing and thriving in the veterinary space is possible for everyone. Why? Because I have seen YOU—all of you—it is this belief and commitment to you that guide me in the current work that I do. I know that this is the best profession in the world, and I believe in the difference that each of you are making every day. I also believe that we shouldn’t have to do it alone; we aren’t meant to.
As a veterinary professional and positive change agent with Flourish Veterinary Consulting, I get to extend myself into our community as a source of support. I hope to inspire, guide, and share the science of human thriving with the most deserving group of humans I know. Each of you deserve to flourish and I’d like to help you take one step closer to it.
Genine Ervin-Smith, DVM, MPH
Chief Operating Officer, Blendvet
“DEI speaks to the beauty in us as individuals, and Blendvet is striving to create that culture in veterinary medicine, because if it's suppressed or ignored, then it negatively affects our health and wellbeing.”
What guides you in your current work?
It's the balance of heritage and innovation. When creating something new, I believe it's helpful to reflect on or honor things from the past, as I can't imagine where I would be today without understanding and acknowledging what has happened before me. I'm constantly intrigued when peeling back the layers that diversity in my own career path, travels, interests, and community has played upon my life, and the impact of sharing that with others has always guided me to take the adventurous road and tackle what someone else may not.
I believe that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are just a few of the elements necessary towards true justice for all of the ways intersectionality affects our unique experiences in life. When we think of DEIB or DEIJ, or any of the related acronyms, the concept is just as important as "Health & Safety" or "Health & Wellbeing." DEI speaks to the beauty in us as individuals, and Blendvet is striving to create that culture in veterinary medicine, because if it's suppressed or ignored, then it negatively affects our health and wellbeing. Dr. Niccole Bruno and I are only starting with veterinary medicine, because we're veterinarians. However, the concept of "Health & DEI" should be embedded and sustained, since it applies not only to veterinary medicine, but to all professions."
Alea Harrison, DVM
Vice President of Veterinary Internal Operations, Banfield Pet Hospital
“I credit my personal upbringing and experiences entering this field for understanding the importance of helping to shape veterinary medicine by connecting with future and current veterinary professionals, particularly from underrepresented communities.”
What guides you in your current work?
My core values and passion for caring for people, pets, and communities are what drive me in my work. I have so much respect for veterinary professionals and the challenges hospital teams face daily, and I’m proud to be part of an organization committed to creating tools and resources for our associates and the broader profession so they can prioritize their own wellbeing and provide the best possible care to pets.
I credit my personal upbringing and experiences entering this field for understanding the importance of helping to shape veterinary medicine by connecting with future and current veterinary professionals, particularly from underrepresented communities.
When I think about the most rewarding times throughout my career and where I’m truly living our purpose [at Banfield] — A Better World for Pets — it’s when I’m supporting doctors throughout their veterinary journeys and offering the guidance needed to help them thrive.
Kelly Drescher Johnson, BA, M.Div.
Veterinary Chaplain, Founder Veterinary Chaplaincy Services
“I strive to let clients know they are held with care and compassion by the whole team with whatever they face with their pets. I hope by doing that, they are left with a strong sense of love that will affect their day for the better.”
What guides you in your current work?
No one chooses trauma, but what we do with it matters. I have had my share of traumatic events in life; part of my healing was to learn more about it, and then take that information to others. It is why I volunteer with Not One More Vet–Support Staff and assist my peers in navigating difficult situations, both professionally and personally. It's also why I started Veterinary Chaplaincy Services, providing free support services to people who have lost a pet through consultations and online support groups. I hope to grow this service to provide more help to people and educate veterinary professionals with post-loss care of clients.
I love being a veterinary receptionist because I first really love people. It is absolutely vital for medical receptionists to love people. Working with the general public has its challenges, but I know clients come to the hospital because they are scared about their pet and need help. I have been in that position with my own pets, and how staff treated me left strong memories. I strive to let clients know they are held with care and compassion by the whole team with whatever they face with their pets. I hope by doing that, they are left with a strong sense of love that will affect their day for the better.
Stephanie Jones, DVM
Co-owner, Animal Hospital of Ft. Lauderdale
“Seeing young adults interested in becoming a veterinarian shows me the future is bright.”
What guides you in your current work?
Being able to have the time and opportunity to give back to the community is what guides me in my work. Sharing the benefits of the human-animal bond to youth in underserved communities motivates and encourages me to continue to showcase veterinary medicine. Seeing young adults interested in becoming a veterinarian shows me the future is bright.
Katie Kuehl, DVM
Clinical Assistant Professor, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
“My work is driven by blending the joy of veterinary education with advocating for vulnerable people and pets in my community.”
What guides you in your current work?
My work is driven by blending the joy of veterinary education with advocating for vulnerable people and pets in my community. The intersection of these two passions creates a space to support DVM students in developing cultural humility, utilizing the spectrum of care, and experiencing the satisfaction that comes from community engagement and interprofessional collaboration. Inspiring students to go out and be advocates in their own communities allows my own small sphere to radiate out into the world.
Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT
Co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Empowering Veterinary Teams
“Gone are the days when we don’t have the hard conversations; no more will we allow privilege and exclusivity to dictate our protocols. Diversifying veterinary medicine, incorporating a true sense of belonging, and giving a voice to those who have lost theirs is what fuels me to keep pushing on.”
What guides you in your current work?
I am constantly inspired by all the changemakers that are active within our profession. There had been a stagnancy in veterinary medicine for so long, and that is not the case anymore—we are stirring all the pots, getting into all sorts of good trouble and shattering any type of ceiling that prevents us from making a collective difference.
Gone are the days when we don’t have the hard conversations; no more will we allow privilege and exclusivity to dictate our protocols. Diversifying veterinary medicine, incorporating a true sense of belonging, and giving a voice to those who have lost theirs is what fuels me to keep pushing on.
I am incredibly grateful to have an amazing support network both within vet med and in my own personal village. They are what keeps my head out of the clouds and my vision laser-focused. I was raised to leave the world better than I found it, and with my loving family, friends, and colleagues by my side, that is exactly what I am going to continue to do.
Melody Martínez, CVT
Founder, Acorde Consulting
President, Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association
“I now work to improve the profession because I want my peers to be able to stay in it, and specifically for people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people from lower income backgrounds to be able to join and lead within it.”
What guides you in your current work?
I'm guided and compelled by a vision of a more just society where all humans and animals have their needs considered and, ultimately, fulfilled. I gravitated toward working in veterinary medicine because it allows me time and space to interact with people who clearly care deeply about animals — not just my colleagues, but our clients; I feel fortunate to be able to offer them the tools, resources, and education necessary for them to become even greater stewards of human kindness.
While working as a veterinary technician, I noticed another level of injustice in how our workplaces are so often unkind to their employees—even sometimes under the best intentions. I now work to improve the profession because I want my peers to be able to stay in it, and specifically for people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people from lower income backgrounds to be able to join and lead within it.
Further connecting the dots, I want to ensure that communities of color, as well as transgender, disabled, houseless, low-income, and elder communities are adequately served by the profession and that we work to reduce barriers that prevent people marginalized by society from keeping their pets and from keeping them healthy.
Sam Morello, DVM, DACVS-LA
Assistant Director of Education and Research, AVMA
Assistant Director for Continuing Education, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
Faculty, AOVet
“I like to consider [how veterinarians experience their personal and professional lives] through the lens of gender, to figure out how our industry is changing as we become more female, and as we change generationally.”
What guides you in your current work?
My work is generally guided by a desire to better understand how veterinarians experience their personal and professional lives to instruct changes that can make our profession more sustainable. In particular, I like to consider these topics through the lens of gender, to figure out how our industry is changing as we become more female, and as we change generationally.
Ultimately, I hope that my work and my research can inform and support how students and veterinarians navigate career paths, and how managers and leaders structure work environments to create the spaces that best support our current workforce.
Karen Perry, BVM&S, MRCVS, CERTSAS, DECVS, MSC VET ED
Tenured Associate Professor in Small Animal Orthopedics and Section Head of Small Animal Surgery, Michigan State University
“Having the opportunity to influence the next generation of veterinarians, and specifically surgeons, is one of the most significant inspirations for me: Only by ensuring that they have a solid foundation to build on—allowing them to eclipse our own achievements—do we ensure a brighter future for our patients, their owners, and our profession as a whole.”
What guides you in your current work?
The writer Jenny Perry once said, “I am in competition with no one. I run my own race. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone, in any way, shape, or form. I just aim to improve, to be better than I was before.” I feel that this quotation closely reflects the way that I work.
I have always been someone who strives to be the best that I can possibly be at anything that I do. While as a child, this may have largely resulted in competition with others, as I matured and as my career progressed, I realized that the most worthwhile endeavor was to compete against myself, to always aim to be better tomorrow than I was today.
As an early career surgeon, that iterative improvement was easy to achieve; the learning curve is steep initially. However, as is inevitable, that learning curve eventually started to plateau and I faced a choice: Be satisfied with what I had achieved or embrace a new learning curve.
Twice now, in my career, I have been faced with this choice, and both times I have chosen to adopt new challenges. Most recently, this has resulted in developing an entirely new area of research, a task which is humbling on many occasions, but certainly fulfills my desire for continuous learning and improvement.
While my own philosophy of self-competition plays a large role in how I work, certain prerequisites certainly facilitate this goal: a supportive college and department; encouraging mentors who are willing to share skills, knowledge, and expertise; and a collaborative working environment.
Inspiration is critical to motivation and to continued success, and I am fortunate to work in an environment where there is no shortage of that—from teachers and mentors to house-officers and students, I am surrounded by a group of incredibly inspiring individuals.
Having the opportunity to influence the next generation of veterinarians, and specifically surgeons, is one of the most significant inspirations for me: Only by ensuring that they have a solid foundation to build on—allowing them to eclipse our own achievements—do we ensure a brighter future for our patients, their owners, and our profession as a whole.
Sara Pizano, DVM
Founder and Animal Welfare Strategist, Team Shelter USA
“My focus in the last decade has been helping shelters struggling the most—and that has allowed me to facilitate and witness the most dramatic and positive lifesaving transformations for both pets and people.”
What guides you in your current work?
I have gravitated my whole career towards the populations of pets who are not attached to people yet simply because they have nobody else. It's so challenging for pets to be in shelters even though so many of us try so hard to keep them comfortable.
Most importantly I want to be part of the movement that minimizes the need for pets to enter shelters at all—which is the ultimate success. For all these reasons my focus in the last decade has been helping shelters struggling the most—and that has allowed me to facilitate and witness the most dramatic and positive lifesaving transformations for both pets and people.
Laura Pletz, DVM
Group Medical Director, Blue Pearl Pet Hospital
President, Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative
“Some of my favorite moments come in the first conversations with a team member about the potential I see in them, especially when they are surprised by this feedback. The spark you see, and the subsequent growth are so fun to watch!”
What guides you in your current work?
I am so thrilled to come back to the practice space and be able to play a role in developing leaders at the hospital level as well as play a role in evolving the culture of veterinary medicine. There are so many passionate people in veterinary medicine with the shared goal of providing the best care for pets and their families, and I’m honored to get to play a support role for them as they deliver on this mission.
Some of my favorite moments come in the first conversations with a team member about the potential I see in them, especially when they are surprised by this feedback. The spark you see, and the subsequent growth are so fun to watch!
I am honored to be highlighted with such an amazing group of colleagues and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the mentorship, sponsorship, and friendship from these women and many others!
Kate Toyer, BVSc, MANZCVS (Surgery)
Veterinary Surgeon, Eurocoast Veterinary Centre
President, Australian Rainbow Veterinarians and Allies
“I want us to redefine what we think is necessary to be a veterinarian because there is so much knowledge and experience out there that our profession is not experiencing, and we would be so much better off if we opened our minds and our hearts to all that diversity.”
What guides you in your current work?
I want to see a veterinary profession that is as diverse as the communities we serve. I want to see gay veterinarians, trans veterinarians, deaf veterinarians, black veterinarians, first nations veterinarians, Muslim veterinarians, veterinarians who don’t speak English, neurodiverse veterinarians—hell, I want to see a BLIND veterinarian. I want us to redefine what we think is necessary to be a veterinarian because there is so much knowledge and experience out there that our profession is not experiencing, and we would be so much better off if we opened our minds and our hearts to all that diversity.
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About WVLDI
The vision of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative (WVLDI) is to inspire and empower veterinary leaders to harness diversity and equity by creating an inclusive professional community where all members can deliver on the promise of the veterinary oath.
Their mission is to be a strong and impactful voice to achieve WVLDI’s vision by supporting women and allies seeking leadership positions, providing professional development and educational content, developing student leaders, and engaging in social media discussion.
And their purpose is to strengthen and elevate our profession.
Photos courtesy of the individuals featured.
Disclaimer: The views expressed, and topics discussed, in any NEWStat column or article are intended to inform, educate, or entertain, and do not represent an official position by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) or its Board of Directors.