Meet Our Speakers

Eve Harrison, VMD, CVA, CVPM, CCFP

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Dr. Eve Harrison is a seasoned full-time concierge house call veterinarian in Los Angeles. She is one of only a tiny handful of pioneers practicing true veterinary concierge medicine. Her mobile practice has been through numerous seasons & iterations of itself, including being an acupuncture-only practice, a multi-doctor practice with an IHE-exclusive component, wellness only, & finally a solo integrative concierge practice.

 

Her passions are creative entrepreneurship, sustainability for veterinarians, boundaries, authentic communication, & releasing people who are not a good match for our practices. 

 

She is the founder of the online CE course: The House Call Vet Academy & offers coaching & consulting to help veterinarians nourish not only their patients, but themselves… by helping them cultivate profitable & sustainable mobile practices of their own.

 

Outside of being a vet, Eve is a semi-professional musician (flutist), & a yoga teacher. 

Cherie T. Buisson, DVM, CHPV

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Dr. Buisson is a 2000 graduate of Mississippi State University and is certified in hospice and palliative care, Low Stress (TM) handling and suicide prevention. She owns Helping Hands Pet Hospice, a mobile end of life service serving the Tampa Bay area in Florida.

 

She also runs A Happy Vet, a website and social media presence dedicated to wellness in the veterinary profession. She is a writer and international speaker as well as a bookworm, cyclist, and aquarist. She lives with her husband, Derek, and the Quality Control Wieners in Largo, FL.

Dr. Kelly Cochran Trogdon

 

Dr. Kelly is located in Georgia in metropolitan Atlanta on the northside, situated in the foothills of the beginning of the Appalachian mountains. She has been a housecall vet for 20 years and a vet for almost 30 years, and a house call vet for 20 of those years. She practices general medicine for cats and dogs, having done surgery, dentals, and full service veterinary care out of her 26 foot LaBoit for about 15 years. About in the last 5 years, she is now working out of, in her own in her words, “ordinary little car.”

Julie Squires, BA, CCFS

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Julie Squires is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist, Certified Life Coach, and Certified Grief Educator who brings a unique perspective and approach to support the sustained energy and passion of those exposed to compassion fatigue in veterinary medicine.

Julie is an internationally recognized speaker and has over twenty-five years of experience within the veterinary industry working in practice as well as in the veterinary industry. Her company, Rekindle LLC, offers virtual and on-site seminars, workshops, online courses, private 1:1 coaching, and the Rekindling podcast and is the result of the need Julie saw to help those that work with animals maintain their wellbeing and mental health.

 

Julie has deep love and affection for Brené Brown, Oprah, and Keith Urban…not necessarily in that order!

Jan Woods

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For the past two decades, Jan Woods has built a reputation as the go-to resource for Controlled Substance education in the Animal Health industry.

 

She consults with veterinarians nationally on a full-time basis, with areas of expertise encompassing compliance with DEA regulations, as well as other state and federal regulations, clinic and hospital practice management & operations, human resources, finance, and marketing.

 

In 2001, Jan moved into veterinary medicine as the Hospital Administrator for Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center of Kansas City, (VSEC). From May of 2004 through March of 2016 she was the Co-Owner, Hospital Administrator and Vice President of the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson, (VSCT). From 2018- 2020 she was the Director of Education & Regulatory Affairs Manager for Cubex, LLC. In 2020, Jan became a Zoetis Key Opinion Leader and joined Veterinary Business Advisors as their Regulatory and Operational Consultant. She is also a proud member of the Epicur Pharma® Advisory Council.

 

Jan owns two companies: Ask Jan For Help, LLC and Veterinary Management and Marketing Specialists.

Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA

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Dr Peter Weinstein is a husband, father, pet parent, veterinarian and leader.

 

He has been involved with virtually all aspects of veterinary practice from a 15-year-old kennel kid to a hospital owner. 

 

Organized veterinary medicine has been a passion as well with various roles and leadership and presidencies of Southern California VMA, California VMA, and Vet Partners.

 

He is a published author, most notably of the EMyth Veterinarian-Why Most Veterinary Practices Don’t Work and What to Do About It.

 

Currently, he is teaching business and finance at the Veterinary College of Western University of Health Sciences.

 

He likes to think of himself as a free thinking change agent and disruptor who, because he has a daughter in veterinary school, is working for an even better veterinary profession in the future.  

Meredith Jones, DVM, CSLP®, AFC®

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Meredith Jones is a Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP®) and a consultant at Student Loan Planner. She holds a FINRA Series 65 license and is working toward the Certified Financial Planner designation. 

Prior to becoming a student loan consultant and financial planner, Meredith worked as an emergency veterinarian for over 12 years. She became a “money nerd” while making a plan for her own student debt. She is the co-founder of Veterinary Financial Summit and the admin for the Debt-Free Vets Facebook group. She also hosts the Veterinary Financial Podcast.

Meredith has a passion for helping professionals navigate their student debt and incorporate their repayment strategy into their overall financial plan. 

At SLP Wealth, she focuses on financial planning for veterinarians. Outside of work, Meredith loves traveling, hiking, and spending time with her husband, silly pit bull mix, and spicy senior cat.

Rachel Wander DVM, CVA

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Dr. Wander, a UF CVM 2002 graduate, is the owner and founder of Healthy Pet Mobile Vet, a flourishing integrative house call veterinary practice in Maryland. She is part of the sandwich generation, caring for her two boys and her parents at the same time, while managing her veterinary business. In her spare time, she runs her dogs in agility, sews amazing things, cheers her sons on in go-kart racing, robotics, & gymnastics, and tries to convince her husband that power paragliding is not a safe hobby! Oh, and she also really, really likes wine, Disney, and Harry Potter.

Sieske Valk

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Sieske (Valk) is the founder and quality of life expert and End of Life Doula at Autumn Animals in London (UK). Sieske Valk helps injured, chronically ill and elderly pets and their families live the best quality of life possible. She has a background in veterinary nursing and the social sciences and has a special interest in maintaining the human-animal bond when dealing with loss.
Sieske is originally from the Netherlands but London, UK with her husband and super senior cat Lewis. 

She loves to read, sing and geek out on topics like dermatology, and continuously learn about human and non-human psychology.

Bonz Swencionis, PRA

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Bonz uses 20 years of vocal, breathing, and movement training to help mission-driven clients maximize results: from clergy seeking to engage their congregations more fully, to executives working to make their keynote shine, to emerging leaders stepping into the full power of their communication on the world stage. Clients also benefit from Bonz's holistic application of lived experience as a queer, nonbinary, disabled, neurodivergent artist and professional. This no-nonsense multidisciplinary approach has earned Executive Speaker Coaching a reputation with corporate and nonprofit clients from California to Tel Aviv: for fostering deeply trusting coaching relationships, making complex ideas accessible to diverse audiences, and achieving dramatic improvements on demanding timelines. Born in New York, raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Bonz lives between Los Angeles and the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Tara Ghormley DVM, DACVIM

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Tara Ghormley graduated with her veterinary degree from Colorado State University. She became board-certified in small animal internal medicine and spent several years in private specialty practice. She recently opened a mobile ultrasound and consulting practice with her business partner Priscilla. Her goal is to provide assistance to local veterinarians and to decrease wait times for patients to receive specialty care. 

Sharonda M. Meade, MS, PhD, VMD

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Dr. Sharonda Meade is a small animal, avian and exotics veterinarian. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and also holds a MS and PhD in Veterinary Medical Sciences. She has been practicing veterinary medicine for about 13 years and has been providing mobile veterinary care since 2020. She has mobile capabilities to provide medical and surgical services to a variety of patients not only including dogs and cats, but also to small mammals, birds, reptiles and wildlife in the South and Central New Jersey Area. She is currently in the process of obtaining ABVP status in Avian Medicine and Surgery,

Erin Nussbaum, LVT

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Erin has been working as a vet tech for nearly 20 years. Her passion slowly morphed from working as a lead tech in a busy AAHA small animal / exotic clinic to working with an integrative mobile vet and having her own mobile tech business. She loves veterinary medicine deeply and sees such a need for alternative healing methods to be provided within the comfort of the patient’s home…all while balancing her home and family life.

Kadeth Darkstar Pozzesi, LMFT (pronouns he/him)

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I am a retired RVT turned private practice therapist integrating heart, mind, spirit, body and knowledge into building healing pathways. My primary populations include the LGBTQA community, domestic violence survivors…and the veterinary community. I am a Reiki Master Teacher and Shamanic practitioner as well. Outside of my work life I am an artist and musician.

Erin Dresner, DVM, cVMA, DABVP-Feline Practice

 

Dr. Erin Dresner is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Feline Practice, an American Association of Feline Practitioners Certified Cat-Friendly Veterinarian, and certified in Veterinary Medical Acupuncture. Her concierge house call practice, Bloom Integrative Veterinary Care, delivers the highest quality conventional medicine and evidence-based holistic care to loved pets (and the occasional zoo animal) in Northwest Houston, Texas.  Above all, she is a full-time mom to her young son and daughter. Dr. Dresner and her family spend most of their free time exploring the great outdoors, playing in the mud, and tending to their native Texas gardens.

Mitch Li, MD

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Dr. Mitch Li is a Board Certified Emergency Physician, health and wellness enthusiast, and patient advocate, with a Direct Care practice called Thrive Direct Care. He also runs an advocacy organization called Take Medicine Back, PBLLC. This organization is intended to produce a public benefit by operating in a responsible and ethical manner by imparting education and advocacy to the public regarding the corporate takeover of modern medicine which has led to the financial exploitation of patients and the erosion of trust between healthcare providers and patients.

Serena Pudelski, RVT 

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I am a Registered Veterinary Technician in the state of Ohio. I graduated Tri-C in Parma OH IN 2009.  I'm a wife, mother, vet tech, business coach for RVTs and serial business owner. 

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I have 4 dogs, 6 cats, 1 bird, a frog,. snake and a bearded dragon, and have grown up caring for animals since I was little. 

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I am an advocate for animals, technicians and change in the veterinary field as a whole. My goal is to make others think outside the box, and challenge old ways of thinking by trailblazing new ways of doing things in my life and in my businesses.

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Being a Pet Consultant/strategist, I discuss a vast array of information. everything from routine care, surgical procedures, tech questions and more. Bringing digital pet care courses is something new I have introduced, to make care accessible even though many changes have occurred since the beginning of 2020. Having an RVT helping educate pet parents makes them feel confident they are doing their best to help their pets. 

Dr. Chloe Hannigan BVetMed MRCVS (RYT-500)

 

VetYogi was founded by veterinarian and yoga teacher, Chloe, to improve the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of the veterinary profession. As a locum vet Chloe has been in practice throughout the pandemic, so has first-hand experience of the extra stressors that our profession has faced over the last couple of years. Through VetYogi, Chloe provides tailored yoga and meditation classes, workshops and conference speaker sessions for veterinary individuals, practices and groups. VetYogi also offers a selection of yoga props, clothing and accessories, and VY home fragrance gifts all designed to help busy working professionals create a sanctuary of calm in their own space. For more information see www.vetyogi.com

Carla Finzel, RVN

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Carla qualified in 2001 as a veterinary nurse in Spain. Moved to UK worked in general practice for 5 years. She then progressed onto emergency and critical care full time on night shifts for 9 years at a referral vet hospital.

In 2015 she founded the Veterinary District Nurse role, non-existent as a role in the veterinary industry to mirror human District Nurses in the human health sector.

Carla has been walking the talk, leading the campaign and movement of raising standards of veterinary nursing care, home-based nursing clinics, client concordance and embracing the human-animal bond within the veterinary profession.

Founder of the DVN Hub, a platform to Connecting pet owners, veterinary surgeons and registered veterinary nurses to facilitate treatment delivery in the home. www.dvnhub.com

Contributing author in the book: One Health for Veterinary Nurses and Technicians: An Introduction, CABI release date February 28th, 2023

She is a passionate campaigner for One Welfare-One Health, so that veterinary practice and care becomes inclusive to all members of society, making veterinary practice compliant with the Equality Act 2010.

An advocate of the Deaf community.

A Dementia Friend Champion and supporter of ‘Say Aphasia’.

Aja Senestraro, DVM, CVPP, CHPV, CCRP, CAC-IVCA, CVA, CVTP, CVFT, CVCH, CTCVMP, CMTPT

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Dr. Aja Senestraro owns an integrative house call practice based in Seattle Washington. She has certifications in pain management, rehabilitation, animal chiropractic, myofascial trigger point therapy, Tui-Na, and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. She uses all these modalities along with conventional medicine to provide high touch integrative care tailored to each pet and caregiver.

Dr. Jess Trimble, DVM

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Jess Trimble, DVM is a veterinarian who is passionate about how virtual health and new technologies can improve the lives of the whole veterinary team and enhance practice operations, while also improving pet health and making care more accessible. A 2013 grad of the University of Illinois, Dr. Jess provided telehealth to her own clients while she worked in mixed and small animal clinical practice, general practice, urgent care, and house call settings across central and northern California. Since 2016, Dr. Jess has been involved in multiple veterinary start-ups and is currently an advisor for Kumba. She speaks and consults on telehealth implementation in clinical practice, and is co-author of the  "2021 AAHA/AVMA Telehealth Guidelines for Small-Animal Practice". In her spare time, Jess loves reading, houseplants, and hiking with her dog.

Suzannah Weiss

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Suzannah Weiss is a writer, sex educator, and relationship coach with work published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more. Diagnosed with autism at age 31, she writes articles and teaches courses on neurodiversity. You can learn more about her on Twitter (@suzannahweiss), Instagram (@weisssuzannah), or her website (www.suzannahweiss.com).

Josie Beug, DVM, CVA

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Dr. Josie Beug specializes in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine among other healing modalities. She earned her DVM from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in 1998. As president of the student chapter of AHVMA, she organized conferences and guest speakers in holistic veterinary medicine for the student body. For the past 23 years, she has built a thriving holistic house call practice in South Florida while teaching at Chi University. She is a lifelong student of the healing arts integrating ancient knowledge with modern medicine to help her patients live longer, healthier, happier lives.

Brendan Ballou​

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Brendan Ballou is the author of Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America.  He served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  Previously, he worked in private practice, and before that, in the National Security Division of the Justice Department.  His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the Nation.

Khin Rode aka Priscilla Co-Owner VIM of SoCal

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My name is Priscilla Rode. I live in Southern California with my husband, three children and fur baby Rhi Rhi. I am the co-owner of VIM of SoCal a mobile veterinary internal medicine service. I’m also the owner and founder of The Crystal Balance LLC.  It’s a crystal healing business which I make gemstone jewelry along with large geodes for home décor.    

 

I entered the veterinary field right out of High School in 2004.  Being in the veterinary profession has taught me how to be a jack of all trades and an entrepreneur at heart.   I’m a certified Reiki Practitioner, Certified Pet Groomer, Certified Diagnostic Medical Sonographer and Artisan. 

 

I have an associate in business Fundamentals which I’m planning to get my bachelors in the near future. Being an entrepreneur has been a battle to freedom.  I wouldn’t change my journey for the world.