Leadership

Lena DeTar, DVM, DACVPM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)
President and Shelter Medicine Resources and Expertise Committee Chair

Lena joined the ASV as a student member in 2005 during her first year at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduating in 2009, she worked in shelters and low-cost clinics in the western United States before starting a residency program in Shelter Medicine at Oregon State University/Oregon Humane Society in 2013. Lena completed the residency, a master’s program in veterinary science with a Public Health certificate through the University of Florida, and became boarded in Preventive Medicine in 2016 and in Shelter Medicine Practice through ABVP in 2017. Lena is an Associate Clinical Professor at Cornell University’s Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program, and has served as the interim Director of the program since August 2022. She is Intern Director for new grads providing medical and surgical services at the Tompkins County SPCA, teaches didactic courses to third- and fourth-year students, teaches the clinical rotation in Shelter Medicine, lectures at conferences and veterinary colleges, and consults with regional shelters. She has a passion for research; her areas of study have included infectious disease (especially dermatophytosis), spay-neuter techniques, and shelter medicine education. Lena joined the ASV Board in 2019 and serves on the Position Statements and Continuing Education committees, and as the liaison to Shelter Animals Count. She was one of the editors of the 2nd edition of the Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters.

Staci Kehir, DVM
Vice President / President Elect 

Staci graduated from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. She completed an equine ambulatory internship in New Hampshire, focusing on equine power dentistry and ophthalmology.  She continued to practice as an ambulatory equine veterinarian in New England until 2009, when she moved to New York City and started working at New York City Animal Care and Control, Manhattan Branch.  Since then, she has stayed in shelter medicine and is currently the Medical Director of Greenville County Animal Care, where she’s been since 2014.  Her professional interests include soft tissue surgery and the welfare of the veterinarians and shelter staff.  Staci also enjoys training veterinary students that come to Greenville County Animal Care for externships. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, traveling and mountain biking.  Staci joined the ASV Board of Directors in 2020 and serves on the Governance and Organization, Position Statement and Finance committees.

Dianne M. Brown, DVM
Secretary

Dianne received her DVM degree from Washington State University.  After graduation she worked as a general practitioner in small animal medicine for over 20 years, including owning her own practice.  Deciding to make a change in her career, she accepted the position of Medical Director for SpaySA in San Antonio, TX and became proficient in HQHVSN.  From there she returned to her native Oregon and became the Medical Director at Cat Adoption Team where she has been since 2014. Dianne joined the ASV Board of Directors in 2021 and serves on the Governance and Organization committee.

Emily Purvis, DVM, MBA
Treasurer and Finance/Development Committee Chair

Emily is a Pacific Northwest native but has moved and traveled across the US a few times. She is currently the Medical Director for a private non-profit shelter with animal control contracts and a public-facing clinic offering affordable HQHVSN, wellness, and dentistry services. Emily obtained her veterinary degree from Washington State University and followed with a small animal rotating internship at the University of Tennessee. From there, Emily navigated small animal private practice for about five years as both a small animal practitioner and a relief business. Feeling absolutely disenchanted with her work, Emily volunteered for the newly formed Auburn Valley Humane Society board of directors. Shortly after they opened in 2013, she realized her love for animal welfare and shelter medicine, stepped down from the board and took a full-time position as Medical Director.  In 2020, Emily earned her MBA from the University of Washington in an effort to narrow the communication divide between medical and executive functions at the shelter level.  She’s passionate about doing more with less through strategic operational strategies and team building for a productive and vested organizational culture. 

Jennifer Bolser, DVM
Immediate Past President

Jennifer obtained her veterinary degree from Colorado State University in 2004 and then completed an internship at The Animal Medical Center in NYC. She’s currently serving as Chief Clinic Veterinarian of The Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Colorado where she’s enjoyed cumulatively over 11 years with this unique and wonderful organization. Driven by a passion for diverse and international perspectives, she lived and worked in Beijing, China and Chicago, IL and has performed thousands of surgeries in over 20 unique locations globally. Jennifer is enthusiastic about collaborating and providing veterinary training and services to communities around the world to achieve sustainable impact and solutions for animal care and welfare. She joined the ASV Board in 2019, enjoys connecting supporters to ASV's amazing work and also serves on the Governance/Organizational Committee, COVID-19 Task Force and DEI Committee.

Brendan Bergquist, DVM
Shelter Medicine Awareness Committee Chair

Brendan received his DVM from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. After graduation he moved to Pittsburgh, PA where he was in general practice while his wife completed her internship. After she matched for an oncology residency at Auburn University, they moved to Auburn, AL where he spent the next 3 years working as a shelter veterinarian at a private humane society and HQHVSN clinic in Columbus, GA.  They then moved to Vermont where he spent the following two years working at a few small shelters as well as a HQHVSN clinic. Then they moved to Asheville, NC where Brendan took a position at the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance as an instructor. Most recently he and his wife moved back to Auburn, AL where he took a faculty position at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Shelter Medicine. Brendan really enjoys teaching 4th year veterinary students HQHVSN surgical techniques as well as exposing them to things such as best practices in animal shelters and outbreak management. He joined the ASV Board in 2020 and serves on the Position Statement and Nominations committees.

Barbara Kompare, DVM
Governance and Organization Committee Chair

Barbara earned her DVM degree from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. She worked in a low-cost clinic in the Chicago suburbs prior to her Maddie’s post-DVM Fellowship in Shelter Medicine with Purdue University. She has been working as a shelter medicine veterinarian at PAWS Chicago since completion of her fellowship in 2011. During her tenure at PAWS Chicago, she was promoted to Director of Shelter Medicine. She also joined the Animal Care League in Oak Park, IL in 2014 and serves as their shelter medicine veterinarian. Her professional interests include infectious disease control, population management, and behavioral health. Barbara joined the ASV Board in 2019 and serves on the Continuing Education, Membership, and Nominations committees.

Becca Boronat, MV, CAWA

Becca is a licensed veterinarian in the US and Brazil, a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA), a Certified Animal Control Officer, and Animal Cruelty Investigator and Career Counsellor. She has completed her veterinarian studies at the University of Marilia, Sao Paulo, Brazil, after doing her 4th year at the University of Liverpool's School of Veterinary Science in the UK, and passed the AVMA - ECFVG® in the USA. After graduation, she worked in private practice, the pet food industry, and in 2012 she move to the US and transitioned her carrier to Shelter Medicine and Operations. She joined the Charleston Animal Society in 2017 and currently is the Project Director and Shelter Outreach Veterinarian for a statewide initiative, where she shares her passion, data-driven, and solution-oriented expertise with shelters and rescues across South Carolina by developing, implementing, empowering, and coaching operations and medical teams to build and maintain Humane and Lifesaving Communities.

Brandy Duhon, DVM

Brandy, embraces her role as a teacher, mentor, and role model for students with and without disabilities. As a child, she was diagnosed with meningitis, resulting in having both her hands and a portion of her foot amputated. Yet, with tenacity and drive, Dr. Duhon pursued her dream career in veterinary medicine and is currently the Director of University Relations for Heartland Veterinary Partners (HVP). She received her BS from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2005 and her DVM from the LSU SVM in 2013. Since graduating LSU, Dr. Duhon has shared her story with hundreds of future veterinarians to empower them to find their own path in veterinary medicine. In addition to her passions of mentorship and supporting veterinary students, Dr. Duhon’s clinical interests include shelter medicine, disaster response, high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter, and general practice. In her role with HVP, Dr. Duhon helps match students with externships and jobs within general practices throughout the Midwest, South, and Southeast that provide excellent mentorship and opportunities for unique career growth.

Lucy Fuller, DVM

Lucy received her DVM degree from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008 and immediately went to work for Charleston Animal Society in Charleston, South Carolina. She became Medical Director in 2009 and helped lead Charleston Animal Society’s Spay/Neuter Clinic to become a state leader in High-Quality, High-Volume Spay/Neuter surgeries. Lucy completed a Graduate Certificate in Shelter Medicine through the University of Florida’s Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program in 2013. In her role at Charleston Animal Society, she helps manage an open admission shelter, veterinary student externship program, veterinary continuing education program, and a shelter assessment and advisory program called No Kill South Carolina. In 2015, Lucy joined the South Carolina Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Her professional interests include surgery, training programs for shelter support staff, and regulation of veterinarians and shelters. Lucy joined the ASV Board in 2019 and serves on the Shelter Medicine Awareness committee.

Erin Katribe, DVM, MS, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)

Dr. Erin Katribe earned her DVM degree from Texas A&M University in 2009, and practiced shelter medicine and high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter in the Austin area. Dr. Katribe moved to Kanab, Utah, in 2017 and began working at Best Friends Animal Society’s sanctuary. She became Best Friends’ Medical Director in 2018 and completed her master’s degree in shelter medicine through the University of Florida the same year.  Dr. Katribe achieved board certification through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Shelter Medicine Practice in 2023.  She has served on the Association of Shelter Veterinarians board of directors since 2019, and she currently lives in Texas where her focus is on strategic national and regional work to support lifesaving in animal shelters.

Lauren Overman, DVM

Lauren's career in animal welfare began in 2005 when she worked at an animal shelter in the Bay Area, CA. She joined ASV in 2010 as a veterinary student and graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. After graduation, she completed a shelter medicine internship at Oregon Humane Society. After her internship, she joined the Humane Society for Southwest Washington for 10 years as Vice President of Veterinary Services, where she oversaw the surgical and medical care of shelter animals and pets of people experiencing homelessness. She now works on the ASPCA's Shelter Medicine Services team supporting internal programs and consulting with shelters across the country. Lauren joins the ASV Board in 2023.

Chelsea Reinhard, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)

Chelsea is a 2013 graduate of Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. She also completed a Master of Public Health degree program at the University of Iowa in 2013. She received specialty training during a one-year shelter medicine internship at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland, Oregon, and completed a three-year shelter medicine residency at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at at Tufts University in 2017. After her residency training, she joined the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine as the Bernice Barbour Assistant Professor of Clinical Shelter Medicine. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Shelter Medicine Practice). Chelsea joins the ASV Board in 2023.

Jennifer Weisent, DVM, PhD

Jenny completed her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Cornell University and served two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Ecuadorian rainforest. After completing her DVM at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine she worked inseveral shelters as well as small animal private practice on Long Island, New York. Her interest in preventive medicine and public health brought her to Tennessee where she completed a PhD in Epidemiology. During her studies, she became involved in assisting regional shelters in both medicine and HQHVSN. Since 2018, Jenny has been Assistant Professor in Shelter Medicine at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is part of a dedicated team who train all fourth year veterinary students in surgery and shelter medicine through service-learning and outreach based curriculum. She is passionate about teaching and research that interfaces with human, animal, and environmental health and welfare, and proud to have joined the ASV Board in 2022. She serves on the Shelter Medicine Resources and Expertise Committee and the Continuing Education subcommittee.

Stephanie Janeczko, DVM, mS, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice and Canine & Feline Practice)

Stephanie represents ASV as American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Regent as well as CAWA Regent, Shelter Medicine Practice, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Vice President of Shelter Medicine Services and Julie Morris Shelter Medicine Residency Program Director at the ASPCA.

Rachael Kreisler, VMD, MSCE, DACVPM (Epi)

Rachael is the Founding Editor in Chief of the ASV’s Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health. She is an Associate Professor of Shelter Medicine and Epidemiology at Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and a Diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and its specialty in Epidemiology. She teaches Shelter Medicine, preventive medicine, epidemiology, and principles of veterinary scholarship. Her work outside of the classroom includes driving a 33-foot mobile veterinary clinic, providing surgical and medical service to shelter and community animals, investigating disease outbreaks, and researching questions relevant to clinical decision making. She has a passion for research and has published well over a dozen papers on topics that support clinical decision making in shelter medicine.  Rachael joined the ASV Board in 2020 and serves on the Shelter Medicine Resources and Expertise Committee.

Sonya Hennessy
Executive Director

Sonya has been working in the veterinary industry since 1997 in association management, meeting management, speaker bureau management as well as website and IT support. Sonya is Partner of Sease Management, LLC. and has been with ASV since 2015. She served as Association Manager for the Companion Animal Parasite Council for 10 years and currently serves as the Association Manager for the American Heartworm Society. In addition, she provides technology support and meeting planning services to Embarq Consulting Group and others.