The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360

Rachel Teichberg graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northeastern University with a BS in biology. In 2019, she became a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager and achieved her Certified Veterinary Business Leader in 2021. She is also a Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, Certified Workplace Mediator, and a Certified Trainer in Workplace Conflict Resolution. She has worked in both general and specialty practices and though she has a deep love for pets, she has found her true passion is working with the people in veterinary medicine. With hands-on experience at all levels of veterinary practice, as well as management in small animal/exotic and specialty practices, Rachel brings over a decade of industry experience to her current position.  

Shawn McVey holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and dual masters’ degrees in political social work as well as marriage and family therapy. He also has a distinguished career in Veterinary Health Care Administration. Before becoming a partner and the CEO of Pathway Veterinary Management, he served as an industry consultant and speaker. He is recognized around the world for his unique management style and his experience in building successful veterinary practices. Shawn was the CEO of Eye Care for Animals, a veterinary ophthalmology company, as well as the Hospital Administrator at The Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado. He is also the founder and owner of Veterinary Specialists in Private Practice (VSIPP) and served as the first non-DVM Board Member of the American Animal Hospital Association.

Annika VanNoy, PhD, is a learning strategist fueled by compassion, curiosity, and dissatisfaction with the current state of adult learning in the veterinary industry. In her PhD work she combined her passion for both teaching and learning while investigating the possibilities that modern cognitive psychology models provide to adult learning. During her graduate work, VanNoy followed another one of her passions: the love and care for animals. She started working at a general practice in Austin, TX and quickly began to see the wide array of opportunities for improving veterinary continued education and the opportunities for all people to expand their careers in veterinary medicine. VanNoy is passionate about developing and supporting emotionally healthy and internally motivated teams to drive success in professional and personal development.

Laila Proença, DVM, PhD, MV, MSc, DACZM, is the founder and CEO of VETAHEAD, and has always been passionate about veterinary medicine. She is the first South American to become a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine, with an emphasis on zoological companion animals. She is the coeditor of the 2015 Exotic Endoscopy issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America and has been actively participating in the zoological medicine community, leading wet labs and giving national and international lectures, courses (including on endoscopy), and masterclasses.

Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, is an Ohio native and graduated from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. While attending Cornell, she earned numerous awards, including the Dermatology Service Award for her aptitude in clinical dermatology and her research on Malassezia otitis externa. After graduation, she completed an internship at VCA Berwyn and Aurora Animal Hospitals in Chicago where she was awarded the Intern Abstract Award for her presentation on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Griffin returned to Cornell University in 2007 for a residency in dermatology and, after completing her residency-training program, served one year as an instructor of dermatology teaching fourth-year clinical students as well as lecturing to underclassmen on bacterial, fungal, and immune-mediated skin diseases. 

Griffin became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology (ACVD) in August 2010 and joined the Animal Dermatology Group. She has a special interest in fungal and immune-mediated skin diseases as well as feline and equine dermatology. She enjoys lecturing to fellow veterinarians, mentoring residents, and teaching the veterinary students who extern with her. Griffin also stars in the Nat Geo WILD television series, “Pop Goes the Vet with Dr. Joya,” which highlights the challenging and mysterious cases she encounters in veterinary dermatology.  

Amelia Knight Pinkston, VMD, cVMA, INHC, is happily breaking the norm as a health coach and veterinarian. She's a graduate from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and then University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She's also a certified in veterinary medical acupuncture through CuraCore, she has worked in small animal general practice and urgent care, and now does relief work through IndeVets in order to balance both careers. 

She lives in North Carolina with her husband and 2 adorable dogs, Woodford and Jameson. In her free time, she loves to stay active experiment in the kitchen, spend time outdoors, connecting with family and friends, and travel.

Mary Gardner, DVM, Co-Founder and CIO of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice & In-Home Euthanasia. After graduating from the University of Miami, she began working as a trainer for an enterprise-wide order management software. After learning the intricacies of the software and the variety of ways different businesses used it, she moved into a Business Architect role where she led the design of new software initiatives. Her innate talent for understanding logistics in a client-centric organization developed a unique skill set for a veterinarian. After 10 years in software, she found herself longing for something different and more meaningful. The path she selected was to become a veterinarian. She completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2008 from the University of Florida. She worked in general medicine at a veterinary clinic in south Florida for two years before discovering her niche in end-of-life care. Gardner is a published author for many articles and a textbook, speaks all around the world on geriatrics and end of life care and was voted 2020 VMX Small Animal Speaker of the year.
Coleen Ellis founded Pet Angel Memorial Center, Inc, the United States’ first stand-alone pets-only funeral home.  Now a well recognized thought-leader on the subject of pet death-care by organizations such as the National Funeral Directors Association and the International Cemetery, Crematory and Funeral Association, her work within the pet death care industry has begun to span the country as others who share in her passion for pets and their respectful treatment in death desire to open their own care centers. In response to consulting demand, Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, to guide those people who also wish to provide death care services in their communities, as well to be an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. Most recently, Coleen was awarded the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr Alan Wolfelt, at his Center For Loss in Ft Collins, Colorado.

Kelly Cairns, DVM, MS, DACVIM, graduated veterinary school from CSU in 2004, completed a small animal rotating internship at Cornell in 2005 and completed a small animal internal medicine residency at OSU in 2008, at which time she obtained Diplomate status. She enjoyed a rewarding clinical practice as an internist and medical director of a multi-specialty/ER hospital until joining Thrive Pet Healthcare in January of 2018. Cairns currently serves as Vice President of Medical Excellence and Education for the 400+ hospitals in the Thrive Pet Healthcare family. She lives in the Chicagoland area with her 3 children (7, 10, and 12 years old), husband, 2 cats and very sweet but poorly mannered great Dane/lab mix! When not engaged with her Thrive family or corralling her personal family, she enjoys personal fitness/running, the science of home brewing the perfect cup of coffee and sleep (or the pursuit thereof). 

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, is a specialist in veterinary acupuncture and herbal medicine. He has 2 pet dogs at home, Carrie and Bogey. In his spare time, Shapley enjoys Kung Fu, surfing, camping, and archery.
 Shapley attended Montclair State University where he studied biology. He graduated from the Western University of Health Medicine in Pomona California and received his CVA from Chi University. Shapley has worked in large and small animal medicine with a special focus in Eastern Medicine since graduation. 

TikTok: @dr.christophers74
Instagram: @christophershapleydvm

TEEF for Life combines the fundamentals of microbiology and molecular nutrition to improve the oral microbiome and promote dental health in a safer, revolutionary way. Emily Stein, Ph.D. (CSO), researched and developed a solution to oral dysbiosis after her grandmother and her senior rescue dog both experienced life-threatening health issues caused by their dental disease. Her company, Primal Health, LLC, is focused on developing innovative products (TEEF for Life brand) that safely target the root cause of dental disease so pets and people can live healthier, longer lives. In 2008 she first began developing Selective Microbial Metabolism Regulation Technology (SMMRT)®, which is focused on using metabolic influencers to rehabilitate diseasecausing bacterial biofilms in favor to improve outcomes for dental and overall health. 

Emily spent 7 years as a research fellow at Stanford University in Rheumatology and Immunology focused on the neuro-endocrine-immune axis in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. She holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California at Berkeley where she studied inter- and intra-cellular signaling pathways involved in stress response and community development in bacteria and received her B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Iowa where she studied the interaction between M. tuberculosis and innate immune cells. She is a leading subject matter expert/key opinion leader in microbiome-related science and research and presents on the topic worldwide.

James Barr, DVM, DACVECC, is chief medical officer (CMO) at BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital. Barr holds undergraduate and veterinary degrees from Louisiana State University. He was a staff criticalist at Florida Veterinary Specialists (BluePearl’s original hospital), then left to teach at Texas A&M University in 2009, returning to BluePearl in 2017 to serve as a group medical director and then CMO. As CMO, he oversees the medical operations of BluePearl’s 100+ practices, supporting more than 1300 veterinarians.

Richard Stone, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM) is regional vice president, medicine, at BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital, supporting over 30 hospital teams from Texas to Michigan. He practiced medicine and served as hospital medical director until 2018, when he took on the role of group medical director. He has also led BluePearl’s biosecurity and infection control committee for several years He completed his veterinary training and internship at Texas A&M University and completed an internal medicine residency at The University of Georgia.