Leadership
The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ leadership team is led by individuals who are deeply ingrained in shelter medicine, practicing and promoting better community animal health every day, while working on a volunteer basis for ASV.
The Association of Shelter Veterinarians seeks nominations for its Board of Directors Veterinarians who have been ASV members for at least 2 years are eligible to apply via self-nomination. Board members are asked to participate in monthly conference calls and Board emails throughout the year, contribute to committees and projects to advance the work of ASV, and participate in one in-person Board meeting and the ASV Member Reception. In-person meetings take place at the annual ABVP Symposium - travel is not provided. Terms are for 3 years, starting in January. We hope you will consider joining us!
Executive Board
 Staci Kehir, DVM
President
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.
 Brendan Bergquist, DVM
Vice President/President Elect and 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.
 Dianne M. Brown, DVM
Secretary and Governance/Organization Committee Chair
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.
 Lena DeTar, DVM, DACVPM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)
Immediate Past 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.
Board of Directors
 Amber Alu, DVM
Amber is passionate about providing high quality, high value compassionate care to animals within shelters, within the community and other animal welfare organizations. While her career started in small animal general medicine and emergency care, Amber actively worked with local rescue groups and volunteered at shelters from a young age. Her passion for shelter medicine and animal welfare continued to grow and, eventually, she made a complete transition to shelter medicine. She is the current Chief Medical Officer at a non-profit in Texas and serves as a consultant to other shelters to increase life-saving capacity, infectious disease prevention and behavioral health of animals while in shelter.
Amber graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2007 where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. She received her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2013 from Western University of Health Science. She received a Master of Science in Veterinary Medical Sciences with a concentration in Shelter Medicine from the University of Florida in 2024.
 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.
 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.
 Rachel Powell, DVM
Rachel graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002 and has spent much of her career in private mixed-animal and equine practices. In 2018, she transitioned to shelter medicine and completed the Maddie’s Fund UW/UCD Shelter Medicine Fellowship in 2018-19. Rachel finds all aspects of shelter medicine to be professionally and personally rewarding but she has special interests in the areas of access to care, OneHealth, and community cat management. She joined Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, Oregon in 2022 as the Director of Surgery. In her spare time, Rachel can be found outdoors… hiking, cycling, camping and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her dog and her husband, Doug.
 Sarah Reardon, DVM
Sarah earned her DVM from Louisiana State University in 2014. She began her career in animal sheltering and welfare as a veterinary assistant at the Louisiana SPCA in New Orleans. After veterinary school, she returned to the LA/SPCA where she worked as one of the staff shelter veterinarians as well as in the HQHVSN and public wellness clinics. In 2019, she accepted a shelter veterinarian position at Greenville County Animal Care and relocated to South Carolina. She is currently serving as the Assistant Medical Director at Greenville County Animal Care. Her professional interests include infectious disease and population medicine. In her free time, Sarah loves to hike and explore the outdoors in the Upstate, travel, and relax at home with her family. Sarah joined the ASV board in 2025.
 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.
Board Liaisons
 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.
Association Management
 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.
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