Team

Carollee Brinkman

Chief Executive Officer

Carollee has over 20 years of healthcare industry experience holding numerous operational and senior executive management roles throughout her career. Prior to joining Western Veterinary Partners, Carollee served as a National Group President of Surgery Partners, an operator of over 120 ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals across 32 states with over $2 billion in annual revenue. Carollee had operational oversite of approximately 4,000 employees within Surgery Partners, managing over $1 billion in annual revenue for the company. Prior to Surgery Partners, she was a Senior Vice Present of operations with National Surgical Healthcare, a previously privately held company that specialized in operating surgical hospitals in partnership with doctors. She served in numerous roles at National Surgical Healthcare, but spent substantial time partnering with doctors and clinicians to build and operate surgical hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers across the country. Carollee has also held leadership positions as a hospital Chief Executive Officer and a physician practice consultant. Carollee was raised on a ranch in Southwestern North Dakota and received her degree in Healthcare and Business Administration from Concordia College.

Dr. Doug McInnis

DVM Medical Advisor

Dr. McInnis grew up with animals on their small family farm; it was there that he discovered a love for helping animals and decided to pursue a veterinary career. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Oregon and Washington State Universities’. After graduating, Dr. McInnis became incredibly active in organized veterinary medicine locally, statewide, and nationally.

He is a past president of the Klamath and Lake Counties Veterinary Medical Association, past president and board member of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, and currently serves as the Oregon Delegate to the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates. He is a past member of the American Veterinary Medical Association Foundation and is currently a member their Advisory Board. Dr. McInnis is a member of the Rotary Club of Klamath County where he has held roles as Treasurer, President, and served on the Board of Directors. He is also the past president of the Klamath County Rotary Club Foundation. Dr. McInnis is currently serving his community as a member of the Sky Lakes Medical Center Board of Directors, a member of the Sky Lakes Medical Center Foundation Board, and a board member of Klamath County CASA (Child Abuse Special Advocates).

Dr. McInnis is dedicated to his profession and often fosters that dedication for high school students and the youth interested in the veterinary field. He encourages his veterinary hospital staff to pursue continuing education and career advancement, while providing preceptorships to students in the veterinary field. Dr. McInnis serves on two local scholarship committees: The Rotary Foundation Scholarship Committee and the Merle and Emma West Scholarship Committee.

Dr. McInnis is a great animal advocate and has served the Klamath Humane Society on the Board of Directors and has held the role of Vice President. Dr. McInnis continues to support the efforts of the Humane Society, donating many services and providing assistance to the shelter and its animals.

Dr. McInnis received the Diamond Collar Award in 2018 for his efforts in animal welfare from the Oregon Humane Society. Follow the link below.
https://youtu.be/Q4OZTf1h7_M

Dr. Britt Dubil

DVM Medical Advisor

Dr. Dubil has been in veterinary medicine most of her life, starting in her teenage years as kennel help. After completing her veterinary degree, she pursued a small animal medicine and surgery internship at a large referral practice in New Jersey. She has worked at many types of practices over the years, including emergency, surgical referral, private as well as corporately owned practices. Her pride, however, is the practice she built from the ground up in Park City, Utah, where she works tirelessly to improve the health of many furred friends. She joins Western Veterinary Partners as Medical Advisor, and is excited to combine her passion for veterinary medicine with improving the lives of veterinarians as well as those of pets. She received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University, and holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in German from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

Dr. Heidi Wampler

DVM Medical Advisor

Heidi Wampler, DVM grew up in Montana on a ranch where she developed a deep love of the West and caring for animals of all shapes and sizes. After attending Carroll College in Helena, she spent most of her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, earning her bachelor’s degree in Biology from CSU in 1998.

While in graduate school at Colorado State University she completed research in Neuroanatomy and co-authored a published neuroanatomy study. She also completed research studies in Reproductive Physiology and Equine Surgery while attending veterinary school and raising her family. Dr. Wampler completed her DVM degree in 2002.

Before founding Alpine Animal Clinic, Dr. Wampler practiced first mixed animal and then small animal exclusive medicine and surgery for 7 years until deciding to pursue her dream of opening Helena’s first AAHA-accredited hospital, Alpine Animal Clinic, in 2008. Dr. Wampler’s hospital proved so successful, within three years she expanded her hospital to its current 11,083 square feet and employing nearly 40 staff members. At her hospital she organized and hosted two accredited educational conferences for veterinarians from Montana and neighboring states.

Dr. Heidi Wampler served as the Montana Representative to the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education (WICHE) from 2014 to 2017. Her volunteer service to the State of Montana represented Montana students applying to Veterinary School at any of the participating 15 Western States.

With a strong commitment to inspiring tomorrow’s veterinary professionals, Dr. Wampler volunteers many hours in the community and mentors students of all ages from elementary students to professional veterinary students through her hospital in Helena, Montana. Her hospital is an Approved Affiliate of the PIMA LVT program in Dillon, Montana, mentoring those students pursuing licensure as they progress through their clinical rotations. She donates her time mentoring kids for activities including 4-H, “Kid’s College” at elementary schools, Career Day for high schools, and donates medical and surgical care for humane societies as well as supporting many other local community charities. Alpine Animal Clinic and Dr. Wampler also provide a great deal of donated care and services to needy pets in the Helena area.

Dr. Wampler has a special interest in orthopedics with certification in TPLO cruciate repair and TTA repair, and has advanced training in fracture plating repair. She has many years experience in advanced soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, and ultrasound in addition to training in laparoscopy and endoscopy.

Dr. Wampler lives in Helena with her husband, Todd Wampler, M.D., and their youngest son, Hayden. Together they enjoy Montana’s beautiful wilderness mountain biking, skiing, and camping. Dr. Wampler enjoys trail running and is also an avid Marine Aquarist.

Peter Jacobson

Chief Financial Officer

Peter has over 15 years of finance and accounting leadership experience, including over ten years serving as a Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Western Veterinary Partners, Peter served as the CFO of BridgeHealth, a surgery benefit management company that provides its members with access to high quality healthcare while reducing costs. Prior to BridgeHealth, he worked as a CFO with other privately held high growth businesses in the technology, software, and manufacturing sectors, overseeing all financial reporting and integration related efforts. Earlier in his career, Peter was a Vice President of KeyBanc Capital Markets, where he worked with small and mid-sized businesses in capital raising and M&A activities. Peter is a Certified Public Accountant and received his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and undergraduate BA with honors from Harvard University.

Grant Wilson

Chief Development Officer

Grant has over 15 years of private equity, investment banking, and corporate development experience. Most recently, he served as a Principal for Tyree & D’Angelo Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm where he invested in and worked with numerous provider-based healthcare services companies. He previously worked as an investment professional for Waud Capital Partners, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm focused on investments in healthcare and business services. Grant also worked in corporate development with CME Group and corporate finance and M&A advisory at Lehman Brothers in Chicago. Grant holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and received a BS in Finance and Accounting and a Master of Accountancy from Miami (of Ohio).

Kristin Moritz

Chief Operating Officer

Kristin has over 15 years of experience working with private equity-backed businesses in the education, healthcare, and veterinary fields. Most recently, she led operations for the equine business line at National Veterinary Associates (NVA) and helped build the foundational support capabilities for equine practices and practitioners. She also worked with the specialty and emergency practices on the West Coast during her time at NVA. Prior to that, Kristin served as Director of Operations and Strategy for DaVita Medical Group (now Optum) and supported specialty and ancillary operations for a 100+ physician organization in Colorado. Kristin started her career as an Associate at Summit Partners, a global private equity firm. She received a B.S. in Management Science and Engineering and her Master’s Degree in Business Administration, both from Stanford University.

Jen Abram

Director of Business Development

Jen has spent the last decade in animal health providing medical and business solutions to veterinarians and their staff.  As a Strategic Account Manager with Zoetis, Jen’s role was to educate and partner with veterinary practices to better the health of their patients, practice and team. In this role, she developed training tools and an accredited leadership certificate program for the industry.

As a Regional Sales Manager with KindredBio, Jen pursued her passion around people and their development by mentoring and coaching a multi-state sales team. Jen has also served on various industry boards, including Project VETS–a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and welfare of animals around the world. 

Prior to animal health, Jen spent ten years on the human health side with Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories in technical sales and recruiting.  Jen holds a BA in Journalism and Business from Indiana University.

Judith Asseo

Director of Operations

Judith Asséo, Certified Veterinarian Practice Manager, originally hails from Boston and has over 20 years of leadership experience in the veterinary and animal welfare space. A graduate of Cornell University, Judy began her career as an animal care attendant when she was just 16 years old. Since then, has held leadership roles with both primary care and emergency/specialty veterinary hospitals. Immediately prior to joining WVP, Judy held a Regional Manager role for a group of veterinary hospitals in Northern California.
When Judy is not busy providing direction and leadership to the veterinary hospitals in her region, she can be found performing and teaching with San Francisco’s Secret Improv Society. She has been performing for over 25 years and has been a member of this award-winning troupe for the last 12 years. Judy’s public speaking, training and performance experience includes providing her original interactive “De-Escalation Training for Veterinary Hospital Teams” at various regional and national conferences throughout the United States.

Jessica Bird

Director of Recruiting

Jess has over 20 years of experience in the veterinary field. Most recently, Jess served as the Hiring Team Manager for VetCor, where she specialized in talent acquisition, veterinary school relationship building, and employee engagement. Prior to VetCor, Jess served as the Human Resource Generalist/Surgical Department Head for two large 24hr Emergency Specialty Veterinary Hospitals located in Massachusetts. She began her career working as a veterinary technician in her hometown of Bourne, Massachusetts. Jess attended UMASS-Amherst where she focused her studies on equine sports therapy and animal science.

Hannah Casey

Director of Business Development

Hannah has over 15 years of experience in business development, with the past six years focused on veterinary practice acquisitions. She takes pride in cultivating meaningful relationships with potential partners and taking a consultative approach to guiding owners through the process from initial discussions to integration.

Hannah is skilled in working with individual owners to understand the unique challenges and opportunities within their practices. She provides valuable insight around ways a partnership with Western Veterinary Partners can be beneficial from both a financial and operational perspective. Hannah will be focusing on expanding the WVP portfolio of practices in several states.
Born and raised in the Carolinas, Hannah attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently lives in Charleston, SC with her two dogs, Folly and Murphy, and cat Fripp.

Megan Collins

Director of Operations

Megan has 10 years of healthcare industry experience, including insurance, care coordination, human healthcare, and veterinary medicine. Prior to Western Veterinary Partners, Megan served as Manager of Operations for the Baylor Scoliosis Center. Most recently, she worked as Hospital Manager for two specialty veterinary hospitals. Megan received several awards for client satisfaction and innovation throughout her career. Megan has her BS in Human Relations and Business and her MBA in Strategic Leadership from Amberton University.

Eva DeTolve

Director of Operations

Eva has twenty years of experience in the veterinary and animal welfare industries. Prior to joining Western Veterinary Partners, she served in leadership roles as Director of Veterinary Services and Executive Director in large animal welfare organizations. Previously, she worked in manager and director roles in several veterinary hospitals, including specialty and 24-hour emergency practices. Eva started her career as a Veterinary Technician in a small two Doctor practice. Eva holds a BS from Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Kevin DeWitt

Director of Business Development Execution

Kevin has over 8 years of investment banking and finance experience. Most recently, he served as a Vice President in the Leveraged Finance group for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, a middle market focused investment bank. Kevin helped structure and raise debt capital for both public and privately owned companies to fund acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, dividend recapitalizations and other general financing needs. Kevin received a BS in Finance from Miami University (Ohio).

Jake Elver

Business Development Associate

Jake is a recent graduate of Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on real estate and entrepreneurship. Initially, Jake became a licensed real estate agent in Colorado where he gained solid sales experience and learned to build and foster mutually beneficial relationships with clients. Jake also learned the importance of staying focused on the customer experience from beginning to end, which is key to the culture of WVP. During his free time, Jake enjoys hitting the gym and finding great eating spots with his friends. Like the rest of the WVP family, Jake also enjoys spending time with Shaggy, his puppy.

Anna Engebritson

Financial Analyst

Anna has over three years of experience in finance and has conducted analysis for multiple industries. Prior to joining Western Veterinary Partners, Anna held financial and pricing roles in the aviation industry. Anna hails from Minnesota, and holds a BS in Finance from St. Cloud State University. In her free time, Anna is an avid traveler and is working on visiting all seven continents.

Sarah Garza

Accounts Payable Manager

Sarah has seven years of experience in accounts payable in various industries including banking, mining, construction and entertainment. Sarah started her career as an AP specialist, and has worked her way up to managing teams and departments. She enjoys bringing teams together, as well as creating new processes and procedures that support both internal customers and vendors. Prior her work in accounting, Sarah managed back office processes in the furniture industry, and also managed multiple retail locations. Sarah and her family are huge animal lovers. They love sharing every experience possible with their dogs.

Matthew Guhne

Business Development Associate

Matthew is a recent graduate of University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he studied communication and history. During college, he gained experience working customer service and inside sales and learned that he truly enjoys going above and beyond to meet the needs of customers and clients. Matthew recently moved to Denver and during his free time he loves to be outdoors, especially hiking with his Lhasa -Poo, Maggie.

Vince Kassube

Senior Manager, Payroll

Vince Kassube, Certified Payroll Professional, brings years of experience and a passion for payroll to WVP.  Immediately after earning his accounting degree from Black Hills State University in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, Vince jumped at the opportunity to move to Colorado.  His professional career began in Denver with staff roles in internal audit and management roles in accounting operations.  With an appetite for new experiences, Vince added payroll to his skillset and never looked back.

Vince earned his professional payroll designation in 2016, cementing his commitment to the payroll industry. He appreciates that payroll demands both professional excellence and outstanding customer service.

While away from the office, Vince spends as much time as possible in the mountains with his partner and, of course, his four-legged best friend, Churchill.

Marla Katz

Director of Marketing

Marla has over 20 years of marketing experience and has spent the past decade working with veterinary support organizations. She is passionate about developing effective marketing strategies to support local practices and partnering with hospital teams to increase client retention and pet health compliance. In her last role, she built the marketing infrastructure to support decentralized revenue growth and developed curriculum to drive operational best practices.

Marla is a servant leadership driven professional who strives to create and foster strong and inclusive organizational cultures. Marla received a BA in Communications from Michigan State University and recently completed the Diversity & Inclusion Certificate Program through Cornell University.

Annie Lane

Support Staff Recruiting Specialist

Annie comes to Western Vet Partners with over 15 years of experience in the veterinary industry. While holding leadership roles, she gained substantial experience recruiting for all vet staff roles. Annie is a licensed vet tech in the states of California and Washington and holds advanced certifications in leadership and “Fear Free,” a program designed to understand animal behavior and help pets get through a vet visit with minima stress. Immediately prior to joining WVP, Annie served as hospital manager for a multi-DVM general practice, where she engaged in team development and training. When Annie is not busy recruiting staff for WVP, she enjoys playing classical guitar, baking, artistry and spending time with her family.

Lisa Marner

Accounts Payable Specialist

Lisa comes to WVP with over 7 years of Accounts Payable experience, having worked in several different industries mastering her skills, including Oil & Gas, Banking and Waste Management. Prior to bringing her skills into the realm of finance, Lisa worked in the furniture industry, eventually being recognized for her outstanding customer service and sales attributes and promoted to Office Manager. When not attending to her accounts, Lisa is active in fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association and Shriners Hospital for Children as well as organizing and planning fund raisers and parties for the local Shriners.

Lindsay O’Grady

Director of Business Development

Lindsay has more than 20 years of experience in the veterinary industry. Most recently, Lindsay held leadership roles in development, recruiting, and regional operations for VetCor, a leading group veterinary hospital support organization with over 300 hospitals nationwide. Prior to VetCor, Lindsay served as a practice manager of two small animal practices in addition to a large specialty animal hospital center. She began her career working in reception for her hometown veterinarian and over her career has held positions in nearly every area of a veterinary hospital. Lindsay attended Bentley University and holds a master’s degree from the University of New Hampshire. She continues to maintain her veterinary technician license and membership in veterinary community organizations.

Howard Popejoy

Director of People

Howard has over 10 years of human resource and benefit administration experience. Prior to joining Western Veterinary Partners, Howard spent time working in various industries which include aviation, manufacturing, transportation, software and most recently portable sanitation. Howard provided support to over 700 employees in 9 states specializing in leadership development, employee engagement, and workforce planning. He is passionate about inspiring team members to reach the next level of performance, leadership and well-being. Howard graduated Summa Cum Laude from Colorado Technical University. In his free time, Howard enjoys playing beach volleyball, indoor soccer, and spending time with his wife and two children.

Heather Dee “HD” Ramirez

Payroll Specialist

HeatherDee “HD” is an experienced payroll specialist having processed payroll for companies ranging from 500 – 4500 multi state employees. Prior to working in payroll, she was a Certified Surgical Technician on the human health side of medicine. She also has owned a dog grooming business for 25+ years, specializing in the “hand stripping” of terriers. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her newborn first granddaughter, riding her Harley Davidson motorcycle, baking and listening to live music.

Tim Reid

Director of Operations

Tim started his career working as a veterinary assistant for a primary care veterinary hospital as a teenager. He later transitioned to 24-hour emergency and specialty practices and this is where he began his leadership journey in management. He has over 20 years of veterinary experience, and in addition to developing a veterinary consulting business for primary care hospitals, he most recently worked for a national company as a director overseeing a large group of primary care, hybrid, and specialty hospitals. Tim is very passionate about the role of coach and mentor; he takes a proactive approach to leadership development and also helping team members at all levels of an organization reach their goals. Tim holds a BA in Business Communications from Baruch College in NYC.

Michael Rubey

Director of Business Development

Michael has over 25 years of veterinary sales and leadership experience. He has built and lead national sales teams for IDEXX, HESKA and BioMerieux, three of the largest veterinary laboratory service providers in the world. He has sold veterinary equipment and solutions and helped hundreds of practices enhance their diagnostic capabilities throughout the country, with a primary focus on the Western United States. Throughout his time in veterinary sales, Michael has received numerous awards for both customer satisfaction and high performance. Michael holds a BA from San Diego State University.

Colette Ruff

Controller

Colette has over 20 years of Accounting experience. Prior to joining Western Veterinary Partners, Colette primarily worked in the financial services industry holding a variety of senior financial and accounting positions at various public and private banks. She also provided her expertise as a consultant to various large Wall Street banks after the financial crisis. Colette is a Certified Public Accountant and received her Masters in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and her Bachelors of Science in Finance from the University of Florida. In her free time, Colette enjoys hiking, traveling, attending concerts and sporting events and spending time with her family and friends. She also likes volunteering and fundraising for AAKP and Alzheimer’s Association.

Lory Sansinena

Director of Integrations

Lory has over 20 years of experience in the pet care industry. Recently she held a leadership role in development at a boutique brokerage for the pet care industry. Prior to that, Lory held leadership roles in transition/integrations, and operations for NVA, one of the largest private veterinary support organizations. She began her career as a bookkeeper and kennel attendant at a mixed animal practice in her hometown and developed a love for the industry and deep appreciation for the human-animal bond, which led to practice management roles. Lory holds a BS in Business Management and is currently an MBA/CBE degree candidate. She enjoys baking, cooking, gardening, outdoor concerts, caring for her menagerie of chickens, cats, and a dog, and her role as the guardian of a wonderful young girl.

Gillian Vance

Marketing Associate

After graduating from the University of Colorado in May 2019, Gillian gained experience in sports marketing and strategic partnerships while working for the Arizona Golf Association (AGA). Gillian oversaw advertising, social media outreach, website development, and member acquisition at the AGA. During her time at the CU Boulder Athletic Department, she worked in event promotions where she created campaigns to drive ticket sales for students and potential fans. She holds a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Colorado where she was also a leader and competitor on the Women’s Golf Team. During her free time, Gillian enjoys playing golf, running, and spending time with friends and family.

Tiffany Woodward

Veterinary Recruiting Specialist

Tiffany has over 14 years of recruiting and human resources experience, encompassing various industries including healthcare, information technology and creative services. In the realm of recruiting, Tiffany has held leadership roles, largely because of her success in the industry. Tiffany holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Denver and a Master of Science in Management from Colorado State University, specializing in strategic innovation and change management. A native of Denver, Tiffany is highly involved in the community, devoting much of her spare time to Gateway Women’s Shelter, Project Angel Heart and Food Bank of the Rockies, just to name a few of the non-profits to which Tiffany has given of herself. Tiffany enjoys spending time with her family, food/food culture and travel when not recruiting or volunteering.