About Us

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.

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.

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.

Kevin DeWitt

Chief Development Officer

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).

Dr. Doug McInnis

VP of Veterinary Leadership

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

Darlene Geekie, RVT

Leader of Technician Training and Development

Darlene Geekie, RVT has worked in veterinary medicine since 1996 and received her RVT certificate from Pierce College in 2001. In 2005, Darlene became co-owner and practice manager of a veterinary clinic which exposed her to all aspects of practice management. As an owner of a veterinary practice, Darlene learned that staff education is a critical element in a veterinary practice’s success. Throughout her career, Darlene has had a special interest in the fields of dentistry, ultrasound, anesthesia, and exotic care, which inspired her to teach others in the veterinary community. She has lectured for companies and organizations such as Webster, PDX Biotech, Midmark, IM3, AZVMA, AHAA, and SCVMA. Darlene also works with various rescue organizations and is on the Board of Directors at the Monterey Zoo in Salinas, CA.

Darlene joined WVP in October 2021, as the selling owner of Veterinary Angeles Medical Center in Agoura Hills, CA. She was appointed to the WVP Medical Advisory Board in January 2022, becoming the first Technician Advisor to work alongside DVM Advisors and add the technician perspective to elevate the quality of patient care.

As Leader of Technician Training and Development, Darlene focuses on the growth and retention of our veterinary technicians and support team members.

Dr. Tammy (White) Renteria

Honorary Medical Advisor
Board Certified Veterinary Dentist

Dr. (White) Renteria is a graduate of Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine class of 1996. She became a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College in 2009. Dr. (White) Renteria is the founder and owner of Pacific Northwest Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery in Longview, WA, and Inland Northwest Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery in Coeur d’Alene, ID. The practices offer advanced veterinary dentistry, teaching, and consulting services for dogs and cats. Dr. (White) Renteria has been a part of the Adjunct Faculty at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine since 2010 and offers a dental rotation to 4th-year veterinary students providing them with the opportunity to learn more about small animal veterinary dentistry.

Dr. (White) Renteria continues her passion for helping people and pets by advising and teaching veterinary dentistry to veterinarians within Western Veterinary Partner practices.

Dr. Britt Dubil

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. Nicole Canon

Medical Advisor

Dr. Nicole Canon is an alumna of both UC Davis and Colorado State University. She completed her undergraduate degree and received her Master’s degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, and achieved her Veterinary degree in Colorado. She also lived in Springfield, VA, while completing an extensive internship that covered small animal emergencies, internal medicine, surgery, dermatology, and radiation oncology. She’s also completed coursework in veterinary acupuncture. She came to work at the Animal Hospital of Sebastopol in 2002 and liked it so much that she bought it in 2007. For fun, Dr. Nicole spends her time outside skiing, sailing, and stand-up paddle boarding. She shares her home with her husband, two cats, and a dog.

Dr. Krista Gibson

Medical Advisor

Dr. Gibson grew up in Scottsdale and left years ago to pursue a career as a veterinarian. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison Veterinary School in 1996. Her adventures took her all over the country, and finally came back full circle to Scottsdale, where she owned Kierland Animal Clinic. She spends her free time with her husband, Tom, four dogs, and two cats. She enjoys mountain biking, painting, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Charles Hurty

Medical Advisor
Dr. Charles Hurty graduated from the North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002 and completed a 1-year internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. In veterinary medical practice, Dr. Hurty has a special interest in internal medicine, dermatology, ophthalmology, preventive care, and senior pet wellness.

Additionally, he has developed a strong curiosity about creating and maintaining meaningful team cultures and supporting confident, high-functioning teams. Personal wellbeing initiatives, mindful self-care, and organizational approaches to thriving cultures are his jam these days. In fact, Dr. Hurty made his veterinary conference public speaking debut at the Oregon Veterinary Conference in March of 2024; he addressed how a cultural focus on the employee experience is mission-critical to establishing sustainable workspaces.

Serving and supporting the Oregon veterinary community is a fantastic opportunity; Dr. Hurty seeks to continuously examine and understand the challenges of the veterinary caregiving space to achieve improved sustainability of all the professionals that make up our veterinary profession. He is the Medical Director at Grove Veterinary Clinic and the current (2024) President of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association.

Charles is married to Dr. Natasha Knight; they have two children, Claire (18) and Ben (16). Their family is completed by one cat (Rio – an orange tabby), and five dogs: Chi Chi Bean (a wild Pomeranian), Barry (his favorite but don’t tell the others), a black and white Papillion, Bandit, a black and tan Chihuahua, Buddy Cake, a rambunctious black and white Papillion, and Pol (a super sweet fawn chihuahua). They also have 2 chickens (Crazy Taco Lady & Sabrina Duncan).

Dr. Hurty served as one of the original Board of Directors for the local nonprofit organization Friends of the Lincoln County Animal Shelter (FOLCAS) to save our local animal shelter from a controversial defunding plan. He has previously served as the Chair of the Oregon Coast Therapy Animals (OCTA) Board and the Chair of the Lincoln County Animal Shelter & Wellness Committee. For the 14 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hurty organized the veterinary care clinic portion of the Lincoln County Project Homeless Connect event; this program provided pet care for those pets living with underserved members of the community.

Dr. Hurty has been an avid advocate for the profession as a regular speaker and presenter at all local Newport school levels, from kindergarten to high school.

Charles enjoys fishing, projects at the house, gardening, cooking/BBQ, and hanging out with the family. He also loves live music, traveling, skiing, surfing, and spending time outside. Additionally, he has participated in youth athletics, contributing as a head coach in soccer, baseball, and softball. Most recently, he finished a 6-year tenure as a Newport Swim Team Board Member and Swim Board President.

Dr. Monique Weldon

Medical Advisor

Dr. Monique Weldon has always been passionate about animals and while in high school, decided to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine. She earned her degree in Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University in 2003. After graduating, Dr. Weldon worked in general practice for seven years before starting and building from the ground up Loving Family Animal Hospital. Providing high-quality, personalized medicine has always been her goal and the practice became AAHA accredited within 10 months of opening, earning the distinguished award of “AAHA Hospital of The Year” in 2017. While still the sole owner and medical director of Loving Family Animal Hospital, Dr. Weldon opened Animal Dental Clinic to focus on dentistry. Dr. Weldon has focused heavily on training and continuing education in the dental field for the last 19 years and has a passion for dentistry and oral surgery.

Dr. Jill Sullivan

Medical Advisor

Dr. Sullivan was raised in Boston, MA before moving to Florida for college and veterinary school. She graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012 and practiced in Florida for two years before moving to New Mexico. Dr. Sullivan has a special interest in surgery and is also a certified veterinary acupuncturist.

Dr. Jennifer Severt

Medical Advisor

Dr. Jennifer Severt is a 2006 graduate of the Ohio State University and a passionate practitioner of small animal medicine. She is especially invested in soft tissue surgery, cardiology, ultrasound, and nurturing the human-companion animal bond. She is also deeply committed to building a strong and positive team dynamic and practice culture. Jen shares her life with her husband of twenty years and their two teenage children as well as her beloved pets – a golden retriever named Arla and four feline family members. Her outside interests include traveling, cooking, hiking, scuba diving, martial arts, and playing games with her family.

Dr. Rachel South

Medical Advisor

Dr. South grew up in Bel Air, Maryland, where she fell in love with veterinary medicine while working as a veterinary assistant in an emergency practice. She graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine with her DVM degree in 2013 and completed her clinical year of the program at Oklahoma State University. While attending Ross University in St. Kitts, West Indies, she met Dr. Trevor South. Upon completion of her DVM degree, she moved to Arkansas, where Dr. Trevor South was already practicing.

Following graduation, Dr. South worked in an emergency practice while doing relief work for several general practices in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. South genuinely enjoys emergency and critical care medicine, falling in love with the fast-paced environment as a veterinary assistant in Maryland. She and her husband soon knew they wanted to start their own practice in Arkansas while incorporating that passion for emergency care in some capacity. They founded River Valley Animal Hospital in 2017, an extended hours practice providing urgent care as well as wellness services, and haven’t looked back! Dr. South is excited to be a part of Western Veterinary Partner’s Medical Advisory team to help support professional growth and quality patient care!

Dr. Janis Shinkawa

Medical Advisor

Dr. Jan is the Medical Director and founding partner of Ohana Pet Hospital in Ventura and Santa Paula, CA. Born and raised in Honolulu, Dr. Jan first pursued a degree in accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant and auditor for Ernst and Young in Honolulu. There, she was exposed to various industries including health care, retail, government, and hospitality. Dr. Jan graduated from Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine and moved to Ventura, CA to complete a small animal rotating internship at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG). From there, Dr. Jan worked as a general practitioner in both Orange County and Ventura before founding Ohana with her veterinarian colleagues in 2012. Dr. Jan is an active member of her community having previously served as president of both the Santa Barbara-Ventura Veterinary Medical Association and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) of Ventura County. She currently serves on the NAWBO National Board as the Chair-Elect and Advocacy Committee Chair. Dr. Jan also helped start and develop the veterinary assistant program at Charter College and the local Veterinary Technology program at Ventura College, which is an accredited American Veterinary Medical Association teaching program for registered veterinary technicians. Always striving to contribute to the betterment of the veterinary profession, she, along with her veterinary colleague and business partner, established Lokahi Foundation, which is a 501c3 non-profit helping to create pathways for people to enjoy sustainable long-term careers in veterinary medicine and business management, while delivering exceptional client service to pet owners and high-quality care to pets.

As a Medical Advisor, Dr. Jan will help WVP stay focused on veterinarians and their practice teams, to improve their lives and the clients and patients they serve. Dr. Shinkawa will also be assisting with our Medical Director Leadership Development program to further support our current and future medical directors.

Lauren Gates

VP of Business Development

Lauren has over 14 years of experience in healthcare acquisitions, business development and sales. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Business Development within the Direct Investments division at Leon Capital Group. In this role, her primary responsibilities included the identification of add-on acquisition opportunities, crafting transaction structures, conducting due diligence, and seeking new ways to achieve organic and inorganic growth. Preceding her tenure at Leon Capital, Lauren was instrumental in establishing and leading the Business Development team at PetWell Partners, a veterinary owner and operator. She developed and set the teams strategic priorities resulting in the creation of valuable partnerships and seamless integrations. Lauren received her Executive MBA from Rice University and her BBA in Accounting from Texas Tech University.

Vance Toole

Vice President of Corporate Development

Vance has over 5 years of investment banking and private equity experience. Most recently, he served as a Senior Associate for The Cosine Group providing strategic M&A advisory and investment banking services for early and growth stage companies. Prior to working with The Cosine Group, he was an Associate with Pamlico Capital, a lower middle market private equity group based in Charlotte, NC focused on growth buyouts in healthcare, business technology, and software. Vance was raised in Southeast Missouri and received degrees in Economics and Spanish from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Julie Harrington

Director of Veterinary Relations

Julie began her professional life as a CPA in public accounting. She moved into corporate accounting but after becoming CFO of a small publicly traded company in Denver, decided to return to school to pursue her childhood dream of being a veterinarian. Julie earned her DVM from Colorado State in 2007. After many years in the Denver area, she returned to Fort Collins last fall with her human partner Troy, and four-legged partner Niko. All three enjoy exploring their new home and all Fort Collins has to offer!

Dr. Klarissa Ligon

Director of Veterinary Relations

Dr. Klarissa Ligon joins WVP as Director of Veterinary Relations, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to her role. A proud alumna of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, Klarissa has dedicated her career to advancing veterinary care and building strong connections within the veterinary community. Before joining WVP, Klarissa successfully owned and operated a small animal hospital in coastal Virginia. She has also made significant contributions to animal health and business solutions through her work with several organizations including Ceva Animal Health. Klarissa lives in coastal Florida with her husband and their two Chinese Shar Pei. Outside of work, she enjoys boating, beach outings, and occasionally stepping back into the field at an emergency practice.

Hannah Hayes

Senior Director of Business Development

Hannah has over 15 years of experience in business development, with the past 10 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 Denver with her husband, stepsons, three dogs and a cat.

Lory Sansinena

Senior 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, earned her Practice Manager certification in 2009 and now holds her CVPMRetired status. 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.

Jeff Margolf

Director of Corporate Development

Jeffery joins the WVP team with over seven years of experience in corporate banking, private equity, and corporate finance. Most recently, he served as a Senior Analyst for Nutrien Ltd., a global provider of fertilizer products and agricultural retailers. At Nutrien, Jeffery specialized in financial modeling, FX trading, debt capital markets, funding strategy, and the share repurchase program. Prior to Nutrien, Jeffery was an Investment Analyst for Partners Group, a Swiss-based private equity firm, and started his career with Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s credit analyst program. Jeffery is a Chartered Financial Analyst and obtained his BSBA degree with an emphasis in finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Amy Fedon

Director of Business Development

Amy joins WVP as a Director of Business Development, where she will help our expansion efforts into the Midwest states. Prior to joining WVP, Amy spent 15+ years working in animal health with Zoetis in various sales and leadership roles including Senior Strategic Account Manager. She joins WVP with extensive relationships across the veterinary care profession and is looking forward to helping build and scale our expansion efforts. Amy and her husband Jeremy live in Rochester Hills, MI with their daughter Hunter and son Maxwell. They have a Labrador that (as Amy says) barks at the wind.

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.

Drake Carlson

Director of Business Development

As Director of Business Development, Drake loves connecting great veterinary practice partners with WVP. He has over 15 years of business development experience with the last eight years in animal health. Prior to joining WVP, he spent six years with Patterson Veterinary Supply as a Territory Manager while also fulfilling additional leadership roles within the organization.

Drake resides in Omaha, NE with his wife Jillian, 3 kids (Quincy and Olivia who are twins, and youngest son Kyler) and a golden retriever (Jack). The Carlson family are avid Cornhusker Fans! When he is not working, you will find him spending time with family, cheering on the Huskers, and trying to squeeze in a round of golf now and then.

Drake played college baseball and received his BA in Business Administration from Morningside University (Iowa).

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.

Michael Rubey

Director of Business Development

Michael has almost 30 years of veterinary sales and leadership experience. He has built and led 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, throughout the United States, enhance their diagnostic capabilities. Throughout his time in veterinary sales, Michael has received numerous awards for both customer satisfaction and high performance. Michael has been married for 25 years and currently has three children in college. He holds a BA from San Diego State University.

Megan Collins

Director of Integrations

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.

Jessica Bird

Vice President 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.

Natasha Casper

Vice President of Operations

Natasha has over 10 years of experience in the veterinary industry. Prior to joining the team at Western Veterinary Partners, she served as a Senior Director of Operations at VetCor supporting the Northeast region. She has a great passion for people development and growth. Originally born in the US, Natasha spent most of her childhood in the United Kingdom where she graduated University with a B.A. in Business. She lives in upstate New York with her two children and French bulldog, Yogi. Outside of her work supporting WVP hospitals, she enjoys spending time with her family, being in the great outdoors, and traveling.

Isaac Ipson

Vice President of Operations

Isaac joins the WVP team as an experienced healthcare leader with a track record of success in team building, partnerships, and operations. Over the past five years, Isaac navigated rapid growth and forged partnerships with local home care agencies at Honor, a leading senior care company. Prior to that, he led operations and physician partnerships for over 20 dialysis clinics at DaVita in Dallas, TX. Isaac holds an MBA from Dartmouth College and a BS in Economics from Brigham Young University. When not at work, he enjoys outdoor activities and sports with his family.

Judith Asseo

Senior 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.

Eva DeTolve

Senior 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.

Kara Plotz

Senior Director of Operations

Dr. Kara Plotz is originally from the Toronto area and is a 2007 graduate of Ontario Veterinary College. She worked in general practice as an associate and a medical leader for about 10 years. Early in her career she found herself motivated by leading teams, developing people and the operations behind a successful veterinary hospital. She has since worked in multi-unit field operations and medical quality roles, and most recently managed field operations for wellness plan products across 300 hospitals. She is also pursuing an MBA at Kelley School of Business with plans to graduate in 2025. She is very excited to be back working with hospitals on the full scale of operations and supporting leaders to be their best. Kara currently lives in Huntington Beach with her husband and two dogs. Outside of work and school, she loves to travel, hike, camp, and spend time grooming her dogs.

Valerie Wright

Director of Operations

A Nebraska native, Valerie is driven by a love of animals and a desire to care for those who support the human-animal bond. She feels that her purpose in life is to help the veterinary industry provide the best care possible by focusing on sound financial, medical, and compassionate practices. She is most excited when she’s helping team members achieve their goals. Before joining WVP, Valerie held a director role supporting hospitals in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. She also spent several years in veterinary hospitals as a technician and practice manager. When not at work, Valerie spends most of her time with her husband and their two young daughters at home in Kansas. As a family, they enjoy the lake, traveling, and being outdoors. They also have two dogs and one cat to ensure that they are always busy and entertained.

Christine Borkenhagen

Director of Operations

Christine has over 10 years of multi-site leadership experience in the service industry. Most recently, she led the Western Region Operations for the pet resort business within a large veterinary support organization, where she assisted in the growth of the Pet Resorts division by 400%. She participated in the development of the acquisition strategy, helped to create the foundation and support structure for the sites, and trained and developed multiple leaders throughout the operations team. Prior to that, Christine worked in the retail and service industry, leading high-volume flagship locations for Nike, Target, and The Sports Club Company. She was also the President of a 501c3 dog rescue organization in Los Angeles for 8 years – personally fostering hundreds of dogs in her home, training and managing foster partners, and working with veterinarians to ensure the best medical care for each and every rescued dog. Christine received her B.A. from UCLA and her Master’s Degree from Pepperdine University.

Randi Anderson

Director of Operations

Randi is a people-centered business leader with 18+ years experience in the healthcare industry. Certified in LEAN/Kaizen, she held various roles including process improvement, learning and development, and multi-site operations. She has a Bachelors of Science in Sports Medicine, but after discovering her passion serving as a leader, she earned her Masters of Science in Management and Leadership.

Randi is a Washington native, being born and raised and still living in Western Washington. She has a love of animals that started as early as she can remember. Having worked as a ranch-hand and horse trainer in her earlier days, she has now settled for house pets with a cat and a dog, both rescued from the local animal shelter. She spends her free time with her husband, shuttling their two kids from various sports practices and tournaments, or enjoying a weekend of and camping at the river.

Tiffany Vega

Director of Operations

Tiffany is a healthcare professional with over 8-years of experience in multi-site operational leadership. Prior to joining the team at Western Veterinary Partners, she worked as a Regional Director of Operations with Bright Direction Dental supporting operations in Illinois. Her passion lies in nurturing her teams through the principles of servant leadership. Tiffany received her B.S. from Western Illinois University in Kinesiology and is currently completing her Masters in Business Administration from Capella University. Outside of work, Tiffany is a devoted Green Bay Packers fan, enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband, daughter and goldendoodle, Walter.

Jake Wakemen

Director of Operations

Jake brings over 15 years of multi-site operations experience, with the past 7 years in veterinary medicine. Most recently, he supported GP clinic operations in the Pacific Northwest and the Texas/OK market, overseeing $52M+ in revenue. Additionally, he was an integral member of the Operations task force that developed successful leadership programs to support veterinarians and Medical Directors, and worked to scale a successful company-wide HM (Peer) Ambassador program.

Jake has a passion for people development, and is excited to support our sites in their mission to serve their communities by caring for more pets. When not working, you can find Jake on his ranch in Northeast Texas where his wife and three daughters run a small cattle operation.

Monique Hutter

Director of Operations

Monique has a background in retail and hospitality, and served as a regional director before transitioning into the veterinary field three years ago. During her career, Monique has covered many areas throughout the Southeast and has helped people grow in their careers by developing their strengths and inspiring them to be their best selves. Monique completed her Certified Veterinary Business License in 2022 and is now working towards earning certification in Veterinary Burnout Preparedness. In her free time, Monique enjoys spending time with her family and dogs, which include two shepherds, a border collie, and a pug.

Anita Maguire

Director of Operations

Anita joins the WVP team with over 20 years of experience in the veterinary industry. Prior to joining, Anita served as VP of Operations for a small animal Urgent Care group based in Texas. Previously, she held various leadership roles, including multi-site management and new acquisition integrations in general practices, specialty emergency, and critical care facilities.

Anita is originally from the Maryland/DC area and grew up on the East Coast, where she attended the University of Maryland, College Park. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with her family and four furry companions.

Brooke Lytle

Director of Operations

Brooke joins WVP with 9 years of experience working in the veterinary industry. Her experience ranges from managing a large private practice that transitioned to a corporate partnership, to supporting the operational functions of over 65 newly acquired hospitals during her time as Integration Manger with Community Veterinary Partners.

Brooke enjoys building relationships with hospital team members, developing practice managers, identifying operational efficiencies, and working with teams to create healthy overall best practices. Brooke studied Business Management at Wake Tech and achieved her CVPM in 2019. Prior to her career in the veterinary industry, Brooke’s was focused on the fast-paced restaurant management world.

Brooke currently lives outside of Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and two crazy labs. She loves to cook and enjoys all things outdoors, such as hiking with her pups, breweries, and sports.

Jennifer Phillips

Director of Operations

Jennifer joins the WVP team with over 20 years of experience in the veterinary profession. She previously held leadership roles in regional operations, sales, consulting, and non-profits (animal shelters). Most recently, Jen led a diverse group of veterinary specialty and emergency practices across the Southeast. She is passionate about leadership development and elevating the role of the practice manager in veterinary medicine. Jen graduated from Duquesne University with a B.S. and holds an MBA from the University of West Florida. She currently lives in sunny Florida with her husband, two daughters, and three rescue chihuahuas, June, Ari, and Elsa. As a family they enjoy beach days, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Liz Dean

Director of Operations

Liz has over ten years of experience in multi-unit operational leadership, primarily in hospitality and retail, though she pivoted to work in veterinary medicine several years ago as it was the perfect opportunity to combine her lifelong love for animals with her career. She’s a people-focused leader who is passionate about advocating for and empowering her teams. Outside of work, Liz enjoys yoga, weightlifting and strength training, traveling, and riding & competing in the equestrian sport of eventing. She currently lives in New York City with her two cats, Winston and Nadja.

Rafa La Madrid

Director of Operations

Rafa joins WVP with over 10 years of management experience in retail and the service industry. Prior to joining WVP, he worked for Starbucks for more than seven years, where he led strategic business growth and operational efficiencies. During his time at Starbucks, he was involved in diversity and inclusion efforts as a member of the advisory team for the national Latino affinity network, Hora Del Café. As a leader, Rafa is driven to understand market-specific opportunities to for growth and implement problem-solving solutions. Rafa earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Oregon. He grew up in Lima, Peru, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. Outside of work, Rafa is an avid landscape photographer and enjoys spending time outdoors in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and their golden retriever, Mancha.

Brent Park

Senior Director of Pricing and Strategy

Brent has eight years of experience in healthcare, both in human healthcare and the veterinary industry. Prior to Western Veterinary Partners, Brent spent several years working in supply chain, procurement, and integrations at a multi-site allergy services company. He has presented at national conferences to discuss the role of data in operational decision-making and process improvement. Brent holds a BA in English Literature from Valparaiso University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Bryan Wogrin

Director of Technology Strategy

Bio coming soon

Michelle Bakva

Vice President of Marketing

Michelle holds nearly two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience focused on driving innovative business and growth strategies.

As the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Rexford Industrial (NYSE: REXR), Michelle led the marketing department transformation and global branding initiatives for an $11B REIT enterprise. Prior to Rexford, Michelle served as Vice President of Marketing at The William Warren Group, where she drove brand promotion and integrated marketing efforts for a $3.5B real estate portfolio. She also worked as Senior Marketing Manager at National Veterinary Associates, overseeing the execution of interactive, direct marketing, creative, and sales strategies that optimized hospital visits, acquisition and retention efforts.

Michelle earned her MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Law and Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Marla Katz

Senior 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.

Kellee Amerman

Senior Director of Benefits

Kellee has over 20 years of benefits administration experience in the REIT, hospitality, and veterinary industries. She enjoys creating and implementing innovative benefit programs designed to take care of team members and their families, as well as position companies to attract and retain top talent. In her most recent role, she built and led a team responsible for managing all aspects of benefits for newly acquired veterinary hospitals and pet resorts. She believes that collaborative working relationships are the key to a successful team and a great working environment. Kellee holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Regis University. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband Scott, son Ryan (13), daughter Ali (10), and their Great Dane Bella (3). She loves to watch her kids play sports, travel, attend sporting events and concerts, hike, bike, scooter, and fish with her family!

Cory Smtih

Controller

Cory joins WVP from IHS Markit, where he was Executive Director Corporate Consolidations and Americas Accounting. Prior to that he held leadership roles at Great-West Financial and The Gates Corporation, with responsibilities that spanned accounting, FP&A and reporting. Early in his career, Cory worked at accounting firms PWC and KPMG. His time at PWC included work in both Denver and England. Cory has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in accounting from Kansas State University. Outside of work, most of Cory’s time is spent with his wife attending the sporting events and activities of their three children.

Charles Woo

Director of Financial Planning & Analysis

Charles joins Western Veterinary Partners with over 8 years of Finance and Accounting experience. Prior to WVP, Charles worked at one of the Big 4 Accounting firms in the audit practice on a variety of publicly traded companies and was most recently in the dental support organization industry, building financial dashboards and tools to enable doctors, managers, and executives alike in their decision making. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Tableau Desktop Specialist and received his Master of Accountancy from Brigham Young University. In his free time, Charles enjoys cycling, hiking, and spending time with his wife and two children.

Sarah Hallock

Director of Payments and Vendor Operations

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.

Vince Kassube

Director of 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.