The Ready, Vet, Go Team

Dr. Jeff Klemens

Mentor
(he/him)

Dr. Jeff has been fortunate to work for practices with very progressive standards of care. This has allowed him to achieve a high level of medical and surgical skill. The years he’s spent doing emergency work has allowed him to hone his soft tissue surgical skills, exposed him to a wide array of trauma (what he refers to as his “dog vs” list), and allowed him to manage critical patients in hospital. He has experience in both general practice and emergency medicine, which has prepared him for anything that walks (or is carried) through the door.

Outside of work, Dr. Jeff is an avid board-gamer, lover of craft beer, and die-hard Miami Dolphins and Purdue Boilermakers fan. If it’s sci-fi or fantasy fiction, he’s probably into it. He loves to travel, and has already set foot on 3 continents and 13 countries. He spent a semester in Lincoln, New Zealand during undergraduate study. His externship during his senior year of veterinary school took place at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen, Denmark. He also loves to cook, and a good meal with friends. Since February 1, 2018, he has been a full-time relief veterinarian and owner/operator of Reliable Relief Services, LLC. In June of 2020, he began providing mentorship support for a small corporation and continued to create content and help in building their mentorship curriculum.

Dwight Alleyne

Mentor
(he/him)

Dwight Alleyne was born and raised in Long Island, New York where his love of animals began. His career for animals began working for well-known no-kill animal shelter on Long Island. He worked his way up the career ladder working as a kennel technician, veterinary assistant, and then becoming a licensed veterinary technician at the shelter. His passion for veterinary medicine led to him applying to and being accepted at Cornell University Veterinary where he graduated from in 2006. After completing a small animal rotating internship at Purdue University, he eventually made his way to Georgia where he has been practicing ever since. Dr. Alleyne has practiced at several small animal clinics throughout Georgia including roles in medical leadership for the last 5 years. He has a keen interest in soft tissue surgery and has extensive experience in performing ultrasounds including echocardiograms. He currently lives in Marietta, Georgia with his wife Elonda, 12 year old daughter Tatiana, and his Maine coon cat named Queen.

Dr. Michelle Cook 

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Michelle Cook enjoys practicing the full art of veterinary medicine by using evidence-based medicine and compassion to provide the best care for pets and their families. She earned her BA at Colby College in 2001 and DVM from The Ohio State University in 2011.

After graduating from OSU, Dr. Michelle completed a small animal rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston where she saw a wide variety of cases in a fast-paced environment, managed critical patients, and worked directly with specialists in multiple areas. Cutting her teeth at Angell resulted in her ability to perform excellent medical/case management, time management, client communication, professional communication, and provided the confidence to practice best medicine in a “real world” setting.

Life after internship brought marriage and a move to the west coast where Dr. Michelle practiced general medicine at a busy private practice for 3 years before going on to become Medical Director for a corporate hospital in Oregon. Becoming a leader brought Dr. Michelle a new perspective to practicing medicine and added depth to the soft skills she needs to succeed and thrive in the veterinary profession. During this time, Dr. Michelle and her partner welcomed two little girls to their family.

Dr. Michelle’s partner, also a veterinarian, was admitted to a residency program in diagnostic imaging at Colorado State University, which brought the whole family to the Rocky Mountains. Dr. Michelle accepted a position as Medical Director at general practice there and worked to build a culture of positivity, teamwork, and respect. While this work was rewarding, Dr. Michelle once again felt the pull of academia and enrolled in a Master of Public Health program at the Colorado School of Public Health where she earned her MPH in Population Mental Health and Well-being as well as a certificate in Total Worker Health in 2022.

Dr. Michelle and her family currently live in Maine where they enjoy all that the great outdoors and slow pace of life have to offer. She currently works at the Falmouth Veterinary Hospital as a general practitioner where she is deeply grateful for the positive work culture and supportive colleagues. Dr. Michelle also supports research and advocacy work performed by the Johns Hopkins Psychological Organizational and Environmental Total Worker Health Center (POE Center).

Dr. Michelle chose to be a mentor because of her love for the work we do as veterinarians. She recognizes that providing care for animals and supporting their humans can be stressful. Although the challenges can feel overwhelming, she believes the tools we have to mitigate them are excellent mentorship, community support, and skill development that Ready Vet Go provides. Dr. Michelle is honored to be on this journey with you all and looks forward to learning together and building community.

Completed Pawsibilities’ Introduction To Inclusive Mentoring Training

Dr. Melanie Goble

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Melanie Goble grew up in southeastern Wisconsin where she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian from the age of four. After obtaining a degree in psychology from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and graduating from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Melanie has been a veterinarian since 2005. For the first 9.5 years of her career, Dr. Melanie practiced small animal medicine in Maine and Wisconsin. In 2014, she began providing relief services allowing veterinarians to take time off to renew themselves in mind, body, and soul.

In 2017, Dr. Melanie and a group of colleagues founded the non-profit, Not One More Vet, Inc., to address the issues of suicide and mental wellness in the veterinary profession. In her free time, Dr. Melanie mentors veterinarians and provides veterinary care around the world with Christian Veterinary Missions. She loves traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband.

Dr. Melanie is currently licensed in Wisconsin, Alaska, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana and Newfoundland Labrador, Canada, has provided veterinary care in Maine, Texas, Mongolia, and the US Virgin Islands, and has given lectures to small groups, universities, and major conferences and organizations virtually and in person throughout the United States, Canada, Estonia, England, and Mongolia. We all do better when we work together!

Dr. Julie Liu

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Patti Munizza

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Patti Munizza originally from New Jersey, but she and her family have been moving further down the east coast. She lived in Virginia for 16 years and for the past five years, she’s been living in Florida. Her family consists of her husband of almost 19 years, two kids, two cats, and one dog. Dr. Munizza graduated from (The) Ohio State University back in 1998 and has devoted post graduate work to small animal practice. She has experience in full-service practice, telehealth, and a high volume/low-cost vaccine/minor medical issues clinic. In her spare time, she enjoys being active (riding my bike, walking the dog, hiking), cooking and baking, and spending time with family and watching her children compete in various sports. 

Dr. Eddie M. Robinson

Mentor
(he/him)

Dr. Eddie M. Robinson, a native of Columbia, South Carolina, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Clemson University and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee University in 1983. During his career, Eddie has served as an associate in a mixed animal practice, an emergency medicine practitioner, an associate in small animal practices, a small animal practice owner (30 years), and a medical director in a corporate practice. Eddie’s primary veterinary interests are dermatology, surgery, and developing a clinic culture where all team members feel comfortable and appreciated. His passion for helping others entering veterinary medicine has led to his teaching a class for veterinary assistants at a local technical college. Eddie and Cynthia, his wife of 36 years, have two children. Eddie’s passions outside of veterinary medicine include anything Clemson, reading, tennis, and boxing.

Completed Pawsibilities’ Introduction To Inclusive Mentoring Training

Dr. Gay Smith-Pike

Mentor
(she/her)

She has dedicated over 20+ years of her career to taking best care of pets & people, practicing primarily within small animal medicine.

She is a certified AVMA Wellbeing Educator & Presenter, a certified Frank Communication Training Facilitator, a certified Adult Mental Health First Aid Provider & a certified QPR Institute Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper.

Additionally, Dr. Smith-Pike has held numerous clinical roles in both private small animal practice & multi-unit Veterinary Medical & Operational Leadership positions throughout her career. She currently holds the role of Regional Veterinary Director for the entire Eastern U.S. Region within Destination Pet LLC.

She is most passionate about supporting total well-being within our beloved profession so that people & pets are empowered to truly thrive, and not just survive, within veterinary medicine.

Dr. Ann Welton

Mentor
(she/her)

After graduation, she did an internship at California Animal Hospital in West Los Angeles, getting intensive training in cardiology, internal medicine and ultrasonography. In 2001 she returned to the Santa Barbara area where she has been a full time practicing veterinarian seeing dogs, cats and small exotic companion animals hit over 20 years She was medical director at a multi site practice for 12 years, and is excited to continue the journey as a mentor.

Dr. Welton lives in Santa Barbara with her husband Steve, daughter Claire, and dogs Radar and Banana. In her spare time, she is an avid reader, participating in a monthly book club for almost 20 years. As a cinophile, she looks forward the the Santa Barbara International film festival yearly, and regularly participates in our local Cinema Society. She also enjoys hiking, biking, traveling and cheering on the UCSB Gauchos at sporting events.

Dr. Patricia White

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Patricia White has over 40 years of experience as a veterinarian, 30 years as a practice owner, and entrepreneur, and has spent most of her career in private practice in the field of veterinary dermatology. Dr. White is a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology having completed her residency training and Master’s degree at The Ohio State University.

In 1992, Dr. White founded Atlanta Veterinary Skin & Allergy Clinic, PC in her hometown of Atlanta, GA. Since then, she has been dedicated to serving the veterinary referral, professional, and pet owning communities of the Southeast. Dr. White has authored numerous articles and book chapters for both professional and lay publications, and regularly speaks at veterinary meetings nationally and internationally.  In the fall of 2022, she retired from practice so that she could turn her attention to coaching full time.

Dr. Pat’s passion for spirituality, self-discovery, and helping others to find their purpose and passions in life led her to coaching. She is a certified transformational life coach, Passion Test facilitator, Positive Intelligence guide, and non-violent communication practitioner.  Her coaching focuses on empowering heart-centered professional women who have fallen out of love with what they love to do find their authentic voice, power and purpose again. Overall, Dr. Pat is dedicated to helping others rediscover their passions in life, and is committed to empowering heart-centered  purpose driven professionals to create a life they love that loves them back.

Dr. Pat also has 15 years of interfaith spiritual study, including Sufism and Eastern Philosophy, and has been a leader in her spiritual community for over 15 years as a teacher, coach, and guide for others on their own unique path toward self-discovery.  This lived experience informs her approach to coaching from the heart.  In addition to her coaching and spiritual work, Dr. White is a meditation guide and teacher. She believes that anyone can meditate and teaches students how to “go with the flow” and cultivate mindfulness in their daily lives. 

She loves travel, sailing, scuba diving, gardening, hand – building clay work, and jewelry making, and enjoys expressing her creativity through these outlets.

Dr. Gary Marshall

Mentor
(he/him)

Outside of practice, Gary stays involved in non-clinical aspects of the profession by sitting on way too many state and national veterinary boards, the AVMA House of Delegates, and connecting with colleagues through mentoring platforms. His newest endeavor finds him running for the AVMA Vice-President position. If elected in June of 2024, he will begin serving a 2-year term as the liaison between the AVMA and its accredited vet schools around the world.

Outside of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Marshall enjoys getting to all the corners of the Pacific Northwest to work on honing his landscape photography skills. That is if he can get time away from hands on renovations of the cabin he and his wife somehow found themselves purchasing during the pandemic!

Krista Bailey

Curriculum Development
(she/her)

Krista also has experience as a public speaker, corporate trainer and entrepreneur. She has developed and implemented workshops training teachers to implement science curricula and created operational training and SOP manuals for a variety of businesses and organizations. She has worked with faculty, staff, tutors and trainers at all levels.

When she is not “nerding” out over parasitology or improving learning outcomes, she enjoys DIY home projects and volunteering for a local dog rescue organization. She relaxes by spending time with her partner and their 4 dogs and 3 cats.

Tori McLamore

Administrative Coordinator
(she/her)

Dr. Lauren Geiger

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Lauren Geiger was born and raised in New York, New York. For her undergraduate studies, she attended The State University of New York at Binghamton, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. Dr. Geiger then earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Ross University in 2005. As part of her clinical training, she attended Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2008, she moved from New York to Boulder, Colorado, where she resides with her husband and two cats named Walter and Emmett. In 2015, Dr. Geiger became certified in acupuncture for small animals. Dr. Geiger has worked as an associate veterinarian for veterinary hospitals and as a medical director for a large corporation. In 2020 she became a relief veterinarian starting her own business assisting hospitals all over Colorado, Utah, and New York.

Completed Pawsibilities’ Introduction To Inclusive Mentoring Training

Dr. Jovanna Radillo

Mentor
(she/her)

Dr. Jovanna Radillo, DVM, MPPA, a first-generation bilingual Mexican-American that found her way through the professional world with a pridefulness in having a humble beginning in lower  socioeconomic status. As a graduate of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine c/o 2012, she has  climbed her way up the corporate ladder from veterinary assistant, to an Associate Doctor, to Lead Doctor, to Chief of Staff, to Area Chief of Staff and Field Director over her career. She finds joy leading groups, fostering growth, and also mentoring not only onboarding doctors, but veterinary students, undergrad students, and students in elementary school. She currently volunteers as a Community Mentor for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Communication Labs training students in years 1-3 of the veterinary school and with various student groups at UC Davis undergrad and Veterinary School focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also has a passion to invest into her community and promote what could be. On her off time, she does various sports including boxing and kickboxing, weightlifting, dancing, cooking, crafting, and hiking. She is an advocate for the understanding of the high level of depression and anxiety in the veterinary community and need for well-being practices. 

Dr. Gretchen Pearson

Mentor
(she/her)