2016 NAVC Speakers of the Year | Dr. Justine Lee

Dr. House is a Clinical Associate Professor in the department of large animal clinical sciences at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a large animal medicine clinician and coordinates equine continuing education and outreach programs at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. House is the Director of the Practice-Based Equine Clerkship program. She completed her BS in Animal Science from Cornell University. After graduating from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2001, Dr. House completed an internship and large animal internal medicine residency at the University of Georgia’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Dr. House became board certified in large animal internal medicine in 2005. Her professional interests include neonatology, infectious disease, and preventative health care. Dr. House is active on committees for the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners. She was president of the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners in 2010, and is currently a member of the board.

Exotics Speaker of the Year: Doug Mader, MS, DVM, DABVP (Canine and Feline, Reptilian and Amphibian)

Dr. Mader received his DVM from the University of California, Davis in 1986. In addition, he completed a Residency in Primate and Zoo animal medicine. Prior to moving to the Conch Republic he owned a small animal/exotic practice in Southern California. Currently he is the consulting veterinarian for the Marathon Sea Turtle Hospital, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Zoo, the Key West Aquarium, the Theater of the Sea and, the owner of the Marathon Veterinary Hospital, a referral practice in Marathon, Florida. Dr. Mader is an internationally acclaimed lecturer and is on the review boards of several scientific journals. He has published numerous articles in scientific and veterinary journals, national magazines and is the co-author/editor of the Elsevier textbook, “Current Therapy in Reptile Medicine and Surgery” (2014). Dr. Mader is a Past President of the NAVC. Dr. Mader was selected for the 3rd year in a row and 6th time total — more than any other NAVC speaker!

Food Animal Speaker of the Year: Cindy Wolf, DVM

In addition to working with veterinary students as an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine, Cindy also volunteers her time for the national sheep organization working on sheep health and welfare issues and policy. Cindy and her family raise sheep, goats, working dogs and beef cattle in SE Minnesota. Dr. Wolf graduated from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

Practice Management Speaker of the Year: Andrew Roark, MS, DVM

Dr. Andy Roark is a practicing veterinarian, international speaker and author. He is an award winning columnist for DVM360 and has a regular column on Vetstreet.com. Dr. Roark’s popular Facebook page has over 125,000 fans, and his humorous educational videos have been viewed over a half million times. Dr. Roark has received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine and has been named NAVC’s Practice Management Speaker of the Yea. In 2013, the practice where Dr. Roark works placed third in that American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) Practice of the Year Contest.

Veterinary Technician Speaker of the Year: Kara M. Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, VTS (Nutrition), VTS-H (Internal Medicine, Dentistry)

Kara Burns is a licensed veterinary technician originally from New England, now living in Kansas. She holds a master’s degree in physiology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology. Kara is the Founder and President of the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians, the tenth recognized specialty for veterinary technicians and has attained her VTS (Nutrition). She teaches nutrition courses around the world on the VIN/Veterinary Support Personnel Network and on VetMedTeam. She also is a consultant for the Lafeber Company and is the Director of Nursing for Brief Media. Kara also works as an independent nutritional consultant. She is a member of many national, international and state associations and holds positions on many boards in the profession; AAVN executive board technician liaison; Fear Free Executive Board; Pet Nutrition Alliance Board; VSPN Nutrition Board Moderator; BSAVA; and is the president of the Kansas Veterinary Technician Association, to name a few. She has authored many articles, textbooks, and chapters and is an internationally invited speaker, focusing on topics of nutrition, leadership and technician utilization. Ms. Burns has been featured on the cover of the Veterinary Technician Journal and the NAVTA Journal. She was named the 2013 North American Veterinary Conference Technician Speaker of the Year. She was granted an honorary VTS (Internal Medicine) in 2011. She was also granted an honorary VTS (Dentistry) in 2012. She is the 2010 NAVTA Veterinary Technician of the Year, as well as the 2011 Dr. Franklin Loew Lecturer. Kara has also been named the National Association of Professional Women ‘Woman of the Year’ for 2010-2011 and the Cambridge Who’s Who in Professionals V.I.P. for 2010-2011. She was accepted into the International Women’s Leadership Association in 2012.

Small Animal Speaker of the Year: Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC, DABT

Dr. Justine Lee is the CEO and founder of VETgirl, a subscription-based podcast & webinar service offering RACE-approved, online veterinary continuing education (CE). Dr. Lee trained at Cornell University, Angell and University of Pennsylvania. She has been published in JAVMA, JVIM and JVECC, and is the editor of “Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice Emergency Medicine” and “The Five Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Toxicology” textbooks. Dr. Lee is also the author of two humorous pet reference books entitled “It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet” and “It’s a Cat’s World… You Just Live In It.” She lectures throughout the world on toxicology and emergency/critical care. Dr. Lee is passionate about providing clinically relevant CE. More information can be found at www.drjustinelee.com and www.vetgirlontherun.com.

As the first and largest major veterinary conference of the year, the NAVC Conference in Orlando, Fla., brings in more than 17,300 attendees and delivers the largest selection of advanced learning opportunities, including 1,200 hours of Continuing Education sessions, Hands-on Laboratories, Meet the Professor Luncheons, Masterclasses, Behind the Scenes Tours and comprehensive breakfast and evening sessions. The NAVC Conference 2016 brought the profession’s most renowned speakers and educators and world-class entertainment, including Sheryl Crow, Inspirational Speaker Bert Jacobs from Life is Good® Inc. and Comedian Brian Regan.

The NAVC’s 33rd annual Conference, January 16-20, 2016, took place for the final year at its current location, the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, Orlando World Center Marriott and Caribe Royale All-Suite Hotel and Convention Center. Next year’s event will be held February 4-8 at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando, Fla.

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a non-profit organization providing world-class professional development to the global veterinary healthcare community. Its largest initiative, the annual NAVC Conference, hosted more than 17,000 attendees this year. Other offerings includeVetFolio, an online CE platform for all veterinary professionals; the NAVC Institute; Industry Services; the Veterinary Innovation Council and publications including its official journals,Today’s Veterinary Practice and Today’s Veterinary Technician.

The NAVC’s recently launched Industry Services Division is one of the only not-for-profit Association Management Companies (AMC) in existence that provides services exclusively for the veterinary profession. It is backed by decades of experience in the veterinary field as well as conference and event planning, management and execution.

Visit NAVC.com for more details.