Leadership

Michelle Gonzales-Bryant, CVPM (Tempe, AZ)

I began my veterinary career over 27 years ago as a Kennel Attendant and a Veterinary Assistant. I put myself through Veterinary Technician School and spent my first two years as a surgery technician. I have worked in every department of an animal hospital and through my years focused on learning everything I could about the operations of an animal hospital. I found my home at University Animal Hospital in Tempe, AZ. University Animal Hospital is a small animal hospital with 12 doctors and 70+ staff as well as a large boarding facility with 156 dog runs and 50 cat condos. I started at University Animal Hospital in 1995. In June 2016, I took on a new role as a Regional Operations Director. This new position requires me to oversee the operations of multiple animal hospitals. I appreciate that I have worked in various positions as this helps keep me grounded to appreciate what every associate provides to the success of any hospital. Building strong relationships is as important to me as everything else.

In 2010, I earned my Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) designation and I have been an active member of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) since 2006. I currently serve on the VHMA Board of Director’s as the Treasurer.

My husband and I recently adopted our two daughters in October 2018. They are sisters and are 11 months apart in age. Lyric and Harmonie….we call them our forever song!

We also have 3 amazing pit bulls. Ages 11, 10 and 7. Lulu, Buddy and Levi and we have had them since they were each a little baby. They really enjoy hanging out with our daughters and hoping they get to steal some snacks.

Leslie Boudreau, BASVT, RVTg, CVPM, PHR, PHRca (Huntington Beach, CA)

Leslie has been a Veterinary Technologist and Practice Manager in Southern California for over 30 years. She earned her A.S. in Veterinary Technology from Mt. San Antonio College and her BASVT in Veterinary Technology – Hospital Management, from St. Petersburg College. In 2011, she became a CVPM (Certified Veterinary Practice Manager). Leslie also holds three human resources certifications which she uses every day at her busy practice of 50 staff members.

Leslie is currently the Practice Manager/Administrator at Animal Hospital of Huntington Beach, a seven veterinarian, AAHA-accredited, small animal and exotic practice. Leslie is married and has three adult children.

She loves all animals furry, feathered & scaled and her family shares their home with a wide variety of dogs, cats, reptiles and frequent wildlife critters being rehabbed. Leslie is very active with the Orange County Veterinary Hospital Manager’s Group and is a founding member and frequent speaker. The goal of the group is to mentor & encourage local managers to become CVPM’s.

In addition to practice management, she is very passionate about veterinary technician issues and is the current President for CaRVTA (California Registered Veterinary Technician Association). She sits on the advisory boards for two veterinary technician colleges and volunteers on AVMA site visit teams as the RVT member. She has just been appointed to the AVMA task force on Technician Utilization as a representative for VHMA.

Leslie has authored practice management articles for Firstline Magazine and was a practice management consultant for Novartis Animal Health. In addition, Leslie speaks on a wide range of practice management topics as a presenter for local practice management and veterinary technician conferences and programs.

Leslie is avid about all aspects of veterinary practice management and helping the profession grow and adapt to future changes. Since 2013, she has enjoyed volunteering her time with the VHMA, first on the Program Committee and most recently as a Board Director. She aspires to advance the profession through a new role as secretary on the VHMA Board and with upcoming work with VHMA Emerging Leaders

Kim Drummond, BSN, CVPM (Seattle, WA)

Kim's passion for the veterinary industry began when she started working at a small-animal hospital in Seattle while earning her BS in Nursing from the University of Washington. This experience fueled her excitement for education, leadership, mentoring, working with diverse teams, and promoting the success of individual team members. After becoming a VHMA member in 2000, she realized the opportunities for developing personally and professionally in veterinary medicine were endless.

She found her permanent home as the Hospital Administrator of AAHA-accredited, Elliott Bay Animal Hospital in Seattle where she has worked for 24 years and considers herself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for a practice owner that supported her desire to enhance her education in veterinary hospital management. Through her leadership and collaboration with the team, they have grown from a 1.5 DVM hospital to an 8-DVM, 40+ team member practice. In 2018, Elliott Bay Animal Hospital was awarded the Readers' Choice Poll Winner as the Best Veterinary Practice in Seattle.

Kim’s enthusiasm and involvement with the VHMA encouraged her to earn her Certificate in Veterinary Practice Administration from Purdue University in 2001. With her owners’ support and encouragement from the VHMA, she was inspired to earn the designation of CVPM in 2006. This continues to be one of the accomplishments she is the most proud of. For 3 years, she volunteered by serving on the ACE committee for the AAHA to develop management CE programs. She currently volunteers and supports the VHMA as a member of the Education and Programming Advisory Group. Kim is eternally grateful for the benefits of being a member of the VHMA. Now is the chance for her to share her passion, experience and energy to give back to our association.

Christine Shupe, CAE

Christine graduated from the State University of New York College at Oswego with a Bachelor of Arts degree, major in Political Science. Christine started her career as an administrative assistant for the lobbying firm of Shea and Gould in Albany, NY. Christine continued her career at the New York State Legislature as the Legislative Aid to Assemblywoman Frances T. Sullivan. Christine joined the association management firm of Capitol Hill Management Services where she first started serving as the Executive Director to the VHMA in 1998. In 2003, Christine earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation awarded by the American Society of Association Executives. After moving from New York to Florida, Christine started her own management company, CQS Management Service, LLC where she continues to serve as the VHMA Executive Director.

Jessica Speas, CVPM, SPHR-CA, SHRM-SCP (La Crescenta, CA)

Jessica has been involved and around veterinary medicine her entire life, her father is a veterinarian and her sister a licensed technician. Jessica fell in love with the profession, but decided against a career as a veterinarian early on. While in school she worked part-time as a receptionist, and later as the bookkeeper before starting full-time as the Hospital Administrator in 2002.

Jessica completed the Veterinary Management Institute (VMI) program at Purdue in 2008, earned the CVPM designation in 2010, and achieved the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification in 2015 with a specialty certification for California Human Resource practices. Jessica became a partner with her father in the practice in 2010. Jessica has been a member of VHMA since 2006 and active on various committees and recently on the Board of Directors since 2013.

Karli Carter, CVPM (Payson, UT)

Karli started her career in veterinary medicine after obtaining her veterinary assistant certification in 2005. She was hired on at Payson Family Pet Hospital in Payson, UT after completing the required internship hours for the program. She worked as the lead technician for 3 years, and in 2009 she accepted the office manager position after the current manager retired. The two positions melded together into a practice manager role.

In 2014, she discovered the VHMA and it forever changed her career. She was awarded the 2015 Emerging Leaders scholarship and earned her CVPM designation in 2015. Since then, she has had a chance to serve on the Partner's For Healthy Pets Advisory board, and be a part of the VHMA Membership Committee. During her tenure at Payson Family Pet Hospital, the clinic has grown from 1 doctor and 8 staff, to 6 doctors and 4 0 staff. They built a new building in 2009 and that same year they became AAHA accredited.

In 2016, she bought a portion of Payson Family Pet Hospital and is now one of three owners of the clinic. The hospital is continuing to grow and is currently looking to expand their building and staff even more.

Joanne Graham, CVPM, SHRM-CP (Nashville, TN)

Joanne started her veterinary career as a part-time CSR in a 24-hr Emergency and day-time general practice while she perused her pre-med credits. She did not know at the time that this would be her introduction to finding her home in veterinary practice management. She quickly grew into a supervisory role, which prompted her to research credentials in practice management and learn how she could work towards the knowledge, skills and abilities that would make her a better manager for her team and give her credibility among her peers.

She has since gone on to work with practices of different sizes, including working with multi-location practices and even Equine medicine. She became a CVPM in 2015 and was fortunate to be granted the Emerging Leaders scholarship that year, of which she is immensely proud. She also achieved designation as a SHRM-CP in 2017. She believes in personal and professional education and mentorship, has participated in a webinar for the VHMA and is on the Speakers Bureau for Fear Free.

She volunteer with the Education & Programming Group and has contributed content for an exchange and a webinar. She is also part of local SHRM groups and Chamber of Commerce Young Professional groups to further herself and her understanding of the veterinary practice manager role. She strives to be at the forefront of the changing work of veterinary practice management and believes this is why she finds herself to be so closely aligned with the VHMA. She and wishes to serve on the board of directors so she can continue further her mission and that of VHMA.

Scott Zimmerman, BFA, CVPM (Decatur, GA)

Scott began work in Veterinary Medicine in 2010 as the Practice Manager for Dearborn Animal Hospital in Decatur, GA. Prior to his current position he spent 25+ years working in the field of non-profit management, working for mainly youth leadership and development programs such as Boy Scouts of America and Camp Fire USA. He also spent time as the Managing Director for a professional theatre Company. Scott has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Technical Design and Production in Drama from the University of Oklahoma.

Scott has had many highlights during his time as Practice Manager, including overseeing the design and build-out of a new hospital. He led his team, meeting the standards of AAHA and becoming an accredited hospital. Growing his practice from 3 – 7 doctors and more than doubling his staff and budget in the past 9 years. Joining the VMHA has allowed him to continue to grow his knowledge and build a network of other top professionals. In 2015, he achieved one of his goals, becoming a CVPM.

Scott joined the VHMA Membership Committee/Advisory Panel in 2014 and in 2015 stepped into the role of committee chair, until Joining the Board of Directors two years ago. Since then Scott has been serving as a Director and a member of the task force on Value Based Pricing – Strategic Pricing in Veterinary Practices. He always enjoys serving as a conference buddy for our new members and/or first-time attendees at the Annual Conference and Management Exchange.

Elizabeth Fritzler, DVM, CVPM (Seattle, WA)

Beth has been involved in the veterinary field for nearly 40 years, beginning with volunteering in a hospital in 7th grade. She attended Oregon State University as an Animal Science major and graduated from Washington State University with a DVM degree in 1991. Beth and her husband purchased Lien Animal Clinic in 1999. They soon realized that veterinary school did little to prepare them for business ownership and Beth began attending practice management conferences to learn more. She earned a Certificate in Veterinary Practice Administration from Purdue University’s Veterinary Management Institute in 2006 and in 2008 earned her CVPM designation. Beth was the first recipient of the VHMA Transforming the Practice Award.

Over the years Lien Animal Clinic has grown to eight doctors and over 30 staff members and Beth and her husband recently opened a second practice in partnership with one of their associates. Beth currently works full-time as Hospital Administrator and CFO for both practices. She especially enjoys working with the practice finances and gains satisfaction from helping staff to achieve their goals and dreams.

Beth has previously served as the chair of the VHMA Ethics Committee and as the DVM representative on the CVPM Board. She is currently a Director on the VHMA Board and serves as board liaison to the CVPM Board. Beth lives on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, a 15-minute ferry commute from Seattle. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, travel, and spending time with their horses.

James Nash, MHA, CVPM

Like many managers, Jim started his leadership career a long way from veterinary medicine. He served as a Warrant Officer and Aviator during Desert Storm where he flew OH-58 Scout helicopters in an armored cavalry squadron. Jim believes that being a good leader is about being a great team member first. He also feels that the loyalty, dedication, and commitment that he learned in the military are the fundamental transferable skills that lead to success.

After completing his military service, he attended the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He then began working in the human healthcare field and had the opportunity to learn about all aspects of hospital business operations including: billing, collections, insurance contracting, reimbursement, and patient service. He decided to pursue his goal of a graduate degree while working for HCA and earned his Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration through an executive program at the University of Florida.

In 2004, Jim transitioned to Veterinary Medicine and accepted a position as the Hospital Administrator of a five-DVM general practice. Over the next four years, he helped grow and develop this Hospital into a ten-DVM, 24-hour, three-location, general, and emergency hospital. It was during this time that Jim was afforded the opportunity of practice ownership. He has also worked as a practice consultant and international speaker.

Jim returned to Florida from Colorado in 2011, where he purchased and developed two general practices. He is currently the COO of an 11 DVM General, Emergency & Specialty Referral Center. Jim believes that we have a responsibility as leaders and managers to advocate for our industry. Jim has been a VHMA member since 2004 and completed the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) process in 2008. He has had the privilege of serving on the VHMA Board of Directors since 2008 in the role of Director, Treasurer and Vice President.