Speakers

Christine Merle, DVM, MBA, CVPM

Christine is still determining exactly “what’s next” for her career but in the meantime, she went back to her veterinary practice roots. In April 2022, she returned to a position as an associate veterinarian after 20+ years in a wide-ranging amount of roles from academia, practice management consulting and international speaking to animal health industry positions. A life-long learner she believes that her veterinary degree when combined with her business degree allowed her to capitalize on the opportunities to experience first-hand how the animal health industry and veterinary medicine have changed forever. Stepping back into practice is a little daunting but she comes with fresh eyes that are only sparking her desires to support veterinary practices and their teams once again with skills and tools to fuel their success.

As she finds her new path, she’s re-engaging her veterinary medical knowledge to benefit her clients and their beloved companions, exploring new technologies and supporting their implementation into the practice she works at as well as continuing to strive for personal riding success in dressage.

Past speaking experiences include AAEP, AAHA, AVMA, CVC (now Fetch), NAVC/ VMX, WVC and VHMA. Awarded NAVC 2008 Practice Management Speaker of the Year.

Terry O’Neil, CPA, CVA

Terry O'Neil is the partner-in-charge of Katz, Sapper & Miller's Veterinary Services Group. He has been with the firm since 1999. Terry provides veterinary hospitals with business, financial, and tax advice to assist with the growth and management of their businesses. He aids clients with tax and strategic planning, forecasting, budgeting, mergers and acquisitions and/or sales of businesses, debt structuring, employment incentive contracts, financing, business valuations, buy-sell agreements, and other business and accounting services. In addition, Terry is responsible for the preparation and review of financial statements and tax returns. Terry often speaks at conferences regarding profit improvement, veterinary business valuation, succession planning, financial benchmarking, and other business topics. 

In addition to representing numerous veterinary medical practices over the last 30 years, Terry was previously the CFO for a group of eight veterinary medical practices and was a stakeholder in the business. He was also a regional financial analyst for a national veterinary medical practice. Terry assisted with the sale, purchase, integration of new acquisitions, and the preparation of regional and national budgets. His work as a CFO and with the national organization allowed Terry to gain valuable insight into how the private and public veterinary medical practices operate. Terry is responsible for the management of the Veterinary Study Groups' database of veterinary hospital financial data for over 400 hospitals across the country. Leading this database allows Terry to identify trends and opportunities.

Clare Morrison, MPH, PCC

Clare is the founder of Clare Morrison Performance Coaching. As a sought-after speaker and coach, she helps driven professionals who "have it all" get off the hamster wheel of perfection and achievement and instead design a life where they thrive.

Clare’s pivot away from the hamster wheel began when her competitive amateur equestrian career came to a screeching halt during a horse show due to debilitating performance anxiety. How was it possible for a successful, competent professional woman to be overwhelmed by going into the horseshow ring?

The truth of the matter is that the relentless pursuit of perfection is exhausting. The operating system that called for perfection needed to be upgraded.

Clare holds a PCC (professional coaching credential) from the International Coach Federation (ICF), a certification in Life Design, and uses research-validated mind/body techniques such as HeartMath and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help her clients become resilient, elite performers in their own, meaningful lives.

Theresa Parish

When legal action is unavoidable, Theresa defends employers of all sizes against employment-related claims. Theresa is an experienced litigator with expertise in handling employment matters involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. In addition to her litigation practice, Theresa provides advice and counseling, performs workplace investigations, and conducts harassment and management training sessions.

Theresa defends clients in administrative proceedings and in federal and state court litigation against claims of age, race, sex, and disability discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

She represents employers and corporate clients in formal, court-ordered settlement conferences and mediation programs and in informal, voluntary claim resolution negotiations.
 
She advises clients regarding compliance with federal, state, and local law, including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and FMLA. Theresa serves as an outside investigator and helps clients respond to harassment and other internal complaints. She also provides training to clients from non-management employees to executive leadership on a variety of issues – diversity, harassment, how to conduct effective investigations, FMLA compliance, and other best practices.

Steven (Steve) Pockrass

Steven (“Steve”) Pockrass is a proactive and practical advisor and litigator who helps companies reduce risks and resolve their employment and labor challenges. During his nearly 25 years of practice, he has successfully handled a wide range of matters, with a particular emphasis on federal and state wage and hour laws; medical leaves of absence; disability accommodation; unfair competition and trade secrets; positive employee relations in both the non-union and union contexts; protecting against claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; and multi-state compliance projects. He regularly provides guidance to clients in both the public and private sectors, ranging from multinational Fortune 100 companies to small businesses, non-profits, and trade associations. A seasoned litigator, he defends against charges filed with federal and state administrative agencies; litigates single and multi-plaintiff lawsuits, including class and collective actions, in federal and state courts; and represents management in employment and labor arbitrations.

Practice Areas: Wage and Hour, Employment Law, Litigation, Class Action, Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets, Traditional Labor Relations, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Ethics Compliance and Whistleblower Response, Multistate Advice and Counseling

Industries: Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Hospitality, Trucking and Logistics

Kate E. Trinkle

Kate Trinkle is an associate in the firm’s Indianapolis office. Kate represents employers in administrative proceedings and in federal and state court litigation against a variety of employment-related allegations, including claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Kate also has trial experience.

In addition to her litigation practice, Kate provides advice and counsel to clients on a wide range of issues including background checks and drug testing and conducts training and workplace investigations. Kate is an enthusiastic problem solver and is passionate about working with clients to find resolutions to employment matters.

Before becoming an attorney, Kate worked as a regulatory specialist for a healthcare technology management company based in Indianapolis.