About Bret Halishak
Bret Halishak is a veterinary practice broker who has been involved in the veterinary industry since 2006. Throughout his various roles in veterinary medicine, he gained valuable insight and experience that helps him work with veterinary practice owners to achieve their goals of ownership! Outside of his work, he is a fan of cooking and a coach for youth sports!
About Bret's Session at Uncharted Practice Owner Summit 2024:
Calculating Your Exit Strategy : Monitoring Expenses, Maximizing Profitability, & Creating Timelines (Workshop)
What happens when it's time to exit practice? There are key steps to take including establishing a timeline or a succession plan and evaluating the practice overall from a financial perspective. Exiting practice is something that should be considered and planned LONG before you actually want to leave to maximize on your practice baby. In this workshop with Bret Halishak, you will work on a proactive approach to exiting practice that makes the most sense for you and your goals.
Bret Halishak
Practice Owner Summit
About Beth Mehaffey
Dr Beth Mehaffey is a veterinarian and the owner of Pennridge Animal Hospital, a small animal practice in the Philadelphia suburbs. She has built her multi-doctor practice from the ground up since 2013, and splits her time between practicing and leading her team, with a focus on team culture and growth. On the side, she also founded and is the medical director for her dog rescue, Harley's Haven, that has adopted out nearly 2000 dogs and puppies since 2011.
About Beth's Session at Uncharted Practice Owner Summit 2024:
How to Build a Business from the Ground Up and Win (Workshop)
I started my business from a minivan with exactly $0 to my name, working 2-3 jobs while getting it started with my business partner, Jen. We have grown it over the last 11 years to now have 8 doctors and 50 support staff, and have a waiting list for new clients for the past 2 years because we can't keep up! It is scary and overwhelming to start from nothing, but it absolutely can be done with a plan, time, and support. If we can do it, I truly believe anyone can!
Beth Mehaffey, DVM
Practice Owner Summit
About Erin Heck
Hello! Thanks for taking the time to learn a bit about me. I’m the founder and owner of Happy Paws Veterinary Clinic in Airdrie, Alberta, where my commitment extends beyond exceptional animal care to fostering a positive, cohesive team culture. With the invaluable support of my husband Jeff, who manages the clinic's financial side, and the inspiration from my family—including my golden retriever Sam and two young children, Fiona and Ethan—I’ve dedicated myself to creating an environment where both pets and their guardians feel genuinely valued and where our team feels supported and empowered to excel.
Growing up in a small town in Alberta, Canada, I developed a deep passion for animals that shaped my career path. My journey into veterinary medicine has been profoundly influenced by my experiences in emergency and mobile practices, where I refined my technical skills and learned the importance of effective communication and collaborative decision-making. After serving as an Animal Health Technologist and earning my DVM from the University of Calgary, I set out to build a practice that enhances the human-animal bond while fostering a nurturing and supportive work environment. As I continue to grow and evolve in my role, I remain dedicated to learning and adapting alongside my team to create a clinic where we all flourish.
About Erin's Session at Uncharted Practice Owner Summit 2024:
Opening a Second Location and Keeping the Culture (Workshop)
In this workshop, we will explore the challenges and strategies for expanding a veterinary practice while maintaining its core culture and your sanity as an owner. We will learn how to diagnose your challenges, reset expectations and trust in what practice can teach you. Culture ebbs and flows, but you can get better at identifying shifts and culture changes with time if you know what to look for!
Erin Heck, DVM
Practice Owner Summit
About Carolyn Naun
Carolyn has been a practicing veterinarian for over twenty years. Having worked in a wide variety of practice settings across the United States, she has called Hawaii home since 2010.
Recognizing a great need for quality, family-focused palliative (comfort) care in Hawaii, she launched Arms of Aloha, Hawaii’s first hospice and home euthanasia practice, in August of 2015. In October of 2017, she was in the very first class of students to gain certification in Animal Hospice and Palliative Care.
Starting and growing a practice from the ground up, Carolyn learned the importance of systems and protocols the “hard way” and is excited to share what she has learned with other practice owners.
About Carolyn's Session at Uncharted Practice Owner Summit 2024:
How to Almost Automate Your Practice (Workshop)
As a small business owner, there’s always an endless list of to-dos and little fires to be put out. Constant interruptions to answer questions and solve problems is a major productivity suck. Let’s explore how you can use systems to empower your team, delegate everyday tasks, and improve the quality and consistency of your customer service and patient care. We’ll start with a discussion of what constitutes a system and identify those that you undoubtedly already use in your daily life and practice. From there we’ll explore how to formalize, strengthen, and expand the use of systems to get your practice (nearly) running on autopilot, allowing you to focus on the big picture and win back your free time and sanity!
Carolyn Naun, DVM
Practice Owner Summit
About Sue Sayles
Sue started out as a mixed animal practitioner and converted to canine/feline exclusive general practice. She graduated in 1997 from Michigan State University and bought her practice in 2001. It grew from less than $300,000 gross to over 2 million and has 23 employees with 4 doctors. Sue is a mom to Katie, a college athlete and wife of Nick, who is an engineer. She was the youngest president of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association in 2012 and continues activity with organized veterinary medicine through the local and state associations. After 22 years of practice, she found another passion in sharing leadership and management experience and coaching others through the growth process and is still practicing part-time as an owner.
About Sue's Session at Uncharted Practice Owner Summit 2024:
4DX: It’s Not the Idexx Test We’re Talking About- Executing your Goals (Workshop)
This talk will walk through the concepts in the book The 4 Disciplines of Execution. It shows how identifying goals and then using the right metrics can mobilize your team to change behaviors and make a real difference in your operating results. Focus is important so that the team is working toward the same goal. We need to identify that goal and then look at data that can actually help us make decisions that affect outcomes, instead of looking at data that shows us how we did after the fact when we can’t affect the result. Driving strategies that create results is the job of a leader. There are different applications for Leaders of Leaders vs the Team Leads who are in charge of the Frontline Team. This presentation will introduce the concept of 4DX and discuss the skills leaders need to direct other leaders on their team.
Sue Sayles, DVM
Practice Owner Summit
About Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith has been coaching High Performers for the last 30 years. In the last decade, with his partner Dr. Jen Quammen, Veterinarian Coaching's focus has been on helping the Modern Veterinary Professional to Thrive in Life and Career.
About Ryan's Uncharted Get Sh*t Done Conference 2024 Session
Customer Service vs the Experience Triangle (Workshop)
In a society and profession where trust and loyalty are on the decline, and products and information are available at a moment's notice, relationships are the differentiators. People, by nature, don’t like change, but they will change when they can’t get what they want from you, or get what they want when they want it…unless there's something deeper and emotional that holds them back from that change. The experiences customers have with you create emotional ties to you and your clinic… This is your competitive advantage. Get ready to dive into the Experience Triangle and discover how to win with your customers.
Ryan Smith, MSc
GSD Speaker
About Rebecca Rose
Rebecca Rose, RVT, CCC (Certified Career Coach), CPEP (Certified Peaceful Euthanasia Professional), has a diverse background serving the veterinary community as a credentialed team member and leader with over 37 years of experience. She has worked in and managed veterinary clinics, collaborates with industry partners, authors articles and books, and facilitates engaging team workshops. She was recently appointed to the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine as one of the first RVT Members.
Rose’s enthusiasm for professional development in veterinary medicine is contagious, as she encourages and supports veterinary teams in reaching their highest potential. She believes there are ample opportunities in veterinary medicine to build and maintain a healthy, sustainable life and career. Rebecca inspires and motivates with engaging courses and memorable storytelling, building on the synergy of those in attendance.
About Rebecca's Session at Uncharted Get Sh*t Done Conference 2024:
Communication Skills and Tough Conversations (Workshop)
Veterinary team members, regardless of their position on the team, are eager to learn skills that will elevate their career, improve their engagement with clients, and increase job satisfaction. Communication skills, those hard, soft skills, do just that! Discover relevant tools in communication styles, courageous conversations, emotional intelligence, managing conflict, and delivering a genuine apology. And don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities to practice during this workshop!
Rebecca Rose, RVT, CCC, CPEP
GSD Speaker
About Andi Davison
Andi has been on the wild ride that is veterinary medicine since 2001 and she's experienced it all. After graduating from Michigan State's Veterinary Technology program, Andi landed a role at Mississippi State’s CVM large animal hospital. At MState she experienced everything from surgery and lameness to reproductive medicine, eventually settling into a lead technician role.
Andi, and her husband, veterinarian Dr. Mike Davison, opened Davison Veterinary Medicine in south central Kentucky where they spent 9 years serving a variety of mixed-animal clients. From small animals and horses to farm animals, this was a joyful, if challenging, chapter in her life. Most recently, Andi served as veterinary care manager at the University of Florida's large animal hospital. She led a large team of technicians in caring for horses, goats, pigs, camelids, cattle, and even the occasional tortoise.
All these experiences gave Andi a front-row seat to the realities of vet med. This is a fulfilling and meaningful career. It can also be mentally and emotionally challenging and most of us seem too afraid to talk about it. That strain took its toll causing Andi to pivot.
She now dedicates her broad experience and advanced education to promote positive change in the profession as a Positive Change Agent with Flourish Veterinary Consulting.
About Andi's Get Sh*t Done Conference 2024 Sessions:
Rockstar Resilience: From Burnout to Brilliance! (General Session)
Good work – worthwhile work – can be hard work and veterinary medicine is no exception. Sometimes the difference between burning out and burning bright is less about our talents and more about our ability to persevere, bounce back, and learn from challenges and adversities. Psychologists call those abilities “resilience factors” and it turns out, just like the skills of venipuncture or soft tissue surgery they can be learned, honed, and mastered. In this session, explore the various types of resilience factors and learn about evidence-based practices for growing our resources within each type. Leave empowered with a research-backed plan for cultivating heightened resilience professionally and personally.
Crafting and Achieving Meaningful Goals (Workshop)
Setting meaningful goals can be a powerful mechanism to boost well-being and research shows that setting appropriate goals can help measure progress toward self-mastery, ignite motivation as well as promote self-efficacy. But how are ‘appropriate goals set? and met? This interactive workshop focuses on developing a deeper understanding of the science-based process associated with setting meaningful goals. Discover the steps necessary for change and work through the steps to identify, develop, and implement achievable and meaningful professional goals.
Andi Davison, BA, BS, LVT, CAPP, APPC
GSD Speaker
Sarah Parsons is a licensed veterinary technician with 10 years of experience in practice, as well as a social media content creator. She creates videos about the unique quirks of working in veterinary medicine, and loves to teach veterinary professionals how to have fun, laugh, and enjoy their job!
About Sarah's Team Leads Summit Session:
Positivity and Morale Boost in the Vet Clinic
Through her social media channels (@watreallyhappensatthevet), Sarah Parsons has implemented a “Laughter is the Best Medicine” theory to help veterinary professionals see the power of fun in practice. Everyone wants to enjoy their work and to enjoy their lives, and Sarah’s mission is to spread the message of joy. In her workshop, she will share solutions to boost team morale, create a positive work environment and keep a truly engaged team.
Sarah Parsons, LVT
Team Leads Summit
Dr. Addie Reinhard is the Founder and CEO of MentorVet, a rapidly growing entity that leverages evidence-based approaches to empower individuals to thrive within veterinary medicine. She is a veterinary wellbeing researcher, and her research focuses on developing and evaluating innovative interventions to support mental health and wellbeing within the veterinary profession and is on the research team for the Merck Animal Health Veterinary Wellbeing Study. In 2021, she completed a master’s degree in Community and Leadership Development and a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Learning from the University of Kentucky and holds a certificate in Veterinary Human Support from the University of Tennessee.
Medical Director Summit 2024 | Hiring & Retaining Veterinary Professionals Through Mentorship
In a demanding profession with many inherent stressors and challenges, quality mentorship is vital. Many veterinary professionals are seeking mentorship in the workplace, yet, as a leader, finding the time, resources, and energy to effectively mentor others becomes challenging. In this workshop, we will discuss how mentorship is evolving in the veterinary industry and consider how to craft more intentional structures for mentorship within your practice to recruit and retain individuals. Leave with a plan to continue crafting your unique mentorship structures for individuals you support.
Addie Reinhard, DVM, MS
Medical Director Summit
Tami Lind is currently ICU at Purdue University and has been working at the university for the last 13 years. She attended veterinary technology school at Purdue and graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary technology. Two years later Tami assumed the ICU and ER supervisor role at Purdue University. She received her VTS in Emergency/Critical Care in 2016. Her passion is teaching veterinary nurses and veterinary students in preparing them for their career ahead.
Practice Manager Summit 2024 – Peer to Manager – I’m the Manager…Now What?
In 13 years of managing teams, Tami Lind has learned what it takes to move from a technician role to a manager role. Most of the time, team members are moved up into management without much formal training, and likely have been part of the team for some time. This can create some major challenges as dynamics shift from peer to manager! In this workshop, Tami will share how you can move up in your company (minus the drama) and the skills you need to know to manage people who may be your friends (and some who are not).
Tami Lind, BS, RVT, VTS(ECC)
PMS Speaker
Stacy Pursell is an executive search consultant or executive recruiter serving the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession for 25+ years. She is a workplace/workforce expert and a Certified Employee Retention Specialist. She is hired by the world’s leading Animal Health and Veterinary employers to find top talent while at the same time helping Animal Health and Veterinary professional take the next strategic move in their career. Stacy is also the host of The People of Animal Health Podcast.
Uncharted Veterinary Conference 2024 – Recruiting Using Your Vision and Brand to Cut Through the Noise
More details to come!
Originally hailing from Michigan, Victoria Hammond has been proud to call South Carolina home for the past 20 years. A graduate of Central Michigan University and Clemson University MBA Program, she has spent her career in the marketing field – both client and agency side across a variety of industries.
Uncharted Veterinary Conference 2024 – Brand Building and Community Engagement
Referral traffic down? Feeling like the word isn't getting out about your practice even though you've been around for years? This general session will urge you to challenge the status quo of sending mail or running a “campaign” by focusing on ways to become part of the community in which you serve. Walk away with methods to find community events, engage with other business in the area, and build your brand through those means to grow referrals and awareness for your veterinary practice.
Uncharted Veterinary Conference 2024 – Brand and Service Alignment Across Multi-Site Practices
Struggling to create a consistent brand presence and client experience across multiple practices? Afraid that you're practice will lose it's sense of self when folding into a larger brand? You're not alone! This workshop will help you explore ways to maintain consistent experience and service without losing your culture. Take away practical tools and strategies to maintain brand consistency while also maintaining customer and team experience.
Dr. Amanda Donnelly, a speaker, consultant, and author with over 30 years’ experience in the veterinary profession. She is a second-generation veterinarian who combines her practice experience and business expertise to help practice leaders communicate better with their teams and clients. Dr. Donnelly is a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri. She is the author of Leading and Managing Veterinary Teams and writes the Talk the Talk communication column for Today’s Veterinary Business. Dr. Donnelly has won many accolades including being named the 2023 Practice Management Educator of the Year for WVC.
Practice Manager Summit 2024 – How to Create a Culture of Accountability
It can be daunting to hold current members of the team accountable when they are struggling to meet expectations, especially when you’re already short-staffed. Inconsistent job performance is one of the most common frustrations managers face, so knowing how to have these conversations is key! This general session will teach you how to identify the real reasons employees lack accountability. You will walk away knowing how to communicate what you need, hear what they need, and get better results. Your team members will feel empowered to develop, and you will have systems and communication skills to tackle each of these unique conversations with confidence!
Amanda Donnelly, DVM, MBA
PMS Speaker
Dharti has been in the veterinary field for over 15 years and served as a veterinarian for the last 8. Her passion for people and clients led her to leadership that provided support across multiple hospitals and markets. Dharti has been an Area Chief of Staff for Banfield Pet Hospital and now works as a Regional Operations Director for Companion Pet Partners. Dharti earned a BS at Texas A&M University and a Master’s in agriculture at Sul Ross State University. She went back to become a DVM at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. She started practicing in Mesa, Arizona to be closer to her sister and soon thereafter met her husband. She resides in Arizona with her husband, 15-month-old daughter Sameera, and 8-year-old Red Heeler Rani.
Capacity for Trust: Developing an Effective Team Using Trust Building Behaviors
Communication is crucial in developing a successful team. How can you create communication practices that build trust and drive performance? Trust starts with psychological safety between you and your team. In this workshop, Dharti Patel will highlight how trust builds effective teams that perform better. Dharti will review communication strategies that can build psychological safety in the workplace to develop trust among your teammates. Learn to interpret facts from feelings, the values expressed by our direct reports, and how to utilize this tool to help communicate better with difficult situations or confrontations. Set a stronger foundation for building trust with your teams.
Dharti Patel, DVM
Medical Director Summit
For over 20 years Amanda has worked as a veterinary technician in various capacities. Her interest in behavior led her to join Dr. Feltes at The Behavior Clinic in 2009. She graduated from the AAHA Distance Education Program (Cedar Valley College) and attended Ashland University majoring in History and Geology, completing an additional degree in business in 2021.
As the Practice Manager, Amanda is often behind the scenes handling the day-to-day business of keeping TBC running, supporting our referring veterinarians, and working with the TBC team to assist our clients and their pets.
A nationally recognized speaker in veterinary behavior and Fear FreeTM Approved Speaker, Amanda enjoys teaching veterinary team members how to implement and develop behavior care as a team. When not at work, she enjoys hiking, reading, and hanging out with her husband Scott, their 2 German Shorthaired Pointers (Brego & Moose), and the family clowder.
Unleashing Team Training Success
When it comes to training, timing matters! Animal behavior expert Amanda Schwarzwalder is taking her extensive knowledge of animal behavior and has applied it to create successful training techniques that lead to positive outcomes for her team. She will share how she implements timely feedback, breaks down complex tasks into smaller, manageable ones to support collaborative learning, and creates optimal training environments. This interactive workshop will help you find time for training and make that time as effective as possible.
Amanda Schwarzwalder, RVT, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior), CVPM
Team Leads Summit
Megan Brashear, BS, RVT, VTS (ECC) graduated in 2000 with a BS in Veterinary Technology and obtained her Veterinary Technician Specialty in Emergency/Critical Care in 2004. She has enjoyed working in emergency and critical care since 2000 and is the Senior Manager of Veterinary Nursing at the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital in West Lafayette, Indiana. Here, Megan truly enjoys the opportunity to work with veterinary nursing supervisors as well as teach and train technicians and students in the hospital. She loves to travel and lecture sharing her knowledge with veterinary technicians and nurses around the world.
Thriving Not Just Surviving Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary medicine is not always a walk in the park. There are days that it is hard! In her general session, Megan Brashear will share her personal story of successfully managing complete professional burnout. The techniques she implemented brought her back to finding fun and fulfillment in veterinary medicine and helped others on the team do the same.
Megan Brashear, BS, RVT, VTS (ECC)
Team Leads Summit
Dr. Quincy Hawley is a 2013 graduate of NC State's CVM and has been in small animal practice and relief veterinarian since graduating. Most notably, he is an internationally recognized speaker who presents on well-being and burnout preparedness for veterinary professionals.
After overcoming his own bout of veterinary burnout, he cofounded Get MotiVETed Veterinary Wellbeing Solutions LLC to help all members of the vet community to enjoy life and vet med instead of enduring through them.
Dr. Hawley is also one of the co-creators of Get MotiVETed University – the world’s first school of well-being specifically for veterinary professionals, which houses the Veterinary Burnout P.R.E.P. Certification Training Program. Through the Get MotiVETed platform, Dr. Hawley hopes to make poor well-being and burnout things of the past for the entire global veterinary community!
How to Burnout Proof Your Life and Vet Experience as a Team Leader
Veterinary professionals in all roles are prone to burnout, and likely will experience it at some point in their careers. It’s time to take a proactive approach! In this workshop session, Quincy Hawley will share his team’s 5-step process that will guide you toward a burnout proof experience in veterinary medicine. Bonus: it requires no permission and no money to implement! This framework can be applied to your own career and shared with your team.
Quincy Hawley, DVM
Team Leads Summit
Fueled by childhood dreams of being a keeper at his own zoo, Dr. Bourquin realized from a young age his path – a career in veterinary work. His journey began with graduation from Cornell University, the No. 1 school in the U.S. for veterinary medicine. After 13 years as a Boston veterinarian, he founded Boston Veterinary Clinic in 2012, placing an emphasis on trust, compassion, and top-level patient care. Embraced by the pet-loving community and with the aid of like-minded veterinary professionals, the practice has grown to 5 locations, each focusing on the best medicine possible with accreditations from AAHA, Fear Free, and Cat-Friendly Practices.
Beyond the Stethoscope: Navigating the Diverse Roles of a Chief Medical Officer
Building a culture that can embrace change is imperative. Life in veterinary practice is constantly challenging you to adapt. Staff shortages, people leaving the industry, financial woes for our clients and us, corporate competition, on-line pharmacies, keeping up with tech, etc. When faced with change, one has to be able to identify a problem, discuss underlying issues, formulate a plan, and reassess for improvement, just like in any medical workup. In this workshop, Brain Bourquin will pull from his experience as a Chief Medical Officer and delve deeper into how to manage the complexities of being a CMO from medical excellence, leadership, fostering culture, promoting work life balance by example, and still have time to sleep.
Brian Bourquin, DVM
Medical Director Summit
Dr. Erica Pounds is the Program Manager for Team-based Care with the Veterinary Affairs Team of Banfield Pet Hospital. Erica began her career with Banfield after graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. Throughout her career with Banfield, she has held hospital and market leadership positions such as Chief of Staff, Area Chief of Staff, and Interim Director of Veterinary Quality. Erica has a passion for learning and development, particularly in the area of leadership development. Outside of work, Erica thrives in the land of superheroes and soccer, with her husband and their four amazing boys!
Medical Director Summit 2024 | Make Your Job Easier: Tackling Team Culture
Team culture is the foundation upon which all your plans as a leader are built. A strong, positive team dynamic rooted in safety, well-being, belonging, and inclusion will help you successfully lead any plan or initiative. Get ready to explore what team culture really is! In this workshop, we will walk through strategies to identify a team's current state and areas of opportunity to intentionally build plans to move your team toward its future state.
Erica Pounds, DVM
Medical Director Summit