Dr. Philip Bushby, DVM, MS, DACVS, is a 1972 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, a Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon who served on the faculty at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine for 36 years. Although he recently retired from Miss State he still holds the Marcia Lane Endowed Chair of Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare at Mississippi State University and works at the College part-time. His primary focus has been spay/neuter, taking junior and senior veterinary students to animal shelters in north Mississippi providing basic wellness care and spay neuter services for animals eligible for adoption for over 30 years. The services significantly increase the adoption rates at the participating shelters, provide the students with an exceptional surgery experience and sensitize the students to the plight of animals in shelters. His program was honored seven years ago to be a featured display in the Smithsonian Institute’s folk-life festival in Washington, DC.
Dr. Bushby serves on the board of Mississippi Spay and Neuter, and previously served on the Boards of PetSmart Charities, Inc. and of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. He is a member of the organizing committee for the specialty board in shelter medicine and received the ASPCA’s Henry Bergh Award in 2008, the AVMA’s national Animal Welfare Award in 2012 and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Meritorious Service Award in 2015.
Dr. Kendall Houlihan, DVM, joined AVMA staff as an assistant director in the Animal Welfare Division in 2014. As the staff member with primary responsibility for topics related to the welfare of companion animals, early spay/neuter and population control of dogs and cats are high priority issues. Prior to working for the AVMA, Kendall worked as a small animal practitioner in the Chicagoland area, so also has an appreciation for related conversations being had among general practitioners.
Dr. Julie Levy, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM is professor of shelter medicine at the University of Florida. She is a specialist in small animal internal medicine and has published more than 100 scientific papers on the health and welfare of animals in shelters, feline infectious diseases, humane alternatives for cat population control, and contraceptive vaccines for cats. She founded Operation Catnip, a university-based community cat trap-neuter-return program that has sterilized more than 45,000 cats since 1998. In 2014, she joined Dr. Kate Hurley to launch the Million Cat Challenge, a shelter-based campaign to save a million cats in five years.
Dr. Michael R. Moyer, VMD, is the owner of Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital, Inc. and Bridgewater Consulting in Bensalem, estate, and national efforts in veterinary medicine, animal welfare, and animal sheltering.
He has extensive professional volunteer leadership experience with alumni, local, state, and national veterinary medical associations. He has held various elected and appointed positions within these organizations, notably having served as the PVMA’s President for the year 2004 and as President of the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Alumni Society for 2007 and 2008, and is a Past-President of the American Animal Hospital Association. He was awarded the PVMA Veterinarian of the Year award for 2005, the Student AVMA Community Outreach Award in 2010, and the Delaware County SPCA Animal Welfare Leadership Award in 2011.
Dr. Lauren Demos, BVMS, 2016 AAFP President Elect spent 6 years of her career working at Western Australia’s largest feline-only shelter and welfare organization, Cat Haven, while attending Murdoch University in Perth. She holds a post-graduate degree in Virology, and has completed a research fellowship at the University of Cambridge, in the UK. Currently she is completing the ABVP’s feline medicine residency at a private practice in Michigan. She is an Associate Consultant for the Feline Internal Medicine Board on the Veterinary Information Network, as well as serving on the board of directors for VIN. She has been an active member of the AAFP since graduation, completing a Board of Directors Internship, and serving on the board for 2 years prior to holding her current elected officer position. She also serves as the group’s liaison to the International Society for Feline Medicine.
Dr. Jane Brunt, DVM, Executive Director, CATalyst Council, Inc., Owner, Cat Hospital At Towson (CHAT), Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Brunt has devoted her career to cats. After earning both undergraduate and veterinary degrees from Kansas State University (go ‘Cats!), she founded Cat Hospital At Towson (CHAT), the first feline-only veterinary practice in Maryland.
Subsequent to data about declining health care for cats and the challenges cats face in animal welfare and sheltering communities, she’s served full time as executive director of CATalyst Council, a non-profit coalition which connects people and organizations to transform the health, welfare and value of companion cats. Jane enjoys working with others through many local, state, national and international organizations, advancing the feline-specific perspective in animal health, welfare and the human-animal bond. She remains committed to CATalyst Council and Connecting Cats to Care using traditional methods, and by developing and implementing innovative technologies through existing and new relationships.
Dr. Brenda Griffin, DVM, MS, DACVIM A 1990 UGA graduate, Dr. Griffin completed an internship at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital before spending time in private practice, animal shelters, and completing a residency in small animal internal medicine. Since 1999, she has supported training and research in the field of Shelter Medicine. She currently serves as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Florida and as the Regent for the shelter medicine specialty under the auspices of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. Her professional interests surround shelter animal behavior and welfare, population health and wellness, and especially strategies to prevent animals from entering shelters, most notably spay-neuter and community cat programs.
Peter Marsh, J.D. For more than thirty years, Peter Marsh has helped government agencies, foundations, humane organizations, and animal advocacy groups throughout the United States develop and implement animal protection programs. In 1991, he helped found Solutions to Overpopulation of Pets (STOP), a group which spearheaded the passage of a publicly-funded neutering assistance program in New Hampshire. Since then, he has helped put together successful statewide animal-related legislative initiatives in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Vermont.
In recent years, he has written two books about programs to end animal shelter overpopulation in the United States and helped make a documentary film about progressive animal shelters in New Hampshire, his home state.
In recent years, he has written two books about programs to end animal shelter overpopulation in the United States and helped make a documentary film about progressive animal shelters in New Hampshire, his home state.
Esther Mechler received her BA from Bates College with her junior year at the University of Geneva studying with psychologist Jean Piaget. She received her M. Ed from the University of Rochester in 1968 and was Director of Admissions for the University of Bridgeport School of Law for five years prior to founding SPAY/ USA, a national spay/neuter referral service, in 1990. SPAY/USA was acquired by North Shore Animal League in 1993, and Esther served as the program director until 2010. In 1986, she established Marian’s Dream [Foundation] as a vehicle for the promotion of programs to benefit companion animals. In 1995, she received the Humane Ethics in Action Award from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and in 2014 was recognized as an outstanding alumna by Bates College for her work in animal welfare.