Vet Financial Mastermind
Interested in joining a small group of like-minded colleagues interested in reaching their financial goals?
Read below and join us for a year of support and encouragement.
Interested in joining a small group of like-minded colleagues interested in reaching their financial goals?
Read below and join us for a year of support and encouragement.
Dr. Roasa is a veterinarian and lawyer. He is a consultant on the Veterinary Information Network legal boards and founder of Drip Learning Technologies, a veterinary continuing education provider.
Topic – Soapbox Series
Hailey is the owner of Newport Veterinary Hospital in Newport, Vermont. She is a 2007 graduate from Washington State Universit! She lives in Glover, VT, a stone’s throw from the Canadian border, with her husband, one dog (Bow), and a cat (Noodle). She is a past president of the Vermont Veterinary Medical Association, a board member for the VBMA Alumni, and a previous chair of the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference Planning Committee.
Topic – Soapbox Series
Jason is a fourth-year veterinary student at the University of Illinois. He is the SAVMA Class President for his veterinary class and was the VBMA at Illinois President for two years. He hopes to own his own practice after graduation!
Topic – Soapbox Series
Marianne graduated from the University of Illinois School of Vet Med in 2006 and then practiced for 16 years at the same practice in Sandwich, Il. She deployed twice (2014 and 2019) with a veterinary unit in the US Army. She recently moved to Fort Collins, CO to work with an end-of-life practice called Home to Heaven. She loves all things personal finance, especially the FIRE movement and blogs at debtfreedvm.com.
Topic – Beyond Clinical Practice: Hybrid Roles
Nicole Lukovsky-Akhsanov is a board-certified laboratory animal veterinarian working for the federal government with an interest in animal welfare and public health.
She founded several small businesses pursuing interests in veterinary medicine and real estate investing. As a veterinarian, Nicole strongly believes in the importance of mentorship and education in financial literacy.
Topic – Beyond Clinical Practice: Hybrid Roles
Katie Berlin, DVM, worked in small animal general practice for 12 years. Prior to joining AAHA full-time as Director of Content Strategy, she worked part-time as the Veterinary Officer, Marketing Services for Clinician’s Brief while continuing to practice part-time. She is the host of Central Line: The AAHA Podcast and previously created and hosted her own podcast, The Vet Reset. She is a certified level 1 running coach and group exercise instructor, and now runs and rides her weird bike in her dream state of Colorado.
Topic – Key Lessons on Practice Ownership
Dr. José V. Arce is a veterinarian and practice owner from San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2003, he founded Miramar Animal Hospital, of which he is president and co-owner.
Dr. Arce served as District IV Director of the AVMA Board of Directors from 2014 to 2020. He served as President-Elect and President of the AVMA, on the Board of the AVMA Trust and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF), and currently serves as Immediate Past President of the AVMA, Chair of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation and in the Commission for a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive (DEI) Veterinary Profession.
Topic – Beyond Clinical Practice: Hybrid Roles
Dr. Cara Wright is a veterinarian who has focused her career on the needs of the equine athlete. She ran a very successful equine practice before moving to California. Dr. Wright now works with Merck Animal Health as an equine professional services veterinarian, where she provides support and education for veterinarians and technicians.
Topic – Soapbox Series
Dr. Ronaldo Hertel is a veterinarian in Brazil who developed a special interest in personal finance during his high school and college years. Over the past 15 years, he has worked to educate others in the field on the topic of personal finance to promote better productivity, satisfaction, and well-being.
Topic – Key Lessons on Practice Ownership
Lily Chen is a small animal integrative veterinarian and practice owner in Los Angeles, California.
Lily’s journey in veterinary medicine took her from an internship at a specialty hospital to a busy conventional hospital as a GP. After falling in love with holistic medicine, Lily began practicing as an integrative veterinarian and started a personal brand and a house call practice.
Topic – Let’s Make a Deal: Contracts in Vet Med
Amanda Fark is the Director of the Office of Professional Success at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, a position she has held since the office’s inception in 2012. She has consulted with over 1,500 veterinary students and alumni regarding their employment agreements and negotiations in her 10-year tenure at Ohio State.
Amanda is most passionate toward helping others achieve their professional life goals and finds her role of guiding veterinary students toward their path to success very rewarding.
Andrew Rotz, CFP, CCFC is the Director of Personal Finance and Financial Literacy at NCSU. Based on his experience with “holistic financial counseling” at NCSU, he will talk about personal finance and investing.
Jamie O’Kane is a CPA who will discuss common tax mistakes. Taxes are your #1 expense. Jamie will help you keep more of what you make.
Jamie will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “Advanced Investing Strategies”.
Topic: Strategically (and Sustainably) Pricing Your Inventory
Nicole Clausen, CSSGB, CCFP has over 13 years of experience in the veterinary industry with over 10 years in small animal practice. She worked her way up from receptionist to Operations Manager in various clinics and understands the intricacies and internal workings of a successful practice. She now is the founder and consultant at Veterinary Care Logistics, a consulting firm specializing in inventory management for veterinary professionals.
Isaiah Douglass is an MBA & Certified Financial Planner in Indianapolis, solely focused on vets (and dentists). He is the host of the weekly podcast The Veterinarian Success Podcast which interviews and discusses topics related to clinical, business, financial, and personal of the lives of veterinarians. Isaiah works with veterinarians at all stages of their professional career – with a passion for practice ownership.
Topic: Investing Basics for Beginners
Darby is a Financial Advisor working with vets in all career stages. She specializes in planning for practice owners and clients preparing for retirement. As a veterinarian herself, Darby understands the complexities of owning a practice or a business, and utilizes her vast personal experience to help her clients to reach their financial goals.
Topic: These 4 Numbers Will Determine the Future of your Practice – Know Them Well!
Terry O’Neil is the partner-in-charge of Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Veterinary Services Group and is also responsible for the management of the Veterinary Study Groups’ database of veterinary hospital financial data for over 600 hospitals across the country, allowing KSM to identify key industry trends and opportunities. Terry helps veterinary hospitals grow by providing them business, financial, and tax advice.
Topic: Investing Basics for Beginners
Tim McFillin is the President and Founder of Medical Advisors Group (MAG), which offers strategic financial planning and is a Silver Partner for the Summit. He has been an authorized financial advisor for AVMA LIFE for over 12 years.
Willie Bidot is a board certified laboratory animal veterinarian in California.
He has become a money nerd by virtue of having to learn how to tackle the $400k of student debt he and his wife (also a veterinarian) accrued during vet school.
Through his path of financial literacy, he has found himself helping other veterinarians and veterinary students with their finances.
One of his hobbies is to review contracts for students and recent graduates. He also enjoys traveling back home to provide veterinary services through a non-profit he co-founded, Veterinarians for Puerto Rico.
Topics: Keynote – 5 Surprising Things You’re Afraid to Admit About Your Practice
&
Practical Advice for Emotionally Charged Client Convos
Bash Halow is a veterinary business advisor and veteran practice manager with over 19 years of experience. Mr. Halow has helped dozens of veterinary hospitals understand how to build stronger teams and responsibly and ethically grow their business.
Topic: Identifying and Addressing Burnout in the Veterinary Profession
Dr. Reinhard is the CEO & Founder of MentorVet. Her research focuses on developing innovative wellbeing interventions to support mental health and wellbeing within the veterinary profession. She is on the research team for the next phase of the Merck Animal Health Veterinary Well-being Study.
Topic: How to Retain Talent When the Big Guns Are Throwing Cash
Dr. Dave Nicol has more than 20 years of experience in general practice, and has previously owned or part owned four veterinary practices on two continents. He has written three books, including So You’re A Vet…Now What? – which is about how to survive as a veterinarian after graduation. Through his VetX ecosystem, Dave produces tools, training and systems to help vets and practice owners reach their full potential.
Topic: Negotiating From Both Sides of the Table
Jonathan Leicht is Partner and COO of Mosaic Veterinary Partners and co-founder of The Veterinary Project, a veterinary community platform whose goal is to share conversations through podcast episodes exploring the successes, joys and struggles within veterinary medicine.
Topic: Taming the Student Debt Monster
Meredith Jones is an emergency vet in Virginia. After paying off her school debt in under 4 years, she founded the Debt-Free Vets Facebook group and completed training to become a financial coach. She is passionate about empowering veterinarians and vet students with the knowledge and understanding to achieve their financial goals.
Derreck Long is a Senior Executive with Quest Trust Co. He esteach classes to CPAs and Tax Attorneys on retirement account Tax Code. He has a portfolio of multiple rental properties and notes.
Phil Richmond is a veterinarian, published writer, veterinary workplace wellbeing consultant, speaker, and frequent veterinary podcast guest. He holds certifications in the fields of applied positive psychology, positive psychology consulting, compassion fatigue, suicide prevention, emotional intelligence, resilience training, workplace wellbeing, inspired leadership, and team culture.
Mark Nunez is a (double) practice owner in Long Island, NY.
His hospitals have experienced very rapid growth over the past 8 years. A decorated US Air Force and Army veteran, he enjoys lecturing about culture and efficiency.
Dr. Cordivano is a veterinarian and practice owner. She started The Whole Veterinarian Podcast in 2020 to share personal and financial development topics in hopes of improving the well-being of other veterinary professionals.
Dr. Margaret Dunnett is the proud to be the owner of the first Fear Free Practice in the Atlantic Provinces. She was inspired by the first Veterinary Summit and since purchased 3 rental properties.
Dr. Jim Clark is an animal lover, entrepreneur, multi-practice owner, clinician, and educator. After working in general and emergency practice for more than 20 years, earning an MBA, and serving as an owner in four ER/Spec practices, Clark joined the faculty of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010, assuming leadership of their Professional Skills curriculum. He currently provides instruction in communication, mental health, career planning, DEI, and business management skills.
Dr. Elliott Garber is a specialist in Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Virginia. He led and trained teams in clinical practice for eight years while in the military, including three years as veterinarian to the Navy SEALs and their working dogs. Elliott built and sold an 8-figure e-commerce and marketing agency before joining Instinct to launch the veterinary industry’s first electronic prescribing software.
Dr. Christopher Allen has been a veterinary practice owner since graduating from veterinary school in 1987. In addition to private practice, Dr. Allen is a licensed attorney admitted to New York Bar in 1982. He is a frequent author and lectures on veterinary and animal law at veterinary conferences throughout the United States.
Mike Bugg is a veterinarian turned full-time real estate investor in Saskatchewan, Canada.
He is the co-host of the Veterinary Project Podcast.
Topic: Travel Hacking
Cindy Trice is a relief veterinarian, speaker, consultant, and serial entrepreneur with over 17 years of experience in 50 plus practices across 4 states. She is the founder and CEO of Relief Rover and co-founder of KickIt Pajamas.
Topic: Could a Practice Become Your Smartest Investment?
Collin Hart is the CEO and Managing Director of ERE Healthcare Real Estate Advisors where he leads the company’s strategy to provide executive level advisory to owners of healthcare real estate.
Topic: Investing Basics for True Beginners
Ashley Foster is a Certified Financial Planner and founder of Nxt:Gen Financial Planning, a location independent firm serving clients exclusively in their 20s and 30s. Because Ashley focuses on serving veterinarians who are 10 years or less in their careers, he is acutely familiar with the emotional and financial challenges this cohort faces.
Topic: Could a Practice Become Your Smartest Investment?
David McCormick is a veterinary practice appraiser, broker and transaction specialist. Over the last 20 years he has focused on veterinary practice valuation, facilitating transactions and helping current and future practice owners reach their goals.
Topic: Student Loan Repayment Planning – 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
Meagan Landress is a student loan consultant for Student Loan Planner and a Certified Student Loan Professional®. Her specialized education around student debt allows her to guide borrowers through informed repayment decisions, taking into account their full financial situation and financial goals.
Topic: Investing Secrets for Seasoned Investors
Lora Hoff, CFP®, handles multiple aspects of what a veterinary professional needs: financial planning, succession, employee benefits, wealth accumulation, tax efficiency, asset preservation and wealth transfer strategies. She will participate in our “Investing 201 and exit strategies” panel.
Topic: How to Design a Roadmap to Exit Your Practice
Ashley Micciche is the co-owner and CEO of True North Retirement Advisors, a family-run advisory firm. She specializes in the unique needs and challenges that business owners face, and helps them create highly customizable, successful exit plans so that they can transition from business ownership to retirement on their own terms.
Topic: Raising the Bar on Pricing
Dr. Amy Snyder is an Associate Clinical Professor at NC State Veterinary Hospital with over 14 years of experience in small animal practice. Since joining the faculty at NC State Veterinary Hospital in 2014, Dr. Snyder currently serves as a clinician in the General Small Animal Practice and oversees the college’s business and professional development curriculum.
Topic: Pearls of Entrepreneurship
Dr. Dani McVety founded Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice just 3 months after graduation from veterinary school. She has become widely known among veterinary students nationally and internationally for her ability to authentically share her personal struggles through veterinary school. Her underlying message is one of accountability, hard work, and a focus on entrepreneurism.
Topic: I Found the Secret to Happiness
Phil Zeltzman is a traveling, board-certified veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. He is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for personal finance and a special interest in growing passive income through real estate investing.
Ebony Escalona is an equine and small animal vet, as well as a speaker based in the UK. She is the founder of “Vets: Stay, Go or Diversify” and “VetYou.” She will take part in the “How to Generate Non-Clinical Income – Ethically” panel.
Melanie Barham is a Canadian equine vet, Project Management Professional (PMP), and MBA student. She founded the DVM Project in 2017 and recently hosted a ridiculously large, worldwide, virtual conference. She will take part in the “How to Generate Non-Clinical Income – Ethically” panel.
Travis York is one of Calico’s managing directors. He’s been in finance and banking his entire career. He will participate in our “Startup or Acquisition” panel.
Geoff DeWire (UC Davis 2007) is a GP and the owner of Douglassville Veterinary Hospital in PA. He is also the Associate Medical Director of Veterinary Recommended Solutions, a veterinarian owned nutrition and nutraceutical company headquartered outside of Philadelphia.
He will talk about “How to Generate Non-Clinical Income – Ethically.”
Rick Debowes is a board-certified surgeon at Washington State University who launched the Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE). More recently, he has piloted practice management rotations where vet students analyze practice financials and help them increase revenue and profit. He will share the “Top 10 Problems (and Solutions) Hurting Culture, Care, and Earnings.”
Shelby Agnew is a small animal relief vet in Alabama.
She officially became a Rockstar when she successfully paid off $245,000 in debt in 7 years.
She will participate in our highly expected how I paid off my debt panel.
Rebecca Stinson is an equine vet who now works at AVMA LIFE and PLIT. She has spent years helping students to identify their own path in the veterinary field at various institutions including Virginia Tech. She will talk about which insurance plans you absolutely need.
Bonnie Bragdon is a former practicing vet, the VP of Marketing at Zomedica and the co-founder of the Independent Veterinary Practitioners Association. She will present “The 3 Ps of Profit.” She will present ways to increase your production, improve your protocols and boost profit.
Tammy Lons is the owner of Tekonsha Animal Hospital, a small animal practice in Michigan.
Her second life is being a real estate investor.
She will participate in a panel discussion on passive income.
Jason Coppens is the President of Coppens Business Strategies. He is a brilliant yet down to earth consultant who helps vet practices with business performance, talent acquisition and practice growth.
He will discuss “Start up vs. acquisition.” Which strategy is better for wannabe practice owners?.
Dan Routh, CFP® is an Advisor at Old Peak Finance, in Chapel Hill NC, which specializes in fee-only, comprehensive financial planning for busy professionals and business owners including medical professionals.
Dan will be participating in the “Investing 101” panel.
Denise Tumblin, CPA is the owner of WTA Veterinary Consultants. She co-authored the famous Well-Managed Practice Benchmarks Study. This popular speaker will lecture on how to make sense of Key Performance Indicators.
Denise will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “Practical Tips to Grow Revenue”.
Cynthia MacKenzie is a Trust Veterinarian with the AVMA PLIT. She will share some strategies to stay out of legal trouble based on her extensive experience with reviewing complaints from pet owners.
Cynthia will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “Which Insurance Plans Do You Really Need?”.
Joy Fuhrman will help analyze your Profit & Loss (P & L) statement using a SOAP approach. You may even bring your practice’s most recent P & L to benefit even more from this interactive workshop.
Joy will be participating in the Summit covering discussions on “SOAP Approach to Diagnosing Practice Financial Health”, and “We Work Hard for the Money: Vet Compensation”.
Steve Manyak is the owner of Pine Animal Hospital in Long Beach, CA. Very progressive and visionary, he will share his thoughts on efficiency and workflow in practice.
Steve will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “Efficiency & Workflow”.
Mark Nunez co-owns 2 well-managed practices on Long Island, NY. Our very progressive colleague will share his thoughts and strategies about associate compensation.
Mark will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “We Work Hard for the Money: Vet Compensation”.
Adam Little is a veterinarian and entrepreneur who has a knack for innovation. He will present ways to improve efficiency and workflow in your practice.
Adam will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “Efficiency & Workflow”.
Alex Krooglik is the co-founder of Embrace Pet Insurance and of practice management software Rhapsody. He will share his knowledge about workflow and efficiency in practice.
Alex will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “Efficiency & Workflow”.
Dr. Grace Kim is the founder of the personal finance blog Richer Life DVM. She is a strong advocate for financial wellness and empowerment within the veterinary profession. She will be participating in a panel discussion on How to Live a Rich Life.
Grace will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “How to Live a Rich Life”.
Dr. Angela Demaree is a veterinarian, a veteran, a consultant, and a Certified High Performance Coach. She is also the host of the Beyond the Stethoscope podcast. Angela will be participating in a panel discussion on How to Live a Rich Life.
Angela will be participating in the Summit covering a discussion on “How to Live a Rich Life”.