Dr. Karen E. Felsted MS, CVPM, CPA, is the founder and president of PantheraT (formerly known as Felsted Veterinary Consultants, Inc.).

Dr. Felsted graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in marketing. She spent 12 years in accounting and business management, six of it with the “Big-8” accounting firm of Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young.) During this time, she also obtained an MS degree in Management and Administrative Science from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Felsted attended the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A & M University and graduated in 1996. After returning to Dallas, she practiced both small animal and emergency medicine on a full-time basis while maintaining a veterinary accounting and consulting practice. In 1999 she opened and became Manager-in-Charge of the Dallas office of Owen E. McCafferty, CPA, Inc., a national public accounting firm specializing in tax, accounting, and practice management services for veterinarians. During this time she received her Certified Veterinary Practice Manager certificate.

In June of 2001, Dr. Felsted opened her own accounting firm specializing in financial services for veterinarians and also joined Brakke Consulting, Inc. where she continued to offer practice management consulting services to veterinarians. In January of 2007, Dr. Felsted relocated to Los Angeles and joined Gatto McFerson CPAs, a veterinary-focused financial and consulting firm.

In 2008 Dr. Felsted joined the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) as Chief Executive Officer and spent over three years there before returning to business consulting, both with private practices and the animal health industry. Most recently she became a Certified Valuation Analyst.

Dr. Felsted is currently a member of the Veterinary Economics’ Editorial Advisory Board and has also served on the boards of VetPartners, the CATalyst Council and the CVPM Board of Directors. She has been published in numerous national and international veterinary journals and has also spoken at many local, national and international veterinary meetings. In 2011, she was given the Western Veterinary Conference Practice Management Continuing Educator of the Year award and in 2014, the VetPartners Distinguished Life Member Award.

Elise is the co-founder of Strategic Veterinary Consulting, a practice management firm that works with veterinarians to help them identify and then achieve the goals that they have for their practices. She has worked as a partner in a large local CPA firm which has given her a unique insight into how many businesses operate successfully and profitably. She left the CPA firm to concentrate on working with veterinarians and continues to help practice owners rewrite the story that the financial statements are telling to help them achieve the success they want for their business. Helping veterinarians understand properly and timely prepared financial statements is an important goal of hers.

Originally from South Africa, Dr. Fuhrman has extensive experience in financial consulting and corporate accounting. As a CPA and a graduate of Colorado State University’s combined MBA/DVM program, she offers a combination of veterinary practice ownership, financial, and management skills. Dr. Fuhrman is a veterinary financial consultant and nationwide industry speaker. She is also a practitioner and prior practice owner, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Leslie has been a critical part of Summit Veterinary Advisors’ success since 2006, providing practice valuations, profitability assessments, feasibility analyses, and financial consulting to veterinary specialists and general practices alike. She has an MBA and an MS in Information Technology and became a Certified Valuation Analyst in 2013. She worked for the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) for seven years, beginning with management education and then becoming involved with the accreditation program.  Leslie serves as the co-chair of the VetPartners Valuation Council and is a past co-chair of the Membership Committee and past chair of the former Website Committee.

Leslie is an author and frequent speaker on practice management, profitability, and value topics. She has extensive experience helping veterinarians and managers understand financial figures so they can use that information to increase practice profitability and value.

Dr. Karen E. Felsted MS, CVPM, CPA, is the founder and president of PantheraT (formerly known as Felsted Veterinary Consultants, Inc.).

Dr. Felsted graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in marketing. She spent 12 years in accounting and business management, six of it with the “Big-8” accounting firm of Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young.) During this time, she also obtained an MS degree in Management and Administrative Science from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Felsted attended the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A & M University and graduated in 1996. After returning to Dallas, she practiced both small animal and emergency medicine on a full-time basis while maintaining a veterinary accounting and consulting practice. In 1999 she opened and became Manager-in-Charge of the Dallas office of Owen E. McCafferty, CPA, Inc., a national public accounting firm specializing in tax, accounting, and practice management services for veterinarians. During this time she received her Certified Veterinary Practice Manager certificate.

In June of 2001, Dr. Felsted opened her own accounting firm specializing in financial services for veterinarians and also joined Brakke Consulting, Inc. where she continued to offer practice management consulting services to veterinarians. In January of 2007, Dr. Felsted relocated to Los Angeles and joined Gatto McFerson CPAs, a veterinary-focused financial and consulting firm.

In 2008 Dr. Felsted joined the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) as Chief Executive Officer and spent over three years there before returning to business consulting, both with private practices and the animal health industry. Most recently she became a Certified Valuation Analyst.

Dr. Felsted is currently a member of the Veterinary Economics’ Editorial Advisory Board and has also served on the boards of VetPartners, the CATalyst Council and the CVPM Board of Directors. She has been published in numerous national and international veterinary journals and has also spoken at many local, national and international veterinary meetings. In 2011, she was given the Western Veterinary Conference Practice Management Continuing Educator of the Year award and in 2014, the VetPartners Distinguished Life Member Award.

Camala (Cammi) Bailey, CPA, CVA is founder and Partner of Tax Services of Camala C. Bailey, CPA, PC a Certified Public Accounting and Financial Services firm in Tempe, Arizona. After working for national and local firms in the Phoenix area for 15 years, Cammi formed her own firm in 1998 focusing on veterinary specific services.  Her firm serves veterinary clients throughout the United States and is known nationally for its expertise in veterinary accounting, tax planning and preparation, practice valuations and due diligence work. With more than 30 years’ experience as an entrepreneur, behavioral expert and financial mentor, Cammi’s mission (and passion) is to help veterinarians and practice managers attain financial fitness, achieve success and prosper in their business, job and life. Cammi is a Certified Public Accountant, and holds a Certified Valuation Analyst designation from the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. She is a sought-after speaker and published author.  She enjoys educating the veterinary profession on financial literacy, taxes, profitability, and practice value. In her leisure time, you can find Cammi spending time with her husband, Randy, traveling the globe or at their vacation cabin in the pines.

Affiliations:

Republic Bank of Arizona – Board of Directors

VetPartners – Co-Chair, Practice Valuation Counsel

Arizona Veterinary Medical Association – 2016 Allied Member of the Year

National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts

Not Your Traditional CPA! Serving veterinarians throughout the United States. Embracing change… Passionate about technology and innovative thinking…

Check out www.cpasforveterinarians.com

CFP, CVA, Licensed Associate, First Command Financial Services

David McCormick is a veterinary practice appraiser, broker and transaction specialist. He has over 20 years experience working on veterinary practice valuations, facilitating transactions and helping current and future practice owners reach their goals. He teaches nationally and internationally on topics including practice value & practice financial health, buying/selling a practice, exit planning and practice ownership issues. He operates the veterinary brokerage firms of Simmons Mid-Atlantic and Simmons Great Lakes with his partner and father, Larry McCormick, DVM, MBA, CBA.

Thursday, September 29

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM

Practice Impossible

Moderator: Joy Furman

Panelists: Mary Mongioi, Monica Dixon Perry, Robin Brogdon, Debbie Boone

Originally from South Africa, Dr. Fuhrman has extensive experience in financial consulting and corporate accounting. As a CPA and a graduate of Colorado State University’s combined MBA/DVM program, she offers a combination of veterinary practice ownership, financial, and management skills. Dr. Fuhrman is a veterinary financial consultant and nationwide industry speaker. She is also a practitioner and prior practice owner, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Ms. Mongioi concentrates her practice in veterinary corporate and transactional matters and chairs the firm’s Veterinary practice group. Ms. Mongioi has developed a national corporate practice in the Veterinary sector and has acted as transaction counsel for the merger and acquisition of veterinary entities on behalf of both corporate consolidators and practice sellers. Ms. Mongioi also provides strategic counsel to both large corporate and individual veterinary businesses on all aspects of corporate law, including practice acquisitions and sales, buy-ins and other partnership matters, leases and other real estate transactions, as well as drafting and negotiating contracts associated with such matters.

Monica Dixon Perry, CVPM is the Director of Veterinary Consulting Services at Burzenski & Company. Monica has been involved in the field of veterinary medicine for more than 35 years. She joined Mission Veterinary Partners at the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and later held the position of Director of Practice Management.

Prior to that, Monica was a consultant/partner with VMC, Inc. for 15 years, where she presented a seminar called Principles of Veterinary Practice Management throughout the United States and Canada. During her years as a consultant, Monica enjoyed lecturing and working with practices that participated in VMC’s on-site consultation services.

Before joining VMC, Inc. she managed a successful full-service, small animal eastern and western medicine veterinary practice in Raleigh, NC. As the hospital administrator at Bowman Animal Hospital & Cat Clinic, Inc. for more than a decade, she directed every aspect of the seven-day-a-week, nine-doctor hospital’s operations.

During her illustrious career, Monica has lectured at numerous national veterinary conferences and veterinary schools in the United States. She has also been a part-time university lecturer at North Carolina State University in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics where she taught Veterinary Practice Management on the undergraduate level.

Monica is an active member of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association and VetPartners. She is the Youth Director at her church and sits on the board of Casa Esperanza Montessori Charter School in Raleigh, NC. Monica is the 2022 VMX Veterinary Meeting and Expo Practice Management Speaker of the Year.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Monica has been a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) for more than 20 years. She is a strong advocate for other veterinary practice managers to pursue this designation.

Robin received her Bachelor of Arts degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan and her Master of Arts degree in organizational communication and marketing from Eastern Michigan University. Over the last 25 years, she has worked in business administration and marketing for a Big Ten university athletic department, a professional sports franchise, and a fast-growing media company, as well as a variety of management consulting engagements and leadership roles in specialty veterinary practices.

Robin has successfully taken companies through start-up, acquisition, and divestiture, with oversight and management of all aspects of the process. She ha coordinated many building and relocation projects spanning multiple offices and cities, including the construction and opening of City of Angels Veterinary Specialty Center, a 30,000-square-foot comprehensive specialty hospital in Los Angeles where she served as the Executive Director.

In 2007, Robin launched BluePrints Veterinary Marketing Group, Inc., a full-service marketing agency exclusively devoted to serving specialty, emergency and referral practices and other businesses within the animal health care space. BluePrints’ primary purpose is to help more companion animals and their families by advancing the reach of veterinary specialty medicine and encouraging the partnership between primary care veterinarians and specialists. To further this goal, in 2012 Robin launched the Veterinary Specialists Outreach & Awareness Project (VetSOAP), a non-profit initiative aimed at demonstrating the benefits of collaborative care to all members of the profession.

A frequent lecturer, Robin has presented at conferences and events hosted by ACVIM, VSIPP, AAHA, NAVC/VMX, WVC/Viticus Group, and AVMA. She regularly contributes to industry trade publications and published 101 Veterinary Marketing Questions Answered, available through AAHA Press.

Active in the profession, Robin has been a member of VetPartners since BluePrints’ inception. She was elected Vice President in 2022 and will become President in 2023, having previously serving as Chair of the Communications Committee. She is a member of the Practice Management Committee for IVECCS, and she served six years on the Board of Directors of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation. In 2016, the ACVIM Foundation presented her with the Distinguished Service Award. She was the first non-veterinarian to hold this position and earn this distinction.

Raised in suburban Baltimore, Robin relocated to southern California more than 25 years ago. She and her husband reside in Huntington Beach with their rescued mixed-breed dogs. In her free time, you can usually find Robin at the beach or hiking the red rock canyons of southern Utah.

For 23 years Debbie managed AAHA accredited veterinary practices and lead veterinary teams to be strong and empowered advocates for their patients. Communication based training gave my animal health care teams the confidence to teach pet owners the value behind our medical protocols.

This resulted in an 87% compliance rate for preventative care services.

The successes of the veterinary hospitals she managed lead her to her present career as a trainer, practice management consultant and speaker on the importance of a well trained, empowered staff and utilization of solid business management principles. At this time she has taught over 10,000 students from all over the US, Communication and Service skills for Patterson University. Debbie has presented at AVMA, AAHA, WVC, Midwest, OVMA and Atlantic Veterinary Conferences and many smaller venues. She holds a certification in Customer Service in addition to her BS in Animal Science and is a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager. As a CVPM she has achieved the industry’s highest credential for veterinary practice management professionals, demonstrating the experience and knowledge and committed to the pursuit of excellence in veterinary practice. She is past Chair for the Practice Management SIG for VetPartners and presently holds the office of Presidenton the Board of the VetPartners association. She is Fear Free(sm) Certified and sits on the Fear Free Advisory Board and the Speakers Bureau. She is a member of the Stokes and Epicur Pharmaceutical Advisory Council.

Debbie happily works with veterinary pharmaceutical reps to bring communication training to veterinary teams. She has been utilized by Zoetis, Elanco, Merial, Merck to name a few.

Friday, September 30

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM

The Millennial’s Ideal Offer

Dr. Tierra Price

Dr. Tierra Price is a recent graduate of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and currently an emergency veterinarian in Los Angeles, CA. She has a wide variety of interests including shelter medicine, surgery, and public health. As a veterinary student, Dr. Price founded BlackDVM Network, a community that elevates Black veterinary professionals through community, access to opportunity, and advancement. Dr. Price believes we should be able to show up as our entire selves in our careers and hopes to inspire others to boldly take on challenges in veterinary medicine.

Friday, September 30

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Where Have All The Vet Techs Gone?

Meagan Parks, BS, RVT

Meagan Parks is a Registered Veterinary Technician from Kansas City, Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management. Most of Meagan’s career has been spent within the specialty and emergency medicine arena as well as several business development and leadership roles. She is a founding member of the Kansas City Registered Veterinary Technician Association. She has helped organize over 100 continuing education events over the course of her career for veterinary technicians and veterinarians in Kansas City. She has an incredible passion for improving the veterinary space and a voracious appetite to create solutions for the problems plaguing our industry.  She currently serves Mission Veterinary Partners as their Lead Veterinary Technician Recruiter within Talent Acquisition.  

Friday, September 30

2:00PM – 3:00 PM

Courageous Conversations in DEI

Peter Weinstein DVM, MBA, Phillip Nelson, DVM, PhD

Dr. Peter Weinstein attended Cornell University undergraduate and the University of Illinois to receive his DVM.  After graduation, he worked as an associate for three years before opening his practice.

While he was managing and practicing full time, he attended University of Redlands to receive his MBA. As a result of the MBA, he was able to relocate, expand and sell his practice to a corporate consolidator. Politically, he served as President of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association and the California Veterinary Medical Association and President for VetPartners, the national consultants association.

In the veterinary industry, he acted as Medical Director overseeing the Claims Department for Veterinary Pet Insurance. Dr. Weinstein provides small business and corporate consulting via his company,  PAW Consulting. He was the 2018 Speaker of the Year for the Western Veterinary Conference Practice Management Section.  And is the Chair of the Veterinary Economics Strategy Committee of the AVMA. He co-authored with Michael E Gerber, “The EMyth Veterinarian- Why Most Veterinary Practices Don’t Work and What to Do About It”.

On top of all that, Dr. Weinstein is the Executive Director for the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association.

Dean Nelson serves Administrative Leadership as the Chair of the Deans Council – a two-year appointment started in July 2021. Every two years, a different dean is selected to represent the deans as a member of Administrative Leadership. Dr. Nelson started at WesternU in 2005 as Associate Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and was appointed Dean in 2007. He is skilled in Veterinary Medicine, Epidemiology, Life Sciences, Medicine, and Science. Dr. Nelson earned his DVM at the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, his B.S. Biology from Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, and his PhD from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.