Three women elected to head restructured AAHA Board of Directors

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has introduced a newly restructured board of directors for 2014, according to an association release. The board welcomed four new officers and one new director during its annual meeting at the 2014 AAHA yearly conference.

In 2013, AAHA members voted to reduce the board from 14 members to eight, and 2014 will be the first year for this format to be in place. This is the second year that the president, president-elect and vice president roles are all filled by women.

The four new officers and director for the 2014-2015 year are: Kate Crumley, MS, DVM; Tracey Jensen DVM, DABVP (C/F), CVA; Nancy Soares, VMD, and Hilary Mellor, DVM.

Crumley is the association’s 2014-2015 president. She has been an AAHA member since 1988 and has served on the board of directors since 2007, according to the release. She completed her DVM at North Carolina State and has practiced both companion animal and farm animal medicine.

Jensen is the AAHA’s president-elect for 2014-2015. She earned her DVM from Colorado State University in 1996. Since 1999, Jensen has owned Wellington Veterinary Clinic in Wellington, Colo., which won the AAHA Accredited Practice of the Year Award in 2012, according to the release.

Soares will be the vice president for the 2014-2015 year. She earned her VMD in 2002 from the University of Pennsylvania and has her own practice, Macungie Animal Hospital, according to the release. Macungie Animal Hospital won the AAHA Accredited Practice of the Year Award in 2013.

Mellor is the new secretary-treasurer. Her DVM was earned in 1988 from Ontario Veterinary College. She worked at Bayview Animal Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, for more than 21 years, according to the release. Mellor is also a member of both the Canadian and Ontario Veterinary Medical Associations.

Heather Loenser, DVM, is joining the board as director. She earned her DVM from Iowa State University in 2003 and works in emergency medicine, according to the release.