Michelle’s love of animals started very early, with her first word being “duck.” She grew up in Clearwater, FL where there was never a shortage of creatures to catch, foster, or just admire –from marine life to lizards and frogs to orphaned kittens. She became interested in science and medicine as a teenager and began to set her sights on veterinary medicine. After spending two years of undergraduate studies at Cincinnati Bible College, she moved back to Florida to pursue that dream. She began working at a local veterinary hospital and learned quickly that she not only loved to care for animals, but she loved being able to teach pet parents and help them to provide the best life possible to their pets. She finished her undergraduate studies in Zoology and obtained her DVM at University of Florida, where she focused on international veterinary medicine and exotic/zoo/wildlife medicine.
She pursued her love of exotic animals and canine/feline medicine in the central Florida area following graduation in 2009, and worked at several small animal practices, including a large 6 doctor practice in Winter Park, FL. Michelle’s love of teaching carried over into helping her veterinary technicians gain skills and knowledge, such as training on exotic species blood draw or microscope evaluation of a sample. This skill set was recognized, and soon she was creating the hospital’s technician and technician assistant training manuals.
In 2017, Michelle felt a calling to teach and train in other ways and began work as a Professional Services Field Veterinarian for a veterinary nutritional supplement company. During her time in that position, she traveled the country providing continuing education to veterinarians and technicians about various disease conditions and supplementary management options. She also helped train and improve the skill sets of the regional sales managers, allowing them to help more pets in their areas by extending that knowledge to their local hospitals. Michelle still practices at her local emergency clinic on some weekends.
In her free time, Michelle keeps active by open water swimming and training for long distance runs among other activities. She is a singer at her local church and loves going to live music events. Michelle loves football, soccer, and hockey and loves to travel – for sporting events and seeing our incredible world. She shares her home with littermate Yorkie-poodles Tigger and Pooh Bear, as well as a blue-tongue skink, Spike.
