January 01, 2020

Event

Annual meeting, Denver, Oct. 10, 2019 

Awards

Veterinarian of the Year
Dr. Katherine Polak (Iowa State ’10), Bangkok. Dr. Polak works for Four Paws International, a global animal welfare organization based in Vienna, serving as head of Stray Animal Care–Southeast Asia. She is the founding medical director for Spayathon for Puerto Rico, a coalition of 28 national and international groups working together to spay, neuter, and vaccinate dogs and cats across the island.

Meritorious Service Award
Dr. Gary Patronek (Pennsylvania ’84), Roslindale, Massachusetts, for his service to the field of shelter medicine and animal welfare, and Dr. Claudia Baldwin (Michigan State ’82), Ames, Iowa, for her service to shelter medicine advancement and education. A veterinary epidemiologist, Dr. Patronek is an adjunct professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and co-founder of the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium. He has served as director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University and as vice president of the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Now retired, Dr. Baldwin is a past director of the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, she also co-facilitated the university’s Feral Cat Alliance, served on the faculty of the Center for Food Security and Public Health, and was a member of the ISU Animal Welfare Group.

Officials

Drs. Erin Doyle, Needham, Massachusetts, president; Chumkee Aziz, Houston, vice president and president-elect; Staci Cannon, Nashville, Tennessee, secretary; Cristie Kamiya, Milpitas, California, treasurer; and Elise Gingrich, Fort Collins, Colorado, immediate past president