Advisory Board

Kathleen Ruby

EVT Editor-in-Chief

Kathleen L. Ruby, PhD, a licensed professional clinical counselor with more than 20 years experience in counseling and education, has been head of the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine Counseling and Wellness Department and on faculty for the past 13 years. She counsels veterinary students and faculty, teaches classes on life skills, and developed and conducts programs and workshops related to professionalism, communication skills, stress management, life balance, and leadership within the college. Dr. Ruby cofounded the Veterinary Leadership Experience, a program offered to students and faculty at all North American schools and now extending internationally to academic and industry settings.

Dr. Ruby developed and supervises WSU's Pet Loss Support Hotline, and trains students in client bereavement management. Developing an integrated method for teaching and reinforcing life/professional success/nontechnical skills of veterinary students is central to her work. A frequent speaker with a background and training in individual and organizational psychology, human development, and leadership, Dr. Ruby offers a unique mix of people-skills, psychological insights, and programmatic ideas. Her special research interests include the psychology of high-achieving individuals and development of emotional competence in medical professionals.

editor@myevt.com

Richard DeBowes

Leadership Consultant

Richard DeBowes, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS, is professor of surgery, associate dean for Veterinary Development and External Relations, and director of the Professional Life Skills Program at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. DeBowes has oversight responsibility for coordination and delivery of Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE), an international program intended to expand the professional vision, communication skills, and servant leadership competencies of veterinary students, faculty, and health care team members.

Dr. DeBowes serves as a member of the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC) Executive Committee. He is past president of the AAVC and currently is its representative in the AVMA House of Delegates. An active contributor to professional continuing education, Dr. DeBowes was a member of the Board of Directors for the North American Veterinary Conference for over a decade, serving as the education director and twice as president. He obtained his DVM from University of Illinois and completed a Washington State University internship, residency, and master's degree.

Dr. DeBowes' veterinary interests include equine general and orthopedic surgery, lameness diagnosis, and joint biology. His other interests include faculty and program development, professional relationships, and personal leadership.

editor@myevt.com

Cindy Adams

Cindy Adams, BSW, MSW, PhD (Veterinary Epidemiology), is chair of Professional Skills and associate professor at the University of Calgary, Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Adams has focused her career on developing a communication curriculum in veterinary education, helping to improve communication and educational practices in practice settings and academia. She designed and directed the first communication curriculum at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario, from 1989-1996. During this time she also established a ground-breaking research program that studies observed and applied communication research, human–animal interactions, animal welfare, and critical reflection as a core competency for effective practice.

Dr. Adams now oversees the design, development, and implementation of the Professional Skills curriculum at UCVM and coordinates the communication curriculum across all 4 years of the veterinary education program. She consults nationally and internationally in veterinary medicine on applications of communication concepts and communication research methods in veterinary medicine. She is chair of the International Conference on Communication in Veterinary Medicine and a director of the International Veterinary Communication Institute.

Kathleen Bonvicini

Kathleen Bonvicini, EdD (Educational Leadership), MPH, BS (Social Work), is chief executive officer of the Institute for Healthcare Communication, New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Bonvicini has conducted communication workshops and faculty training courses throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe; has overseen the Institute's national accreditations for continuing education; managed many of the core training programs; and has led IHC's veterinary communication training program, which has been provided for faculty in every school of veterinary medicine in North America and has recently expanded to Australia and Europe.

Among Dr. Bonvicini's achievements are 15 years of research at the Yale University - Veterans Administration Laboratory of Psychiatric Genetics, faculty appointments with Southern Connecticut State University and with the Department of Psychology at Albertus Magnus College, and social work in the areas of adolescent pregnancy prevention, law enforcement, and women's health. As a researcher, she has authored and co-authored a variety of articles in clinician communication in both veterinary and human medicine and has recently led the Institute's research initiative and collaboration with the University of California, Riverside, which assessed the impact of communication training interventions on physicians' expression of empathy with patients.

Elizabeth Charles

Elizabeth "Betsy" Charles, DVM, is a private equine practitioner in southern California and is an adjunct assistant professor at both Washington State University and Western University of Health Sciences. In addition, she and has just completed a master's degree in organizational leadership (May 2009).

She developed the extern program at San Dieguito Equine Group where she formerly practiced and supervised third- and fourth-year veterinary students from Western Veterinary College as they rotated through SDEG as part of their core equine rotations. Dr. Charles is also involved with the Veterinary Leadership Experience as a speaker and facilitator and serves on the AVMA Council on Communication, and the Student Relations Committee for the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

Her master's thesis has led her into the world of generational differences and their impact on veterinary practice and she often lectures to students and veterinarians on this subject. After graduating from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and completing an internship with an equine referral hospital, she joined San Dieguito Equine Group as an associate veterinarian and then served Clinic Director for 3 years. The position has allowed her to combine her passion for equine veterinary medicine, leadership development, teaching, and communication into one role.

Jeff Thoren

Jeff Thoren, DVM, ACC is an International Coach Federation (ICF) certified coach, trained at the Adler School of Professional Coaching. Dr. Thoren founded Gifted Leaders, LLC, in 2005, which provides individual and group coaching services dedicated to personal empowerment, leadership, and development of an effective, nurturing team culture. He serves the veterinary community in both in-clinic consultation and through online resources and services.

Dr. Thoren is a founding group facilitator and organizer of the Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE), a program offered to students and faculty at all North American schools and now extending internationally to academic and industry settings.

His professional career includes private practice and a variety of technical services, management, and sales roles in veterinary industry, including companies such as Hill's Pet Nutrition and Novartis Animal Health. From October 2000 through June 2005, Dr. Thoren served as director of professional recruitment and development for Pet's Choice, Inc., a family of 46 community veterinary hospitals and specialty practices in five States. His primary goal there was to help transform Pet's Choice into an employer of choice within the veterinary profession. Dr. Thoren attained his DVM from Washington State University.

Kara Burns

Kara Burns is a licensed veterinary technician originally from New England, now living in Kansas. She holds a master’s degree in physiology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology. She began her career in human medicine working as an emergency psychologist in the Maine Medical Center emergency department. She also worked at Maine Poison Control as a poison specialist dealing with human and animal poisonings.

She then made the move to veterinary medicine and worked in small animal private practice and a small animal and avian practice in Maine.

Currently, she works for Hill’s Pet Nutrition as the veterinary technician specialist working with the graduate technician profession in all aspects – National association, State vet tech associations, specialty vet associations, and national, regional, and specialty conferences.

She is a member of many national and state associations and holds positions on many board in the profession - such as the AAHA Yearly Conference Development Committee – Technician Chair, AAVN technician liaison, the NAVTA Journal editorial board, Chair - NAVTA Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties, NAHERC, KS SART, and is the president of the Kansas Veterinary Technician Association, to name a few.

Kara is also the President of the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians, the tenth recognized specialty for veterinary technicians.

She has authored many articles and textbook chapters and is an internationally invited speaker, focusing on topics of nutrition, leadership, and technician utilization.

Ms. Burns has been featured on the cover of the Veterinary Technician Journal and the NAVTA Journal. She is the 2010 NAVTA Veterinary Technician of the Year.

She enjoys spending time with her wife Dr. Ellen Lowery and their children. They are actively involved in youth sports, 4-H, school activities, and church ministry. The family also includes three horses, two sheep, 2 pugs, a greyhound cross, a French bulldog, 4 birds, 5 indoor cats, and a bearded dragon!