The Animal Wellness Veterinary Council
Veterinary council members for the Animal Wellness Foundation extend the reach of the organization’s programs and priorities by putting vets in the forefront of the animal protection movement. Collaborating with members of Animal Wellness Action, the Foundation’s political arm, The Animal Wellness Veterinary Council helps with hands-on advocacy programs, putting their professional training and public credibility to advance animal protection goals.
Randall Cannon, D.V.M. - Orlando, Fl
Since graduating from University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine with honors, Dr. Cannon has devoted over 22 years toward animal care in his private practice and almost a decade toward animal protection.
He works to raise public awareness about animal issues in myriad ways and in 2012 founded Take Your Blinders Off, Inc., a non-profit that owns and operates a truck equipped with two video screens that educates the public about a wide range of animal welfare issues. He’s been featured in two documentaries exposing animal abuse and is the recipient the Pollination Project Lisa Shapiro award.
Armaiti May, D.V.M. - Los Angeles, CA
Dr. May obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in June 2005, before spending 20 months working at a 24-hour emergency dog and cat hospital.
She is certified in veterinary acupuncture and animal chiropractic and has graduated from the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy and operates her own vegan-friendly integrative veterinary practice and non-profit, Veterinary Association for Protection of Animals, that encourages and educates on animal advocacy.
Jim Keen, Ph.D, D.V.M. - Hastings, Nebraska
Graduating with his veterinary medicine degree and doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Keen has 30 years of experience in veterinary and biomedical research, with a specialty in livestock infectious disease issues, public health and more recently, industrial farm animal protection and advocacy.
Dr. Keen spoke publicly about abusive treatment of animals at the USDA Meat Research Center in central Nebraska in 2015 gaining worldwide attention. These revelations were instrumental in driving reforms toward better livestock welfare, better science and more accountability in dozens of federal farm animal research laboratories.
He is currently a visiting fellow in Harvard Law School’s Animal Law and Policy Program, focusing on laws and policies that can reduce the use of livestock, dogs, cats and primates in federally funded in-house research programs.
Annie Harvilicz, D.V.M. - Los Angeles, CA
A graduate of the Virginia Tech School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Harvilicz is the Chief Medical Officer of the veterinary hospital Animal Wellness Centers in Los Angeles. She is the recipient of the Sherrie Clark Compassion and Caring Award and the Tobey Award for helping lost, abandoned, or homeless dogs and has served on the national leadership council of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association.
Dr. Harvilicz founded the Animal Wellness Foundation to create a rescue organization that enables her veterinary practice to extend animal care more broadly into the community.
Pernilla Edstrom, D.V.M. - Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Edstrom brings 12 years of veterinary care experience as Medical Director of the Animal Wellness Centers animal hospital in Los Angeles. After receiving her veterinary doctorate at Western University of Health Sciences, she accepted an internship at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center (ASEC) in West Los Angeles. There, she was exposed to a multitude of specialties, such as Emergency and Critical Care, Surgery, Cardiology, Radiology, and Internal Medicine.
As a practicing veterinarian, she treats and rehabilitates pets and rescue animals while actively supporting animal protection policies.
Matt Holland, D.V.M. - Washington D.C.
Dr. Holland graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine and is currently an AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the USDA National Institute of Food & Agriculture.
Dr. Holland completed an AAAS/AVMA Congressional Fellowship in the office of Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos with his policy interests including One Health — issues that impact the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health (e.g. antimicrobial resistance, infectious disease, disaster preparedness & response, etc).
Avenelle Turner, D.V.M., Dip ACVIM - Marina Del Rey, CA
Dr. Turner is a Colorado native and is a graduate of Colorado State University. She has 20 years of experience in the veterinary field and is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology). She served as head of the oncology service at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists, located in New York City.
Currently, she is the senior oncologist and lead investigator of multiple clinical trials at Veterinary Cancer Group at the City of Angels Specialty Center in Los Angeles, CA. She supports a combination approach to cancer care, utilizing both eastern and western principles while working regularly with holistically trained doctors to meet the needs of her patients.
Liz Hassinger, D.V.M. - Exeter, Rhode Island
After graduating from Tufts Veterinary school in 1989, Dr. Hassinger completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery. In 1997 she founded the Wolf Rock Animal Health Center, the first Integrative Veterinary Medicine practice in Rhode Island, providing lifelong health care, combining alternative therapies with conventional medicine, surgery and dentistry. She is trained in Acupuncture, Animal Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Chinese and Western herbal medicine, Flower Essence therapy and clinical nutrition.
Dr. Hassinger served as an elder in the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, during which time she was among the first to lecture and write on the topic of veterinarian suicide and wellness education. She has an interest in the issues involved in management of wolves and wild horses in the American West.
Louise Murray, D.V.M., DACVIM (SAIN) - Rye, NY
Dr. Murray is a graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, completing her resi- dency in veterinary internal medicine at the Animal Medical Center in NYC. She worked as Medical Director before becoming Vice President of ASPCA Animal Hospital in New York. Dr. Murray has been the recipient of multiple veterinary awards, including the American Association of Feline Practitioners Award for Outstanding Interest and Ability in Feline Medicine and Surgery. Currently, she is the Staff Internist at Katonah Bedford Veterinary Center.
She has authored the consumer guide to veterinary medicine "Vet Confidential: An Insider's Guide to Protecting Your Pet's Health” and has made television appearances including CNN American Morning, Anderson Cooper 360, and Good Morning America to help pet parents attain the information they need to be successful advocates for their animal companions.
Katy Nelson, D.V.M. - Alexandria, Virginia
Dr. Nelson graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. Her career has ranged from working for a Fortune 50 company as a technical services veterinarian, to emergency medicine, to her own media and marketing consulting business for the last 11 years.
She’s the host and executive producer of The Pet Show with Dr. Katy on Washington DC’s ABC7 News station, and is an impassioned national advocate for animal rescue.
Sarah LaMere, D.V.M., Ph.D - San Diego, CA
Having earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and her Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute, Dr. LaMere is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego.
Dr. LaMere’s current research focus is on HIV, and her interests are specifically aligned with the concept of the One Health Initiative, which seeks to form collaborations between veterinarians and the human health professions with the purpose of furthering our understanding of both animal and human health and disease. In addition to her research career, Dr. LaMere has done both international volunteer work and disaster response.