American Association of Food Safety & Public Health Veterinarians

AAFSPHV Governing Board 

 Officers

Pamela Abney, President 

Dr. Pamela Abney has had four major career paths as a veterinarian including private clinical practice, non-governmental organization work with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in DC, government work with USDA in the Jackson District, and corporate work as Director of Food Safety for a privately held poultry company in Delaware. Pam received her D.V.M. from Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After working in veterinary practice for 13 years, she joined AVMA’s Governmental Relations Division in Washington, DC. Abney then joined USDA/FSIS. After over 13 years with USDA, Abney retired from government and moved into her fourth career as Corporate Director of Food Safety for Mountaire Farms Inc.

Dr. Jane Lewis,
President Elect

Dr. Jane Lewis has 30 years of experience in veterinary medicine, including 17 years of government service.  It has provided her with multiple perspectives on the intersection of food safety and public health, from animal health and pre-harvest food safety at the farm level, to food safety at the processing plant, to advising producers and state officials on investigation and response to food-borne pathogens detected in consumer-ready product. She also has teaching experience and an MS in Food Safety.


Angela Demaree, Past-President

 
Dr. Angela Demaree earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Purdue University‘s College of Veterinary Medicine and a Master of Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the University of Southern California‘s Keck School of Medicine. She recently retired as a Major in the United States Army Reserve and has spent her career in companion animal, equine and regulatory medicine.
 
She currently serves as the President-Elect for both the American Association of Food Safety and Public Health Veterinarians and the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine's Alumni Board. She is also a member of the Indiana Animal Health Foundation Board and active in her state and local veterinary medical associations. She spends her free time with her horse, Tommy.
 


Carie (Catherine) Alexander, 
Recording Secretary

Carie (Catherine) Alexander is a Risk Analyst on the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine's Secure Food Systems Team, researching the risk of animal movements (currently fish, swine, and poultry) in a foreign animal disease outbreak. After graduating with her DVM degree from Colorado State University, she practiced small animal medicine for many years before receiving a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota and diplomacy in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. She has 3 grown children and lives with her husband and two dogs in Minnesota, where they tend their BeeOtch Honey apiary. 


Kelly Vest,
Treasurer

Dr. Kelly G. Vest received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Oklahoma State University
(1987) and his Master of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (1994). Later, he completed his Doctor of Public Health degree in epidemiology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS; 2003).


Over 35 years, Dr. Vest dedicated his efforts to veterinary and infectious disease epidemiology, public
health, disease surveillance, food safety, food defense, One Health, and research of military relevance. He served 20 years in the US Army Veterinary Corps. He is a Past President of the American Association of Food Safety and Public Health Veterinarians and is presently serving as Treasurer. Dr. Vest joined the HACCP Consulting Group in October 2016 and is serving as a Vice President and is a registered HACCP and Safe Quality Food Trainer. His experience is with Dairy (fluid, cheese, powdered); Storage and Distribution; Bakery; Bottled water; Ice; Packaging; and agricultural products.

Board of Directors


Dr. Heather Brake
Representative, Uniformed Services

CDR Heather Brake, MS DVM, DACVPM is with the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and serves in the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the CDC..  She is also in a PhD program at Michigan State University where her research is focused on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).   CDR Bair-Brake received veterinary degree from Michigan State University. She lives in Tucker, GA with her two boys, two cats, dog, and numerous fish.  


Kristen Clark, Representative,
AVMA HOD 

Dr. Kristen Clark holds her BS in Zoology and DVM from Iowa State University, her MPH from the University of Minnesota, and is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. In addition to working in private practice, she previously served as the State of Iowa’s enteric disease epidemiologist and coordinator for food and feed emergencies. She then served in a variety of roles at Iowa State University, including most recently as the University’s Public Health Coordinator where she oversaw campus public health operations. In 2023, she began serving in her current role as the Director of the Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative with the Minnesota Department of Health.


Erica Tramuta-Drobnis, Representative,
Private/Corporate Practice

Dr. Erica Tramuta-Drobnis graduated from the U. of PA in 2005 with a VMD and from U. of Florida in 2019 with an MPH. She is Certified in Public Health. While a part-time small animal emergency veterinarian, her main focus is with ELTD One Health Consulting, LLC. She provides One Health services through writing, research, education, and consultation. She has 28 years of disaster preparedness and response training and a special interest in antimicrobial stewardship and AMR. She feels veterinarians are ideally suited for the One Health niche and hopes to make her mark in the field. She enjoys engaging with leadership and teaching others. She hopes to learn from the organization, its board, and its members how to improve my ability to ensure veterinarians remain at the forefront of One Health research, education, planning, and prevention efforts. 

Catherine Rockwell, Representative, At Large

CDR Catherine Rockwell is a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officer and

serves as a Senior Public Health Advisor in the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s

(FSIS) Office of Public Health Science (OPHS), Applied Epidemiology Staff in Washington,

D.C.. CDR Rockwell has served in a number of food safety roles in FSIS over the past 19 years,

including field operations, training, policy, epidemiology and science. She currently works on

various agency initiatives and collaborative public health partnerships, including the National

Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) and the U.S. National Residue Program.

CDR Rockwell applies a One Health approach and utilizes multi-disciplinary expertise and

resources to promote and improve human, animal, and environmental health.

CDR Rockwell received her veterinary degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master in

Public Health degree from the University of Iowa and is a Diplomate of the American College of

Veterinary Preventive Medicine. Prior to joining the USPHS and FSIS, CDR Rockwell was a

clinical veterinarian in private veterinary practice for over 12 years.

Laura Rothfeldt, Representative, State and Local Government

Dr. Laura Rothfeldt joined the Arkansas Department of Health in 2018 as the State Public
Health Veterinarian and served on the Executive Board of the National Association of State
Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV), including as NASPHV President during 2020-
2021. Her focus is on zoonotic disease surveillance and outreach for the state of Arkansas,
including rabies prevention and education, vector-borne disease epidemiology, and
emerging infectious disease response. Laura retired as a Major from the U.S. Army
Veterinary Corps, (2003-2018) after having served at various sites around the world,
including Arkansas as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic
Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer. In 2008, Laura became a Diplomate of the American
College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. Prior to commissioning in the military, she
practiced as a mixed animal veterinarian in rural Oklahoma. Laura graduated from
Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences in 1996 and a
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2000.

Janine Calabro, Representative,
At Large

Dr. Calabro earned her DVM from Tufts-Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.  She
completed a rotating internship at the ASPCA Animal Hospital (NYC) and a residency in
emergency & critical care medicine at the Animal Medical Center (NYC), culminating in board certification from the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care.  After she
completed her training, she moved to Washington, DC, where she has worked for several years
as an E/CC specialist.  She ran a large rotating internship program and led the busy E/CC
department at a large specialty hospital in DC for over a decade.  She is currently a medical
director for Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG).  She has been active with DCVMA for most of
her years in DC, and recently served as their president.  She shares a home just outside of the
District with her husband, son, cats, fish tanks, and lots of plants.


Will Sander, Representative Education/Research/Extension

Dr. Sander is assistant professor for preventive medicine and public health and director of the DVM/MPH joint degree program at University of Illinois – College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to Illinois, he spent 6 years in Washington D.C. During that time, he spent 2 years at the U.S. EPA Office of Water as an AAAS Science and Technology Fellow and 3 years supporting the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Cooperative Biological Engagement Program. Additionally, he was a staff veterinarian for 5 years at City Wildlife, Washington D.C.’s only wildlife rehabilitation center, and practice for 4 years at VCA small animal practices. He’s a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and serves on their Executive Board. Additionally, he is the alternate Delegate for Illinois to the AVMA House of Delegates. He is a 2009 graduate of University of Wisconsin College of Veterinary Medicine and received a MPH from Yale University in 2011.

John Sanders, Representative
Federal (Civilian)

Dr. John P. Sanders Jr. graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1985 and earned his ACVPM diplomate status in 2003. His federal career began with the USDA in 1987, holding roles in the Food Safety Inspection and Animal and Plant Health Services. In 1999, he joined HHS FDA, later moving to DHS in 2007, where he currently supports food, agriculture, and veterinary defense in the Office of Health Security. He is a strong advocate for One Health and public health, Dr. Sanders is active in the NAFV, AVMA, and APHA, holding leadership roles including NAFV Secretary/Treasurer and chairing AVMA and USAHA committees. Recognized for contributions to veterinary health, he has received the ACVPM Distinguished Diplomat Award in 2016 and Helwig Jenning Award (2006).