AVMA announces inaugural class of future leaders St. Louis, Missouri — At its annual convention in St. Louis, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) officially launched its new Future Leaders Program by announcing the 10 veterinarians who will take part in the program during its inaugural year.
The year-long Future Leaders Program, created by the AVMA with support from Pfizer Animal Health, will develop volunteer leaders for the AVMA and other organized veterinary groups, with the goal of helping participants develop leadership and problem-solving skills related to organized veterinary medicine.
The 10 participants were selected from more than 70 AVMA member nominees who had graduated from veterinary school within the last 15 years.
"It was very difficult to limit this program to just 10 participants because the qualifications and enthusiasm of each and every nominee were so outstanding," said Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief executive officer of the AVMA. "Many of these individuals have already shown exemplary leadership skills at the local and state levels. This program—and their participation in it—will help shape the future of veterinary medicine."
"At Pfizer Animal Health, we believe that lifelong preparation and education are key to the sustainable success of the veterinary profession," said Dr. Mike McFarland, group director of veterinary medical services at Pfizer. "By selecting candidates with strong leadership attributes, who are already influential among their peers, and developing them into stronger leaders earlier, the Future Leaders Program meets some of the key requirements for the future of veterinary medicine: Diverse, strong, knowledgeable and business savvy leaders and practitioners, with the best interest of their patients and their profession at heart."
Working with a professional facilitator, participants will be provided with leadership and project management training. As part of the year-long program, they will develop new leadership skills while at the same time collaborate on a project to provide the AVMA with suggested solutions to help increase the leadership skills of veterinarians nationwide. The project results will be presented at the 2012 AVMA Convention in San Diego.
The participants will also be asked to identify ways to communicate their progress with the wider veterinary profession, so that veterinarians who were not able to participate this year can "follow" the program over the course of the year.
The following individuals were selected for AVMA's 2011-2012 Future Leaders Program:
 Dr. Melissa Austin-Gundel
Kansas City, Mo.
Companion animal practice
 Dr. Abigail Bowers
Eldridge, Iowa
Mixed animal practice
 Dr. Dustin M. Brown
Midwest City, Okla.
Companion animal practice
 Dr. Erin Casey
Washington, D.C.
Companion animal practice
 Dr. John T. Feutz
Princeton, Ind.
Mixed animal practice
 Dr. Christopher Gargamelli
Durham, Conn.
Companion animal emergency practice
 Dr. Micah Kohles
Lincoln, Neb.
Industry
 Dr. Shannon Mesenhowski
Minneapolis, Minn.
Companion animal practice
 Dr. Elizabeth Nunamaker
Chicago, Ill.
Laboratory animal medicine
 Dr. Libby Todd
Birmingham, Ala.
Companion animal practice
For more information on AVMA's Future Leaders Program, or to arrange interviews with any of the participants, contact Michael San Filippo, media relations assistant, at 847-285-6687 (office) or 847-732-6194 (cell).
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The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 81,500 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities. For more information, visit www.avma.org.
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