Teller, Bishop elected to AVMA Board of Directors

Will be first to serve shorter board term
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The AVMA has announced that Drs. Lori M. Teller and George W. Bishop will be the next representatives from districts VIII and X, respectively, to the AVMA Board of Directors. The sole candidates for their seats, they will begin their board service this July.

Drs. Teller and Bishop are the first BOD members to serve four-year rather than six-year terms, as a result of a recent AVMA Bylaws amendment (see JAVMA, Sept. 15, 2014).

Dr. Teller
Dr. Lori M. Teller
Dr. Bishop
Dr. George W. Bishop

Nominated by the Texas VMA to the AVMA Board, Dr. Teller will succeed Dr. Chip Price as the board representative for AVMA members living in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Dr. Bishop was nominated by the California VMA to succeed Dr. Ted Trimmer as the representative for AVMA members in California, Hawaii, and Nevada.

Dr. Teller is a graduate of the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and a diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Canine and Feline Practice. She has worked at a companion animal practice in Houston since receiving her DVM degree in 1990.

Highly active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Teller is a past president of both the Harris County, Texas, and Texas VMAs, and has served on several TVMA committees and task forces. Additionally, as a trustee for the TVMA’s Veterinary PAC, she helps raise awareness and funds for political causes important to veterinary medicine in Texas.

With the AVMA, Dr. Teller is the alternate delegate for Texas to the House of Delegates, chair of the Governance Performance Review Committee, and a member of the Animal Welfare Committee. She previously served on the AVMA Task Force on Governance and Membership Participation and the Governance Engagement Team.

Dr. Teller is also the chair of the Board of Certification for the American Society of Veterinary Journalists and is a founding board member of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative. Veterinary Practice News named her one of “14 Veterinarians to Watch in 2014,” and she hosts a monthly radio spot on Houston public radio highlighting the importance of veterinary care for dogs and cats.

Dr. Teller says education is the primary reason for her participation in organized veterinary medicine. “I have a particular passion for public education and awareness so the public has a much better understanding of what veterinarians are doing,” she said. “While this certainly includes what small animal private practitioners do, it also encompasses public education on a much wider scale, including education in areas such as agriculture and food production, public health and safety, wildlife and environmental issues, policy development, welfare, and biomedical research.

“Because our professional opportunities and career choices can be so diverse, the public frequently does not appreciate all that we do and are capable of doing. Veterinarians in general, and veterinary medical associations overall, do not do enough to toot our own horns and make others aware of how we make the community as a whole a happier, healthier place to live and thrive. Educating the general public also includes educating our legislators and regulators on the impact current laws and proposed legislation may have on the profession.”

Dr. Bishop is also a familiar face within the AVMA. He has represented California in the House of Delegates since 1997 and was the House Advisory Committee chair in 2011. Additionally, Dr. Bishop has served on the AVMA Legislative Advisory Committee and the Political Action Committee Policy Board, and he was a board member and treasurer of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.

With the California VMA, Dr. Bishop has served on a number of committees and task forces addressing topics as varied as animal dentistry, veterinary drugs and vaccines, generational differences, and dog and cat overpopulation. He was the CVMA president from 1994-1995 and is currently chairman of the association’s Finance Committee. In 1999, Dr. Bishop became the first nonfaculty veterinarian to serve on the admissions committee of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, a position he held until 2001.

A 1965 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Bishop is currently a companion animal practitioner in Carmel, California. Involvement in organized veterinary medicine has been an interest of Dr. Bishop’s since his time as president of the student chapter of the AVMA at OSU.

“Accountability, responsibility, and fiscal stability are paramount to maintaining the AVMA’s credibility, value, and role in the future of the veterinary profession and its service to the membership,” Dr. Bishop said. “Advocacy is the major interest I have in being involved. Not just legislative advocacy but advocacy for veterinary medicine and the general membership. Financial security and fiscal responsibility are also continued areas of interest. Developing nondues revenue for the AVMA and thus reducing dues dependency is an activity I wish to pursue.

“Communication and transparency are of great importance to maintain AVMA’s accountability. These are ongoing activities for AVMA, and I would encourage their expansion. The ongoing changing academic landscape is also an activity in which the AVMA needs to be knowledgeable and advisory.”