Bradley wins Board race

Dr. Karen Bradley (Georgia ’96) of Vermont will represent New England and New York veterinarians on the AVMA Board of Directors starting in August.

She is a co-owner of Onion River Animal Hospital in Vermont and a former member of the AVMA House of Delegates. She ran against Dr. Arnold Goldman (Florida ’86), who owns Canton Animal Hospital in Connecticut and is his state’s alternate delegate to the AVMA.

Dr. Bradley will replace Dr. John de Jong, the board chair, as the District I representative for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Dr. Bradley expressed thanks for the trust of those who voted for her and those who had encouraged her to run for the position.

“I look forward to being in communication back and forth with them during this journey,” she said.

The AVMA is acting in new and exciting directions, with more strategic focus on members in its work, Dr. Bradley said. She wants being an AVMA member to become more meaningful.

She thinks most members lack passion about the Association, and a typical member may have joined without thinking about why or to simply access liability insurance.

“We need more of them to care about and want to know what’s going on with AVMA on a much more frequent basis, even if it’s just in the part of the AVMA they care about, whether it’s animal welfare issues or political issues or the student debt issue,” she said.

Dr. Bradley is a co-founder of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative, a former executive board member for the Vermont VMA, and a chair of committees for the AVMA and Vermont VMA. She also has volunteered in schools and an animal shelter in Vermont.