AVMA names 2016-2017 congressional fellows

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Dr. Chatfield
Dr. Jenifer Chatfield
Dr. Shivley
Dr. Chelsey Shivley
Dr. Winkleman
Dr. Taylor Winkleman

The AVMA this summer announced the veterinarians selected for the 2016-2017 AVMA Fellowship Program.

Beginning in August, Drs. Jenifer Chatfield of Dade City, Florida; Chelsey Shivley from Fort Collins, Colorado; and Taylor Winkleman from Soquel, California, will work for a year in Washington, D.C., as scientific advisers to members of Congress, helping shape federal policy on issues impacting animal and public health.

The fellows will serve as full-time staff in a congressional office or on a congressional committee, advising policymakers on a wide range of issues such as food safety, public health, animal welfare, research, and small business.

In September, the fellows will interview with congressional offices and committee staff to receive their yearlong placements. Once placed, they will support the activities of that office full time. AVMA fellows are not Association employees or lobbyists.

The 2016-2017 fellows were selected from 13 applicants through a three-phase, competitive process. The AVMA fellowship program is sponsored through the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which works to place qualified scientific experts in congressional offices. To date, more than 60 veterinarians have participated in the AVMA Fellowship Program.

A board-certified zoo veterinarian, Dr. Chatfield is staff veterinarian at 4J Conservation Center in Dade City and an instructor on agroterrorism response for the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Originally from Texas, she graduated with a DVM degree from Texas A&M University in 2001.

Dr. Chatfield has pursued both emergency medicine and zoo medicine throughout her career. She has completed fieldwork in Madagascar and South America and has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine for the past 10 years. Dr. Chatfield was the Florida Department of Health’s zoonotic and vector-borne disease program veterinary and agricultural liaison for several years and continues to be heavily involved in public health efforts as a Medical Reserve Corps member.

She currently chairs the Florida VMA’s Public Health Committee and co-chairs the FVMA’s Disaster Response Committee.

Originally from Battle Creek, Michigan, Dr. Shivley is a 2012 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is passionate about animal welfare, including the science and ethics of animal use. She recently completed her doctorate in animal behavior and welfare at Colorado State University, working with animal science professor Temple Grandin, PhD, on veterinary education regarding animal welfare and the welfare of dairy cattle. Part of her doctoral work has been with the Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System Dairy 2014 study.

She is working toward board certification in the American College of Animal Welfare. As a veterinary student, she served as an extern with the AVMA Governmental Relations Division and Animal Welfare Division. She has been involved with the Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging/Assessment Contest for 10 years as a competitor, volunteer, and, most recently, founder and coach of the CSU team.

Dr. Winkleman is originally from Soquel, California. A member of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine class of 2015, she completed the dual-degree program, earning a DVM degree and Master of Public Health with an emphasis on policy. She recently returned from Uganda, where she worked on zoonotic disease surveillance with Veterinarians Without Borders, and New Zealand, where she did Escherichia coli research with the Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory at the Hopkirk Research Institute.

She is an active member of the Next Generation Global Health Security Leaders and the Global Health Security Agenda Steering Committee. Her professional interests include international development, zoonotic disease prevention, economics, and one health.

The AVMA Fellowship Program is made possible in part by a donation from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.