AVMA selects 2019-2020 congressional fellow
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is pleased to announce the selection of veterinarian Dr. Deborah Thomson for the highly competitive 2019-2020 AVMA Fellowship Program.
During her tenure as an AVMA fellow, Dr. Thomson will spend one year in Washington, D.C. as a full-time member of staff for a congressional office or congressional committee. Dr. Thomson will use her veterinary expertise to provide guidance on policy issues such as food safety, public health, animal welfare, research and small business policies.
Dr. Thomson is an experienced veterinary practitioner who has worked most recently as a small animal relief veterinarian in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has also performed extensive volunteer work, including serving as a head veterinarian for the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps during the 2018 Camp Fire. During this period, she was responsible for the care of more than 300 animals per day and supervised up to 20 volunteers per day.
Additionally, Dr. Thomson has worked as a volunteer surgeon for exotic animals at Foothill College Veterinary Technology Program, provided complimentary veterinary care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness through VET SOS in San Francisco, taught future veterinarians from the University of California-Davis and abroad, and volunteered with Rural Area Veterinary Services to provide veterinary care to multiple Apache reservations in Arizona.
She is also committed to providing public education on One Health—the multi-disciplinary collaboration of health professionals to promote the interconnected health of animals, people and their shared environment—and has created One Health lesson plans for grade school students in the Bay Area community and abroad.
Dr. Thomson received Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Science degrees from McGill University. Dr. Thomson received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and Certificate in International Veterinary Medicine from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in 2012.
This September, Dr. Thomson will interview with congressional offices to receive her year-long placement. Once placed, she will support the activities of that office full-time.
The AVMA is the nation's leading representative of the veterinary profession, speaking for more than 100,000 member veterinarians across the United States who care passionately about protecting animal health, animal welfare and human health. Informed by its members' unique scientific training and knowledge, the AVMA advocates for policies that advance the practice of veterinary medicine and support the crucial work of veterinarians nationwide.