Two visions, one office

For the past year, Drs. Mary Ergen and Jennifer Quammen have traveled the country, attending various meetings as part of their respective campaigns for the office of 2025-26 AVMA president-elect. The race will be decided when the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) holds its regular annual session July 17-18 in conjunction with AVMA Convention 2025 and the 40th World Veterinary Association Congress in Washington, D.C.

In the following interviews with AVMA News, Dr. Ergen, a small animal practitioner and former practice owner as well as current member of the AVMA Board of Directors, and Dr. Quammen, chief veterinary officer for a veterinary tech company and a former AVMA vice president, explain why they’re the best fit for the office. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Dr. Ergen

Q: Why are you running for AVMA president?

A: I have been involved in organized veterinary medicine for my whole career, starting as a class officer while I was in vet school. I have enjoyed every minute of it and developed substantial leadership and communication skills as I have progressed up the ranks. But I will say that it was only about a year-and-a-half ago that I thought I was qualified to even be president of the AVMA. It is such a vast organization with so many continually moving parts that I am still learning about. After seven years in the House of Delegates and almost six years on the Board of Directors, I feel I now have the expertise and knowledge to help lead this wonderful association.

Q: What skills, qualifications, and life experiences do you bring to the office?

A: First and foremost in my life, I identify as a veterinarian. I have been a general practitioner for my whole career as an associate, a sole proprietor, a partner, and later as an employee. I understand the business aspect of running a practice and the struggles of hiring and creating a team. I know how it feels to work 36-hour shifts. I have also raised a family and been involved in my community. I know what it is like to have to work when your child is sick, or you must juggle a family event with your clinic schedule. I have been the caretaker of elderly relatives and understand the emotional drain that creates. Working with the public is an education in and of itself and I have developed a thick skin. I am much less judgmental and more open-minded than when I was younger.

Q: How do you hope to distinguish yourself as AVMA president?

A: One of my concerns is the rate of younger veterinarians leaving the profession. We all have worked so hard to get that professional degree, and it makes me sad that some people do not see themselves working as veterinarians for their whole careers. I want those people to know that using their gifts, education, and training can be valuable in so many ways other than practice.

I have always felt that my volunteer work with nonprofits and underserved communities gives me the spark I need to appreciate the opportunities open to me solely because I am a veterinarian. I would like to be sure that other veterinarians can enjoy fulfilling the needs of their communities, or the world for that matter, when it comes to aiding animal care. I would like to be remembered as the AVMA president who encouraged all veterinarians to use their gifts to serve the animal kingdom in some way.

I would also like to have full membership of every AVMA council and committee by encouraging the right people to participate.

Q: Where do you see the U.S. veterinary profession in the next five years?

A: I think most veterinarians will still be in practice, leading teams, and providing valuable services for their clients. We will still be doing research and protecting public health like we do today. What will change is how we delegate tasks to others. We will be training veterinarians to use their valuable veterinary technicians and veterinary technologists, something most of us did not learn in school. This will not be an overnight change, but as we all increase our comfort level and confidence in those with whom we share our work time with, our teams will become more efficient.

Corporations will continue to dominate the profession, but I think that smaller practices will thrive as independent, entrepreneurial veterinarians own their practices and enjoy the freedom of shaping their futures.

Q: What do you consider to be the greatest opportunity for veterinary medicine now?

A: We have a chance to become more unified in ways that not only protect our profession, but also to be confident that the nonhuman species of this world are being diagnosed and treated by the most qualified individuals: veterinarians.

Q: What about the greatest challenge?

A: When I graduated from veterinary school, there were numerous unlicensed individuals in my state vaccinating animals, performing surgery, and using antibiotics indiscriminately along with other medications. The AVMA and state VMAs have worked diligently to make sure that only qualified, licensed individuals perform those services. I see the efforts of outside influences trying to reverse all that progress. It sometimes feels like a game of whack-a-mole, and our whole membership must be involved for us to be successful.

Q: What is your message to AVMA members?

A: Let’s stick together. Who else is looking after your interests? While others work against us and want to dilute your skills, only the AVMA is working daily with federal, state, and local governments and our members to preserve and improve the quality of care we provide to our clients, patients, and the environment.

Q: And your message to the public?

A: To quote a common phrase: ‘Love your pet, see a vet.’

Q: What AVMA initiatives are you particularly excited about?

A: During my almost six years on the Board of Directors, I have worked with some outstanding leaders who love veterinary medicine like I do. My experience has been wonderful, and I think the veterinary leaders I have worked with have been excited and effective in advancing the AVMA. COVID-19 caused some setbacks, but I see improvements in AVMA’s Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates, veterinary technician initiatives, and artificial intelligence resources, and we are moving our strategic plan forward.

Q: To what do you attribute AVMA’s record-high membership numbers?

A: AVMA CEO Janet Donlin, of course, has done an outstanding job of leading her executive team and staff members to create more visibility for the AVMA. As an organization, highly publicized events have put us in the spotlight. There has been tremendous support for our efforts to preserve quality veterinary medicine and I think our members appreciate the hard work. We have outstanding Marketing and Communications and Membership teams that have done the heavy lifting, but numerous staff members and our ‘Presidential Trio’ (AVMA president, immediate past president, and president-elect) have been available 24/7 to answer questions and explain our viewpoints. I think we are meeting our members’ expectations, and they are responding positively and being extremely supportive.

Q: What do you hope your legacy as AVMA president would be?

A: I would like to be known as a good collaborator and good at figuring out someone’s strengths and seeing what others’ needs are. I get great pleasure matching the right people to solve a problem. And I would love to be the one who can say that every council and committee opening was filled under my watch.

Dr. Quammen

Q: Why are you running for AVMA president?

A: The path I’ve taken is exactly why I’m ready to lead. I’m running because I believe deeply in this profession and the mission of the AVMA. I trust the people of veterinary medicine, and believe the AVMA is ready for bold, collaborative, heart-centered leadership. Being a leader is rarely about the individual. It’s more about inspiring others to stand up for the profession and understanding that all voices are important, even the smallest.

After chairing the AVMA Council on Veterinary Service, serving on the Veterinary Economics Strategy Committee, and spending two years as AVMA vice president, I have significant knowledge of the AVMA’s governance processes. I understand how policy is created and how the strategic direction of the organization is set and managed. The years and quality of my experiences will help me hit the ground running on Day 1. I’m running. I’m ready. I’m able.

Q: What skills, qualifications, and life experiences would you bring to the office?

A: I worked as a credentialed veterinary technician prior to receiving my veterinary degree from The Ohio State University and my master’s of public health from the University of Iowa. My first job as a veterinarian was at the same practice where I had been a veterinary technician, eventually becoming medical director for this multi-location private practice. I co-founded Veterinarian Coaching to support wellbeing, stress management, and career transitions in the profession. We have trained and coached veterinary professionals on how to thrive, not just survive. Currently, I am chief veterinary officer for a startup building and scaling technology solutions for veterinary clinics and teams.

I have served at almost every level of organized veterinary medicine, including as president of the Kentucky VMA. From chairing working groups that shaped AVMA’s telemedicine guidelines to visiting dozens of vet schools as vice president, I show up, roll up my sleeves, and build relationships across the country and beyond. I believe our profession needs leaders who have seen veterinary medicine from the ground up and still believe in its future. My path may not be traditional, but it is trail tested. And every step has prepared me for the AVMA presidency.

Q: How do you hope to distinguish yourself as AVMA president?

A: I am an outgoing and energetic person, and I feel those characteristics can help bolster the AVMA president’s impact. Every AVMA president brings their own special presence to the position. For me, I will bring my strength as a curious, collaborative connector to the AVMA presidency. Throughout a year of campaigning, I have been writing about topics important to the profession and sharing much of that content via numerous social media channels. I have also been writing and sending a monthly newsletter to subscribers.

I am working on a #100AVMADays countdown series, as we are in the final 100 days until the election in July. Throughout these 100 days, I am highlighting AVMA resources, governance FAQs, volunteer opportunities, answering questions, and sharing my journey as a candidate. My intention behind this communication strategy is to give members and others a peek behind the proverbial curtain and possibly inspire others to undertake a candidacy in the future. If elected, I will continue sharing this journey.

Q: Where do you see the U.S. veterinary profession in the next five years?

A: It sounds cliche, but we are truly living at an interesting point in time. I hope we will remain united as a profession. I foresee the AVMA supporting the whole profession, including veterinarians, veterinary technicians, practice managers, and other veterinary colleagues. I see technology and artificial intelligence improving the connection between animal, owner, or producer, and veterinarian.

Q: What do you consider to be the greatest opportunity for veterinary medicine now?

A: The time to unite and speak as one voice has come. No single person can make this change, but I would be interested in the HOD discussing AVMA as a membership organization made up of more than veterinarians. What would an AVMA with credentialed veterinary technicians and practice managers look and feel like? This would require a change in the AVMA Bylaws as well as other organizational documents, which is hard. Hard, but not impossible. And we can do hard things. More and more of the organizations represented in the HOD are including nonveterinarian support staff member into their membership. If there’s groundswell from the organizations that make up the HOD, perhaps that’s an opportunity for consideration at the AVMA level, too.

Q: What about the greatest challenge?

A: The volume of information coming at people is ever-increasing in part because of information democratization; we have nearly 40% of Generation Z individuals seeking medical advice on TikTok. Gone are the days of having to battle ‘Dr. Google,’ now we have Instagram influencers and ‘Nurse TikTok’ in the mix. Add artificial intelligence to the discussion, and we could go down a rabbit hole of deep learning for a long time. My nature is to always consider the challenge as an opportunity, and in this case, we need objective rubrics for evaluating information, technologies, data privacy, cybersecurity, and myriad related issues.

Q: What is your message to AVMA members?

A: I challenge members to take a fresh look at the AVMA and invite a colleague to do the same. If you have not looked at the covers of JAVMA over the last few years, look now. If you have not looked at the composition of the HOD, maybe now is the time. The organization is changing, and I want us all to have a seat at the table. My message is to engage with the organization and invite a nonmember to take a look and consider joining, too.

Q: And your message to the public?

A: Veterinary medicine is an amazing profession. We are daughters, sons, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, and more. We are humans who love and care for animals and people. We make up a profession that is both rewarding and emotional. We are a mix of for-profit and nonprofit businesses, and we are here to help, educate, and advocate.

Q: What AVMA initiatives are you particularly excited about?

A: The Committee on Advancing Veterinary Technicians and Technologists and the Task Force on Emerging Technologies and Innovation are exciting. I am also glad that the AVMA has reaffirmed its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the veterinary profession through programs like Journey for Teams and Brave Space Certificate Program.

Q: To what do you attribute AVMA’s record-high membership numbers?

A: We have resources for veterinarians who are in the later phases of their careers as well as those in mid- to early-careers. It also helps that the AVMA has a great membership pipeline through Student AVMA chapters.

Q: What do you hope your legacy as AVMA president would be?

A: I do not think about the role of AVMA president is about me or any individual. It’s more about the role within the organization itself. We have a long history of fantastic leaders, and I am honored to be given the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before me.  My hope is that I can instill a sense of community and a culture of collegiality within the AVMA. I would love a world where the AVMA is seen as a trusted friend, a place you go to for the data and resources.

A version of this story appears in the June 2025 print issue of JAVMA

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the university where Dr. Jen Quammen received her master’s of public health degree.