Our Award-Winning Team
When we need to describe Animal Fix Clinic in just a few words, we say that we deliver high quality veterinary care to all, regardless of ability to pay. Maybe it’s time for us to change our tagline, because the care our team delivers isn’t just “high quality”, it’s award winning!
In May, four exceptional members of our team received awards and honors for the work they do with us and our community at large.
The Banfield Foundation Field Clinic Travel Scholarship is awarded in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States’ Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) program. This first-of-its-kind program provides travel scholarships for veterinary technicians participating in RAVS field teaching clinics.
For more than two decades, the RAVS program has worked to expand access to veterinary care in underserved rural communities where poverty and geographic isolation make regular animal health services unavailable. They care for animals and people who don’t have a lot of options for veterinary care: a mission aligned with our own!
RAVS clinics provide intensive, highly mentored hands-on experience for hundreds of veterinary and veterinary technician students and professionals each year, but only a small group is selected for the Banfield Foundation Travel Scholarship.
This year, one of these scholarships was awarded to Vanessa Rivera. Vanessa has been a Veterinary Technician at Animal Fix Clinic since 2020. Vanessa jumped right in when she joined, bringing home a kitten to bottle feed. While bottle baby feeding is not something we do at AFC, Vanessa volunteered her own time to do so, and that tiny kitten is now her 2-year-old cat Jack.
We’re so proud to have Vanessa as part of our team and are thrilled to support your continued growth!
The HSUS Animal Care Expo DEI Trailblazer Award recognizes the unsung heroes in animal protection who are breaking barriers and forging new paths toward a more equitable and inclusive animal protection movement. The DEI Trailblazer Award recipients are animal welfare professionals who represent, work alongside and serve historically marginalized and underserved communities to provide equitable access to animal care support services.
This award is designed to recognize individuals from around the country who have demonstrated a passion for protecting animals while increasing the representation of racial and ethnic minorities, women, men, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. One of the winners this year was our very own Lety Lopez.
Lety has worked in the veterinary field for 20 years, and at Animal Fix Clinic since 2017, where she champions access to care for the communities we serve.
Both pet and people equity are extremely important to Lety: “As someone who can relate to many of our clients, I have witnessed and experienced the different treatment clients get when they might not have the money to help their pet. I believe that by promoting and helping clients get access to affordable veterinary care and resources, we can contribute to reducing the number of animals suffering from preventable illnesses or having to euthanize their pet because of cost.”
Our clients (both human and animal!) are so lucky to have Lety advocating on their behalf, and we are extremely lucky to have her on our staff.
Petco Love is dedicated to helping alleviate the shortage of veterinary care professionals in their partner organizations. As such, they are pleased to have established an RVT scholarship fund at Penn Foster for designees of qualified animal welfare nonprofit 501c3 organizations to earn their Veterinary Technician associate degree from Penn Foster. This AVMA-CVTEA-accredited, online program takes on average, four years to complete and is designed for students who work full-time jobs concurrently. Upon graduation, students will be well prepared to take the Veterinary Technician National Exam. This is an incredible opportunity to give a valued team member a step up in their career while expanding access to care.
Chiara was awarded this scholarship, and we could not be more excited! When she started at Animal Fix Clinic in early 2022, she was brand new to the world of high-volume/high-quality spay neuter. She had been a pastry chef in her prior life, but her love for animals, especially cats (she has three), projected her to AFC, becoming a valuable member of our team. What a change! We are so proud of her for getting the scholarship and look forward to watching her grow and learn as she works toward becoming an RVT.
Last but not in any sense least, Robin Post, our Director of Clinic Operations, adds another recognition to her long list of industry accolades. At this year’s Animal Care Expo, Robin received a surprise HSUS Access To Care Visionary Award. This award recognizes the significant contribution of one veterinary professional who has been innovative in their thinking, committed in their actions and inspirational to the profession.
In the words of Windi Wodjak, Director of Rural Area Veterinary Services - RAVS: “Robin has dedicated her career to expanding access to veterinary care in a variety of settings. She is a long-time HSVMA member and has participated in more than 30 RAVS field clinics.
She has been a driving force in the evolution and expansion of the Animal Fix Clinic (AFC) and the organization’s work to provide access to high quality surgical services to all who need it. She recognizes the barriers many caregivers face in seeking care for their pets and does all that she can to support families and to foster the bond between animals and their people.
Robin is an outstanding leader and an inspiring mentor who works to empower and fully engage every member of the team. Over the past decade, hundreds of veterinary professionals and students have benefited from her supportive mentorship and been influenced by her model of exceptional care.
Her knowledge and commitment to professional development and accessible veterinary care are rooted in a deep compassion and proactive support of the human animal bond that make Robin a truly special and uniquely impactful veterinary professional. From small kindnesses with a patient or client, to the daily support and inspiration she offers her team, to the big picture mission of accessible care she strives for and teaches, Robin makes our profession and the world a better place."
Robin joined Animal Fix Clinic in 2017, transforming it into the organization it is today. We are continuously inspired by Robin’s warm manner, empathetic approach, and incredible creativity. We are so grateful to serve the organization that supports her continued work towards fulfilling our mission.
