William Fortney, DVM

Small Animal

Dr. William Fortney graduated from the University Of Missouri College Of Veterinary Medicine in 1974. Following graduation, he completed a Small Animal Internship and Medical Residency at Purdue University then joined the Kansas State clinical faculty. During his twenty-five plus year tenure as a veterinarian in the Kansas State Veterinary Teaching Hospital, he served two terms as the Head of Small Animal Medicine and as the Director of Community Practice. Dr. Fortney is currently an associate professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine at Kansas State University. Dr. Fortney has presented over 300 national and international lectures on small animal Geriatrics and Pediatrics and has written numerous scientific articles and book chapters on those subjects. In 1995 Dr. Fortney was selected as the Kansas "Veterinarian of the Year". He was elected the President of the Kansas VMA in 1997. For the last decade, service to the Western Veterinary Conference has been a high priority for Dr. Fortney. He has fulfilled the roles of WVC Director, WVC President, and he currently is the association’s Small Animal Program Manager. The last four years, Dr. Fortney has also been part of the WVC site Clinical Proficiency Examination team of examinations for the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates.

James Brett, DVM

Large Animal

Dr. Brett received his DVM from Mississippi State University in 1983. After graduation, Dr. Brett worked as an associate veterinarian in a private mixed-practice before opening his own food animal practice and consulting business in Montezuma, Georgia. During his time in private practice, he conducted field trials and provided advisory support for several pharmaceutical companies, and was a columnist for Dairy Herd Management magazine, focusing on dairy health and veterinary issues. In 2007, Dr. Brett returned to Mississippi State University, as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathobiology & Population Medicine, specializing in Bovine (Dairy) animals. Dr. Brett currently teaches courses in Dairy Production Medicine and Epidemiology and manages an ambulatory service for large animals. He has experience speaking at over 30 national, state, and producer meetings. He was named the Georgia Large Animal Veterinarian of the Year for 1999-2000. Dr. Brett has served on multiple committees and councils with state and national veterinary associations, livestock groups, and state agencies. He is a Past-President of the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association, an Alternate Delegate to AVMA House of Delegates (GA), and sits on the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine, where he served as Board President in 2004. In his spare time, he volunteers with local groups such as the Boy Scouts, the 4-H Club, Macon County Cattleman’s Association, and Duck’s Unlimited.

Teresa Lightfoot, DVM, DABVP

Avian & Exotics

Dr. Teresa Lightfoot received her DVM from the University of Missouri. She completed an externship at the St. Louis Zoo, and has been practicing in Florida since 1980. Dr. Lightfoot ABVP – Avian boarded and is the current ABVP president. She has served as staff veterinarian for the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary since 1987. Dr. Lightfoot served on the Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine from 1995 to 1999 and served as Chair from 1997-1999. She has authored over 100 articles on avian and exotic species and is author and editor of Clinical Avian Medicine (2006, Spix Publishing) and Exotic Pet Behavior (2006, Elsevier Publishing). She is a reviewer for the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine and Exotic DVM. She lectures frequently on avian and exotic medicine and surgery both nationally and internationally. She has arranged the avian lecture tract at the WVC for several years. Dr. Lightfoot is the recipient of several awards, including the Association of Avian Veterinarians Gold Star Award in 1998, the Florida Veterinarian of the Year award for 2000, the 2001 Exotic Veterinarian of the Year awarded to her by the International Conference on Exotics, and the Dr. Ted Lafeber Avian Practitioner of the Year Award for 2002 and the Walter M. Wolf Veterinary Community Service Award for 2009. Dr. Lightfoot has a special interest in avian systemic mycoses and avian neoplasia. Her current research includes the study of captive raising methods and their effect on psittacine behavior. Other areas of interest and clinical research include the diagnosis, medical, and surgical treatment of ferret endocrine diseases, treatment of Pasteurellosis in rabbits, and diagnosis and treatment of renal disease in iguanas.

Linda Markland, RVT

Veterinary Technician

Linda Markland has been involved with the veterinary profession for over thirty years. Her experiences are extremely diverse and broad, ranging from small animal clinical practice to corporate and educational positions. In the practical situation, Ms. Markland performed all roles within the general practice before becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician and then Hospital Manager. She graduated with honors from Orange Coast College, an AVMA accredited technician program, receiving her AS degree in Animal Health Technology. Ms. Markland’s background and experience allowed her to teach at that same AVMA accredited technician program after graduation. On the corporate side, she worked as the purchasing/operations manager for a large veterinary distributor before becoming an integral part of the Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) team. For VPI, Ms. Markland has worn many hats and most recently works within the Veterinary Services department as Senior Veterinary Education Specialist, supervising a team of Field Educators, which visit hospitals and teach about the benefits of pet insurance. She has worked for VPI for nearly 20 years. She has also run her own consulting business where she worked with pet stores, breeders, and veterinary hospitals to improve the quality of service that they provide to their clients and customers. In her spare time, Ms. Markland represents California RVT’s as the Chair of the California Veterinary Medical Association Registered Veterinary Technician Committee, and is a member of CVMA, CVMA House of Delegates, the Allied Industry Committee, SCVMA, SCVMA Allied Industry Committee, SCVMA Para Professional Association, Inland Empire Technician Association, CARVT Association, NAVTA, VHMA, VHMA Allied Industry, Florida VMA Industry Committee, and Pacific Veterinary Conference Committee where she acts as a section co-chair for the technician tract. She is also a member of VetPartners, where she is a past PR Committee Chair and is also on the Opportunities Committee and Ethics Committee. She also enjoys speaking to technicians and hospital teams on a variety of subjects including pet insurance, team building, and leadership. Ms. Markland has guest lectured at the Professional Veterinary Assistant School, teaching all levels of the program, including the alternate route program preparing veterinary technicians for eligibility to set for the RVT exam. She has served as a moderator at all of the major conferences. For fun, Ms. Markland enjoys visiting pre-schools, grammar schools, and youth organizations to discuss animals and educate children on how interesting animals are, the importance they play in our lives and to help them better understand not to fear but respect them. In middle and high schools, she enjoys discussing the many opportunities available to young people in the veterinary profession.

David McCormick, MS

Practice Management

David McCormick is a veterinary practice management teacher, speaker, and consultant with a focus on practice valuation, ownership issues, and buy-sell transaction facilitation. An experienced appraiser of veterinary practices, he operates Simmons & Associated Mid-Atlantic, LLC which is a veterinary practice sales and appraisal firm and The McCormick Consultant Group, LLC with his partner and father Dr. Larry McCormick, CVM, MBA, CBA. Mr. McCormick is involved nationally in veterinary practice management education and has recently presented and/or is scheduled to present at most of the regional and national meetings, including the AVMA, AAHA, NAVC and the Southern European Veterinary Conference. He speaks regularly at many of the veterinary schools and colleges. He is also a member of the teaching team for AAHA’s Veterinary Management School, Level 1 and their Art of Veterinary Practice, Success for Life. He has been published in state, regional and national journals and was a contributing author to Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Practice Management Consult and AAHA’s Step to Ownership. He is a Charter Member of VetPartners, formerly the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors and has served on the Board of Directors from 2001-2007 as the Secretary (2001-2003), and then through the President cycle with his being President in 2006. He has also been the chair of the Membership and Nominations Committee and he is currently a member of the Veterinary Valuation Resource Council, the Association Relations Committee and the Nominations Committee. Mr. McCormick is a member of the Institute of Business Appraisers and has completed the course of study, Valuing Closely Held Businesses, conducted by this organization. He has completed over 100 veterinary practice appraisals. As a veterinary practice transaction facilitator, he hold active real estate salespersons licenses in the states of MD, NJ, PA and VA with pending licenses for DE and WV. He is a member of the National Association of Realtors.

Steven M. Fox, MS, DVM, MBA, PhD

Symposia

Dr. Fox received his M.S. and veterinary medical degrees from the University of Illinois, and M.B.A. (entrepreneurialism and new ventures) and Ph.D. (pain management) degrees from Massey University in New Zealand. Dr. Fox served on the faculty of the veterinary teaching hospital at Mississippi State University, as product manager at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, senior lecturer in companion animal orthopedic surgery at Massey University, senior veterinary specialist at Pfizer Animal Health, and Director of Pain Management at Novartis Animal Health. Prior to his career in veterinary medicine, Dr. Fox graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, and flew more than 300 combat missions as a naval aviator in Vietnam while serving concurrently as Officer of the Deck aboard the USS Enterprise. He enjoys dual U.S. and New Zealand citizenship, is a certified small animal surgical specialist in New Zealand, president of the Veterinary Orthopedic society for 2004, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, advisor to the University of Tennessee Pain Center, founding member of the Companion Animal Pain Management Consortium Leadership Council and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management. Dr. Fox has authored more than 80 professional publications, 2 textbooks, 5 textbook chapters and 2 interactive CD/DVDs.