Red Wolf Leadership Conference
February 28 - March 1, 2025
The NCSU VBMA will be hosting its 17th Annual Red Wolfpack Leadership Conference on
Friday February 28th and Saturday March 1st. This student-led event provides an invaluable opportunity for students, faculty, local practitioners, and practice managers to learn and build community. This year, the conference theme is “Accessibility, Affordability, and Mental Health: The Union.” Our vision is to draw the connection between accessibility and affordability of services, and bring a unique perspective on the impact on the Veterinary Medicine community’s mental health. Overall, we would like to discuss how we as a community can identify potential problems and create a space to collaborate for the wellbeing of our own, owners, and pets alike.
The program for this year’s Red Wolf Leadership Conference is entitled “Accessibility, Affordability, and Mental Health: The Union.”
This program provides 4 hours of veterinary continuing education credit in jurisdictions that recognize AAVSB RACE approval.
This program is in person only
Schedule
| Friday, February 28, 2025 | |
| 6:00PM | Event Registration / Social |
| 6:30PM | Welcome Announcements |
| 7:30PM | Keynote Address- Dr. Michael Blackwell: Equitable Care in Action: How AlignCare’s One Health Model Expands Access to Veterinary Services |
| 8:30 PM | Closing Announcements for the Evening |
| Saturday, March 1, 2025 | |
| 8:00AM | Registration / Breakfast |
| 8:45AM | Announcements |
| 9:00AM | Navigating the Challenges of the Veterinary Profession Without Sacrificing Your Mental Health. and Wellbeing. Dr. Quincy Hawley |
| 9:50AM | Break |
| 10:00AM | DEGA Mobile Veterinary Care: Determined for Everyone to Gain Access to Veterinary Care. Dr. April Gessner |
| 10:50AM | Break |
| 11:00AM | A Values Based Approach to Creating a Sustainable Veterinary Practice Focused on Providing Accessible Care. Dr. Rebecca Maher |
| 12:00PM | Lunch & Professional Headshots Slots |
| 1:45PM | Workshop: Imani O'Connor |
| 2:50 PM | Closing Announcements |
Speakers
| Michael J Blackwell, DVM, MPH Director, Program for Pet Health Equity; University of Tennessee  | Michael Blackwell, DVM currently serves as the Director of the Program for Pet Health Equity, Center for Behavioral Health Research, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His mission is to improve access to veterinary care, especially for families with limited means. He chairs the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition. The Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE) exists to improve access to veterinary care for pets and their families not adequately served by the current system. We promote and facilitate national collaborations and public policy development, to remove barriers to veterinary care. Our activities include education, community service, and social and public health research. PPHE is developing AlignCare, the first One Health healthcare system that addresses the needs of people, their pets, and their ecosystem, which is largely defined by socioeconomics. We connect families with veterinary service providers, while leveraging community resources and activities |
| April Gessner, DVM Founder & Director, DEGA Mobile Veterinary Care  | Dr. April Gessner, The founder of DEGA Mobile Veterinary Care, Dr. April Gessner, is passionate about doing veterinary volunteer work and has volunteered in several impoverished countries in Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. While in veterinary school, she started an organization on the island of St Kitts so that students could gain hands-on experience while also helping the less fortunate with their pets. She was recently awarded the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Ross University for her international volunteer work. Dr. Gessner decided to start DEGA Mobile Veterinary Care so that she could help pets on a more local level just as she has done internationally. |
| Quincy Hawley, DVM Get MotiVETed, Co-founder, Speaker, Professional Life Coach  | Practicing veterinary medicine and educating veterinary professionals about personal and professional wellbeing are my life’s two biggest purposes. After graduating from NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013, I took on a job as an associate veterinarian for a very busy small animal practice. I did many surgeries and saw many different types of cases. More importantly, I found that I enjoyed working with the people (my coworkers and clients) just as much as I enjoyed working with the animals. However, as a new graduate, I didn’t have much wellbeing training, and I didn’t have any healthy tools, strategies, or resources to cope with the high caseload (30-35 cases/day) and associated stress. I very quickly experienced burnout, but I was fortunate enough to learn of wellbeing solutions and strategies through the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference in 2016. I became passionate about the subject instantly, which propelled me to complete countless hours of self-study, overcome my burnout, get certified as a life coach, and to start my own veterinary wellbeing company in 2018. Combining my love of wellbeing and my love of working with people led me to the creation of Get MotiVETed. Since starting Get MotiVETed LLC: Veterinary Wellbeing Solutions, I have spoken on the subject of wellbeing at many veterinary and pre-veterinary schools, major veterinary conferences, and in veterinary hospitals/organizations across the nation. I have also consulted practice managers/hospital leaders, and I have coached various veterinary professionals who needed wellbeing support. I have given a 4-credit hour continuing education seminar that was approved by the NC Veterinary Medical Board in 4 of the largest cities in NC. Most recently and notably, Get MotiVETed now offers 12-Hours of RACE-approved content at the Get MotiVETed University: School of Wellbeing for Veterinary Professionals online platform. It is with honor that I apply to have the privilege to teach the subject of wellbeing at your event. |
| Rebecca S. Maher, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. Head of Family & Community Services. NC State Veterinary Hospital  |
Registration
Registration includes:
- 4 hours RACE approved Veterinary Continuing Education Credit
- Friday evening Social
- Saturday breakfast and lunch
Registration fees:
- Current VBMA Students – Free
- Non-VBMA Students – $25
- VBMA Alumni – $100
- DVM, Veterinary Technicians, Practice Managers – $125