| Advancing RVT Professionals through Education, Science |
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CaRVTA Board of Directors |
 President Patricia Zehna, RVT Patty started her career in veterinary medicine in 1992 as a veterinary assistant at Guide Dogs for the Blind. She gained her RVT in 2002 and has worked in emergency and critical care, surgery and anesthesia, dermatology, general practice, practice management, and training; mostly in small animal medicine. She became an adjunct faculty at Central Coast College in Salinas, CA in August 2014 when a veterinary assistant program was introduced. In 2018, after returning from training a team in Hawai'i, she joined a local emergency practice as an ICU technician and rejoined the college as an adjunct faculty member. Central Coast College moved forward to a fully AVMA-accredited veterinary technology program in 2015 and Patty teaches in the final year of the program. She has been full-time faculty at Central Coast College since March 2020.  Treasurer Philip Snow, RVT Philip Snow is a Registered Veterinary Technician who co-founded OC Veterinary Assistant School in 2016 where he currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Secretary. Along with management duties, he also teaches introductory and advanced classes for the school, as well as performing the duties of Externship Coordinator. He originally began working in the veterinary industry in 2002. In 2008, after passing both the California and VTNE Board Exams, he became a Registered Veterinary Technician. He began teaching shortly after obtaining his RVT License and has been teaching full time since 2013, where he has been working in that capacity since. His experience in veterinary clinics come mostly from Canyon Animal Hospital in Laguna Beach where he worked under the direction of Dr. John Hamil and Dr. Gershon Alaluf. After working for a decade in the veterinary clinics, he went on to become the Senior Trainer in the Claims Department for what was then Veterinary Pet Insurance, and is now Nationwide Insurance. Philip considers himself a family man, a life-time student, a veterinary professional dedicated to the betterment of the industry, and an advocate for the advancements for Registered Veterinary Technicians. His interests in veterinary medicine include, surgery, anesthesia, dentistry, and theriogenology. He currently lives in Rancho Santa Margarita with his wife, two children, and their bloodhound, Frankie. He also enjoys taking classes at the local college, golfing, spending time with his family, and watching his son play baseball.
Secretary Deborah Calantropio-Covington, BA, RVT, rLATG, VTS-LAM (Research Clinical Nursing) I have been a Registered Veterinary Technician ( RVT) in California since 2006 working at small animal practices and emergency clinics in the South Bay Area. In 2012 I started at a research CRO in Menlo Park working with rodents, guinea pigs, rabbits , non-human primates, swine and dogs and beginning my career in Lab Animal medicine. I have been working for Bristol Myers-Squibb since 2017 assisting with the care and study work of animals in the field of oncology and immunology. Because I enjoy day practice ( who doesn’t love healthy puppy exams?) I have stayed on as a relief tech at VCA in Los Gatos since 2012 with a great team of doctors and staff. I have obtained my certification as a Lab Animal Technologist ( LATG) in 2014 as well as my VTS-LAM (Research Clinical Nursing) in 2017 and am also the Research Representative for the CVMA Veterinary Technician Board. My passion has always been the welfare of animals in my care, be it in a hospital or a research facility, and I am committed to advancing not only welfare standards but the careers of professionals involved in animal care. I am excited about the upcoming changes to the Veterinary Technician field and look forward to continuing to advance our job roles in the coming years. In my spare time I enjoy belly dancing with my award winning troupe , Raks Haniah ( the Dancers of Happiness) throughout the Bay Area and spending time with my husband , Joseph, and our Direwolf/Chow mix , Lazarus. ( And watching the Mandalorian….# BabyYoda).
Director Stephen Niño Cital RVT, RLAT, SRA, CVPP, VTS- LAM (Res. Anesthesia) Stephen Niño Cital is a multi-credentialed veterinary technician specialist with a passion for anesthesia, pain management, and cannabinoid medicine. He has authored numerous articles and contributed to several textbooks; including acting as the lead editor for the first cannabinoid medicine textbook. He has many exciting professional highlights but some of his favorite include being part the scientific team that discovered acidic cannabinoid forms are absorbed more efficiently than decarboxylated forms, discovered a common drug used in anesthesia causes a serious complication known as methemoglobinemia in monkeys, invented a smaller and more practical blood filter for animals during blood transfusions, and gained title protection for veterinary technician specialists. Stephen is the COO of the Veterinary Anesthesia Nerds, LLC, co-founder of the Veterinary Cannabinoid Academy, and Executive Director of the Academy of Laboratory Animal Veterinary Technicians and Nurses. He is a lab manager for HHMI at Stanford University in the department of neurobiology, in addition to the Chief Veterinary Nursing Officer and Director of the Pain and Cannabinoid Medicine services at Remedy Veterinary Specialists. Stephen is an advocate for credentialed veterinary technicians and veterinary technician specialists as well as the BIPOC community.
Director
Kayla Meazell BS, RVT, VTS (Surgery) Kayla graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. She began her career at Pet Specialists of Monterey in 2012 as an emergency department assistant before transitioning to the surgery department. After earning her RVT in 2015, she took on a lead position and established a 3D print lab for surgical planning. In 2018 she became the Specialty Technician Supervisor, managing teams in Radiology, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Surgery, and Oncology. In 2022, she became a Veterinary Technician Specialist (Surgery). She enjoys teaching and giving back to the next generation of veterinary technicians. In her free time, she enjoys SCUBA diving, snowboarding, hiking with her dog Bailey, and working toward her private pilot’s license.  Past President Anita Lynn Levy, RVT Anita got her start in 2001 at Purrfurably Cats in Monterey, California. There she worked under the tutelage of Dr. Gary Brake. The experiences she had with Dr Brake started her on the path of making veterinary medicine her career. She completed her AHT program at Hartnell College in Salinas, California in 2008. Since then, she has worked in all sorts of areas of veterinary medicine: emergency, day practice, specialty, and academia. Anita also has an interest in disaster response for animals and was deployed to assist the ASPCA during the recovery from the 2011 tornado that destroyed much of Joplin, Missouri. A few years ago, Anita decided to take a leave of absence from veterinary medicine to improve her pharmaceutical knowledge. Anita obtained her Pharmacy Technician License and continued learning in the field for over a year before returning with the now extended knowledge to her career of choice as a RVT. This was very useful as the reporting changes that have come to veterinary medicine have been in place for quite a while on the human side. Most recently, Anita joined Wagly Pet Campus. With this new start up she has been able to further develop and hone her practice management skills. Perhaps more importantly, she has had the opportunity to help set up a new, state of the art, facility that can meet nearly all of its clients needs while continuing to help establish best practices every day for the patients, clients and staff. Currently, she is also pursuing her VTS in Clinical practice. When the opportunity presents itself, she likes to crochet, knit, quill, or do really any crafty type things. |
