Pender Pet Retreat

Operations Director & Co-Owner

I feel like I’m best described as “that farm girl”. From my first pony, Crystal, at the age of 5 to my first cat, Rosebud, that I had from 4 years old to 25 years old, my life has always been filled with and dedicated to the care of animals. Having grown up riding and competing horses, I am currently living my dream, raising my baby on my family’s farm in Loudoun County. I spend my days (before and after work of course) with my school teacher husband caring for our two horses, one pony, four cats, four miniature goats, eighteen chickens (and one duck rescued from work who thinks she’s a chicken), and two parrots. A small-scale homesteader, I also love working in my veggie garden, which is very bountiful despite me being totally incapable of keeping houseplants alive.

I am a Pender “lifer”, having been with the company in varying clinical and managerial roles for 18 years. Starting as a kennel assistant at Pender Veterinary Centre’s main hospital in Fairfax while still in High School, I continued working up through the levels of Veterinary Nurse while pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Management and eventually moved on to the Pender management team as the Manager of Veterinary Relations and eventually the Human Resources Director. During my years as a Hospital Manager, I also achieved Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) board certification in Veterinary Hospital Management (CVPM) after graduating from the Veterinary Management Institute at Purdue University in 2014. To grow my expertise in the HR role, I studied for and achieved my certification as a Professional of Human Resources (PHR) in 2015. In October of 2017, I made the transition from the main hospital in Fairfax to the Pender Chantilly campus as Operations Director. During the last few years, I completed my Master’s of Science in Healthcare Administration from the University of Maryland and achieved my certification from the Professional Animal Care Certification Counsel (PACCC) as a Certified Professional Animal Care Operator (CPACO), the organization’s highest distinction.

Since making the transition to the Pet Retreat, I have really focused on bringing the high quality of service and offerings that our clients have come to appreciate at our main hospital in Fairfax out to the Chantilly Campus and bring it up to its full potential. With the help of an amazing management and caretaking team, the Pet Retreat has since seen the opening of our Doggie Daycare program, the opening of our Board & Train dog training program, expansion of our military and working K9 housing programs, and the expansion of our pet transport services under PenderAIR. The next exciting venture I am working on includes utilizing my recent Pet CPR & First Aid Instructor licensure to get all Pet Retreat and PenderAIR employees certified as well, followed by eventually offering that service to our clients!

Pender has been my ‘home away from home’ for about half of my life and I hope to be lucky enough to continue to help pets and pet parents, like me, as part of the Pender family for the rest of my career.