Potomac Regional Veterinary Coping, Resiliency and Challenges (CRC) Survey

Jody Russon, PhD, LMFT
A suicidologist, Dr. Russon is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech. She is a translational researcher contributing to the fields of suicidology and clinical science. Community-engaged research is a fundamental value of her approach to science, practice, and education. Her line of research specifically focuses on the adaptation, dissemination, and implementation (AD&I) of suicide intervention and prevention strategies for community settings. The purpose of AD&I science is to translate, spread, and increase the quality of empirically-supported interventions to reduce the research-practice gap in the health professions. Dr. Russon is currently working on early-stage research to develop a prevention program that addresses suicidality in the veterinary community. She has recently led an interdisciplinary effort to examine barriers and facilitators associated with the implementation of suicide prevention practices into colleges of veterinary medicine.

Brandy Darby, DVM, MPH
Brandy Darby earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Louisiana State University in 2007. She worked in mixed animal practice for three years before transitioning to academia in 2010 and teaching for nine years at St. Matthew’s University, School of Veterinary Medicine, in the Cayman Islands. In 2016, she completed a Master of Public Health with a focus on communicable diseases from Michigan State University. In 2019, she joined the Virginia Department of Health as the veterinary epidemiologist in the Division of Surveillance and Investigation.

Nivedita Ravi-Caldwell, DVM, MPH
Originally from India, Nivedita Ravi-Caldwell moved to the United States for professional education. She graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University in 2012. After a year in clinical practice, she returned to graduate school and earned a Master of Public Health with a focus on veterinary public health from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2015. She continued to work in companion animal practice for several years before transitioning to public health. In 2019, she joined the District of Columbia Department of Health as the zoonotic disease epidemiologist in the Center for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation. She is a big fan of music and enjoys hikes, cooking, and yoga.

Carolynn J. Bissett, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ACVPM
Dr. Carolynn Bissett currently serves as the program manager of the Office of Veterinary Services at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In this role, she manages livestock and poultry animal health and disease response for the state of Virginia, as well as animal welfare oversight. She has been with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for eight years. Prior to joining state regulatory government, Dr. Bissett spent nine years in private practice. In addition to a earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, she earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of Iowa and is board-certified with the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine.

Laura Hungerford, DVM, MPH, PhD, CPH, FNAP
Dr. Laura Hungerford is a veterinary epidemiologist and head of Virginia Tech's Department of Population Health Sciences, which houses the MPH, DVM/MPH, MD/MPH, BSPH, and Certificate in Public Health programs; the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine; and the Center for Public Health Practice and Research. She has been active in teaching a wide range of epidemiology and public health courses to graduate, medical, and veterinary students, as well as providing continuing education for veterinarians and other health professionals. She is a member of numerous professional associations and was elected as a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice. Her publications, grants, and research interests include collaborative studies that take a One Health approach to risk factors for infectious and zoonotic diseases, application of geographic information system and spatial statistical analyses, and dynamic modeling in multidisciplinary health problems. She has collaborated on developing innovations for drug review at FDA, human infectious disease modeling, and projects with zoos and wildlife agencies involving raccoons, deer, frogs, sea turtles, big cats, birds, and aquatic mammals.

Trish Haak, LCSW, Veterinary Social Worker
A licensed clinical social worker, Trish Haak received a Master of Social Work in clinical practice at the University of Washington-Seattle. She was previously a research associate in The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Department of Psychiatry and a research project manager at the Kaiser Permanente Research Institute in Seattle, WA. Upon moving to Blacksburg, Virginia, Trish joined Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center to provide mental health services. During that time, her passion for animal-assisted therapy inspired her to pursue the field of veterinary social work. Her current focus is on grief counseling, mitigating secondary traumatic stress, and client communication within the role of veterinary clinical social worker at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, two children, two dogs, cat, and chickens.

Katharyn Kryda, DVM, MPH
Dr. Katharyn Kryda is an ASPPH Public Health Fellow at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. She was the first veterinarian to be selected for an Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health fellowship and is now in her third year. Dr. Kryda is hosted by NHTSA’s Office of Emergency Medical Services, where she works closely with an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, and public health practitioners on policy development for transportation safety, disaster preparedness, and emergency response. Since January 2020, she has been supporting interagency COVID-19 efforts across the federal government. After earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois, Dr. Kryda practiced clinical small animal medicine for seven years before transitioning to full-time public health work in 2018. She served as president of the District of Columbia Veterinary Medical Association (DCVMA) in 2020.

Julia Murphy, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVPM
Julia Murphy received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) in 1992. After three years in large animal private practice, she returned to VMCVM to pursue a residency in production medicine, earning an M.S. in 1998. Board- certified by the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine in 1999, she began working for the Virginia Department of Health in 2002, where she currently serves as the state public health veterinarian.

Krista Hein, MFT
Krista Hein is a second year Ph.D. student in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech. She received a master's in marriage and family therapy from East Carolina University in 2019.