Faculty:
Lori Renda-Francis, MA, BBA, LVT, is a 1984 graduate of the Veterinary Technician Program at Macomb. She obtained her bachelor's degree in business administration from Rochester College and a master's degree in education from Central Michigan University. She has been working in the veterinary technician program for over 25 years. In 1999 she accepted the position of Program Director. Lori is very active in the profession of veterinary technology. She is the past president of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) and the Michigan Association of Veterinary Technicians (MAVT). She is currently serving as a board member of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). She is the first veterinary technician to serve on the AAHA board.
Julie Delauter, LVT, is a 1991 graduate of the program at Macomb Community College. She is a member of NAVTA and the past president of MAVT. Her experience includes thirteen years with Madison Veterinary Hospital where she worked as a clinical technician prior to becoming the hospital's Medical Services Manager. She also worked as a Veterinary Practice Manager at Advanced Pet Care of Oakland before joining the veterinary technician program team at Macomb Community College.
Adjunct Faculty:
Jerrod Notebaert, DVM, is a 1998 graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Notebaert is a member of the MVMA, AVMA, Association of Avian Veterinarians, Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians, Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians, and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians. As the attending veterinarian, he cares for all of the program's animals, teaches the lab animal classes, and teaches the anesthesia lab classes. Dr. Notebaert continues to practice in Macomb County as an exotic and small animal veterinarian.
Eric Saunders, DVM, is a 1994 graduate of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and has been in private practice for the past 13 years. Dr. Saunders is currently teaching our large animal techniques class. He owns Wadhams Road Animal Care Center in Smiths Creek. He is also a member of the AVMA, MVMA and OVMA. We are excited to have him join our teaching staff.
Dawn Guiles, LVT, is a graduate of Macomb's Veterinary Technician Program. She has recently rejoined our staff after a leave to raise her family. Dawn has been teaching in our program for over 15 years.
Julie Barker, LVT, is a 2002 graduate of Macomb's Veterinary Technician Program. She is currently working in veterinary emergency and critical care.
Lab Assistants:
Lynn Roland, LVT, is a 1988 graduate of the Veterinary Technician Program at Michigan State University. Lynn worked in private practice for 4 years and in an oncology research program at Henry Ford and William Beaumont Hospitals for 7 years. Most recently Lynn worked at Animal Cancer and Imaging Center in Rochester for 6 years before becoming the Full Time Lab Assistant in 2007. Lynn is a member of both NAVTA and MAVT.
Jennifer Smith, LVT, is a 1997 graduate of Macomb's Veterinary Technician Program. She joined our program in 1999 after working in a small animal practice. She has been an instructor, and was the Full Time Lab Assistant until 2006. She continues to be a valuable member of our team as a part time lab assistant. Jennifer is a member of both NAVTA and MAVT.
Rebecca Donahue, LVT, is a 2003 graduate of Macomb's Veterinary Technician Program. Rebecca is the large animal laboratory assistant.
Katherine Wood, LVT, is a 2007 graduate of Macomb's Veterinary Technician Program. In Jan 2008 she joined the program's staff as a part-time Lab Assistant. She is a member of both NAVTA and MAVT and currently sits on the executive board of MAVT as the Vice President.
Marla Gray, LVT graduated from Macomb's Veterinary Technician Program in 2009 as class vice president. In addition to her job at Macomb, she also works at Animal Emergency Center and Animal Medical Center part-time. Marla loves being involved in the veterinay field as much as possible through continuing education seminars, volunteer work, and other extracurricular events.
Mascots:
Ringer is one of the Veterinary Technician Program mascots. Ringer was born in 2002. Ringer is very special; when she was just a few days old she became very ill after having surgery to remove her dewclaws. Her littermates remained healthy, but Ringer developed a localized infection at the site of the dewclaw removal. This infection quickly turned serious and she developed hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a condition marked by excessive accumulation of fluid and it can result in enlargement of the cranium and atrophy of the brain. The prognosis was not good, but with lots of care and love she pulled through. Today Ringer's number one job is to help relieve the day-to-day stresses of being a full time student. The students look forward to seeing her every day and having her present in most of their classes. Ringer entertains herself at the front of the lecture hall by playing with her toys and will make regular romps through the room to visit the students in their seats. When she is not in the lecture classes she can be found in the Teaching Hospital keeping an eye on things and sometimes causing mischief.
Scrubs is another one of the program's mascots. She was brought to the program in 1998 when her mother abandoned her and her littermates. She has been "working" in the teaching hospital ever since. Her job is to give the students some stress-relief and to make students feel at home. Her favorite things to do are to "supervise" the students while they are in the lab and to sharpen her nails on our chairs.
Snap & Crackle the cockatiels came to us in 2006 after being neglected and abandoned. They are now healthy, sassy, and love to make themselves heard. They offer the students a chance to get comfortable in the handling and care of birds.