Guest Speakers
Jodi Oleen, MS
Director of Industry Relations, KS Pork Association
Jodi Oleen is a marketing and PR professional passionate about conversation and connecting
in an ever changing social environment. Her work as the Director of Industry Relations
at the Kansas Pork Association has focused on using new media to connect farmers
with their customers. When she is not at work, you will find her playing her two
children (dogs) and helping her husband with chores on the ranch.
Kelly Rivard
Social Media Coordinator, AdFarm - The Watering Hole
Kelly Rivard is currently the Social Media Coordinator for a full-service advertising
agency that specializes in agriculture. She's a recent Kansas City transplant via
Illinois, where she spent years immersed in 4-H, FFA, raising rabbits, and working
on farms. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Media at North Central
College in Naperville, IL.
KSU Speakers
Jennifer Akers, DVM
Assistant Professor, Pet Health Center
Dr. Akers is a 2001 graduate from Iowa State University CVM. After 5 ½ years of private
practice, she joined the faculty at Kansas State University CVM in 2006. Dr. Akers
is an assistant clinical professor in small animal general medicine and dentistry.
Beth Davis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Associate Professor and Section Head, Equine Medicine & Surgery
Dr. Davis is a 1996 graduate of the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine
and a 2002 ACVIM Large Animal Diplomate. Dr. Davis earned her PhD from Kansas State
University in 2004 in Equine Innate Immunity. Her clinical interests include immunologic
disorders, respiratory disease, neurologic disease, and foals. Dr. Davis’s research
interests consist of innate immunity, determining effective vaccine and immunomodulatory
strategies in horses.
Dan Frese, DVM
Graduate Student
Dr. Frese received his DVM from Kansas State University in 2003 and entered private
beef cattle and equine practice in Central Nebraska until July 2011. In August 2011
he returned to Manhattan to pursue a Ph.D. in Feedlot Pathobiology. In his spare
time he enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 children.
Mary Lynn Higginbotham, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Onco)
Assistant Professor, Oncology
Jim Lillich, DVM, MS, DACVS
Associate Professor, Equine Surgery
Dr. Lillich is a 1991 graduate of Colorado State University. He completed an internship
in large animal surgery at Cornell University in 1992. From 1992-1996, he completed
a residency in equine surgery and served as a clinical instructor in food animal surgery
at The Ohio State University. Dr. Lillich became a faculty member at Kansas State
University in 1996. His research interests include developmental orthopedic disease,
osteoarthritis, joint therapies and NSAID toxicity.
Matt Miesner, DVM, MS, DACVIM
Clinical Assistant Professor, Agricultural Practices
Dr. Miesner received his DVM from Washington State University in 1999. He then practiced
as an associate veterinarian in general private practice in Pasco, Washington before
beginning a residency in Food Animal Medicine and Surgery at Ohio State University.
After his residency Dr. Miesner remained at OSU as a clinical instructor and a year
later was appointed as an assistant professor and also received his MS degree. Dr.
Miesner joined the K-State faculty in August of 2006.
Jessica Monday, DVM
Intern, Agricultural Practices
Dr. Monday received her DVM from Texas A&M University in 2012. She is currently the
Kansas State University Food Animal Intern.
Heather Patterson, DVM
Resident, Small Animal Medicine
Dr. Patterson was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, and received her DVM from Iowa
State University in 2011. She then completed a small animal rotating internship at
the VCA Veteirnary Referral and Emergency Center in Norwalk, Connecticut in June 2012.
Dr. Patterson began her residency here at KSU in small animal internal medicine in
July of 2012, and is also pursuing her MS in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences. Her
research focus is on the effects of feline hyperthyroidism on the kidneys.
DJ Rezac, MS
Graduate Student
Jessica Slack, DVM, MS, DACVO
Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
Dr. Jessica M. Slack is originally from Louisville, Kentucky. She received her DVM
degree from The Ohio State University after obtaining a BS in biology from a small
private college in her hometown. She completed a small animal rotating internship
at VCA Veterinary Care Referral Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico before finishing
a residency in comparative ophthalmology at Purdue University. Dr. Slack joined the
faculty at Kansas State University in 2012.
Brad White, DVM, MS
Associate Professor, Production Medicine
Dr.White received his DVM from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his Masters
of Science from Mississippi State University. He teaches the following courses the
College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University: Advanced Cow-Calf Production
Management (4th year), and Production Medicine (3rd year). Dr. White’s research interests
are Beef production and management with emphasis on calf health management.
Melina Zimmerman, DVM
Resident, Anesthesiology
Dr. Zimmerman graduated from Ross University in 2010 after finishing her clinical
year at Louisiana State University. She then completed a small animal internship at
Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialists in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Zimmerman is currently
in the second year of her residency in Anesthesiology at Kansas State University.