Gregory R. Lisciandro, DVM, DABVP, DACVECC, President & Executive Director
Dr. Gregory Lisciandro, DABVP, DACVECC, received his DVM, Cornell, completed an internship, The Animal Medical Center, New York City, and emergency and critical care residency, Emergency Pet Center, San Antonio Texas. He developed and published the clinical utility of AFAST® and its fluid scoring system, TFAST® and Vet BLUE® (lung ultrasound); and advocates their use combined as our 3rd veterinary ultrasound format named Global FAST®. He has served as an ACVECC (American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care) At-large Regent on its Board, and a member of its Scientific Committee; and a member of the VETCOT Education Guidelines Committee. Dr. Lisciandro has been practicing for over 28-years, ~half in general practice, and ~half in emergency and critical care, most recently as Chief of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, Emergency Pet Center, San Antonio. Currently, he is a consultant for Hill Country Veterinary Specialists, President of the International Veterinary Point-of-care Ultrasound Society (https://ivpocus.org/); CEO of FASTVet, http://FASTVet.com/, specializing in veterinary FAST and point-of-care ultrasound training; editor and chapter author of the textbook Focused Ultrasound Techniques for the Small Animal Practitioner (Wiley ©2014) translated in 6 languages – English, Spanish, Greek, Japanese, Chinese and Polish now in its 2nd edition as Point-of-care Ultrasound Techniques for the Small Animal Practitioner, Wiley ©2020. He has lectured around the world and continues to lead in publishing clinically-relevant, point-of-care, and Global FAST® ultrasound research with over 20+ related studies. A list may be found on the FASTVet.com Lead Page or here. Most recently March 2023, Dr. Lisciandro was awarded the Bourgelat Award by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association for outstanding international contributions to small animal veterinary medicine for his work in point-of-care ultrasound.
Chris Johnson, DVM, Vice President
Dr. Chris Johnson, DVM lives and works in Tulsa, Oklahoma at Oklahoma Veterinary Specialists as an emergency veterinarian. He received his veterinary degree from Oklahoma State in 2009 and completed a small animal rotating internship at the San Francisco Veterinary Specialists in San Francisco, California before moving to Tulsa. He is particularly passionate about point-of-care ultrasound in the emergency and ICU setting and further developing its potential for diagnosing and monitoring patients. Recently, Dr. Johnson has taken the Renal Replacement Therapy Course. Dr. Johnson is happily married to his wife Chauntay and they have two children Georgia, 8-years, and Lincoln, 3-years. He spends his spare time enjoying anything and everything that has to do with fishing, boating, or otherwise being around the water and has fished the Texas Hill Country! Dr. Johnson was a guest speaker at the first IVPOCUS Symposium in Austin 2017.
Judith Rossi, Assistant Executive Director, Secretary
Judy Rossi is a marketing and communications professional residing in Harvard, MA. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biology and a graduate degree in Mass Communications. Mrs. Rossi has over 25-years of experience in corporate and marketing communications with a deep concentration in life sciences and medical devices. Currently, she is an independent consultant specializing in integrated marketing and communications programs. She has held senior communications positions at a number of global companies including Analogic Corporation, Smiths Medical, and Philips Medical (now Philips Healthcare). Mrs. Rossi is an avid equestrian and when she is not working for her clients, she is competing her horse Dice in 3-Day Eventing.
Emma Hahn, Treasurer
Emma earned her Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas A&M University in 2016. She is the wife of an internal medicine resident, Joshua Hahn, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the proud mother of three children, Samuel, Cora, and Owen! During undergraduate studies, Emma worked as a research assistant for Dr. Heidi Campbell assisting with the creation of her online research library and transcribing recorded interviews. While her husband was in medical school, she worked remotely as an online English language teacher for VIPKID and enjoyed learning with her Chinese students. She is grateful for the opportunity to work from home and remain available to be with her children and chocolate lab named Mocha.
Kara LaRue, DVM, Board Member
Dr. Kara LaRue, DVM received her veterinary degree from Texas A&M University. After graduating in 2011 with little ultrasound experience, Dr. LaRue spent 6-years in a busy general practice in San Antonio, TX, working with Dr. Stephanie Lisciandro and Dr. Greg Lisciandro, who served as the practice’s consultants. She learned over time to embrace the Global FAST movement and has since become hooked. Now, a self-described “ultrasound junkie,” she serves as a Global FAST Course Assistant Instructor including at major conferences and feels that Global FAST and V-POCUS are core skills and that any veterinarian no matter where in their career, can become proficient. Dr. LaRue is excited to be part of IVPOCUS and its mission in promoting V-POCUS. Recently, Dr. LaRue and her husband, Blake, moved their family of four children and four fur babies to Oregon, where she currently works as a mobile sonographer as part of a referral imaging practice in the Portland metropolitan area. Dr. LaRue was a guest speaker at the first IVPOCUS Symposium in Austin 2017.
Christian Guachamin, DVM, Board Member
Dr. Christian Guachamin studied veterinary medicine at Universidad Central de Ecuador. While in Ecuador, he worked at Universidad San Francisco de Quito and in a private emergency hospital, where he was first introduced to ultrasound. He moved to the United States in 2014, initially worked at a small animal emergency hospital in Carbondale, IL, but now works at an emergency referral practice in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Dr. Guachamin also dedicates his time working with non-profit organizations in both Ecuador and the United States on Native American reservations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. He is a founding member of the Ecuadorian Emergency and Critical Care Society, and during his last year of veterinary school, he translated the 3rd part of the RECOVER Guidelines into Spanish. He enjoys teaching and lectures on CPR Basic Life Support in Ecuadorian schools. His interests include critical care, trauma, cardiology, point-of-care ultrasound, and surgery, enjoys participating in webinar lectures for Central and South America and makes ultrasound a part of daily practice. Dr. Guachamin is happily married to Dr. Emily Samson, MD. Together, they have three pets and a baby on the way! Their dream is to help underserved communities improving the lives of animals and humans through medicine, with POCUS playing a big role. Dr. Guachamin was a guest speaker at the first IVPOCUS Symposium in Austin 2017.
Bret Naetzker, BA Marketing& Advertising, Board Member
Bret Naetzker is a seasoned executive in medical devices and is currently the Director, Strategic Channels for Acelity L.P. Inc, a San Antonio, TX medical device company focused on advanced wound care. Originally from Jamestown, NY, Mr. Naetzker graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Advertising. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 1991 and enjoyed a nearly 20-year career in a variety of sales and marketing roles. While at J&J his roles included Operating Room sales, Sales Management at the District and Regional level, Marketing and finally, Strategic Accounts. After J&J, he served on the Executive Team of Systagenix Wound Management, an advanced wound care company where he led the Strategic Accounts Team. Systagenix was purchased by KCI/Acelity in 2015 and Mr. Naetzker was promoted to Senior Director, Strategic Channels responsible for over $100MM in annual sales. He brings a wealth of experience to IVPOCUS, and is a dog and cat lover, especially fond of Golden Retrievers. Mr. Naetzker and his wife reside in Lake Mary, Florida, and have raised 2 beautiful daughters.
Laurent Sakarovitch, DVM, Board Member
Dr. Laurent Sakarovitch graduated from Maisons-Alfort veterinary school in 1987. In 1991 he created Urgences Vétérinaires à Domicile which was the first out of hours home call emergency service of France on the French Riviera. In 2008, Urgences Vétérinaires à Domicile became Urgences Vétérinaires DELTA when he opened a first out of hours emergency facility in Saint-Laurent du Var (near Nice) and the second one in 2012 at Puget sur Argens (not far away from Saint-Tropez). Dr. Sakarovitch acknowledges that attending the first IVPOCUS Symposium in Austin 2017 triggered a strategic change in the way patients are now first treated when admitted to the emergency room. Dr. Sakarovitch and his wife Bérangère live in Saint-Laurent du Var (France) where they raised their two daughters Diane (26) and Axelle (24) and their three cats.
Kevin Fowler, DVM, Board Member
Dr. Kevin Fowler is the Medical Director of Inman Park Animal Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Fowler attended Earlham College in Indiana and graduated from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. After vet school, he was the associate veterinarian at Zoo Atlanta for 8 years, worked at 24-hour emergency pet clinics, and also traveled internationally to China and the United Arab Emirates as a consultant for establishing ostrich farms. Prior to purchasing Inman Park Animal Hospital, Dr. Fowler pioneered mobile veterinary treatment in Georgia, providing full-service veterinary care to Atlanta pets out of a 35-foot RV. Dr. Fowler is a fervent believer and practitioner of Global FAST and considers it an invaluable diagnostic tool and “a gift” to the general practitioner, the specialist, and the emergency veterinarian. When he is not practicing or reading veterinary medicine, he spends his time with his wife, Sherrie, and his growing family. What he enjoys most is being out in nature with his dogs, spending time on a family farm in Albany, GA, and cruising around on boats surrounded by open water.
