Meet Tomorrow’s Veterinary Leaders

Evelyn Beesaw describes herself as highly goal-driven and task-oriented. “I love accomplishing things,” said Beesaw, a second-year student at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine.

What she doesn’t yet have is a fixed career path — and she’s OK with that. “Sometimes I think I want to go into general practice, but every time I try something new, I end up loving it,” she said. After enjoying an externship at an urgent care practice last summer, she’s now looking forward to working in a feline-only clinic this summer. “It seems like everything I experience, I become passionate about, which is exciting for me.”

Wherever she ultimately lands, Beesaw credits her involvement with the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) for helping her to build the confidence and skills she’ll need early in her career.

The VBMA is a national, student-run organization designed to supplement traditional veterinary education with real-world business training. Founded in 2001 and now active at veterinary schools across the United States, it was created to address a gap in veterinary curricula around topics like practice management, finance, leadership, communication and entrepreneurship.

VBMA’s mission is to help veterinary students become well-rounded professionals by increasing business knowledge, building leadership skills, and creating networking opportunities with industry professionals. It accomplishes this through student-led chapters that host lectures, workshops, and conferences, as well as a structured Business Certificate Program that covers areas such as finance, operations, marketing, and personal financial management.

“The VBMA is for anyone who wants to practice any type of veterinary medicine,” Beesaw said. “It offers skills that are valuable not only professionally, but also in your personal life. Making business knowledge accessible to students is something that’s very needed in veterinary medicine right now. I absolutely love being involved at this level.”

Seeing the bigger picture

Rebecca Mears, DVM, caught the ‘VBMA bug’ as a first-year veterinary student at the University of Georgia. When she graduated into equine practice — without pursuing a traditional internship — Dr. Mears quickly realized how critical mentorship would be. But finding the right fit wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

“It’s easy to say you want mentorship, but what does that actually look like?” she said. Defining one’s needs, and recognizing whether an opportunity truly met them, is a challenge many new graduates face. Dr. Mears credits her involvement in the VBMA with helping her navigate that process, giving her the tools to identify effective mentorship, understand her learning style and build professional relationships that supported her transition into practice.

Dr. Mears has since transitioned out of clinical practice and now works with the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), where much of her role focuses on the VIN student team and the VIN Foundation, its nonprofit arm. She has also stayed involved with the VBMA as an advisor to the student leadership team at the national level.

Another national advisor, Kristen Britton, DVM, MBA, has been involved with the VBMA since 2009 when she was a veterinary student. “VBMA helped me see the bigger picture of veterinary medicine,” she said. “It’s not just about medicine — it’s about communication, leadership and building strong teams.”

A small animal practitioner in Kuna, Idaho, Dr. Britton has been in practice since graduating in 2013 and continues to find fulfillment in working closely with clients and her team. “I love private practice,” she said. “I get a lot of joy interacting with clients and helping mentor students along the way.”

Her connection to veterinary medicine runs deep — her mother is also a veterinarian and practice owner. Working alongside her for more than a decade, Dr. Britton saw firsthand both the rewards and challenges of running a practice. “My mom always told me to get all the business education I could,” she said. “She didn’t have those resources when she started, and she had to learn a lot the hard way.”

Encouraged by mentors and peers, Dr. Britton became involved in VBMA leadership, an experience that helped shape her confidence and professional growth. “I wouldn’t have put myself in those positions without someone encouraging me,” she said. “That made me realize how powerful it is to recognize potential in others.”

Today, Dr. Britton continues to carry those lessons forward, both in practice and in mentoring the next generation. She credits VBMA with instilling a collaborative mindset and the interpersonal skills needed to succeed. “When you build strong relationships and support your team,” she said, “that’s what ultimately leads to better outcomes — for your practice, your clients and your patients.”

From student to doctor

Serving as VBMA’s national president has given Beesaw valuable experience in leadership and communication, both within her team and with professionals across the industry.

One of the most impactful insights for Beesaw came during a recent panel discussion with practicing veterinarians, where she began to think more intentionally about the transition from student to leader. “That was something that I did not think about … the difference between being a team member or tech, and then what it will be like entering the workforce after veterinary school as a doctor,” Beesaw said. “Now you’re the veterinarian, you’re the one who’s supposed to have all the answers.”

Dr. Mears said the shift can be very intimidating. “You walk across the stage, and now you’re the doctor — the leader,” she said. Working at an ambulatory equine practice, that responsibility often meant making decisions independently in the field, with only limited access to mentorship in the moment. She credits her involvement in the VBMA with helping her build the confidence and communication skills needed to navigate those situations.

Now serving as a national advisor, Dr. Mears helps coach students through similar challenges before they enter practice. “These conflicts and situations don’t just happen in VBMA,” she said. “They happen in practice, too — and preparing students early makes all the difference.”

When Dr. Britton transitioned into practice, one of her biggest challenges was managing workload and stress. Early on, she found herself working 50-hour weeks — an approach she quickly realized wasn’t sustainable. “Within the first few years, I was really stressed,” she said. Support from her husband and peers helped her reassess, but it was her VBMA network that proved especially valuable.

Through the VBMA, Dr. Britton had built a strong community of classmates and colleagues she could turn to for advice. Whether navigating clinical questions or practice management decisions, she regularly leaned on that network. “You realize you’re not alone,” she said. “There are people you can reach out to and ask, ‘How do you handle this?’”

The VBMA also introduced her to industry resources she might not have otherwise known about — from consulting specialists on diagnostics to accessing client education materials through partners like pet insurance providers and nutrition companies. “It helped me bring better information and tools into my practice,” she said.

Beyond leadership skills, Beesaw said she is also gaining valuable business knowledge through VBMA’s educational programs, including completing the organization’s Honors Portfolio. The experience provides practical, real-world skills often not covered in traditional veterinary curricula. “VBMA teaches you all of those business skills — not necessarily to be a great practitioner, but everything else, like how to read a contract, how to negotiate and how to understand a profit-and-loss statement.”

Building greater financial awareness

Financial lessons – both personally and professionally – are some of the most popular topics covered in VBMA meetings.

Dr. Britton said financial pressure is one of the biggest stress points young veterinarians have after graduation. Despite earning a professional salary, many carry significant student debt — what she describes as an added “mortgage.” Living below her means early on was key to managing that burden. “That financial literacy from VBMA was huge,” she said.

She also emphasized the importance of financial awareness in client and team interactions. Veterinarians often work alongside staff and serve clients with very different financial realities. “A $2,000 estimate is a lot of money to a lot of people,” she said. Understanding those differences helps build empathy, improve communication and support more flexible, spectrum-of-care approaches that better serve both patients and people.

For Dr. Mears, the initial draw to VBMA was rooted in financial curiosity and necessity. “Numbers have always interested me — not because I’m particularly gifted at them, but because, before veterinary school, my bank account numbers were often very low,” she said. Rather than avoid that discomfort, she leaned into it, using VBMA as a way to build financial confidence and understanding.

Over time, Dr. Mears found value far beyond finances. “It wasn’t just about money,” she said. “It was about learning how to work with people and understanding the bigger picture of the profession.”

Investing in the next generation

Dr. Mears believes VBMA’s impact is ultimately about shaping the next generation of veterinary leaders long before they enter practice. “VBMA students are fantastic,” she said. “And I don’t necessarily mean that grade-wise — it’s that full package.”

As a national advisor, Dr. Mears is focused on giving back to the same community that helped shape her. For her, that means encouraging students to see the full scope of veterinary medicine early — and to feel prepared for all of it.

She encourages distributor reps to reach out to local VBMA chapters to see what resources and insights they can share with the student community.

“How can you help those students grow?” she said. “That’s what I’ve really enjoyed most — helping them set themselves up for success and embrace everything veterinary medicine has to offer.”

Photo Credit:

istockphoto.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

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