If you’re looking for practice support, unmatched employee benefits, and a family-like working environment, we might be for you.
Portland, ME 04101
Rarebreed Veterinary Partners. © 2023
Fun Fact: Gayle is a singer/songwriter and performs regularly on the local music scene.
Pet in Photo: Roxie and Rocco
Gayle joined the veterinary field at a time when the practice management profession had begun to gain widespread national recognition. She couldn’t resist this unique career opportunity to combine her passions for communications, HR, and business law all within a pet-care setting. She has directly managed two AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year Award hospitals, achieved her CVPM and CVJ certifications, served on multiple boards/committees for AAHA and VHMA, been the keynote speaker at veterinary conferences in Spain and Portugal, and in regional operations, personally partnered with more than 70 practices. She believes a rising tide raises all ships and that a diversity of meaningful connections is the key to success in work and in life.
Gayle and her husband, Mitch, share their New Hampshire home with their two dogs and two cats. Her hobbies include tending to her hummingbird feeders, watching detective crime series, and spending time with her family.
Fun Fact: Nancy is an avid bowler with a 180 average and a high game of 256.
Pet in Photo: Ollie
Nancy brings a wealth of experience in human resources, legal compliance, IT, and marketing, plus 20 years’ experience managing veterinary practices. She is passionate about animal welfare and holistic care. Nancy is excited to join the Rarebreed family and is looking forward to supporting the success of Rarebreed partner hospitals. As an accomplished equestrian, Nancy won numerous awards on her beloved thoroughbred, Chaz. She enjoys sanctioned bowling, gardening, hiking, and spending time with her family. She is an enthusiastic catch-and-release angler, and can often be found on the lake in the Adirondacks with her husband, Mike, and Yorkie, Sam.
Fun Fact: Brendan adopted his cat, TC (tiny cat), after finding her at 3 weeks old in the engine of his car.
Brendan’s veterinary career started in 2014 as a hospital manager for three general practices in the Houston, Texas, area. He then moved into a transition management role within the company to help acclimate practices coming into the network. He later took on the role of being an operations support manager for several specialty and ER practices within the company. Looking for a change, Brendan decided to get some direct management experience of a large Specialty and ER practice in Northern New Jersey. He quickly realized his calling was meant to be back in regional operations helping support hospital teams to be able to deliver exceptional care to patients and clients.
Outside of work Brendan enjoys spending time with his significant other, daughter, two cats, two dogs, one rabbit, and playing rugby and chess.
Fun Fact: Brent is a diehard Buffalo Bills fan who has endured many years of heartache but remains hopeful.
You could say Brent’s veterinary experience started at birth. He began at a very young age riding around on farm calls with his dad who was a large animal veterinarian. He then worked for his family’s small animal practice throughout his high school and college years. Once he graduated, he began as a practice manager for the family business. Years later they sold to a large consolidator and he was promoted to regional operations manager. He sought out change to Rarebreed as a director to continue to help support hospital operations, so they have the tools and team to provide the best care to their client’s four-legged family members.
Brent enjoys spending time with his wife, two children, two dogs and two cats. He loves camping, traveling, golf, football and basketball.
Fun Fact: Nare loves to bake gourmet cakes.
Pet in Photo: Ollie
Nare has had a passion for animal care since she was a child, always working in wildlife rehab and animal rescue centers. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in animal science, she worked part-time in primary veterinary medicine and was drawn to the challenges of emergency and specialty medicine. She worked as a technician for 15 years in emergency, oncology, and dermatology, and found her calling in cultivating the relationship between owners, clinicians, and technicians to determine the best treatment for their patients. Nare took an administrative role in a large emergency and specialty hospital to support her team while elevating the client experience. She joined Rarebreed because of the company’s focus on nurturing and creating a healthy team dynamic that results in outstanding patient care.
In her free time, Nare enjoys hiking with her dogs, kayaking, cooking, and reading.
Fun Fact: Ina holds a fine arts degree in dance and has been a dance teacher in southern Maine for 15 years.
Pet in Photo: Ramone
Ina has been working in the veterinary field for ten years, in management, communication and leadership roles. She was inspired to join Rarebreed after learning of the company’s mission and its commitment to the well-being of their veterinary teams. She believes whole-heartedly that entire communities of people and their pets are positively impacted by the compassionate care that begins with the hospital teams at Rarebreed’s veterinary hospitals.
Ina lives in South Portland, Maine, with her husband, two children, and three companion animals.
Fun Fact: Susan loves to run with her best four-legged friend, Bindi.
Pet in Photo: Bindi
Susan began her veterinary career in Portland, Maine, in Emergency Medicine. She pursued her Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Maine, and ultimately earned her technician license. After more than a decade in emergency medicine, she took on a management role at a specialty hospital, Maine Veterinary Medical Center. Susan remained in management while enjoying some time in general practice and has been fortunate to work with amazing veterinary professionals, building bonds and friendships that include all layers of the veterinary community. At Rarebreed, she looks forward to using her experience to support veterinary staff and help improve their work-life balance.
When she isn’t working, Susan enjoys spending time with her three daughters. They share their home with two rescue dogs and three cats and like hiking and spending time on the water together.
Fun Fact: As a young girl, Wendy and her family lived in a small yurt in northern Maine.
Wendy has been fortunate to work in veterinary medicine her entire career. She started in day practice, later working in emergency and specialty medicine. Wendy has assisted in hospital ground-up build-outs and is grateful to have seen the value they bring to the region’s pets. She feels fortunate to serve on a local government commission for the humane treatment of animals, and a non-profit organization providing funding for veterinary urgent care.
Wendy enjoys horseback riding and spending time on the water with her family, and shares her home with her well-loved dogs, horses and kitty. She appreciates that Rarebreed shares her passion for enhancing the human-animal bond
Fun Fact: Katie taught herself to knit and crochet using only a 1975 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.
Pet in Photo: Pablo Picasso
Katie began her veterinary journey in 2007 as a kennel attendant for a mixed-animal practice in rural Ohio. She worked her way up the ladder over the years, earning responsibilities in leadership. Looking for a fresh set of challenges, Katie transitioned to a hospital manager role for several years, still in rural Ohio – but in a less flat part of the state! In 2020, looking for a new hill to climb, Katie relocated to Maine, sight unseen, to join the Rarebreed pack.
Katie, her husband and youngest child live on a homestead where they raise most of their own food and the occasional ruckus. In her free time, Katie can usually be found outside, and hardly ever in the kitchen.
Fun Fact: Erika is an award-winning Irish step dancer who competed all over the Northeast throughout her childhood.
Pet in Photo: Ollie
Erika began following her childhood passion for companion animals in high school as a kennel attendant at her local community veterinary practice. After graduating from SUNY Delhi, she practiced as an LVT in New York before advancing into practice management in 2005. Prior to joining Rarebreed, she spent 6 years in multi-site practice field operations, supporting 25-30 practices in the Northeast region. Erika has a passion for client education, dentistry, surgical nursing, microbiology, and, most of all, team building.
Erika lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with her husband, Scott, and their two boys, John and Sean, who keep them very busy! In her free time, she enjoys vacationing in Cape Cod, trail running, hiking, and reading.
Fun Fact: Emily and her husband traveled all the way to Fiji for their honeymoon.
Emily’s love for animals began at a very young age with dreams of becoming a veterinarian. After graduating with a degree in animal science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, her career took a different turn, and instead of attending veterinary school, she joined a veterinary practice in a manager role, supporting all members of the veterinary team. From there, Emily continued to assist clinical teams through day-to-day operational support, recruiting, team building, and mentoring before moving into a regional role where she could use her skills to support multiple practice locations.
Emily lives west of Boston with her husband, two daughters, and their plethora of pets. In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding, working on home renovation projects, and spending time with her family.
Fun Fact: Elaine enjoys practicing modern calligraphy and hand lettering.
Pet in Photo: Higgs
Dr. Elaine Yip was born and raised in San Francisco, California. Her first time living outside of California was when she ventured to the Midwest to attend veterinary school at Purdue University. After graduation, Elaine went into small animal general practice and practiced for 8 years with Banfield, NVA and VCA prior to joining Rarebreed. She was chief of staff for most of her tenure while practicing and has been credited with substantially growing the practices she has managed. She enjoys team building through thoughtful communication and designing effective practices. Elaine is eager to take her day-to-day knowledge of practice management to a regional scale in order to help hospitals continue to provide top-notch care, while growing Rarebreed.
Elaine shares her Massachusetts home with her husband and their Jack Russell Terrier mix. In their free time, they enjoy traveling and nature hiking.
Fun Fact: Dr. Allen’s favorite karaoke song to sing is A Case of You, by Joni Mitchell.
Pet in Photo: Sophie
Dr. Allen application essay for veterinary school began with, “I want to be a veterinarian because I want to work with people.” As much as she loves biology, medicine and animals, Kate is also passionate about public speaking, acting and teaching. She’s been balancing this odd mix of interests by working with pets while also exploring the incredible world of scientific medicine.
While completing pre-veterinary courses at Cornell, she majored in archaeology and conducted a study on the territorial behaviors of seagulls (note: do not underestimate them). After college, she taught in a fourth-grade classroom for a year before returning to Cornell for veterinary school, during which she helped develop a summer school program for high schoolers interested in pursuing veterinary medicine. After several years in private practice, Kate is excited to help the Medical Operations team deliver medical excellence Rarebreed partners and clients.
Fun Fact: Dr. Reagor was a nationally ranked gymnast in high school and worked out nine hours a day.
Dr. Reagor began his passionate, lifetime career in veterinary medicine at the young age of 13 as a kennel assistant. In north Dallas, Texas, he was able to grow in a successful small animal practice, experiencing each available staffing position. He officially became a veterinarian in 1995, graduating from Texas A&M University.
In 2004, Dr. Reagor built a small animal practice in Berwick, Maine. He sold his practice in 2018, finishing his commitment as Chief of Staff in 2020.
Rarebreed has provided Dr. Reagor the foundation to continue to grow professionally in veterinary medical operations.
Fun Fact: Jennifer went to culinary school.
Jennifer has been in the veterinary field for 20 years, starting as a technician in emergency/ specialty services on Long Island, New York, before moving to general practice. Advancing in her career, she became a practice manager with multi-site responsibility.
Jennifer was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives in Staten Island with her partner, Cindy, two amazing boys, Matt and Tim, and her crazy dog, Theo. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys cooking, spending time with her family, camping, and bike riding.
Fun Fact: While living in San Francisco, Rachel worked with the pets of many celebrities such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Chase Utley, and Bonnie Raitt.
Rachel grew up in central Connecticut before attending the University of New Hampshire to study biomedical science and dairy herd management. In college, she spent as much time as she could at the campus dairy barn where she worked as a research assistant and farm hand. She started her career in veterinary medicine as a veterinary assistant in a general practice in New Hampshire, and eventually moved to the San Francisco Bay area where she worked in both specialty surgery and emergency practices. After moving back to Connecticut, Rachel worked as an integrations specialist, discovered her passion for field operations, and became a regional operations manager. Rachel is an outdoor enthusiast and spends most of her free time hiking, camping, and backpacking with her pit bull mix, Maple. She is passionate about sustainability and waste reduction.
Fun Fact: Zolia has triplet siblings.
Pet in Photo: Dino
Zoila was born and raised in north New Jersey where she started her veterinary career as a Kennel technician at 16 years old. She quickly learned that she was passionate about leading and training people in the veterinary world. She is currently living in New Hampshire with her husband and four fur babies, Penelope, Tico, Kika, and Dino. In her spare time, she volunteers as a surgical technician for Greater Good Charities where she flies all around the U.S. to support local high-volume spays/neuters. Some trips have resulted in thousands of dogs and cats being sterilized. She is currently working on her business degree at SNHU with a focus on organizational leadership to strengthen her business acumen further and become an exemplary leader.
Fun Fact: David is an avid outdoorsman and a master falconer.
David began working in veterinary medicine at age thirteen as an assistant. Later, as a hospital manager at a new startup hospital, he was instrumental in growing the practice from one doctor and two employees to eight doctors and just under fifty employees. David left private practice to join IDEXX where he successfully transitioned hundreds of hospitals across the United States and Canada to use new software that would support their workflow/paperless journey. Years later he joined an acquisition company and was part of their operations team, supporting 27 hospitals and staff.
David lives in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with his wife and his trusty sidekick, Hazel. In his downtime, he can be found in Upstate New York working on his cabin. He has two grown children, one a recent graduate with a master’s in educational leadership and the other serving his country in the United States Navy.
Fun Fact: Josh has a very big interest in German cars and teaching himself how to repair them.
Pet in Photo: Marcel
Josh is originally from Pittsburgh, Penn., but moved to North Jersey in 2012 to try something new. He and his husband are allowed to share their home with three dogs, four cats, and a rescue iguana. They spend their time working on their 1950s home, which was custom-built by the previous owner. This leads to some frustrating but educational experiences. Josh is an avid baker and enjoys spending Sundays baking snacks for friends and family, or making homemade pasta and canning his husband’s homemade pasta sauce. He loves to travel and explore and is looking forward to spending time across the East Coast.
Fun Fact: Sam is an avid antique collector and enjoys woodworking and restoring furniture..
Pet in Photo: Ollie
Sam is a native of the Syracuse, New York, area where she began her career as a kennel attendant at a local shelter. She found her purpose there and pursued her passion for animals by attending Mount Ida College to obtain her veterinary technology degree. She moved to Nantucket where she excelled in general practice and became a member of the New England Aquarium Marine Mammal Field Response Team. After leaving Nantucket, Sam worked for an emergency and referral hospital where she spent time in the ER/ICU and in dermatology and later worked as a supervisor. Taking a step out of practice, she refined her skills as a practice consultant.
Sam lives in the hamlet of Leeds, New York, with her wife, her dog, Petunia, three cats, Gilly, Max, and Tomato, and 15 chickens. She enjoys homesteading and restoring her 1890 farmhouse.
