Dr. Kimmel grew up in the Seattle area with many pets including guinea pigs, gerbils, fish, cats, and dogs. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BS in biology and chemistry minor then moved back East to live and work in New York City for a few years before returning to Washington to attend Washington State University for vet school.

She now resides in West Seattle with her husband, two children, and adventurous French bulldog mixes, Hambone and Pickles. She loves boating, snowshoeing, long walks with dogs, and travel. 

Dr. Grossman volunteers with Pasado’s Safe Haven, Doney Coe Memorial Clinic, and Seattle Veterinary Outreach. She lives in Seattle with her husband, dogs Arlette and Pierre, cats Mookie and Zubaida, and a Russian tortoise named Major Tom. When she isn’t working, she loves international travel (especially to see wild animals in their natural habitats), appreciating the natural splendor of the Pacific Northwest, playing with her nieces and nephew, and supporting Seattle’s local drag scene.

Professionally Dr. Scire has a strong interest in multi-modal pain management, soft tissue surgery, fear free handling, and preventative care medicine. She loves building strong relationships with clients and patients and helping them live happier, healthier lives.

Outside of work, Dr. Scire enjoys fly fishing, backcountry snowboarding, backpacking, mountain biking, and rock climbing. She lives with an incredibly cuddly and sociable cat named Artie who came from the streets of West Seattle.

Caity, LVT, was born in Topanga Canyon, a small art-loving mountain town in Southern California. She and her mother moved to Seattle when she was 12 years old and she now considers Seattle to be her true home. Caity has always felt a strong connection and comfort with animals, growing up surrounded by many dogs and cats that she formed special relationships with. When she was 16, she spent her junior year of High School as an exchange student in Venezuela, where she made friends with many other exchange students whom she was lucky enough to be able to visit in their home countries after graduating. Once back in the states, Caity earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Western Washington University, followed by a degree in Veterinary Technology. Caity enjoys reading, yoga, traveling, and is honored to have a career that joins both her love of animals and lifelong learning!

Leah has been with EBAH since 2016 after working many years in multiple roles at a retirement home on Mercer Island. She’s had great compassion for helping people live healthy and happy lives and has decided to focus that compassion towards animals and their owners. Born and raised in the PNW, Leah has always had animals in her life, she currently has a 14-year-old big tabby named Billy and a leopard gecko named Lemmy. During her time away from EBAH Leah also works at a retirement home in north Seattle. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, walking dogs, cross-stitching and watching all the movies.

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Dylan arrived in Seattle, WA in 2018, hailing from Iowa in search of new adventures. His travels lead him to the doors of a guild renowned for its trustworthiness and compassion for animals. Elliott Bay Animal Hospital. He quickly moved to join the guild in their quest to ensure the health and well-being of all Seattle’s canine and feline companions. He brings along with him an animal companion of his own, a feline known as Ophelia the Kind. When not working for the guild, Dylan enjoys worldbuilding fantasy settings, hand-drawing large-scale maps, playing board games, and genuinely enjoying living.

STR: 14 DEX: 10 CON: 12 INT: 12 WIS: 18 CHA: 10
Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Arcana, Insight, Nature, & Perception

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Michael joined the Veterinary Roots management in 2022 as our recruitment and engagement manager, where he is taking the lead on ensuring all Veterinary Roots veterinary practices are fully staffed and our existing teams are well supported, all with the primary goal of ensuring our practices can continue to meet the needs of our growing community.

Michael has spent more than 20 years in the veterinary field, having begun his career as a kennel assistant before working his way up to hospital management, eventually taking on director responsibilities before launching his own consulting business. He is a published author, photographer, and all-around life enthusiast.

“After 20 years in the field, I can share that what I love most about each day is the ‘people part of my job’,” shared Michael. “It is the team and the ability to help people come together and grow in their field is where I find the greatest accomplishment. I love being able to help affect change in the overall hospital culture.”

Volunteer Work:
Michael has previously volunteered his time at local shelters, where he was able to share his many years of hands-on veterinary experience.

Home Life:
Michael shares his life with his larger family and beloved senior Labrador, Tinkerbell. Together they enjoy weekly barbecues, movies, hiking, sports, and all the rest the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Michael is also quite passionate about the arts and sharing experiences and stories. This is expressed through writing, photography, public speaking, and filmmaking. Michael truly knows no limits and makes the most of all that life has to offer.

Dr. Debra Nicholson spent her early career working in the field of exotic animal veterinary medicine and rehabilitation at such facilities as WildCare Foundation in Noble, Oklahoma, Homer Veterinary Clinic in Homer, Alaska, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in San Antonio, Texas and Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah. Finally, in 2010, Dr. Nicholson moved to Seattle, Washington, where she worked a brief time with a local nonprofit before purchasing Rainier Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Nicholson would go on to purchase two more independent practices, Elliott Bay Animal Hospital and Bothell Pet Hospital, before setting sites on a large-scale rebuild of Rainier Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Nicholson works as a relief veterinarian at Elliott Bay Animal Hospital and is the leader of the parent organization of all three practices, Veterinary Roots.

Education:

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University School of Veterinary Medicine

Bachelor of Science, Biology, Colorado State University

Home Life:

Making a difference. That simple tenet drives Virginia with each step she takes in her career. Virginia is a marketing and public relations professional with more than 30 years of experience successfully building and implementing creative campaigns and special events. During her time at BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Virginia helped build the company’s regional profile and oversaw a brand transition that led to significant growth each quarter over four consecutive years. She has also successfully managed large-scale events and public involvement campaigns for such organizations as Pyramid Communications, Seattle Theatre Group, the Sundance Film Festival, Frankie’s Friends, and Pearl Jam including such notable projects as the Pine Ridge Building Summit, the Vote for a Change concert tour, the Groundwork concert series, Shared Strategy for Puget Sound and the fundraising gala “Mutt Ado About Nothing.” Now as the marketing director for Veterinary Roots and their sister nonprofit, the Rainier Animal Fund, Virginia is working to build the profile of each organization while working to positively impact the lives of pets and their owners.

Volunteer
Virginia is currently on the board of the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association’s Washington State Animal Health Foundation (WSAHF) where she helped launch their new program the Vets Helping Pets Fund. Previously Virginia has spent time volunteering for a host of regional nonprofits including Homeward Pet, ArtsCorps, Rock the Vote, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, the San Diego Humane Society, and the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park.

Home Life
Virginia’s time outside of work is devoted to caring for her senior pets while enjoying all the Northwest has to offer including festivals, Sounders FC games, outdoor concerts, mountain trails and so much more.

Risa brings to the Veterinary Roots team more than 20 years of experience in the veterinary field including having worked more than 10 years as an emergency technician as well as having spent several years as a lead technician at a busy, multi-doctor general practice. Now, in her new role as our veterinary technician mentorship manager, Risa is able to apply her advanced technical skills, training and exceptional team communications to work helping build our medical support teams for the future.

“What I love about veterinary medicine is it is constantly growing and evolving,” shared Risa. “I love the opportunity to learn new methods and treatments that improve the quality of care for our patients and, in turn, allows our teams to continue to advance their technical education.”

Education:

Associates in Veterinary Technology, Pierce College, Lakewood, Washington

Volunteer Work:

During her time at Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital, Risa collaborated with the medical team to develop and host a series of client first aid seminars that helped raised much needed funds for the Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital benevolence fund.

Home Life:

Risa shares her home with Jynx, her 23-year-old Eclectus Parrot, Pippy, a 21-year-old African Grey Parrot and her dogs Arlo and Elsa, both German Shepherd rescues. In her spare time, she enjoys all the northwest has to offer including hiking, camping and aquascaping as well as finding some additional downtime to play video games and explore local aquariums and attractions.