The Maddie’s Fellowship Program was created to build a learning community that provides training and support for veterinarians to make a positive life-saving impact in their shelters and communities.
University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine Program is a proud recipient of funding for our fellowship program from Maddie’s Fund®, helping to achieve a no-kill nation #ThanksToMaddie.
Interested in becoming a Fellow? We generally recruit in the spring so check our website around that time for details and application for the upcoming fellowship year and follow us on facebook for updates. A requirement of the fellowship is to participate in our kickoff event called fellowship camp, which usually takes place on or around the last week of August. Interested individuals should keep this week open for travel in order to be considered for the fellowship.
Our fellowship program is a joint effort between our Shelter Medicine program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California-Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Programs. Working together we deliver life-saving knowledge and services to our nation’s shelters and their communities while we all grow and develop our understanding of the field together. The fellowship is made possible by the generous support from various organizations who sponsor each fellow’s training and travel throughout their year as a UW/UCD Fellow.
The fellowship provides unique opportunities for practitioners to learn via clinical interaction with the University of Wisconsin and UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Programs and with a variety of animal shelters throughout the United States. In addition, selected fellows will interact with other academic and clinical programs with whom both programs regularly interact, including other university shelter medicine programs as well as national animal welfare organizations. The fellows will be able to put their new skills to work with their local shelter, directly benefitting shelter animals and communities. Many fellows continue their careers working in or with shelters for years to come, greatly magnifying the benefit of this investment in their training. If you are interested in joining our Fellowship Program in the future, please check back as we will post updates on our website with details on how to apply prior to each new Fellowship year, which starts every August.
2025-2026 Fellows
Dr. Audrey Atchley, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Audrey Atchley is the shelter veterinarian at MCPAWS Regional Animal Shelter in McCall, Idaho as well as a general practitioner at MCPAWS Veterinary Hospital. She earned her DVM from the University of California – Davis in 2024 after completing her undergraduate degree in Biology at Brigham Young University. She has always been passionate about animal welfare and participated in access-to-care and high volume spay/neuter clinics throughout her school years. After graduating, Dr. Atchley worked in a small animal practice in Sacramento, California where she gained experience and confidence in practicing medicine that she now brings to the animals at her shelter. She is excited to implement everything she learns during the fellowship into improving the lives of all the animals that pass through her shelter and the members of the community that interact with them. Outside of work she loves skiing, fishing, and hiking in the beautiful mountains of Idaho.
Dr. Katie Fanning, Maddie’s Fellow
Katie Fanning is a 2012 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. She starting working in animal shelters in 2002, but didn’t land in one professionally until 2018. Her veterinary career started in private small animal practice, a valuable experience that never felt like her career “home”. A relocation to North Carolina brought an opportunity for a NIH T-32 Research Fellowship in Comparative Medicine at Wake Forest University. A few years later, she took her chance to finally be a shelter veterinarian, even if only part time, at Forsyth Humane Society. Now, Katie is the VP of Integrated Animal Care at Forsyth Humane Society and a contracted Veterinarian at Forsyth County Animal Shelter. She has also served on faculty at Salem College in Health Science and adjunct faculty at Winston-Salem State University in Biology. Katie loves shelter medicine for the amazing role it allows her to have in helping animal and people, through individual and community level impacts.
Dr. Diana Ferradas, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Diana Ferradas is the shelter veterinarian at the Humane Society of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Ferradas is originally from Florida and received her DVM degree at the University of Florida CVM in 2020 where she also received her Certificate in Shelter Medicine and Certificate in Business Management. Dr. Ferradas grew up knowing she wanted to be a veterinarian with the help of watching Animal Planet’s “Animal Cops” every Saturday morning, which solidified her love for caring for those without voices. After receiving her veterinary doctorate degree, she started her career in small animal general practice where she built her foundation on preventative health, soft-tissue surgeries, dental procedures and managing chronic illnesses. During that time, she also provided relief spay/neuter surgery services to her local humane society. Eventually this turned into a part-time, one-day of the week shelter medicine position that transitioned into her current full-time shelter veterinarian position in 2022. Her favorite parts of her job are training staff and externs, managing feline and canine stress in the shelter, and surgery. In her free time, she likes to work on restoring her yard to a native habitat, DIY renovate her home with her engineer husband, or cuddle with her senior pittie mix and two cats while reading a good book.
Dr. Debbie Padilla-Kruk, Maddie’s Fellow
Debbie has been volunteering at several animal shelters and animal rescue organizations since 2000 when she graduated from veterinary school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Debbie has helped these animal rescues and shelters by participating on their board of directors as a medical consultant and foster care advisor. Debbie became interested in shelter medicine after helping her local shelter improve housing conditions for cats. Debbie’s interest in shelter medicine has continued to grow since then and she is excited for the fellowship program. Debbie works in a busy 5 doctor small animal clinic in southwest Wisconsin and is certified in both fear free and feline friendly. Her interests are in feline medicine, nutrition and behavior. Prior to attending vet school, Debbie worked in agriculture and as a 4H Extension agent. Debbie is a graduate of Iowa State University (BS) and received her Masters at University of Nebraska-Lincoln in animal science and nutrition. When not at work or volunteering at her local shelter, Debbie enjoys the local state parks for long hikes and photography, is an avid reader, keeps busy with her multi-pet household and if time allows, likes to be outside planting flowers for honeybees. Debbie is married and has 2 children in college.
Dr. Anna Ramsey, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Abby Reichard, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Thomas Schaefer, Eslinger Fellow
Thomas Schaefer graduated from Western University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2017 and moved from sunny Southern California to sunnier Phoenix, Arizona. There he completed a shelter medicine internship at Midwestern University and spent the next few years working in shelter medicine and low-cost high volume before returning to Midwestern University as a faculty member. As the desert heat took its toll, he recently moved back to California, this time the central coast to be the first full time veterinarian at Santa Barbara County Animal Services. Thomas is excited to learn from the great minds during fellowship and just hopes he can contribute something meaningful as well. In his free time, Thomas can be found exploring what this new area has to offer.
Dr. Joyce Voss, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Joyce Voss received her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, initially planning to become a physician. Late in her undergraduate career, she had an opportunity to work with dogs on a clinical level, and was hooked on veterinary medicine since. She received dual doctorate degrees from the University of California at Davis in 2006 as one of the first graduates of the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Scientist Training Program, earning a DVM and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology. She worked in general and emergency small animal practice for 10 years before transitioning to high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter and shelter medicine at SICSA Pet Adoption and Wellness Center in 2016. Since 2020, she has served on the senior leadership team as the Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Care overseeing the veterinary services, animal care and behavior, and foster programs. Her professional areas of interest include access to veterinary care and promoting animal welfare using a One Health/One Welfare approach. She lives in the Dayton, Ohio, area with her husband, Andrew, two teen sons, Aidan and Connor, and two cats, Purrcy Jackson and Piper.
Fellowship Program Alums
Many fellowship alums continue their participation by remaining involved on some level in the Fellowship Program as alums. Many relationships form through fellowship, and keeping alums involved in the program allows for mentoring of new fellows along with life-long learning and collaboration between practitioners and academics.
2024-2025 Fellows
Dr. Jie Ling Arata, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Lisa Brinlee, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Molly Chauhan, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Hillary Feldmann-Tempini, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Alyssa Karklus, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Cardin Kennedy, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Candace Krider, Eslinger Fellow
Dr. Kristina Lučić, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Brianna Piechowski, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Sara Regehr, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Sofia Reis, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Hailey Watlington, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Jamie White, Maddie’s Fellow
2023-2024 Fellows
Dr. Michael Crago, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Abbie Knudsen, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Jennifer Kwan, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Allan Mergener, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Cristen Thomas, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Lindsay VanBrown, Maddie’s Fellow
2022-2023 Fellows
Dr. Jonathan Chapman, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Adrian Dannis, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Christina Hansen, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Jo Jarred, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Sasha Nelson, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Rachael Wooten, Maddie’s Fellow
2021-2022 Fellows
Dr. Taylor Biermaier, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Michelle Meckelborg, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Sam Mitchell, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Sylvia Nagy, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Jesse Navatta, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Cynthia Tao, Eslinger Fellow
Dr. Mary Thury, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Matthew Toscano, Eslinger Fellow
2020-2021 Fellows
Dr. Rachel Barton, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Eline Britz, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Kelton Ely, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Sarah Hicks, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Carissa Jones, Eslinger Fellow
Dr. Jeremy Prupas, Maddie’s Fellow
2019-2020 Fellows
Dr. Gina Bowen, Eslinger Fellow
Dr. Gabrielle Carrière, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Angelica Dimock, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Alicia Fortenberry, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Lindsay Garner, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Beth Keser, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Ashley Rice, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Jessica Thiele, Maddie’s Fellow
2018-2019 Fellows
Dr. Diana Kuehn, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Shari O’Neill, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Vincent Paradis, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Rachel Powell, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Jessica Reed, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Elizabeth Roberts, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Karen Sheppard, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Kimberly Wilson, Eslinger Fellow
2017-2018 Fellows
Dr. Allison Clarke, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Meg Gordon, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Elizabeth Roberts, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Gail Schroder, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Karen Sheppard, Maddie’s Fellow
Dr. Anthea Smith, Maddie’s Fellow
2016-2017 Fellows
Dr. Jen Dalmasso
Dr. Ann Enright
Dr. Sarah Frei, ASPCA Fellow
Dr. Melissa Resnick, ASPCA Fellow
Dr. Rachelle Saelor, Eslinger Fellow
2015-2016 Fellows
Dr. Sarah Frei, ASPCA Fellow
Dr. Libby Gutting, ASPCA Fellow
Dr. Hillary Herendeen, HSUS Fellow
Dr. Megan McAndrew, ASPCA Fellow
Dr. Emily Purvis, ASPCA Fellow