News

Dr. Karen Becker, President of the American Veterinary One Health Society (previously called American Veterinary Epidemiology Society – AVES) began her second term in that esteemed office by announcing names of honorary awards to prominent national and international One Health, public health, veterinary medical and related health field notables on May 6, 2025.  These coveted awards recognize various areas of expertise as previously described by AVOHS Executive Director Dr. John Poppe, AVOHS (formerly AVES) Executive Director in American Veterinary One Health Society (AVOHS): Announced as New Name With Logo Change by American Veterinary Epidemiology Society (AVES) Board - One Health Initiative. These will be formally announced and presented to awardees at the upcoming American Veterinary Medical Association meeting.

In her enthusiastic congratulatory message to awardees, Dr. Becker said:

Dear AVOHS Awardees:

April is always a special month for me as it is [Dr.] Jim Steele's birthday and the month that the American Veterinary One Health Society (AVOHS) selects people for recognition in One Health.

I hope that by now you have all received official notification that you have been recognized by the AVOHS, a process which began with a nomination by a member or members of the AVOHS then selected through a competitive process by Executive Board members after careful review of your qualifications and One Health accomplishments, including consideration of the potential for your future contributions to One Health.

I have included in this congratulatory message your name, contact information and the Award you have received so that you can know the entire 2025 Awardee cohort--if you are able to attend the AVMA conference this year you can meet each other.  I am very much looking forward to congratulating you in person if you can attend, or we can arrange an opportunity by Teams or Zoom in the coming months so I can learn more about your current role and ideas for One Health. At this time more than ever, we need a strong team with good ideas and commitment to engage so that we can demonstrate the importance of demonstrating One Health in our daily lives. Together we face challenges, however I believe that questions and uncertainty create great opportunity too.  We are a stronger AVOHS with you on board and knowing this brings AVOHS courage and strength.

I am really looking forward to our active engagement, to learn more from all of you about how we can create opportunities to work together to strengthen our network and demonstrate successful outcomes that contribute to Health for All.

Congratulations and Welcome!

Gold Headed Cane

1. Casey Barton-Behravesh   dlx9@cdc.gov [Dr. Barton-Behravesh is the current Director of the U.S. CDC's One Health Office]
2. Andrew Maccabe     andrew.maccabe@effem.com [Dr. Maccabe is Global VP, Veterinary Medical Education, Mars Veterinary Health and former CEO, American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges]

Early Career Professional Achievement

1. Amandine Gamble               amandine.gamble@cornell.edu

Honorary Diplomates

1. Phil Arkow                                  arkowpets@snip.net
2. Katherine Benedict                       kmbenedict@cdc.gov
3. Diego Diel                                  dgdiel@cornell.edu
4. Kimberely Dodd                      dodkimb@msy.edu
5. Michael Fox                               ipan@erols.com
6. Michael Neafsey                     mneafsey1@gmail.com
7. Angela Pelzel-McCluskey   angela.m.pelzel-mccluskey@usda.gov
8. Justin Schlanser                      jrschlanser@gmail.com
9. Alex Travis                                   ajt32@cornell.edu
10. Alex Zingher                               alexander.zingher@usda.gov

Above and Beyond

1. Cynthia Hoobler                   cynthia.hoobler@yahoo.com