Chapter Spotlight: Texas & Seacoast New England

Quotes from NOMV Texas

“Mental health is not something many Texans grew up prioritizing; however, I want to change that for my colleagues moving forward.
My main goal in founding the NOMV Texas chapter is to illustrate that we have more control over our emotions, physical symptoms, and behaviors than we realize. I hope to empower Texans and provide evidence-based tools, resources, and support that they can take into their workplace every single day to reduce stress and burnout in all facets of the vet field.”
Dr. Mallory Preston NOMV Texas AAC Liaison

“As someone who has personally benefited from the life-saving resources and support NOMV provides, I have always held its mission very close my heart. However last fall when I lost my mentor, that mission suddenly hit far closer to home than I could have ever imagined. The only hope I found was taking that pain and channeling it for good by becoming a NOMV volunteer. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to carry out the NOMV mission at home in Texas and support the incredible community of veterinary professionals that we have here.”
Danielle Grimley NOMV Texas Leader

“Calm seas never made a good sailor” – My hopes for NOMV Texas are to form a loving, supportive and inclusive veterinary community. With a goal to help each other navigate the ever changing sea of uncertainty (work- life balance) striving to create a positive tide of change.
Charlotte Weir NOMV Texas Leader

Quotes from NOMV Seacoast New England

“I joined NOMV looking for a way to help vets in our community and have been so amazed to watch this grow into a program that will get members of the veterinary community all over the help they need. It’s been a huge honor to work for the Ambassador team and now I get to be a member of NOMV Seacoast. Looking forward to seeing what this program grows into!”
Shannon Emmons NOMV Education Committee Co-Chair

“Kristen is proud to serve a community that has made her feel so at home and accepted.”
Kristen Horrigan NOMV Seacoast New England Leader

“Nancy chose to join NOMV because of her desire to help those who may be quietly struggling with the demands/stresses/unseen pains of life and/or working in the veterinary field (especially since COVID) and may be facing the stigmas related to mental health and needing help in our society. Nancy lost her brother to suicide 9 years ago and knows personally the challenges of those struggling with, and perhaps not finding, the help they may need and this motivates her to want to be there for those who need it.”
Nancy Oxton NOMV Seacoast New England Leader

I have been a veterinarian since 2005, and have seen and experienced the stresses vet life can cause. It can be very difficult to maintain good work life balance . When COVID hit, I saw this increase exponentially. Most of us get in this field because we want to help these pets. During COVID, we continued to do this – putting the animals and their owners first – before our needs. And burn out was getting much worse. I wanted to show vets and their staff that they are appreciated and it was okay to take care of “you”. That’s how I found NOMV. Our first Vet Appreciation Event was a success! I am excited to be part of this wonderful organization and be involved with these heroes of the seacoast!
Tasha Wilson NOMV Seacoast AAC Liaison

Chapter Spotlight: NOMV Texas & NOMV Seacoast New England

NOMV is excited to announce that the NOMV Ambassadors program is live with two official chapters. Veterinary professionals in New England’s Seacoast area of Maine and New Hampshire can join the Seacoast New England Chapter. Additionally, veterinary professionals in Texas can join NOMV Texas.

NOMV Texas

The chapters are led by locals committed to NOMV’s mission and their local community. Our NOMV Texas Chapter is led by Dr. Mallory Preston, Danielle Grimley, and Charlotte Weir. According to Preston, “Mental health is not something many Texans grew up prioritizing; however, I want to change that for my colleagues moving forward.” She continues that “My main goal in founding the NOMV Texas chapter is to illustrate that we have more control over our emotions, physical symptoms, and behaviors than we realize. I hope to empower Texans and provide evidence-based tools, resources, and support that they can take into their workplace every single day to reduce stress and burnout in all facets of the vet field. Some topics of interest I hope to cover include pet caregiver burden transfer, mindfulness and grounding exercises, dealing with cyberbullying and abuse from clients, branching out of clinical practice, emergency resources and planning, and setting boundaries.”

Additionally, Grimley shares her excitement for leading the Texas Chapter, “As someone who has personally benefited from the life-saving resources and support NOMV provides, I have always held its mission very close to my heart. However last fall when I lost my mentor, that mission suddenly hit far closer to home than I could have ever imagined. The only hope I found was taking that pain and channeling it for good by becoming a NOMV volunteer. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to carry out the NOMV mission at home in Texas and support the incredible community of veterinary professionals that we have here. Everything is bigger in the Lone Star State, and I can’t wait to see how the chapter grows!”

The team is rounded out by Weir who shares, ” ‘Calm seas never made a good sailor’ – My hopes for NOMV Texas are to form a loving, supportive and inclusive veterinary community.  With a goal to help each other navigate the ever changing sea of uncertainty (work- life balance) striving to create a positive tide of change.”

The primary goals for the NOMV Texas chapter at this point are focused on curating educational resources and conversations about mental wellness in the veterinary profession. They hope to partner with local mental health professionals to create a series of webinars open to all Texans in the vet profession. The team is working towards hosting their first webinar in February. If you’d like to learn more or join the NOMV Texas chapter, contact the leadership team via texas@nomv.org.

NOMV Seacoast New England

NOMV Seacoast New England is also built of a team passionate about bringing the mission of NOMV to their community. This chapter is led by Kristen Horrigan, Nancy Oxton, Dr. Shannon Emmons, and Dr. Tasha Wilson.

This chapter is focused a bit more on veterinary appreciation after the leaders recognized the morale challenges facing the industry in their area. They hosted a veterinary appreciation event and raffled off several prizes contributed by their local community towards the end of 2021. The event also served as a recruitment initiative for the chapter to locate local leaders ready to initiate a sustainable chapter for the community. Emmons shared, “I joined NOMV looking for a way to help vets in our community and have been so amazed to watch this grow into a program that will get members of the veterinary community all over the help they need. It’s been a huge honor to work for the Ambassador team and now I get to be a member of NOMV Seacoast. Looking forward to seeing what this program grows into!” Additionally, Wilson mentioned, ” I wanted to show vets and their staff that they are appreciated and it was okay to take care of “you”. That’s how I found NOMV. Our first Vet Appreciation Event was a success!  I am excited to be part of this wonderful organization and be involved with these heroes of the seacoast!” Horrigan shares that she “is proud to serve a community that has made her feel so at home and accepted.” They’re joined by Oxton who shares a commitment “to join NOMV because of her desire to help those who may be quietly struggling with the demands/stresses/unseen pains of life and/or working in the veterinary field (especially since COVID) and may be facing the stigmas related to mental health and needing help in our society. Nancy lost her brother to suicide 9 years ago and knows personally the challenges of those struggling with, and perhaps not finding, the help they may need and this motivates her to want to be there for those who need it.”

Veterinary professionals in the Seacoast New England area looking to join or learn more about the seacoast chapter are invited to email the leadership team via seacoastnewengland@nomv.org.

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If you’d like to help start a chapter in your local community, please express your interest by completing this form so we can continue to grow this program!

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