2023 CVMA Award Recipients

Each year, the CVMA honors individuals and organizations that have significantly contributed to organized veterinary medicine through their work on behalf of the veterinary profession and their furtherance of the human-animal bond. These individuals exemplify the very best that our profession has to offer.

Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s CVMA awards!

Help Celebrate the Award

Honorees at PacVet 2023 in Long Beach!

Saturday, June 10, 6:30 PM | Long Beach Convention Center

Join us as we recognize the achievements of these outstanding veterinary professionals.

Since the beginning of his career, Dr. Peter Weinstein has committed himself to improving veterinary medicine. He joined the CVMA immediately after graduation 35 years ago and has been an active, devoted member ever since.

Dr. Weinstein has held just about every position possible with the CVMA. He served as the CVMA's President (2003–2004), as a CVMA House of Delegates member (1993–1999), and as the CVMA's District II Governor (1999–2005). Additionally, Dr. Weinstein has offered his acumen to a variety of CVMA committees and task forces over the past three decades, notably serving as the Veterinary Medical Board Sunset Review Task Force Chair (2001–2004), as a longtime member (2004–2014) and President (2004–2005) of the Ways and Means Committee, and—most recently—as a member of the Access to Veterinary Care Task Force (2021–present).

Beyond the CVMA, Dr. Weinstein has made a profound difference in his local community. He loyally served as the executive director of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association (SCVMA), the largest local veterinary medical association in the country, from 2007 to 2021. Under his leadership, the SCVMA expanded its continuing education chapter program to provide over 100 hours of free CE each year on topics tailored to the diverse interests of the SCVMA's membership. Dr. Weinstein also developed an array of community service programs, such as “SCVMA Gives Back” with the Downtown Dog Rescue, a monthly wellness and vaccine clinic aiding underserved areas of Los Angeles. Thanks in large part to Dr. Weinstein’s dedication and leadership, this event successfully provides medical assistance, including vaccines and spay/neutering, to 150–200 dogs and cats each month.

“The SCVMA is as large and as vibrant as it is today because of Dr. Weinstein's leadership and communication skills,” says Dr. Raymond de Villa, President of the SCVMA. “He has managed to bring together the different sectors of the veterinary industry in [Southern California] and have them all work hand-in-hand with the common goal of improving the practice, standards, and conditions of veterinary medicine.”

Dr. Weinstein graduated with a DVM degree from the University of Illinois Veterinary School in 1986. After graduation, he worked in private practice before opening his own clinic, and impressively earned a Master's in Business Administration while working full time and running his practice. Dr. Weinstein received the CVMA Distinguished Life Member award in 2015 and the CVMA RVT's Outstanding Veterinarian of the Year award in 1998, and is one of the few CVMA members to receive the CVMA President’s Award twice.

Over the past 45 years, Dr. Chris Cowing has led the CVMA with an infectious enthusiasm for serving organized veterinary medicine. A born leader appreciated for his humility and humor, Dr. Cowing has earnestly thrown himself into a number of CVMA leadership roles throughout the years. His extensive history at the CVMA includes serving as the President from 2012–2013 and two consecutive six-year terms as the CVMA's District IX Governor. Dr. Cowing’s many accomplishments as CVMA President include playing an instrumental role in the defeat of AB 2304, a bill that would have allowed laypersons to clean animals’ teeth. This victory for the CVMA concluded a nearly decade-long fight to ensure that only licensed veterinary professionals are permitted to perform veterinary dentistry.

Dr. Cowing has also served in leadership roles for two of the CVMA’s crown jewels: the California Veterinary Medical Foundation (CVMF), the CVMA’s charity arm, and Veterinary Insurance Services Company (VISC), the CVMA’s insurance brokerage. Dr. Cowing served as the CVMF's Board President for two terms spanning some of the worst wildfires in California history, including the Carr Fire, Caldor Fire, Tubbs Fire, and Camp Fire. During this time, he ensured that charitable contributions from the CVMF were effectively transferred to veterinarians and practices affected by the fires. More recently, Dr. Cowing oversaw the growth of the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (CAVMRC) by securing the purchase of its mobile command center and trailer, which will significantly increase CAVMRC’s ability to provide veterinary care during disasters. As a long-time and current member of the VISC Board of Directors, Dr. Cowing has pored over countless complex insurance issues to make sure the program stays financially sound and relevant. In doing so, Dr. Cowing has played—and continues to play—a significant role in keeping one of the CVMA’s most utilized and important services not only operative but prosperous.

“I vividly recall meeting Chris during his first meeting on the [Board of Governors],” says Dr. Jay Kerr, CVMA past-president and 2022 Distinguished Life Membership recipient. “Fifteen years later, I think there are a limited few that can match [his] contributions to CVMA.”

Dr. Cowing retired from practicing veterinary medicine in 2021 after 47 years of service, but he continues to be deeply involved in the CVMA, including serving on the Finance Committee, Legislative Committee, Political Action Committee, Ways and Means Committee, VISC Board, and as an alternative delegate of the CVMA House of Delegates.

Many want to positively impact their communities, but few have done so as tangibly as Dr. Phillip Nelson, who has devoted his life to veterinary academia and community service. Over the years, Dr. Nelson has helped many thousands of veterinary students excel during their schooling, first serving as the department lead of Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine and then as the Associate Dean at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. All of this experience set the stage for his tenure as the Dean at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine (WesternU) from 2007 to 2022. There, Dr. Nelson transformed the veterinary program from its early beginnings into the esteemed and rigorous college it is today.

Even fewer leaders have been as ahead-of-the-curve as Dr. Nelson. Decades before diversity, equity, and inclusion and access to care were major topics of discussion in veterinary medicine—let alone in society atlarge—Dr. Nelson was publicly addressing these issues through his writing and advocacy. One of Dr. Nelson’s primary missions at WesternU was to ensure that the veterinary classes reflected the diversity of the population that they would go on to serve, knocking down barriers for anyone interested in the profession, regardless of their background. On the access to care front, Dr. Nelson helped establish the Veterinary Ambulatory Community Service Program, which brings veterinary services from WesternU students and faculty to underserved areas. As generations of WesternU veterinary graduates move into their careers, they carry with them the spirit of community service that Dr. Nelson instilled within them.

In addition to his work in academia, Dr. Nelson has been a stalwart supporter of organized veterinary medicine, attending every American Veterinary Medical Association convention since he graduated veterinary school and serving on the Board of Directors and as the President of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges. He has also been a steadfast contributor to the CVMA, regularly attending Board meetings and serving on multiple committees and task forces. Dr. Nelson now serves on the CVMA’s newest committee, the Inclusion and Diversity Committee, where he continues his long legacy of advocating for equity within the profession.

Robin Post found her calling when she started visiting her local SPCA as a ringworm ward volunteer. Robin realized she enjoyed spending her spare time cleaning the cat kennels and mopping floors more than her paralegal job, and knew she needed to switch careers. Shortly thereafter, the SPCA brought her on as a shelter medicine technician.

Robin was soon introduced to the work of Downtown Dog, a Los Angeles clinic that provides medical care to animals at risk of being surrendered to a shelter. She found that when asked, not a single owner would go through with surrendering their pet if they could afford their medical or surgical treatment. From then on, she devoted herself to helping people in similar situations stay united with their animal companions, even if they couldn’t afford the necessary medical care.

In 2017, Robin launched Animal Fix Clinic in Richmond, the first Fear Free® Certified spay/neuter clinic, where she serves as the technician supervisor. At the non-profit clinic, Robin and her team welcome all clients, regardless of their financial situation, for spay/neuter services and life-saving surgeries. “We have a wonderful team of RVTs, veterinary assistants, and administrative staff who all believe affordable care is not substandard care,” Robin says.

Robin embodies that principle in her daily work, going above and beyond to provide her patients the best care possible. Colleagues of Robin describe her as not only an intelligent, attentive, and highly skilled worker, but also a thoughtful and patient leader driven by a deep well of empathy and altruism. She treats each patient with love and kindness, ensuring that every animal in the clinic’s care is provided whatever they need to be comfortable and soothed. Colleagues note that when everyone else in the clinic has gone home for the night, Robin can be found visiting every patient one last time, double-checking that their analgesics have been administered, setting up a warm hiding spot for them, or simply providing a quick cuddle to help them feel less alone.

“The human-animal bond is not dependent on what one can pay,” Robin says. “Every human and every animal deserves the best care possible.”

RVT’s Outstanding DVM of the Year Award | Jill Muraoka Lim, DVM

Empowered by the belief that RVTs are the backbone of all veterinary practices, Dr. Jill Muraoka Lim has dedicated her career to building the RVTs in her community into a fortified, skillful, and fully utilized team of professionals. Disheartened that there were no veterinary technician schools in Ventura County, Dr. Lim endeavored to create the first. With the help of the school’s administration, Dr. Lim successfully set up the Veterinary Technology Program at Ventura College—writing the curriculum, serving as Program Director, and lecturing as an instructor. After years of perseverance by Dr. Lim and the college administration, the program formally launched in 2021 and a year later was granted the prestigious honor of accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Better yet, through her membership on the Ventura College Foundation Board, Dr. Lim made sure that the majority of first-year veterinary technician students were able to graduate from the program for free.

To provide a modernized and hybrid education that weaves together both lectures and hands-on experience, the Ventura College program is partnered with Ohana Pet Hospital, where Dr. Lim has served as a founding partner and HR director for over a decade. While Dr. Lim worked tirelessly to bring the veterinary technology program to fruition, her unflagging dedication to her team at Ohana never wavered. As HR director, Dr. Lim invests significant time, resources, and training into her staff members, offering structured goals and learning objectives and utilizing RVTs in every department in the hospital.

“Dr. Jill, as she is known to her team and the community, advocates for the advancement of the veterinary technician profession like no other DVM I have worked with in my 25 years in the industry,” says Michelle Anderson, RVT at Ohana Pet Hospital. “She truly understands that utilizing her team to their highest potential not only makes her more efficient, but also improves patient care and client satisfaction, and improves the job satisfaction and longevity of her team.”