Dr. C. Jill Stowe is a professor of Agricultural Economics in the University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. She earned her BS in Mathematics from Texas Tech University and her PhD in Economics from Texas A&M University.

She currently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Equine Science and Management degree program at UK. 

Dr. Stowe’s primary research program focuses on equine markets, with applications in price analysis and decision making. Additional research projects incorporate the fields of behavioral economics, game theory, and sports economics. In addition, she leads efforts to conduct statewide and nationwide equine industry surveys.

Dr. Stowe also participates in equine markets personally, spending much of her spare time and all of her spare money riding dressage.

Dr. Erica Reineke is a board-certified veterinary specialist in emergency and critical care medicine.  Dr. Reineke attended veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine where she also completed her internship and emergency and critical residency. She is currently a Professor of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine and is the director of the trauma center and extracorporeal therapy service. She is an invited speaker both nationally and internationally speaking on topics related to emergency medicine. Her research and clinical interests include treatment strategies in feline urethral obstruction, extracorporeal therapies, and respiratory conditions. She was the recipient of the Zoetis award for research excellence in 2022. 

John Volk is senior consultant with Brakke Consulting, the largest consulting firm serving the global animal health, veterinary and pet care markets. He is highly knowledgeable about companion animal, equine and food animal practice. John is principal author of five landmark studies of the veterinary profession: Brakke Study of Financial and Economic Behaviors of Veterinarians (1998), AVMA-Pfizer Business Practices Study (2005), Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study (2011-13), VPI-Veterinary Economics Financial Health Study (2014), and Merck Animal Health Veterinary Wellbeing Studies (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). He has authored several articles for veterinary journals, and is highly sought after as a speaker at veterinary conferences, especially on topics such as practice consolidation, practice management, preventive care plans and pet insurance. A widely respected executive, John has been recognized numerous times for his professional achievements. 

Lilli Heinen is a German-born, Kansas-grown recent graduate from veterinary school. She attended Kansas State University for both her undergraduate degree and DVM. While enrolled in vet school, she was concurrently enrolled in a PhD program investigating modern data analytic techniques in the management of Bovine Respiratory Disease in feedlot cattle. She is now finishing her PhD but in her free time enjoys country swing dancing, reading, and any activity that can get her outside.

Matthew MacLachlan is an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Business and Economics in the Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences department of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. His research seeks to develop new approaches, data resources, and insights into the interactions among health, the natural environment, public policy, and markets. He led the development and implementation of the current USDA approach for forecasting food prices and conveying uncertainty around those forecasts. Dr. MacLachlan collaborates with governmental and academic economists to further refine these forecasts’ predictive power. Collaborating with other economists and governmental analysts, he evaluates policy and market adaptations during disease, pest, or disaster management, including natural disaster assistance programs, trade embargoes, and active adaptive disease management. 

Michelle Evason, BSc, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), MRCVS, serves as Global Director, Veterinary Clinical Education for Antech Diagnostics (MARS). She has worked in general practice, academia, specialty clinical practice, and in the animal health industry. Michelle has published on numerous infectious diseases, antimicrobial stewardship, nutrition, spectrum of care, veterinary- and pet-owner education related topics. She keeps busy (and humble!) with two teenage daughters, one husband, multiple 4-legged creatures, and numerous imperfect projects in various stages of completion on her farm in PEI, Canada.

Olivia Gibson is a recent master’s graduate in the Agricultural Economics department at the University of Kentucky. During her time in Kentucky, she was a graduate research assistant and completed her thesis titled “Horse Owner Preferences for Equine Veterinary Services.” 

Prior to her studies at the University of Kentucky, Olivia completed her bachelors in Agribusiness from Arkansas State University in May of 2022. She is the fourth generation of a Northeast Arkansas farm family, having grown up on a rice and soybean farm just outside Jonesboro. 

Olivia is now back in Jonesboro, Arkansas and intends to pursue a career in an agricultural setting.

Sarah Marvel, DVM, DACVS-SA

ACVS Fellow, Surgical Oncology

ACVS Fellow, Minimally Invasive Surgery (Small Animal Soft Tissue)

Dr. Marvel received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 2003 and then went on to obtain her DVM from the University of Wisconsin in 2009.  She completed a small animal rotating internship and a residency in small animal surgery at Colorado State University.  In 2014 she achieved board certification from the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (DACVS-SA). Following her surgical residency, she completed fellowships in Surgical Oncology and Minimally Invasive Surgery.  She is currently an Assistant Professor in General Surgery at Colorado State University.  Research interests include near infrared fluorescence imaging, trauma, and minimally invasive surgery.  In her free time, she enjoys backpacking, scuba diving traveling, and snowshoeing.  

An honors level graduate of the University of Melbourne who became a veterinarian because of his love of horse racing and has spent most of his career in the USA. An equine veterinary clinician and academic with a strong research background in equine exercise and performance science, and the diagnosis, management and prevention of exercise-associated equine diseases. Author of about 200 scientific papers and text-book chapters related to equine exercise science and internal medicine. Has collaborated on, and published findings from, basic and applied equine exercise research in Australia, Asia, Europe and South America. International experience as a consultant and/or speaker in more than 30 countries. ACVIM board certified in large animal internal medicine and co-author/editor of the renowned textbook, “Equine Internal Medicine”.  Member of the international committee of the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology (ICEEP).