Emergency & Critical Care
President/CEO
Dr. Amy Butler is a native of Ann Arbor, MI. She graduated with her DVM from Michigan State University in 2000, and then completed a rotating internship at the University of Minnesota in 2001. Dr. Butler spent several years working at private emergency hospitals in the Detroit area. She then completed a residency in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care and a concurrent Masters at Colorado State University in 2007. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2008. Following residency, she joined the faculty of The Ohio State University as an Assistant Professor - Clinical, where she co-managed the E/CC service and served as Director of the Intern Program until 2011. She then worked as the Director of Emergency and Critical Care at Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center. Dr. Butler is currently the President/CEO of Critical Consults. She also has a busy university locum practice, and travels to different teaching hospitals around the country. Her research interests include cardiopulmonary monitoring, sepsis, toxicology and feline urethral obstruction. When not working, she enjoys sailing, hiking, skiing, travel, and spends endless hours renovating her historic home.
Senior Consultant/Partner
Dr. Sharlee Haas is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation she completed an internship in Emergency Medicine at Anne Arundel Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Annapolis, MD. After several years in private practice, she began a residency in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care, and in 2012, became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary and Emergency Critical Care. Dr. Haas worked for several years at the Colorado State University, as a Clinical Coordinator in the Small Animal Urgent Care Department, supervising interns and veterinary students. She enjoys managing critical cases, especially shock, trauma, and intoxications. She is also fond of three legged dogs and geriatric cats. In her free time, Dr. Haas enjoys hiking with the dog, snowboarding and cooking at home.
Senior Consultant/Partner
Dr. Lisa Powell graduated veterinary school from Texas A&M in 1995, completed a small animal rotating internship at the AMC in NYC in 1996, and then went on to a residency in small animal emergency and critical care at Tufts University, finishing in 1999. She became board certified in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2000. Following residency, Dr. Powell joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota where she worked as a clinical professor for 15 years. She is an author of more than 30 veterinary journal articles, book chapters, and authored a book entitled “Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care: Case Studies in Client Communication, Morbidity and Mortality”. Dr. Powell is a national and international speaker on all things emergency and critical care! She is currently a Manager of Telehealth and ER development, program manager for emERge, and an associate critical care clinician at BluePearl Veterinary Partners. Her clinical interests include cardiopulmonary disease, high flow oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, and innovative clinical teaching methods.
Consultant
Dr. Mazzaferro is a Staff Criticalist at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists and an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Emergency-Critical Care, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is the current President of the Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society (VECCS) and past-president of the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care (ACVECC). She is the recipient of the 2018 VECCS Zaslow Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Mazzaferro received her specialty certification by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2002, after completing a combined residency and PhD at Colorado State University. She is a 1997 graduate of Michigan State University. She lectures nationally and internationally, and has authored and edited four books, numerous book chapters and manuscripts on a range of topics relating to Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and anything related to pugs.
Consultant
Dr. Anda Young was born in northeast Ohio and has been a midwesterner all her life. She obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University in 2016. She completed her rotating internship at VCA Advanced Veterinary Care Center in Fishers, IN and received board certification in emergency/critical care after completing a residency at The Ohio State University in 2020. After three years in academia she is now exploring private practice medicine in Central Ohio. Clinical interests include postoperative care, trauma, hemodynamic/volume management, and transfusion medicine. Outside of work she enjoys yoga, gardening, indoor plant care, and refinishing furniture.
Consultant
Ladan Mohammad-Zadeh graduated from University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in 2002. She completed a rotating internship and residency in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care at Angell Animal Medical Center and attained board certification in 2010. Most recently Ladan worked at Dove Lewis Emergency and Specialty Animal Hospital in Portland OR as a criticalist, intern mentor, outreach coordinator and content contributor to AtDove.org. She is involved with ACVECC initiatives such as VetCot (Veterinary Committee on Trauma) and contributed work to both RECOVER 1.0 and 2.0. Currently Ladan is working as a consultant focusing on teaching, training and ER doctor mentorship.
Consultant
Dr. Ames Alwood received their Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Tufts University in 1998. They then went on to complete an internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. For several years, Dr. Alwood pursued additional academic and clinical experience in the northeast before completing a three-year residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. They became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2007 and has worked in private practice since that time. Dr. Alwood’s interests include the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary disease, stabilization of trauma patients, management of disorders of blood clotting, and treatment of sepsis. Mentorship of other veterinary professionals and the formation of collaborative relationships with community veterinarians have always been some of the most satisfying aspects of their work. When not working, Ames loves spending time with their family in western Massachusetts. Hobbies include reading about successful leaders, climbing or paddling with their daughter and beer and wine-tasting with their wife and friends.
Consultant
Dr. Kathy Gerken received her DVM from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2014, followed by a one-year rotating internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Mississippi State University. She completed a residency in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care as well as a Master’s degree at The Ohio State University in 2018. Dr. Gerken is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. She is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of the Auburn University Emergency and Critical Care service with the Department of Clinical Sciences. Dr. Gerken has completed additional training with the Hemodialysis Academy and the Institute of Healthcare Communications for Veterinary Professionals. In 2022, she was awarded the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine Clinician of the Year by her peers and students. Outside of clinics, Dr. Gerken loves to go hiking, build with LEGO, and watch college football.
Anesthesia Service:
Director, Veterinary Anesthesia and Critical Care Associates LLC
Dr. Raffe received his BS and DVM degrees from the University of Illinois. Following graduation, he completed an Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Auburn University, followed by a Residency in Veterinary Surgery and Bioengineering at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine and a residency in Comparative Anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Raffe joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota and advanced to the level of Professor in Anesthesiology and Critical Care. He then worked as a preclinical research manager at Myocor Inc. developing novel biomedical devices for heart failure management. He then accepted an appointment as Professor of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and established the emergency and critical care service in the veterinary teaching hospital. Later, he accepted appointment as a veterinary specialist with Pfizer Animal Health. Currently, he is a director at Veterinary Anesthesia and Critical Care Associates, a consulting group who provides professional educational and training services to the veterinary and biomedical industries. Dr. Raffe holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Raffe is a diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia and a charter diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. He has authored or coauthored over 100 scientific articles in peer reviewed journals and proceedings, 35 chapters in textbooks, and co-authored a textbook on emergency and critical care medicine. He has served as the Editor of the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. and the ACVECC and Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS) continuing education committees. He is a past president of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC). He is a recipient of the Ira M Zaslow award for exceptional service and extraordinary commitment to VECCS, ACVECC and the specialty of emergency and critical care medicine. He has also been awarded the VECCS President's Award for extraordinary service to that organization.
Management Team:
Chief Operating Officer
Nikola holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Belgrade. He joined Critical Consults in 2014, after obtaining an MBA with dual Specialization in Finance and Healthcare degree from the University of Scranton. He holds Series 7, 24 and 66 licenses. Nikola is a Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) Professional. The CIMA certification signifies that an individual has met initial and on-going experience, ethics, education, and examination requirements for the job of investment management consulting, including advanced investment management theory and application. The designation is administered through Investments and Wealth Institute® (IWI). He resides in Dalton, PA with his wife, two sons and their rescue dog Snupi.
Billing Manager
Lara Derr, originally from Colorado, has dedicated over three decades to the field of veterinary medicine. Beginning her journey as an emergency and critical care technician, Lara quickly immersed herself in the compassionate care of animals. She became the Veterinary Services Coordinator for the Colorado Humane Society and SPCA, where she oversaw the health and well-being of thousands of animals annually in the SPCA hospital. After moving to Pennsylvania, she continued her work in veterinary hospital management. She served as the practice manager for both White Haven Veterinary Hospital and Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center. She then founded Creative Veterinary Management Solutions, focusing on practice management consulting. Since joining us in 2016, Lara has handled bookkeeping duties and client management.