Mary Ann often jokes that it has taken her a half century to decide what she wanted to do when she grew up, but a truer statement has never been made.  She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from DePaul University through the Strobel Scholar program in 1985.

After working in both public accounting and private industry, Mary Ann went to work for the fifth largest advertising agency in the world.  She had secret hopes of moving to the creative side of the business, but that did not work out.  From there, she moved into video and television production, working in accounting, office management, and, later, production as both a technician and producer.  After approximately 15 years in this industry, she moved into management and computer technical support in the real estate industry.

Mary Ann’s life took a personal turn in 2000 towards life with animals when she and her husband got their first West Highland White Terrier puppy, Snickers.  Thus began her journey into the world of veterinary medicine.  As the years passed, Jim and Mary Ann began to rescue senior dogs.  Knowing the importance of understanding the myriad health issues they were encountering as companion animal guardians, she decided to pursue a degree in Veterinary Technology.

The convoluted journey Mary Ann has traveled to get to this point has given her an in depth understanding of how to run a business from many different perspectives.  Her business background and practical experience in Veterinary Technology assist her in applying a multitude of skills to help build a veterinary hospital organization, dedicated to the health and well-being of both companion animals and their owner guardians.

Upon graduating from St. Procopius College in 1970, Jim embarked into the business world and for over 45 years he has been involved in many types of businesses.  In most cases, he always had equity positions in both new and ongoing ventures.  Initial focus was always targeted to sales and marketing for these companies, which all had a high degree of success.  The diversity of these companies ranged from electrical contracting, professional selling of packaging equipment and supplies, health clubs, project management, and commercial real estate.  Jim feels he is in the pinnacle of his career and now is on an endeavor to revolutionize the way veterinary care is delivered to the American consumer.

Skill sets and proficiencies are as follows:

• Professional selling of hard goods and services
• Marketing and sales core competency
• Strategic planning and development
• Published author, veterinary text book chapter
• Complete understanding and implementation of project management skills
• Ability to formulate and develop innovated designs

Jodi’s educational background includes an Associates in Early Education from the College of DuPage and a B.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences from National Louis University.

The Customer Service Director role is to create and nurture the customer service experience, engage customers, and facilitate growth through our unique approach towards the treatment of animals and their owners.  Jodi has over 25 years of customer service and supply chain experience, and the last 10 years as a customer service manager, most recently in the consumer-packaged goods market. She is passionate about customer centricity! Jodi believes in taking ownership of customer’s issues and following those issues through to resolution.

Laura is a creative professional and has been in the advertising and marketing industry for over 33 years. She is highly experienced working both hands-on and managing creative staff in several larger advertising agencies and in-house corporate marketing departments throughout the Chicagoland area. In the early 90s, she started an advertising agency inside Johnson Products which made her responsible for all marketing and creative design for over 500 products. After years of personal and professional growth, and with strong entrepreneurial spirit, Laura decided to start her very own creative marketing and advertising agency to vary her industry client roster: Five Star Creative Group.

Sandra earned her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with concentrations in Communications and Business Management.  Her Master of Arts in Leadership Studies has an emphasis on Human Resource Management.  Sandra feels blessed that she was chosen by her professors to complete a study abroad in Greece where she immersed herself in international business at the European University in Athens.  She considers herself an enthusiastic, life-long learner and has achieved two current certifications: Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) and Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  Furthermore, Sandra has professional affiliations with management and human resource organizations.