Our Mission
The Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology educates and prepares effective, productive, service oriented veterinary health care team leaders for a diversity of career opportunities.
Our Vision
• To be the premier school of veterinary technology.
• To remain progressive by embracing cutting edge technologies and methods in veterinary medicine.
• To provide an intimate educational environment to produce veterinary paraprofessionals who are knowledgeable, proficient, and possess highly effective interpersonal skills.
• To promote intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning.
• To produce a complete veterinary technician by integrating academic knowledge with hands on opportunities.
Our Core Values
• Compassion
• Critical Thinking
• Service Orientation to Clients and Patients
• Integrity
• Applied Clinical Proficiency
• Small Class Sizes
• Positive Learning Environment
• Instructors With Diverse Backgrounds and Experiences
Our Faculty
Our dedicated faculty and staff keep our programs and students working to the highest standards.
Steve Rubin, DVM – Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Rubin is the founder of the CAVT. He began the school in 2007 with 4 students and has since grown the CAVT to over 100 students learning their skills in small lectures and laboratories. In addition to his clinical and teaching duties, Dr. Rubin spends his time tutoring individual students in several subjects.
Dr. Rubin is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He received his undergraduate degree in History and Political Science from Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences in 1982, and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1999. He is also a trained aquatic veterinarian after a stint at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts. Dr. Rubin served as an emergency clinician in Colorado and New York City until founding the CAVT in 2007. Dr. Rubin is the recipient of awards for research in aquatic veterinary medicine, and from the National Mensa Society for scientific essay writing.
Dr. Rubin also volunteers his time as a baseball coach in a local municipal developmental baseball league. Dr. Rubin spends much of his time with his wife and two children in exploration of the Colorado wilderness and the extensive national park system of the United States.
Lindsey Williams, CVT, VTS (ECC) – Program Director
Lindsey began working in veterinary medicine in 1998. She completed her Associate of Applied Science at the Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology in December 2000, then passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam, becoming a CVT in January of 2001. Lindsey spent a total of six years in general practice, advancing from a receptionist while she was attending college, to a lead technician, kennel staff manager, and technician intern supervisor only a few years after graduation.
In 2004 Lindsey made the transition into specialty medicine, and has worked in referral practices in Colorado, Texas, and Virginia. She has extensive experience in surgery, dermatology, and neurology practices with a focus on anesthesia and pain management.
The majority of Lindsey’s career has been dedicated to practicing in emergency and critical care departments, where she held supervisory or training positions in each facility. In 2015 Lindsey joined the faculty at the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology, where she has taught Advanced Nursing, Anatomy and Physiology II, Anesthesia, Intermediate Nursing, Medical Mathematics, and is the lead technician in the Directed Clinical Practice Laboratory. Lindsey accepted the position of Program Director at CAVT in August 2017, and has recently published her first text book, “Clinical Mathematics for Veterinary Technicians”, which is used in the Medical Mathematics course at CAVT and in other veterinary technician programs around the country.
In September 2016, Lindsey passed the Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians certifying exam, and became a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care. This is a credential which has been obtained by less than 500 veterinary technicians world wide. In February 2017 Lindsey also founded Altitude Augmented Veterinary Training Systems, which is a veterinary practice consulting company that focuses on the continued education and retention of credentialed veterinary technicians.
Lindsey lives in Centennial, Colorado with her husband Zach, daughter Olivia, and dogs Captain Krypton and Dame Maggie May. She is an avid cook, and is in the process of publishing her first cookbook.
Scott Bormanis, DVM, MPH, DACVPM – Medical Director
Scott began working in veterinary medicine in 1989. He started his career as a kennel assistant, eventually working up to a veterinary technician via on the job training. He completed his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Missouri in May 1994 and joined the U.S. Army in July 1994, serving over 22 years before retiring in September 2016. During his military career, Scott served in various assignments throughout the United States and overseas providing veterinary care to thousands of military working dogs and pets, food safety and public health.
In 1999, Scott began a residency in veterinary pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Veterinary Pathology in Washington, DC. However, in 2000, he decided to change his specialty to veterinary preventive medicine. Scott completed his Masters of Public Health degree, specializing in Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the University of South Florida in June 2002. In July 2002, Scott passed the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine certifying exam and a specialist (diplomate) in Veterinary Preventive Medicine.
Scott dedicated most of his career in veterinary preventive medicine and public health, holding several supervisory and leadership positions. He has extensive experience in food safety, disaster management and is a USDA trained and certified foreign animal disease diagnostician (FADD). He is also an American Heart Association certified CPR instructor and has taught many Basic Life Support (BLS), and Heart Saver (CPR/AED) courses since 2014.
In July 2016, Scot joined faculty at the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology (CAVT) where he has taught Parasitology, Nutrition, Practice and Self-Management, Clinical Chemistry, Companion Animal Diseases, Dentistry, and is the lead clinician in the Directed Clinical Practice Laboratory. Scott accepted the position of Medical Director at CAVT in October 2017.
Scott lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife, Debra, daughters Lauren, Elleigh, and Jamie, dog Quincy, and cats Lucy and Bella. He is an avid outdoorsman, having summited 13 “14ers” and engaging in other challenging hikes throughout the Colorado Rockies.
Becky Devine, CVT – Instructor
Becky Devine was born and raised in southern Arizona. She met her (soulmate) husband, an Army officer, there in 1989. After 21 years of service he retired and they returned to Arizona. In 2017, they settled down on a ranch in the Colorado mountains with their horses and dogs. Their military career gave Becky the opportunity to travel around the world. In 2000, she graduated and achieved the Certificate of Excellence award for graduating 1st in her class at the Omaha College of Health Careers in Nebraska with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Animal Health Technology. Since then she has had the privilege of working in many of the best veterinary specialty hospitals in the United States, working in orthopedic/soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, and emergency critical care. In the process, she has transferred and updated her license to hold her CVT, RVT, and/or LVT. Becky also has experience as a Veterinary Technician instructor since 2010 at Kaplan College, Pima Medical Institute, and the East Valley Institute of Technology in Arizona.
Colleen Hallahan, CVT – Instructor
Colleen began working with animals at a young age. Before moving to Colorado to pursue veterinary medicine in 2012, she volunteered at veterinary hospitals and spent much of her life owning and spending time with a variety of different animals from pocket pets to horses. She earned a degree in mathematics and was a peer tutor at the college she attended in Florida.
After moving to Colorado, she attended college at Colorado Academy of Veterinary technology, where she became submersed in the veterinary educational culture. During her time at CAVT, she became a peer tutor and dedicated much of her time to pursuing veterinary medicine education for not only herself, but also her fellow classmates and future veterinary technicians.
Upon graduation from CAVT, Colleen began to work in general practice as a certified veterinary technician, study for her national boards, and teach at CAVT in the Veterinary Assisting Program. After taking the Veterinary Technician National Exam, Colleen continued to work in practice and focus on furthering her career by working in specialty and emergency medicine, with a focus on critical anesthesia.
As of now, Colleen teaches in the veterinary technician program at CAVT. The subjects taught are the ones that she is most passionate about- Pharmacology/Analgesia, Anesthesia clinicals and Directed Clinical Practice. She also works part-time as an Intensive Care Unit veterinary technician at a well-renowned specialty hospital, and is currently finishing her undergraduate studies to pursue a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
On down time, Colleen enjoys being outdoors with her pitbull rescue, Odysseus. Also, she is extremely passionate about creating art, finding new teaching methods, and reading fantasy fiction novels. Her biggest passion and goal is to spread awareness/educate others on the importance of being the advocate for animals in need.
Susan Herrel, CVT – Instructor
Susan has spent her life working closely with animals. She started riding horses at the age of ten and completed an equine certificate program with honors at age eighteen. Susan relocated to West Virginia and pursued an equine career as a riding instructor and barn manager. After a couple of years showing horses up and down the East Coast, Susan returned to her Colorado home to attend college. She graduated with honors from Bel Rea Institute of Animal Technology and began her lengthy career as a Certified Veterinary Technician. Her first job was at Broadway Animal Medical in Boulder and after seven years she relocated to Wyoming with her husband. After spending a couple of years in the wilds of Wyoming she once again returned to Colorado. The love of horses was still fresh in her heart and she worked at two different breeding facilities, one that focused on Arabian horses and the other bred and worked Paint horses. After a couple of years foaling horses and taking care of a herd of cattle at the Paint horse facility, Susan returned to small animal veterinary medicine. She continued her career in private day practice in Monument and spent several years in corporate veterinary medicine at Banfield Pet Hospital. Wanting to continue working as a Technician and expanding her knowledge base, Susan started working at Colorado Canine Orthopedics as a surgical scrub nurse.
After over three years of working as a scrub nurse, Susan took on a position at Southern Colorado Internal Medicine as an overnight ICU nurse. With the assistance of Dr. Morgan, Susan developed and implemented anesthesia protocols for animals undergoing MRIs and CT scans. After over seven years of sleepless nights working as an ICU nurse, Susan decided to focus her time and talents on her own dog breeding business. She had started breeding, showing, trialing and hunting German Shorthaired Pointers in 2000 and continues to run her own kennel. One of Susan’s favorite parts of working as a Certified Veterinary Technician was teaching new graduates the nuances of the veterinary field. She took this love of teaching to begin a new aspect of her career and spent three years teaching the Veterinary Assisting and Veterinary Technician students at PIMA. She has been teaching students here at Colorado Academy since July of 2017.
Kimberly Rousey, CVT- Instructor
Kimberly Rousey is a Colorado native that has been working with animals for over 25 years. She graduated first in her class at the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Veterinary Technology. Kimberly is also a Certified Veterinary Assistant and a Certified Canine Massage Therapist. She has enjoyed her professional career working at small animal general practices in multiple states in the US, Guam, and Germany while supporting her husband who was in the Air Force. Kimberly and her husband enjoy traveling when they can and share their time with one spoiled rotten rescue dog!
Stephanie Winters, CVT, VTS (ECC) – Instructor
Stephanie attended Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology and eared an Associates of Applied Science in 2002. She became a CVT in 2003 when she passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam. Stephanie worked as a CVT in general practice right after school, but quickly found her way to emergency and critical care medicine. In 2005, Stephanie started working in an emergency and referral facility and quickly became a valuable member of the team. She played, and still plays, an active role in training and teaching her teammates advanced concepts and procedures. She held the shift leader position for many years.
In September 2010, Stephanie passed the Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians certifying exam and earned her Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care. Since then, she has been teaching continuing education classes for CVT’s and veterinarians from all over Colorado. Class topics have included, respiratory and cardiac emergencies, hypovolemic shock, sepsis and septic shock, cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation, advanced bandaging and splinting, anesthesia with concurrent disease and pain management.
The majority of Stephanie’s career has been focused on emergency and critical care medicine, but in 2014 she began a new interest in critical care anesthesia and is currently working in a referral surgery department. In October 2017 she joined the faculty at the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology, where she has taught Advanced Nursing, Nutrition, Practice and Self-Management, Directed Clinical Practice and Anesthesia. She offers continuing education classes through the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology to local CVT’s.
Stephanie lives in Castle Rock with her three sons and their leopard gecko. She loves going to the movies, traveling, seeing stand-up comedy and dancing.
Amber Gilchrist, BS, CVT, LVMT, KPA-CTP – Instructor
Amber has been in the veterinary field since 2001. Having left a frustrating career as a fashion retail manager, she decided to pursue a career that she loved and that would be rewarding. She graduated from Northwest Mississippi Community College in 2004 as a Certified Veterinary Technician and worked in Memphis, TN as a LVMT until her move to Colorado Springs in April 2012. She has worked primarily in small animal general practice and emergency medicine. She has a special interest in behavior and worked for 2 ½ years with a board certified veterinary behaviorist.
Her love for animals doesn’t stop when she leaves the office, though. She is also very active in animal rescue and is a volunteer with the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response team. Her large family includes 2 dogs, 3 cats, 3 goats, 2 guinea pigs, and 3 rats. She enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, running, and biking but also reading and watching movies.
Cat Bellinger – Admissions Officer
Cat Bellinger was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is happily married and a mother of two lovely girls. She studied for her undergrad degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice at DePaul University in Chicago, worked as a paralegal in Chicago for 12 years and decided to move to Colorado Springs in 2016. Cat handles admissions for Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology as well as the social media platforms for the school. She spends a lot of her time with her family engaging in outdoor activities and writing poetry.
Chelsea Fredinburg, CVT – Instructor
Chelsea began working in veterinary medicine in 2009. She completed her Associate of Applied Science at the PIMA Medical Institute in November of 2010, then passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam, becoming a CVT in May of 2011. Shortly after passing her exam she moved from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins, CO. Shortly thereafter, Chelsea accepted a position at a large General Practice and continued to learn and grow as a technician there for 3 years, becoming one of the lead technicians and managing hospital inventory in her time there.
In the spring of 2014, Chelsea made the decision to switch from general practice to emergency and critical care medicine. She accepted a position at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital in the Critical Care Unit. While there, Chelsea participated in an advanced training system which helped her to quickly progress in her technical skills, becoming one of the lead technicians of the swing shift whose duties included overseeing other staff members and the 4th year Veterinary Students within the CCU. She enjoyed the fast pace of the Critical Care Unit and the endless teaching opportunities provided by working directly with Veterinary Students.
In the Summer of 2016, Chelsea moved from Fort Collins to Denver, CO where she currently resides. Shortly after getting settled, Chelsea accepted a position as a Surgery Technician at Animal Emergency & Specialty Center. Here she had the opportunity to still enjoy the excitement of fast pace emergency medicine and grow and adapt within a new specialty department. In 2018, Chelsea joined the faculty at Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology where she is teaching Career Development, VTNE Preparation, Intermediate Nursing, and is a technician in the Directed Clinical Practice Laboratory.
Chelsea lives in Denver, Colorado with her two young cats Howie and Thatcher, who are constantly keeping her on her toes. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, watching documentaries, and learning to cook vegan meals.
Kelly Samuels, CVT – Instructor
Kelly grew up in Colorado and has always had an interest in Veterinary Medicine. She decided to go into Veterinary Technology with the intent to work at a Hospital in the Zoo setting. During her Internship at a small animal and exotic practice she fell in love with day practice and decided this was the right career path for her. Kelly received her Associate of Applied Science Degree in Veterinary Technology from Front Range Community College in Fort Collins graduating with honors in 2008. While in practice Kelly enjoyed being part of everything veterinary medicine but was especially fond of surgery and dentistry. Kelly spends her time off with her husband, two young boys and three dogs.
Laura Vertucci – Executive Assistant to Dr. Steve Rubin, CEO
Laura Vertucci is the Executive Assistant to the CEO for the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology. She has over 14 years of experience in both public and private school administration. Laura is a native of New York and moved to Colorado with her family in 2004. At the start of her career in the educational field, Laura worked at the Lewis-Palmer School District as an Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent/Safety & Security Specialist. She later joined the Colorado School Safety Resource Center as an Assistant to the Director. Laura holds several certificates in school safety from FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Department of Education’s Emergency Management for Schools.
Tiffany Carbine – Faculty Assistant
Tiffany grew up working with large animals in a small town in Northern California. She joined the United States Army as a mechanic at 17 years old and after completing 8 years of military service she followed her heart back to veterinary medicine with a stronger understanding of hard work and dedication.
After completing the veterinary technician program at Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology in 2017, working as an instructor’s aid throughout her time as a student. She grew to be involved in helping other students have a better understanding in veterinary medicine and compassionate care. After passing her national exam she continued to work at Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology and currently works as the clinical administrative assistant helping the clinic’s day to day tasks run smoothly.
Tiffany has a strong motivation for compassionate care and loves working with all animals. She also enjoys helping owners through client education as client understanding is key to providing proper medical care.
In her down time Tiffany enjoys spending time with her son outdoors and taking her rescue dogs, Sheeba, a senior pitbull mix and Charlie a senior Great Dane, on adventures around Colorado. She crafts and refurbishes furniture and loves upcycling. She volunteers her time to various rescues for large and companion animals.
Traci Thompson – Financial Aid Officer
Hi, my name is Traci Thompson. I have over 10 years experience in Financial Aid. I was a military brat growing up, so I have lived all over the United States and Australia. I have lived in Colorado Springs and Texas for the majored of my adult life. I have been at CAVT for over 5 years and I love it. Helping students achieve their dreams of becoming a Vet Tech is very important to me.
Jennifer Bonine, CVT
Jennifer graduated with Honors from Pima Medical Institute earning a degree in Veterinary Technology and passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam in 2012. She began her career as a veterinary technician for a large mobile veterinary clinic in 2010. She became the first technician in the company to be promoted to a district manager position in 2012. As a district manager she focused on preventative care, client education and training new technicians and assistants.
In 2014 she accepted a position as a certified veterinary technician at a specialty clinic focused on dentistry and oral surgery. While working in a specialty clinic, Jennifer found a new passion for veterinary dentistry as well as anesthesia and became the lead technician.
Jennifer joined the Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology faculty in September of 2018 and continues to work as a CVT for a local clinic, primarily in dentistry and surgery. She is continuing to develop her skills and is in the process of working towards a Veterinary Technician Specialist designation in dentistry.
Jennifer lives in Colorado Springs with her two sons, their guinea pig (Ellie) and Brazilian rainbow boa (Grimlock). She enjoys spending time with her kids, drawing, motorcycles, cars and spending time outdoors when the weather is warm.
Jamie Apodaca – Bookkeeper
ANNUAL SAFETY REPORT
CAVT Campus Security and Safety Report 2018