This article was originally printed in the Mar/Apr 2026 issue of the California Veterinarian magazine.

From January 8–10, 2026, CVMA leadership participated in the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Veterinary Leadership Conference in Chicago. Representing the CVMA as California’s “emerging leader” was Dr. Katelyn DeVore, an associate veterinarian at Redlands Animal Hospital. Dr. DeVore earned her DVM degree in 2023 from Western University of Health Sciences. The CVMA spoke with Dr. DeVore about her experience at the AVMA conference. Below is an edited transcript of that conversation, condensed for clarity and length.

CVMA: Can you tell me about your background in organized veterinary medicine and why you were interested in representing the CVMA as the emerging leader?

DR. KATELYN DEVORE: In veterinary school, I was the CVMA student delegate, which I really enjoyed. There are a lot of laws and ethics behind the scenes that can influence how you work, and you need to be a voice within your field. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea to be involved in “politics,” but it’s important because politics are still going to affect your field no matter what.

What did you experience each day of the conference and what events did you attend?

On the first day, the keynote speaker—Dr. Megan Gerhardt—talked about a survey that she conducted about what causes burnout and what creates retainment within the veterinary profession. There were statistics showing that a lot of veterinary professionals don’t like their workplace and feel like there are certain things that could be done better. She recommended that we survey our staff often to get feedback, and to also give feedback to our teams. In the afternoon, I sat in on the district caucus meeting for District X, which includes California, Nevada, and Hawaii, to see what everybody was doing in their states. There was a lot of debate about the proposed mid-level practitioner role.

On Friday, we attended more sessions. There was an interactive session that encouraged us to socialize and demonstrated how to network more effectively. We had opportunities throughout the day to connect with our leadership groups; we ate lunch together, talked about real-world cases, compared what we’ve been doing in our clinics. On Saturday morning, we had another House of Delegates meeting, where they voted on resolutions.

Is there anything you learned that surprised you?

I learned a lot whenever the American Association of Avian Pathologists group talked. They are dealing with billions of animals on a daily basis. Some of the rules and regulations the AVMA is trying to promote—like on handling—don’t apply to avian pathologists because they have such a large population of patients. It was eye-opening to hear their perspective, because it can change how you phrase the wording within regulations and handbooks.

Why is it important for early career veterinary professionals to get involved in organized veterinary medicine?

There’s a lot of proposed legislation that affects us on both the state and national levels, with the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act being one example of the latter. It’s important to make sure that your voice is heard. It’s slang, but there is truth to the phrase “if you don’t do politics, politics will do you.” You can help form the opinions that create legislation. The newer generations are going to be our pioneers and the catalysts to more—and hopefully better—change.

What was your favorite part of the conference and your experience?

Oh, goodness, all of it! The House of Delegates meetings are always interesting. I also met a lot of cool people. One of my favorite humans that I met was a practice owner out in Arkansas. She and I talked about navigating practice ownership, because that’s potentially something that I’d be interested in down the line. Most of all, my favorite part was the networking within the CVMA. Overall, it was really enjoyable, and I learned a lot. There are certain things that my boss wants me to implement here, or at least try to implement. So, we’ll see how that goes!