Meet the RECOVER
Initiative Team

Dr. Fletcher has been on the faculty of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine since 2006. After receiving a BS in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of California Berkeley/San Francisco, he obtained his DVM from the University of California at Davis. He then completed a rotating internship and emergency and critical care residency at the University of Pennsylvania. He has received multiple teaching awards, including the 2020 Zoetis Distinguished Teaching Award and is co-chair of the RECOVER Initiative, which published the first evidence-based veterinary CPR guidelines. His research interests include disorders of fibrinolysis, epilepsy, and the use of immersive simulation in teaching. He has been building simulators for veterinary education since 2009 and opened the Tetlow and Roy Park Innovation Lab, an immersive simulation center at Cornell in the fall of 2015.

Jamie Burkitt graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 2000 and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2005. Since that time, she has worked in university and private practice across the United States. She is an Associate Professor of Clinical Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at UC Davis. Her professional interests are prevention of recurrent feline urethral obstruction, endocrine emergencies, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Ken has dedicated his career to reimagining veterinary nursing for 24 years. He is currently the Chief Veterinary Nursing Officer for Veterinary Emergency Group, and the Program Director for the RECOVER Initiative.

Over the years, Ken has received many accolades, including the Veterinary Technician of the Year award by NAVTA and the AVECCTN Specialty Technician of the Year award. Ken co-edited the Veterinary Technician and Nurse’s Daily Reference Guide for Canine and Feline, and the Manual of Veterinary Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking, and publishes articles and presents internationally on topics in ECC, transfusion medicine, and the veterinary nursing profession.

Ken passionately works to bring further recognition of the vital role of the veterinary nurses and technicians through work with industry leading organizations. He is also an advocate for the Open Hospital Concept, encouraging veterinary practices to invite the pet owners to “the back” as a part of the team.

Ken invites everyone to ask “Why?” to understand the “What” and “How” of our field, and to continually pursue new limits as veterinary professionals and individuals.

Dr. Boller graduated from veterinary school at the University of Zurich, Switzerland in 1997, followed by work in private practice, a doctoral thesis and an anesthesia residency. He then pursued a residency in veterinary ECC at the University of Pennsylvania and stayed on as a lecturer in ICU at PennVet. He then undertook a translational research fellowship at Penn’s Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) leading to a Masters in Translational Research degree in 2010, while concurrently conducting research at the Center for Resuscitation Science of Penn’s Medical School from 2006 to 2012. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Emergency and Critical Care at the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Melbourne, serves as a member of the scientific committee of ACVECC and the ANZCVS ECC Chapter and is co-chair of the RECOVER Initiative and other collaborative research initiatives to advance evidence based veterinary medicine.

Deborah Silverstein earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Georgia's School of Veterinary Medicine, followed by a small-animal rotating internship at the same institution. She then spent 3 years at the University of California, Davis as a resident in small animal Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. She obtained Diplomate status before moving to Philadelphia to join the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently a Professor of Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She enjoys clinical research on topics such as shock, resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and microcirculatory perfusion. Dr. Silverstein has co-edited 2 textbooks, over 60 manuscripts, and more than 50 book chapters. She greatly enjoys lecturing and teaching colleagues, residents, interns, students, and nurses about critical care medicine in small animals.

Gabrielle Riccio is a practicing emergency veterinarian in the Chicagoland area. She graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020 with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. She then completed a rotating internship at the Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Gabrielle currently serves on the board of directors of VECCS and is involved in committees within the organization as well. Her additional career interests include trauma, wound management, pain management, and feline medicine. She is additionally Fear Free Certified and Feline Friendly Veterinarian Certified. When not at work, Gabrielle enjoys spending time with her husband, family, and her four rescue cats.

Harold Davis is a veterinary practice educational consultant and the former Manager of the Emergency and Critical Care Service at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, where he spent 36 years of his career. With more than 50 years in the veterinary profession, Harold has extensive experience in academic medicine, private general practice, and emergency clinics.

A nationally and internationally recognized leader, Harold is the co-founder and first President of the Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians. In this role, he was instrumental in securing provisional recognition from the North American Veterinary Technicians Association for veterinary technician specialists—the first organization to achieve this milestone. He is also a charter member of the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia.

Harold has held numerous influential leadership positions, including Past President of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS), where he became the first non veterinarian elected to lead the organization’s more than 5,000 members. He also served as President of the Board of Directors for the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and as Treasurer for both NAVTA and VECCS.

His service to the profession includes appointments to continuing education program committees for AAHA, ACVIM, VECCS, NAVC, and UC Davis. In 1985, Harold was appointed by California Governor George Deukmejian to the Registered Veterinary Technician Examining Committee, a subcommittee of the California Veterinary Medical Board, where he served for a record fifteen years, including terms as Chair and Vice Chair. He has also served on the editorial board of The Veterinary Technician journal.

Harold currently volunteers with blendVET® on their Pathway Program, an immersive, hands-on initiative designed to introduce middle and high school students (ages 11–17) — particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds — to careers in veterinary medicine.

Harold is a RECOVER BLS/ALS Certified Instructor, an international speaker who has presented in 15 countries, and a published author of book chapters and journal articles. He co edited the second edition of Advanced Monitoring and Procedures for Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care. His many honors include the 2026 Bridge Club ICON Award.

Joshua Lampe has spent his career applying engineering concepts to solve physiological challenges. Joshua earned a PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied the role of blood borne proteins in the physiological response to gas embolism. Joshua completed a Post Doctoral Fellowship in the Center for Resuscitation Science in the department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. During his fellowship, Joshua studied mass and heat transport during cardiac arrest and resuscitation and was a finalist for the Cournand and Comroe Early Career Investigator Prize in Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation from the American Heart Association in 2014. Joshua served on the Research Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania from 2012-2015 and Northwell Health from 2015-2018. In 2018, Josh joined ZOLL Medical Corporation as a Principal Scientist, was promoted to Director of Scientific Affairs in 2021, and has been serving as Vice President of Clinical and Scientific Affairs since 2024.

Leah Stephenson is a digital health professional and science communicator who has spent her career bridging the worlds of healthcare, education, and business. She has a genuine passion for communicating scientific ideas in ways that connect and educate audiences. With a foundation in biomedical communications, she brings a rare combination of scientific literacy and creative vision to everything she does.

Before co-founding Think Partners, Leah spent nearly two decades at LifeLearn where she led the Corporate Solutions Division, growing lasting client relationships, and delivering innovative and effective solutions.

Leah is a collaborative and enthusiastic leader and is known for inspiring and motivating others through creative and strategic insights to achieve business vision.

When not working Leah is mom to her son Nolan, dog whisperer to her highly active Golden Doodle Bella, and avid runner preferably in flat places with a rich history in art.