2023: Barry Kipperman, DVM, DACVIM, MSc, DACAW
Dr. Barry Kipperman, a board-certified internal medicine specialist, he worked in private practice for nearly 30 years. He then decided to devote the remainder of his career to animal welfare and ethics, garnering a master’s degree in animal welfare, ethics and law from the University of Edinburgh in 2017 and earning board-certification in animal welfare in 2019.

In the professional arena, Dr. Kipperman is a member of the Animal Welfare Committee of the California Veterinary Medical Association and is on the Board of Directors of the HSVMA and MightyVet, an organization devoted to veterinary wellness. He also serves on the Veterinary Advisory Council of the Veterinary Mental Health Initiative and on the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council Consumer and Animal Advocacy Committee.

Dr. Kipperman has taught veterinary ethics at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine since 2016, and animal welfare and ethics for the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine since 2015. He received the Harrison-Kaplan Online Undergraduate Teaching Award from the University of Missouri in both 2019 and 2022. He also sponsors an award in veterinary ethics at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the Barry Kipperman Award at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and he supports the HSVMA Compassionate Care Scholarships for Veterinary Students.  Most recently, Dr. Kipperman co-edited with the late Dr. Bernard Rollin a 2022 textbook on veterinary ethics entitled, “Ethics in Veterinary Practice: Balancing Conflicting Interests.”

Dr. Kipperman’s research interests include the influence of economics on animal welfare and veterinarian well-being, and the ethical dilemmas and moral stress faced by veterinarians. He has published more than 15 articles focusing on veterinary ethics and animal welfare in JAVMA, DVM Newsmagazine, the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, the Veterinary Record, and other online publications. Dr. Kipperman is also a frequent speaker at veterinary education events.

2022: James A. Serpell, BSc, PhD

2021: Anne Quain (previously Fawcett), DVM, FNAP

Anne Quain a lecturer at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science (SSVS) and a companion animal veterinarian. She completed a Masters in small animal medicine and surgery through Murdoch University, is a member by examination in the animal welfare chapter of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS), and a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law. She teaches veterinary ethics at the SSVS and the University of Queensland, and is an examiner in the Animal Welfare Chapter of the ANZCVS.

Anne co-authored the book Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases with Dr Siobhan Mullan, and is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She co-edited the sold-out Vet Cookbook (published by the Centre for Veterinary Education). She is a member of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association leadership council.

2020: Alice Villalobos, DVM, FNAP

Past President, Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, Fellow Emeritus, National Academies of Practice, Past President, American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians, International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care Director, Pawspice & Animal Oncology Consultation Service, CA, Fear Free Advisory Group, Advisory Board, Grey Muzzle Organization, Founder, Peter Zippi Memorial Fund for Animals, Board of Directors, Animal Health Foundation of the SCVMA, BabelBark Advisory Board Member

2019: Andrew Knight, MANZCVS, DipECAWBM (AWSEL), DipACAW, PhD, FRCVS, SFHEA

2018: Al Dorn, DVM, DACVS

professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville, and a cofounder of SVME, Dr. Dorn helped form the group’s original constitution and bylaws and served on the association’s Program Committee. 

2017: James F. Wilson, DVM, JD

Currently teaches veterinary law, ethics, business management, and career development at 18-20 veterinary schools each year throughout the USA. He has authored six books and over 130 articles in various veterinary journals. He reviews and/or helps draft approximately 40 employment contracts/year for lawyers, practice owners, specialists, and new graduate veterinarians. In 1994, Dr. Wilson was a founder of the American Veterinary Medical Law Association. During 1996, he was awarded the prestigious Clinical Sciences Teacher of the Year Award by the Student AVMA House of Delegates, the only time this has been awarded to a non-clinician.

2015: Hal Markowitz, Ph.D.

The late Hal Markowitz was the faculty specialist in environmental enrichment and animal well-being at UC San Francisco and professor emeritus of biology at San Francisco State Univ. He was the first director of the Oregon Zoological Research Ctr and was research director at the San Francisco Zoo. He worked to design better zoos for wildlife and was known for his research on marine mammals and primates and his books, "Behavioral Enrichment in the Zoo" and "Enriching Animal Lives."  

2014: Dr. Franklin D. McMillan, DACVIM

is the Director of Well Being at Best Friends Society, and is the author of Mental Health and Well-Being in Animals.

2013: John B. McCarthy, DVM, MBA,

posthumously, for his leadership and

devotion in the field of veterinary ethics.

The SVME thanks Dr. McCarthy for being the

spearhead for the online Basic Veterinary Medical Ethics Course. This self study course 

opened for registration in May of 2013 on

the SVME web site Events page.