James Clarkson, DVM has been practicing veterinary medicine for over 20 years, and is the
owner of Westarbor Animal Hospital. He chose to enter the veterinary profession because he loves
medicine, feels close to animals, and helping people with their pet’s problems brings him much joy.
Dr. Clarkson graduated from Michigan State University in 1978 and belongs to many professional organizations. These include the American Animal Hospital Association, American Veterinary Dental Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, Southeastern Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and Washtenaw Academy of Veterinary Medicine.
He has a special interest in veterinary dentistry and is working towards fulfilling his goal of becoming a board certified veterinary dentist.
He and his wife Pam, a dentist, have two sons. They also have a dog named Gina, a Standard Poodle and
a cat, Purr who resides at Westarbor.
Click here for Dr. Clarkson's resume.
Stefanie Hedding, Westarbor’s office manager,has been working in the veterinary medicine
field for over nine years, and for Westarbor since 1994.
She originally entered the profession by taking a summer job as a part-time receptionist. She liked it so much that she stayed in the field as an office manager after she received her Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University. She enjoys working with the clients and their pets and being in a profession that helps the welfare of animals.
Stefanie has a Management membership in the AAHA American Animal Hospital Association and has completed several management and animal care courses including:
- Team Based Management
- Building Referrals
- Animal Health and Nutrition OSHA Training
- Front Desk Training
- Advanced Veterinary Software Training
- Coaching and Teambuilding Management Skills
- Building the Successful Veterinary Practice
- Companion Animal Practice Management Series (MVMA)
- Enhancing Performance Through Understanding Yourself and Others Mid-State Veterinary Medical Association Pratice Management Seminar
AAHA National Conferences she's attended include:
- Staff Communication Challenges
- Implementing Senior Care Guidelines
- AAFP Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel Report
- Preventing Parasites- Protecting Pets and People, and Acceptance of Healthcare Recommendations
- Michigan Management Seminar by Butler Animal Health
- Veterinary Blueprint for Transformation, and AAHA Managing your Inventory
Stefanie’s goals for Westarbor are to keep the staff current on medical information so that they can educate our clients on the best possible care for their pets while keeping a unified team committed to high quality service and care.
Stefanie and her husband Paul have one daughter and enjoy camping, horseback riding and living near the water. Stefanie has several pets, Chloe, a Cocker Spaniel, Buddy, a Beagle, three cats, Lily, Laddie and Winnie, a fish named Rosie and an Arabian horse named Bravo.
Jenifer Parsons is Westarbor's head receptionist. She attended Southside Regional
School of Nursing. Jenifer has been with the practice since 1999 where she began her career in the
veterinary field.
Her love and dedication to her work is fueled by her love for animals. Jenifer’s valued commitment to high quality client service and pet care is evidenced by the ongoing educational conferences she has attended, such as Professional Telephone Skills, Excel at the Front Desk, How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service as well as an assortment of animal care lectures including Implementing Senior Care Guidelines and AAFP Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel Report.
Jenifer has two sons, Nickolas and Sullivan that keep her busy as well as two dogs, Boca, a Pug mix and Oompa a Pug, and three cats, FeFe LaMew, and Kung Fu Schnickens
Kristen Vichinsky Kristen as been with Westarbor since 1998 and has served in virtually all capacities within the hospital.
She began as a kennel assistant and has served in all other job responsibilities until landing on the role of Veterinary Technician. Kristen is a highly skilled Technician in training who is only a few classes away from graduating from the Ameican Animal Hospital Association’s school of Veterinary Technology as a Licensed Veterinary Technician.
Kristen is a highly valued member of the Westarbor team who began her career in Veterinary Medicine as a result of having grown up around animals, having an interest in animal welfare and a desire to contribute to the betterment of animal care.
Along with her ongoing Technician training, Kristen has also completed many continuing education courses in the area of animal are such as:
- Surgical Nursing Care
- Essential Patient Protocols
- Practical Approach to Diagnosing and Treating the Pruritic Dog
- Canine Periodontal Disease
- The AAFP Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel Report
Kristen has special interests in nutrition and behavior for which she has completed the Hill’s Pet Nutrition Certification and has attended Animal Behavior by Theresa DePorter and the Karen Pryor Clicker Training Seminar.
Kristen is responsible for developing Westarbor’s nutrition program so that we can utilize the role nutrition plays in the health and welfare of our client’s pets. Kristen and Meghan are together developing a behavior program so as to try to prevent behavior problems in our client’s young pets and change behavior issues in the adult pet so as to make the human/pet bond as wonderful as possible.
Kristen has a son, Kayden. She also has some furry friends that keep her busy, three cats, Hooks, Izod, and Meatball and two dogs Dozer, an Old English Mastiff and Gage, an American Staffordshire Terrier.
Cher Rusling joined the staff of Westarbor Animal Hospital in the fall of 2007 as one of our Client Service Specialists. This is Cher’s first position in the Veterinary field, but she has always wanted to work in a Veterinary hospital as she enjoys meeting and interacting with people and their pets.
Cher has a strong customer service background which is a strong asset to the hospital and a strong contributor to the high level of service we strive to provide our clients and their pets. Cher has two adult cats named Dusk and Shadow. They are male siblings who look like twins with beautiful long grey hair.
Cher has lived in Ann Arbor since 1980 and is married with an adult son. Cher's hobbies include walking in the woods, reading and listening to music as well as being an avid potter who has been a member of the Ann Arbor Potters Guild since 1999. We are happy to have Cher on our team and know you will enjoy meeting her as much as she looks forward to meeting you.
Meghan Beck is one of Westarbors Licensed Veterinary Technicians who joined our team in August 2007. Meghan is a 2007 graduate of the Baker College school of Veterinary Technology with an Associates of Applied Sciences in Veterinary Technology degree, and has been working in the animal industry since 2001 where she began her career caring for exotic pets and educating clients on their care at the Pet Station.
Meghan also worked as an Animal Care Attendant and then as Licensed Veterinary Technician for Cascades Humane Society in Jackson Michigan, where she excelled at many aspects of animal care including some management policy development.
Meghan is an active member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA) as well as the Michigan Association of Veterinary Technicians (MAVT).
Meghan has a special interest in the study of dentistry as well as behavior, and has attended a behavior training course by Karen Pryor called Essential Patient Protocols and continues to pursue further education in these areas of interest.
Meghan and Kristen Vichinsky are actively developing a behavior program for Westarbor so as to make the relationships our clients have with the pets the best possible.
Meghan has two cats Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious as well as an Irish Wolfhound named Mason.
Gale Marcoux joined the team at Westarbor Animal Hospital in October of 2007. Her position at Westarbor is multifaceted, because she works as a Client Service Specialist as well as a Technician Assistant working hands on with the pets. Gale has been in the Veterinary Field since 2003 and chose this as her career path because of her extreme passion for the welfare and care of animals.
Gale has a Bachelor of Science degree from Ferris State University and prior to her work in the Veterinary field Gale was in the corporate world where she built a strong foundation of customer service skills and an appreciation for meeting client’s needs.
Gale is more than just a dog owner though, she has been involved since 2001 in the group Therapaws, a dog therapy association that takes pets into hospitals, nursing homes, etc. as a method of patient therapy. Gale currently serves on the Therapaws board of directors.
Gale has also helped organize and facilitate several canine blood drives for Midwest Animal Blood Services an organization that works to provide quality non-human blood components to those animals in need nationwide. Seven of Gale’s own dogs serve as blood donors.
Gale lives with her husband Paul and their household of beloved pets, most of which were rescue animals, some with medical problems that Gale and Paul saw to it were treated. Gale and Paul have fifteen dogs, Sherman, a hound mix, Bailey, Jenna, See See, Wilson, Tuscan, Bali, and Bert, all Golden Retrievers, Hoover, a Grand Bassett Griffon Vendeen, Kali, a Golden mix, Katie, a Petite Bassett Griffon, Beau, a Duck Toller, Norman, a Flat Coat Retriever mix, Stanley, mixed breed, and Melvin, a Dogue du Bordeaux. Gale and Paul also have one house cat, Fang and many barn cats, some of which are named, Autumn, Roger, Rocky, Princess, and Fred.
Gale and Paul used to ride and show horses and currently have three horses, Regent and Bud, both Morgans and Concha, a Throughbred.
Judy R. Conley, BS, LVT has been a member of the Westarbor team since 2006 and has been in the Veterinary field since 2002.
Judy graduated from Winthrop University in South Carolina in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing.
She has since graduated with high honors from Stautzenberger College in Ohio with an Associate of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology. She has been practicing as a Licensed Veterinary Technician in Michigan since 2004.
Prior to her entrance into the Veterinary field, Judy worked for many years as a Marketing Coordinator and Event Planner in various industries. There she gained the reputation for providing her clients with excellent service and management of their needs.
Utilizing these skills, she began working with the Michigan Association of Veterinary Technicians (MAVT) in 2006 as an elected Board Member.
As Vice President she coordinated efforts for the organizations annual Fall Conference and successfully increased the organization’s visibility and name recognition across the State. Judy’s work continues with the MAVT promoting the organization and the profession of Licensed Veterinary Technicians in Michigan.
Judy has also served as a member of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association’s (MVMA) Veterinary Technician Committee. She is also an active member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA).
In practice, Judy enjoys tremendously working with Westarbor clients and their pets. Whether a medical condition or behavior issue, she enjoys helping to bridge the gap of understanding between human, animal, and medicine.
Staying current in her field enables her to do this as Judy is an advocate for the requirement of Continuing Education (CE) for Technicians. Judy attends over 20 hours annually of CE on both a regional and national level in addition to monthly review of professional journals from the field.
Judy is married and has two cats “Gracie” and “Jake”.
Nichelle Southworth began with Westarbor in March of 2009. Nichelle graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Veterinary Technology with a minor in business management.
Nichelle is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association as well the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America.
She has been in the Veterinary field since she was a very young child. Her mother is a Licensed Technician like Nichelle and her stepfather is a Veterinarian with his own practice. When she was young she used to take her nap in with the boarding animals and spent most of her days in the clinic watching her parents care for animals.
Nichelle started cleaning kennels and has worked her way up in the field of Veterinary Medicine and has a vast array of experience and talent to bring to Westarbor. In addition, Nichelle has a very soft heart for animals and has adopted quite a few that may otherwise have not been given a chance at life.
Her dog RooBear, an eight year old Shar-pei mix came into her parent’s clinic six years ago after having been hit by a car and suffered extensive injuries. Seeing what a loving spirit RooBear had, Nichelle helped nurse him back to health and now he is a happy, healthy dog again.
Her other pets include two cats, Noah (the terrorist), a four year old black and white domestic medium hair who Nichelle hand raised and bottle fed, and Moses, a orange domestic shorthair stray kitty that she rescued. And finally, Nichelle also rescued Gus – her mouse. Her mother left her outside alone so Nichelle dropper fed her and made her a part of her family.
Nichelle has been an amazing addition to the Westarbor staff and we are thrilled to have her
and are confident all of our clients will love her as well!