Meet the 2023-24 Donald G. Low-CVMA Practitioner Fellows

Adrienne Bautista

Adrienne Bautista

Nutrition
Royal Canin USA Inc.; work remotely out of Woodland, CA

Originally from North Carolina, Dr. Bautista moved to California to pursue her doctoral degree in physiology. After completing her PhD, she went on to obtain her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California, Davis. 

Following her DVM, Dr. Bautista practiced small animal general and emergency medicine in the Sacramento area and served as the campus veterinarian for a local veterinary technology program.  She returned to the University of California, Davis to complete a dairy food safety and security fellowship and a residency in clinical veterinary toxicology at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory.  Dr. Bautista worked briefly as an associate toxicologist for the California Environmental Protection Agency before returning to general practice for several years. 

A Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology, she has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, and lay articles.  Her experience in research, clinical practice, and toxicology brings a unique perspective to her current role as a Scientific Communications Veterinarian for Royal Canin.  Dr. Bautista is excited about the Don Low Fellowship as this will allow her to gain valuable insights from boarded nutritionists and other specialists which she can then leverage to make a more impactful role at Royal Canin. 

Louisa Cammidge

Louisa Cammidge

Medical Oncology
VCA South County Animal Hospital, Arroyo Grande, CA 

Dr. Louisa Cammidge is a small animal veterinarian living on the Central California Coast, in San Luis Obispo County. After spending the beginning of her small animal veterinary career working in big cities like San Francisco she is grateful to live and practice in a small California beach town, where there is rarely any traffic and beautiful weather most of the year.

Early on in veterinary school, Dr. Cammidge intended to pursue a career in wildlife medicine. Her interest in exotics, however, led to a fascination with foreign and zoonotic diseases. She completed a master’s in public health and spent a year working for the State of California, in the Veterinary Public Health Section. Eventually, Dr. Cammidge found she missed the relationships she developed with her furry patients and pet owners and returned to general practice.

She spent a few years working at an integrative practice and became certified in veterinary acupuncture in 2013. Dr. Cammidge is delighted to receive the Don Low Fellow in Medical Oncology. Being able to provide chemotherapy locally can be the difference between giving pet owners a month with their beloved companions versus a year or more. Living in our small town means pet owners need to travel 2-3 hours to find an oncologist. For many pets, a long car ride is just too stressful. She looks forward to using her knowledge to expand the care she can provide for her patients locally.

Kim Fenske

Kim Fenske

Neurology
Vineyard Veterinary Hospital, Lockeford, CA
Sacramento SPCA, Sacramento, CA
ACT Spay Neuter Clinic, Stockton, CA

Dr. Fenske was born and raised in South Sacramento. She attended UC Davis earning a BS in zoology in 1992 and then a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1996. After graduating from veterinary school, she returned to Sacramento to work as a small animal general practitioner. After 15 years of working and building practices, she left full-time work for relief to allow more freedom with her schedule. This was short-lived, leading to part-time jobs and steady contract work.

She currently works part-time in general practice in Lockeford and high-volume spay-neuter clinics in Sacramento and Stockton. Dr. Fenske's enthusiasm for neurology increased when her dog was diagnosed with a brain tumor. As difficult as the experience was as an owner, it was fascinating medically. Her quest for information and learning was fed by abundant online educational opportunities from the COVID shutdown. She is excited to start the Don Low Fellowship and gain more exposure to neurologic cases in person. In her spare time, Dr. Fenske stays active and busy with swimming, cycling, running, hiking, yard and home projects, and her pets. She has participated in several races over the last decade, including two Ironman races.

Betsy Goldenberg

Betsy Goldenberg

Ophthalmology
San Francisco SPCA, CA

Dr. Betsy Goldenberg was born and raised in Ohio. She completed her undergraduate training at the University of Colorado, Boulder and returned to Ohio for veterinary school, graduating from The Ohio State School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Goldenberg always knew she wanted to work with animals – specifically as a marine mammal trainer. However, it wasn’t until she started working in a small animal hospital after college that she discovered her passion for veterinary medicine. Working along many female veterinarians, she saw the rewards and challenges of veterinary medicine, as well as the opportunity to be a mother and a vet. Today Dr. Goldenberg is both and she loves it!

Dr. Goldenberg moved to San Francisco in 2005 and joined the San Francisco SPCA in 2013. She feels lucky to practice in an organization that strives to provide access to high quality veterinary care to the entire community. Within the SPCA hospital, Betsy sees both daytime ER and GP cases, and has a special interest in geriatric medicine. When not working, you can find Betsy attempting to cook a new recipe, out for a trail run, trying to improve her tennis game and spending time with her husband, 2 kids and one crazy dog.

Sawsan Overton

Sawsan Overton

Small Animal Emergency/Critical Care
Insight Veterinary Wellness Center in El Dorado Hills 

Dr. Sawsan Overton participated in her first veterinary procedure when she was 10, restraining the neighborhood cat as their veterinarian lanced an abscess.  An encounter of a surgery team recovering a horse while leaving one of her veterinary classes at school set her up for her first career path.

Dr. Overton spent the first 15 years of her career working to become an equine surgeon. She graduated veterinary school in Budapest Hungary in 2002. She moved to Belgium then Canada and finally arrived at the University of California in Davis where she completed a surgical residency in equine surgery. It was during her time at UC Davis that she started getting drawn towards small animal emergency and critical care.

She took the plunge and changed paths in 2012 and never looked back. She completed a rotating small animal internship with an emergency emphasis at a referral center in Sacramento. She then worked at an emergency clinic in Elk Grove. She has finally found her niche as an emergency veterinarian at Insight Veterinary Wellness Center in El Dorado Hills and has recently been assigned chief of their emergency service.

Dr. Overton is excited to be back at the VMTH discussing cases with their faculty, residents and students. This fellowship has come at a perfect time -  she hopes to share the knowledge she obtains with her emergency team so they can improve the care and referral in the area they serve.