Barry Kipperman, DVM, DACVIM, MSc, DACAW
HSVMA CALIFORNIA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Dr. Barry Kipperman is board-certified in both small animal internal medicine and in animal welfare and was staff internist and founder of a 24-hour referral/emergency practice in the San Francisco Bay area. After 26 years in practice, he decided to devote the remainder of his career to animal welfare and ethics.

Dr. Kipperman received a masters degree in animal welfare, ethics and law from the University of Edinburgh in 2017. He teaches veterinary ethics at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and animal welfare and ethics for the University of Missouri. His particular interests include farm animal welfare, the influence of economics on animal welfare and veterinarian well-being, and the ethical dilemmas of veterinarians. Dr. Kipperman has published numerous papers on ethical issues within the veterinary profession. Among the works he has written are two columns published in the HSVMA e-newsletter, "Should Veterinarians Discuss the Cost of Care with Our Clients?," and "Economic Euthanasia: A Disease in Need of Prevention." Barry is co-author of Ethics in Veterinary Practice: Balancing Conflicting Interests and is author of Decision Making in Veterinary Practice.

Dr. Kipperman is the Board President of both the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association and MightyVet, an organization devoted to the wellness of veterinary professionals. Barry also serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Veterinary Medical Ethics. He is a member of the California Veterinary Medical Association's animal welfare committee.

Paula Kislak, DVM
HSVMA CALIFORNIA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Her noteworthy career has involved work with the San Diego Humane Society and The Humane Society of Greater Miami, as well as positions in private practice in California. She currently serves as a relief veterinary practitioner and is both a consultant and lobbyist for animal welfare issues.Dr. Paula A. Kislak graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida in 1984, after pursuing degrees in both psychology and zoology at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Dr. Kislak has been a powerful advocate for animals over the years, acting as an expert witness on a variety of animal related issues and participating in a number of advisory boards and activist organizations. She has published research articles for the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and given numerous presentations both nationwide and overseas.

She has been affiliated with several professional veterinary organizations in her career, most notably the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, which she served as both president and board member of for many years. She is currently on the Board of Directors for Humane Society of the United States.

Sy Woon, BVSc
HSVMA CALIFORNIA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Dr. Sy Woon originates from Australia where she grew up in Canberra and graduated from the University of Sydney’s veterinary school. Since moving to the United States in 2015, she has worked extensively in private practice as well as at non-profit hospitals and rescues. During this time, she was appointed Medical Director at both Justin Bartlett Animal Hospital and Good Karma Pet Rescue of South Florida. She also worked with Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, providing in-home euthanasia and hospice care, and is currently undertaking her Veterinary Acupuncture certification with Chi University. Most recently, she moved to Los Angeles to launch the LA branch of a mobile vet company, The Vets. For the past seven years, she has been the HSVMA Florida State Co-Representative which has involved advocating for and lobbying on animal welfare issues such as puppy mills and declawing, as well as supporting legislative reforms such the successful ban on greyhound racing in Florida.

During vet school, Dr. Woon served as President of the University of Sydney Animal Welfare Society for three years and was heavily involved in campaigning on various animal rights/welfare issues within her university, the local community and nationwide. She founded the Sydney University Vets Beyond Borders Student Chapter and was selected as a representative on her university’s Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. Dr. Woon worked as Project Officer and Volunteer Coordinator for Medical Advances Without Animals (MAWA) Trust for several years, and was involved with Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics as Student Coordinator, and then Committee Member. She wrote a project proposal for Sentient that was awarded a grant from Voiceless The Animal Protection Institute to fund the development of an annual essay contest for veterinary students encouraging critical research into animals exploited in agriculture, entertainment and laboratories.

Dr. Woon has spoken at multiple stateside and international conferences on animal welfare and ethics and aspires to work with children, fostering their innate compassion for animals. Dr. Woon was awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant to carry out a rabies prevention and education campaign in India that she independently designed; she presented her research on humane veterinary education as an invited speaker at the 8th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences in Montreal; and her op-eds on social issues and her animal ethics research have been published in newspapers and journals, including the Sun Sentinel and ALTEX.

Inspired by her passion for pet education and animal advocacy, Dr. Woon created PetParentsPro™️(www.petparentspro.com)--a free educational video platform designed for pet parents worldwide, with the purpose of improving pets’ quality of life by educating about humane behavior training, emergency prevention, and welfare-friendly at-home pet care tips. Dr. Woon has been invited as a veterinarian guest to radio shows, including NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’, Talking Animals on WNMF (88.5 FM), and podcasts such as ‘Humane Voices.’ She has also been interviewed for media reports such as ABC’s WPBF 25 News, Fox News, WESH2 News as well as being featured as a veterinary expert on news stations including NBC and CBS News.

To contact an HSVMA State Representative, please email [email protected].