Josette Phillips Richmond, MS, DVM 
HSVMA VIRGINIA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Dr. Josette M. Phillips Richmond is a 2008 graduate of Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, she practiced in rural southwest Virginia as a large animal practitioner. Two years later, she decided to redirect her efforts into small animal practice.

Currently, Dr. Phillips Richmond, a resident of West Virginia, is the Medical Director of Angels of Assisi in Roanoke, VA, where she has been affiliated with the organization since 2011. Angels  is a NO-kill shelter that has been involved with rescues in hoarding and cruelty cases, and has helped take animals from natural disasters, including floods and hurricanes. Angels also offers low-income areas in rural Virginia and West Virginia, and provides low-cost surgeries—including spays, neuters, amputations, orthopedics and exploratories—to clients. Angels has a transport truck which goes to rural areas to provide treatment, and runs "transport" to other areas. On these transports, Angels will pick up animals in rural areas, bring them to the clinic, perform the necessary procedures and transport them back to their originating areas. Dr. Phillips Richmond also volunteers with several local police agencies, testifies in their animal cruelty cases, and is the supervising veterinarian of their controlled-capture program.

Working in conjunction with HSVMA, Dr. Phillips Richmond hopes to expand animal advocacy and grow membership engagement within Virginia. She also serves as the HSVMA West Virginia State Representative.

Laura Parkhurst, DVM, MPH, XMNR 
HSVMA VIRGINIA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Dr. Laura Parkhurst is a clinical instructor for the Shelter Medicine & Surgery program at Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine where she and her team instruct veterinary students in providing medical and surgical care to shelter animals within southwest Virginia.

In addition to her enthusiasm for mentoring the next generation of vets, Dr. Parkhurst is extremely passionate about educating owners on pet care, increasing public outreach by engaging with local government entities and non-profits, developing partnerships between human and animal safe-havens, and addressing the lack of affordable access to quality veterinary care within her community.

As well as serving as HSVMA Virginia State Representative, Dr. Parkhurst is the Team Lead for the Street Dog Coalition of the New River Valley, and volunteers throughout the year with Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) and The Parker Project.

Along with her husband, Dr. Parkhurst lives on a small farm that is home to numerous rescue animals including cats, dogs, and chickens. During her downtime, she likes to read novels, travel to far-away places, hone her bushcraft skills, watch British procedurals, and binge true-crime podcasts.

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