Our Team's Shining Stars

We are very proud of all of our team members, and the contributions and care they provide every day. The team members featured here are our employees who have been a part of Animal Medical Center for 5 or more years and/or have reached an educational goal. We are very proud of these shining stars and look forward to adding the rest of our team as they achieve their individual goals and accomplishments.

Veterinary Assistants

Debbie Poindexter
Registered Veterinary Technician

Prior to joining the veterinary field Debbie was the owner of a bakery in Florida and also had corporate administrative assisting experience. Debbie’s veterinary career began in 2000 . She then joined Animal Medical Center as a veterinary assistant and has been with us for 8 years. Debbie has pursued her education and reached her goal of becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician. She successfully completed the Veterinary Technician National Examination, through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards. R.V.T.’s must also complete ongoing continuing educational requirements to maintain their license. In addition to her animal care responsibilities, Debbie assists in the day to day operations, training, and management duties at AMC. Debbie has two dogs and a cat, and her hobbies are reading, painting and decorating, and spending time at the beach.

Kristy Ford

Kristy just celebrated her 13th year at AMC. She works as a veterinary assistant while also working at a corporation as an administrative assistant. She has a B.S in Exercise Medicine from Georgia Southern University, and she maintains an interest in that field as well. Kristy has 2 dogs and a cat at home and her hobbies are hiking, dancing, reading and kickboxing. She hopes to further her veterinary education by learning more about reptiles and birds.

Heather Reed
Certified Dog Trainer

Heather has been with Animal Medical Center for 3 years. Heather has past experience in dog boarding and animal care. She was a pet daycare supervisor and worked with rescued dogs for over a year by training and socializing them for adoption. Heather has been working towards becoming a Certified Dog Trainer. She attained her goal by successfully completing the Dog Obedience Instructor Program at Animal Behavior College, and completing her externship with a certified dog trainer. Heather is an Advanced Certified Pet Care Technician through the American Boarding Kennels Association. She has two dogs and she enjoys painting, hiking with her dogs, swimming and photography.

Jenna Lang

Jenna has been with AMC for 4 years as a veterinary assistant. After obtaining her associate degree in business, she attended American International University, graduating with a B.S. in Criminal Science. Her interest is in forensic investigation. Her hobbies are photography, art, and drawing. Jenna also has two cats. One of her special interests at AMC is caring for our boarding pets to make their home away from home as comfortable as possible. She also enjoys studying animal behavior.

Nicole Auttelet-Smith

Nicole has been with AMC for five years. While working with us she also holds a position as an account executive for a biotechnology company. Nicole has an AS in Business Administration from Georgia Perimeter College and a BS in Biology from North Georgia College. Nicole has always enjoyed caring for animals and is especially fond of cats. She and her husband have 3 cats at home, and they are big Georgia Tech football fans. They have a son, and her hobbies include reading and traveling. Nicole loves to make people laugh, and she always has a friendly word and a big smile for our clients and her teammates.

Customer Service Representatives

Jennifer Kemp

Jennifer has been with AMC for 9 years. She has extensive medical knowledge in both pet and human health. Previously she was a medical assistant for an orthopedist, and attended the University of Georgia while working toward her Bachelors of Science in Biology. She assists the veterinarians with research and gathering technical information for our patients. She also has extensive knowledge regarding prescription diets. Jen and her husband Keith have a dog and three cats, and in her spare time she enjoys gardening and is a big football fan. Her interests are sports medicine, ecology, and marine biology. She enjoys researching and expanding her knowledge in these areas.

Jen Taylor

Jen started her career at AMC as a veterinary assistant 13 years ago. During that time she also completed continuing education through International Correspondence Schools, and received her diploma in Animal Science in 1999. She became a Customer Service Representative in 2003, and her veterinary assisting experience has been an asset when working with our clients regarding pet care and boarding services. She also assists with database management for the Hospital Administrator. Jen and her husband Phil have a dog and a cat. She enjoys reading, cooking and gardening.

Becky Wiley

Becky has 7 years of service with AMC. She started with the hospital as a veterinary assistant, and still performs part time veterinary assisting duties in addition to her responsibilities as one of our customer service representatives. Becky and her husband Brandon have two dogs and two cats. Becky has a strong interest in client education. Her goal is to make a difference in animal health and client care, and to build relationships with clients and their pets. She attends seminars and participates in on-line continuing education classes to expand her knowledge of veterinary medicine and customer service. In her spare time Becky enjoys music, singing in her church band, and traveling.

Groomers

Joy Burke

Joy has been a groomer at AMC for 10 years. She had prior grooming experience before joining us, and also has a background in public relations. She has a B.A. in English and has experience in creative, business and technical writing. She left the corporate world in 1999 to become a groomer and pursue her desire to work with animals. It is Joy’s focus to help keep pets healthy through grooming care and also by providing clients with quality instruction and feedback regarding their pet’s grooming needs. She has formed many bonds with clients and their pets and enjoys developing and maintaining those relationships. Joy has volunteered at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. She enjoys bird watching, creative writing, photography and reading. She and her husband Michael have 3 dogs.

Tina Lamb

Tina has five years of service with us as a groomer. Tina had been grooming for two years prior to joining our team. Tina is a graduate of Lanier Technical College with a business diploma, and is also a 2003 graduate of the International Academy of Pet Design, Advanced Professional Grooming Course. Before focusing her career on animal care, she was a medical transcriptionist for 11 years. She takes pride in working personally with our clients to develop a protocol for their pet's grooming needs, and enjoys working with new puppies to start them out with a good grooming experience. She has created a Groomer's Award for pets to go home with at the end of their spa day, and her goal is to always keep pets looking and feeling great. Tina and her husband have 5 poodles at home, and she is a Humane Hearts Pet Therapy Volunteer, taking her dogs to nursing homes and working with the elderly.