Meet Our Veterinary Staff
At Jonesville Animal Hospital, our veterinary staff have always been chosen based on their warm, nurturing approach to pet health care and genuine passion for helping others. We know how meaningful it is to build lasting, trusting relationships with local pet families in Newberry, Jonesville, Tioga, Alachua and Gainesville, FL. That's why our veterinary hospital is committed to cultivating an environment that is comforting, compassionate and personal for every visitor. We hope you take a moment to become acquainted with our veterinary team and stop in to visit our animal clinic firsthand very soon!
Management Team
Emily Practice Manager
Emily has worked with Dr. Vliet and Dr. Lerman for over 20 years after moving to Florida from Athens, Georgia. Over the years she has enjoyed working in many areas of the hospital and became our practice manager in 2014. She is truly proud to be a part of such a caring and compassionate team. Emily also loves being a mom to her daughter, Gaelyn, and spending time with her best friend, Groot (pictured above).
Christina Receptionist Team Leader
Christina joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team as a receptionist in June 2012 with 14 years of experience in the veterinary field. She has a Chinese Crested named Harold, a Chi-Weenie named Trooper, an American Bulldog Mix named Clyde and a French Bulldog named Yoda. Christina enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, cooking and watching sports.
Melanie Reception Team Leader
Melanie joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital family in March 2008. She is an Alachua County native and the loving mother to 2 two-legged and 2 four-legged kids. She loves anything Papillon, enjoys pet sitting, cooking, crafts and decorating.
Alexys Vet Tech Team Leader
Receptionist Team
Tiffany
Tiffany works at USGS Research Center as a biologist, but I stay on as an occasional part of the JAH team! She joined the JAH team in July 2018 after moving to Florida from New Jersey. She has been a huge animal lover her whole life, so naturally was drawn to the veterinary field. She is pursuing veterinary school, but if it doesn’t work out, is also pursuing a career in herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians). Tiffany loves spending time with all of her pets at home. She has two dogs, four cats, guinea pigs, amphibians, and a lot of reptiles! She enjoys nature walks, Disney, crafts, collecting and caring for plants, and taking her dogs everywhere she can.
Kim
Kim is originally from Cornwall England and came over to the United States in 2015. At home, she has a dog named Huckleberry, a terrier mix named Doodle Bug, and a tiny 4lb Maltese named Gemma. They also share the home with seven cats: Peaches, Niles, Draco, Ke$ha, Vampie, Klaus, and Special Agent Dale Cooper. When she is not at home keeping up with those cats, she is camping and exploring with the dogs!
Alyssa
Alyssa joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in September 2022. She is a Florida native and graduated in 2020 from the University of Tampa with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. She has many years of experience volunteering with animals at places such as Big Cat Rescue and the Humane Society. Alyssa also has a couple years of experience working as a client care specialist at another animal hospital. She has been an animal lover since she was a little kid and rescues animals regularly. She currently has many four-legged family members, including four Chihuahuas, a Pit Mix, a Doberman Mix and two cats. During her free time, she enjoys relaxing with her animals, reading, and spending time with family.
Gianna
Gianna is originally from New Jersey and moved to Florida in 2021. She has been working in the animal field for nine years. She has two cats, one named Waldo and the other named Kora. During her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.
Veterinary Technician Outpatient Team
Jenna
As the daughter of Dr. Lerman, Jenna has grown up within the walls of Jonesville Animal Hospital. When she was little, she would cozy up in the hospital surrounded by the wonders of veterinary medicine, sparking her passion for the field. As she enters her last years of undergrad at the University of Florida, her excitement grows even stronger as she comes closer to pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian. On a personal note, Jenna is a retired level 10 competitive gymnast, and enjoys working out, along with spending quality time with friends, listening to music, and spending time with her kitty, Blaze, her dog, Quaker, and her hamster, Paco.
Samanntha
Samanntha joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in August 2020. She was born and raised in Gainesville. She is no stranger to athletics and started playing volleyball at the age of five and continued throughout college. In college she won a Division 2 National Championship in volleyball and was nominated as MVP of the tournament in 2018. In 2020 she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Tampa and plans to attend Veterinary School in the near future. She has been involved with a local shelter in Gainesville since 2014. She has two dogs, named Copper and Beau, and kitty named Nova. In her spare time, Samanntha enjoys fishing, water sports, adventures with her dog, and spending time with the family and friends.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth joined Jonesville Animal Hospital in May of 2022. She has always had a passion for caring for animals, especially in the medical aspect. Elizabeth will be a veterinarian someday and hopes to run a practice of her own. She is working on her Bachelors in Animal Science at University of Florida, with a specialization in Animal Biology. She started in the field when she was 14, volunteering at a local clinic in Largo, FL and has expanded her knowledge within the field. Elizabeth has 3 fur babies at home and 5 birds (a goose, a duck, and 3 chickens). In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, studying, and cooking.
Keibis
Keibis joined our practice in May of 2022. She was born in Nicaragua, and moved to Miami at the age of 7. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she relocated to Gainesville, FL and began her veterinary journey at University of Florida’s Small Animal Hospital. Keibis is always eager to learn and further improve her technician skills so that in the near future, she may pursue her goal in life as a veterinarian. Outside of work, she loves to spend time with her boyfriend and their ever so crazy Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Dunkie, drawing, playing video games, visiting friends and family back home, and going on new adventures. She is beyond excited to meet you and your adorable pets!
Savannah
Savannah joined Jonesville Animal Hospital in August of 2022. Ever since she was little, she has had a passion for animals. She started showing livestock when she was 8 years old and from then on she knew she wanted to become a veterinarian. While in high school she started working as a Veterinary Technician at a non-profit animal clinic in Tampa, FL. She then moved to Gainesville, FL in 2021 to pursue the dream of becoming a veterinarian. In her free time, she is usually spending time with her dog Penny, doing any outdoor activities and watching football.
Makenzie
Makenzie is an aspiring exotic animal veterinarian. She is a full-time student and when she is not studying, she spends time at church and the gym. She has one child, Eli, her dog who is her inspiration and the one who sparked her love for animals.
Veterinary Technician Surgery/Inpatient Team
Stephen
Stephen joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in March of 2017. He grew up in Melbourne, Florida but moved to Gainesville for college and has stayed here ever since. Stephen has rescued two stray cats while working here, Oliver and Leo, who are always very spoiled with treats and toys. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to the beach, playing games, and the outdoors.
Alia
Alia joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in July 2018. She was raised here in Gainesville. Growing up she was very involved in athletics. She danced at Pofal Dance Studios for eight years and trained for professional water skiing for seven years. She also swam on the Buchholz swim team for two years. Alia has always had a love for animals and volunteered at a local veterinary clinic while in high school. She started working professionally as a Veterinary Technician when she moved to Southern California. She continued to do so for many years while also becoming involved in casting commercials in Los Angeles. Alia enjoys cooking, gardening, any opportunity to be in the water, and going to Disney World as often as possible. She has three pets at home; Shelly the leopard gecko, Monty the ball python, and Bisquit the couch-potatoest lab mix ever.
Shelby
Shelby joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in September of 2020, but previously worked as a Veterinary Assistant in Vermont. She graduated from Southern Vermont College with a Bachelor of Science in 2017. Shelby moved to Gainesville from Bennington, Vermont to follow her dream of becoming a Veterinarian. She has two Golden Retrievers back home. Her hobbies include clogging and any outdoor activities.
Heather
Heather has worked in the veterinary field for about 8 years, first as an adoption counselor at Gainesville Pet Rescue, then as a veterinary technician in North Carolina. Most recently, she worked at the University of Florida's Small Animal Hospital as a shift lead in their ECC PCW department. Heather also has a love of nature and previously worked as a forester in Louisiana. She enjoys teaching and learning new skills. She is excited to continue her career as a technician with the fantastic team at Jonesville Animal Hospital! In her free time, she loves being with her family, pets, and in the outdoors. She looks forward to meeting you and your pets!
Veterinary Assistant Team
Will
Will joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in July 2017. He was born in Houston, TX but has lived in Gainesville for most of his life. Will grew up around animals from an early age and was raised by parents who are also committed animal lovers and former long-time employees of the Houston Zoo. He began working in veterinary practices in high school. Aside from his love for animals, Will is a passionate musician. He graduated with an Associates degree in music from Sante Fe College and has been performing and recording with bands since 2010. He is currently the guitarist for a nine-piece soul band "The Savants of Soul" who tours and performs regularly. He has two animals at home, a cat named Harley and a dog named Polly Pocket.
Josie
Josie joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team in July 2022. She was raised in Gainesville, FL and grew up with over thirty animals. She is a high school senior who intends to pursue her love of animals by becoming a veterinarian. Her mom worked for Dr. Lerman over 15 years ago and that’s who Josie learned about her love of helping animals from. Josie also loves music of all genres and has learned how to play the acoustic and electric guitar, piano, and the clarinet. She is also very interested in political science and law and hopes to pursue a minor in one. Josie enjoys visiting her family in North Carolina, and spending time with her dog child Jessie.
Eliana
Eliana was born in Dallas, TX, but has lived in Florida most of her life. She is from Melbourne, FL. She has grown up around animals her whole life. She was in pre-vet classes in middle school. Eliana is now pursuing an animal sciences degree at the Univeristy of Florida. She has two animals at home; a Labrador Retriever mix named Jesse and a German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix named Bailey.
Clerical Team
Julie
Julie came to the U.S. from Nottingham, England in 2006. She worked at a small animal practice in Miami for seven years prior to relocating to Gainesville in 2014. She joined the Jonesville Animal Hospital team as a receptionist in 2015, tried to retire later that year, but returned November of 2016 to work behind the scenes in data record management. Julie shares her home with five rescued pets: two dogs and three cats. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting on her Cricut machine, catching up with her friends and family in the UK (a daughter, son and four grandchildren) via FaceTime, and exploring new sights in and around Gainesville with her family and friends.
