Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at VetCor
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November 23, 2020
As we head into the holiday season during this very unusual year, I think we all should take a moment to reflect on what we are grateful for. I am constantly grateful for the kindness, care, and grit that our employees at the practices show, appreciative for how you strive to care for your clients, patients, and each other. You truly live our values by leading with heart!
I wanted to share another important value for VetCor, and this is diversity. We pride ourselves on respecting the varied and local practices that join our family, giving space for the unique ways in which you support your clients. As we know, the veterinary industry has struggled with attracting people from diverse backgrounds, an issue we have started to address the best way we know how: through the power of our people.
As mentioned a bit ago, we began the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team in July, focused on raising awareness of the veterinary industry to underrepresented groups and creating a welcoming environment within our practices. We have people from all roles and from across the nation on the team to ensure we can tackle the challenges of diversity from a well-rounded perspective. As part of this project, we have been able to accomplish quite a bit in the last four months, including:
- Providing this presentation on careers in the vet industry to high school guidance counselors from across the US.
- Hosting several diversity, equity, and inclusion presentations for both students and professional organizations (you can hear Dr. Bruno speak to these challenges on this podcast)
- Working with eight different Historically Black Colleges & Universities, as well as other organizations like Pawsibilities, which provide mentorship opportunities
- Adding resources to our company intranet to help our practice leaders create and support a more welcoming environment
- Organizing Unconscious Bias training pilot for early 2021
I could not be more proud of the progress the team has made so far and would like to thank them for their efforts, particularly Dr. Niccole Bruno, Timia Baez, Cesar Molina, Melanie Meyer, and Sue-Anne Gentry. We could not have achieved as much as we have without their energy and commitment to this important work.
As we head into 2021, we know we have work to do, but in living our values of diversity, heart, growth, and community, we will continue to drive progress. This is the magic that is VetCor, and why I am so grateful to be a part of it.
All the best,
Al Polizzi
Chief People Officer
