Dr. Kerl oversees medical operations at VCA’s network of more than 1,000 small animal veterinary hospitals.

She joined the VCA family in 2017 as regional medical director and then later moved into a combined regional medical director/regional operations director role,prior to her promotion to chief medical officer.

Dr. Kerl received her bachelor’s and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from Auburn University. Later, she earned her master’s in public health and MBA from the University of Missouri.

She has over 25 years of experience as diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, with a specialty in small animal internal medicine. In 2001,she became a diplomate of the American College of Emergency and Critical Care. She is also active in veterinary disaster response as a member of the NationalVeterinary Response Team, and the Missouri Volunteer Veterinary Corps.

A self-proclaimed nerd, Dr. Kerl enjoys choral singing, cooking, traveling and spending time with her partner of 25 years, Elizabeth, and their pets.