Dr. Ian Kolbaba
Owner, Veterinarian
Dr. Kolbaba received his bachelors of science from Brigham Young University ’11 and later attended St. Matthew’s College of Veterinary Medicine ’15 and finished his clinical rotations at North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Jessica and children, Olivia and Aiden and his bull terrier named Samson. He also enjoys all things outdoors especially gardening, scuba diving and the marine aquarium hobby. He also has a keen interest in canine reproduction, aquaculture and fish medicine.
Dr. Vanessa Davis
Veterinarian
Dr. Vanessa Davis grew up all over the country in Maryland, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah. Her pathway to veterinary medicine began with her love of all animals, but especially horses, and she has spent many happy hours on horseback. After living for many years in the rainy Pacific Northwest, she returned to Utah in 2017 to enjoy the sunshine, snow, and four seasons.
Dr. Davis attended Brigham Young University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Animal and Veterinary Science. She attended veterinary school at Oregon State University and graduated with her doctorate in 2009. While at veterinary school, she worked in a research lab studying NMDA receptors in the brain, and their role in memory and aging. Following graduation, Dr. Davis spent a year in a busy mixed animal practice treating dogs and cats, then driving all over the countryside to treat farm animals. Since then, she has focused on small animal general and emergency practice. Her areas of special interest are animal behavior and aging concerns, dentistry, and soft tissue surgery. A low-stress, positive experience is her goal for each patient and client she sees in the clinic.
When not practicing veterinary medicine, Dr. Davis likes to run, read (preferably with a cat on her lap), and spend time with her family.
Hannah Whiting
Hospital Manager
Hannah has worked in the veterinary industry since 2005 with her passion and love for animals always being a part of her life. She believes that communication and respect are the best ways to achieve your goals, especially when working with clients and patients. Hannah’s experience with canine reproduction spans beyond just the working atmosphere where she worked as a canine reproduction technician for 10 years. She has the added benefit of knowing the nitty-gritty details of planning a breeding, the sleepless nights with a new litter, and the woes and triumphs of everything involved. She has many years of experience breeding and showing St. Bernards and she had her first basset hound litter in 2020. Her favorite thing about veterinary medicine is that it combines her love of animals, the gift of healing, the skill of teaching, and the beauty of connecting with others over a shared interest/love of animals. In her personal life, she is kept very busy with 2 young children that remind her everyday that it is important to show love and connect with those close to you. Her basset hound Walter, and a cat named Dr. Mario demand nothing less than constant affection. Hannah loves spending time with her kids the most. Secondly, she loves walking her dog, writing stories, listening to Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, getting tricked into doing occasional Spartan race, and eating pretty much any of the desserts at Gourmandise.
Cassidi Fratto
Hospital Manager, Certified Veterinary Technician
Cassidi joined us in 2023. She has her Associates of Veterinary Science from the Bel-Rea institue of Animal Technology, a Bachelors of Medical Administration from Stevens-Henager College, as well as being a Certified Veterinary Technician. She has worked in veterinary medicine since 2004 where she started with an internship in high school, was able to graduate early and go to college in Denver. She specializes in Emergency and Critical Care and is Recover BLS (Basic Life Support) and ALS (Advanced Life Support) certified for CPR, as well as licensed to teach CPR. As a side gig she taught emergency medicine at Broadview University. As a child, her parents said she used to play “vet” on all her stuffed animals, so being in the veterinary atmosphere is something she always wanted to do. In her personal life she is a mother to the best teenage son! Together they have 3 Labrador Retrievers (Axe, Finn, and Miko), all are abuse rescues, a Burmese Python (Akasha) and a Bearded Dragon (Drakko). In her off time you can find her adventuring going camping, hiking, off-roading, ATVs, shooting, concerts and spending time with her friends and family.
Jessica Kolbaba
Accounts Receivable and Inventory Manager
Jessica attended Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University to earn her degree in Public Relations while selling decorative lighting. She has continued to sell beautiful lights, but has always supported her husband in reaching his goals of becoming a veterinarian and practice owner and wanted to be a part of that dream as well. She is so excited to be a part of the team at Riverside Pet Care and loves learning about the ins-and-outs of a vet hospital and animal medicine. She has always loved animals and enjoys meeting and snuggling the darling pets that come into the clinic.
She misses her dog, Samson, who passed recently after 14 years of companionship and adventures. Her family is excited to find the perfect new addition to their crew.
In her spare time, she loves being with her family. Her two children bring her so much joy and keep her very busy as well. She loves to be outside, whether that is in their backyard or in the mountains. She enjoys travelling, reading, eating chocolate and watching a good show with her husband.
Kimberly Thomas
Certified Veterinary Technician
Kim attended Broadview University and received her associate degree in veterinary technology in 2013 and is PennHIP certified. She went on to work as a technician in small animal general practice and has been doing it ever since.
One of the things Kim loves most about veterinary medicine is that she is always learning. Kim has a passion for general practice because of the relationships formed with animals and their owners. She particularly enjoys anesthesia, radiology, and taking care of cats (even spicy ones!).
Kim and her husband have been married for 14 years and have 4 young children that keep them happily busy. Her favorite things to do include family movie and game nights. She also finds enjoyment in listening to podcasts, doing wordle, caring for her ever-growing collection of plants, and drinking too much Diet Coke.
Valerie Burgener
Reproduction and Veterinary Nurse
Valerie is one of our Reproduction and GP Nurses and graduated in 2010 from Broadview University with an Associate degree in Veterinary Technology and did an externship at Washington State University’s Veterinary teaching hospital where she spent time studying Equine Surgery and Theriogenology and Production (livestock) animals.
Val has always loved animals big and small and has been involved professionally and for fun with mostly horses and dogs. She grew up trail riding and showing horses in both English and Western disciplines. She spent 14 years working closely with all types of livestock including horses, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, poultry, llamas, alpacas, and guanacos. Her favorite part of the job was always helping to bring new babies into the world safely. In 2014 her interest in breeding and raising livestock expanded into a growing interest in dogs. She got her first well-bred dog and entered the exciting world of conformation dog showing. She takes a huge amount of pleasure in showing dogs and has expertly handled at least five to their championships and occasionally handles as an assistant to a well-known professional handler. Val enjoys assisting in breeding, whelping, and raising GSMD’s and other breeds. As she developed a deeper interest in canine reproduction she decided it was time to make a return to veterinary medicine and she is passionate about helping our clients be as successful as possible in their breeding programs and with their pets.
In her free time, Val can be found horseback riding, going to the theater, reading, being outdoors with her dogs, and spending time with her family and friends. She has also been known to create a mean cross-stitch. Val is owned and loved by 2 Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, 9-year-old Cruze and 2-year-old Elliot.
Megan Lewis
Reproduction and Veterinary Nurse
Megan is one of our Reproduction and GP nurses. She has had a love affair with all things animal since she was a little girl. Horses were her first love which then turned into a profession and she spent 10+ of her younger years as Animal Manager for various farms and ranches with all manner of equines, livestock, and exotic hoof stock. Animal husbandry has been her lifelong passion, but training jousting horses, camels, and riding Texas longhorns were life highlights.
After the acquisition of a new puppy in 2007, she started dabbling in dog training and fell into a whole new adventure. She has been training dogs professionally off and on since then with specialties in canine socialization, puppy behavior development, and life skills. Megan developed an interest in breeding dogs and rearing puppies, wanting to do it better than she was seeing it being done. That included a deep love for purebred working dogs in general and a passion for the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog specifically. In 2012 she bred her first litter of GSMD and over 160 puppies later she has not looked back. She is always looking for better, more ethical, effective, and efficient ways to breed and raise litters and has developed a deep passion for the preservation breeding of purebred dogs. She loves to share her knowledge and experience with others to better the lives of puppies, dogs, and humans alike.
Megan and her rad husband have 2 kids, ages 12 and 9, and live with 4 Swissys, one old man cat, 21 chickens, a Halflinger pony, a couple of fish, and 6 aquatic frogs. She participates in all sorts of dog sports including conformation showing, pack hiking, drafting, barn hunt, and whatever else tickles her fancy. In her spare time, she enjoys trail riding, mounted archery, reading, watching the Amazing Race with her kids, traveling to other countries, and going to Disneyland!
Cindy Timothy
Reproduction and Veterinary Nurse
Cindy is one of our Reproduction and GP Nurses. When she was a little girl she took in all the strays and tried to doctor them up, much to her mother’s frustration! She has had lifelong plans to have her own 100-acre farm with a menagerie of animals. Cindy and her adoring husband have 4 remarkable kids and when their youngest started kindergarten she decided it was time to follow her animal-related dreams and went back to school. She graduated from Mountain Edge Veterinary Tech and is also PennHIP certified. Cindy has special interests in surgery, reproduction, and radiology. She loves working in veterinary medicine because no two days are alike. She loves to learn and discover new things.
Cindy loves organization and is deeply passionate about her work. She is slowly working on her menagerie with 2 Rottweilers, a very patient snuggle-mutt, a lizard, and a fish at home. She enjoys showing her dogs in the conformation ring, camping, reading, crafting, family game nights and freeze-drying new things. Cindy is our practical joker and loves making people laugh!
Jamie Welsh
Reproduction, Veterinary Nurse and Social Media Team
Jamie is one of our Reproduction and GP Nurses and is on our social media team. Jamie is an Oregon State graduate and is PennHIP certified.
She grew up helping her mom breed dogs and became passionate about working with animals. She has been in veterinary medicine for over 12 years, specializes in reproduction, and loves exotics. Bring in anything gross, oozing, or unusual and Jamie will be there to document, and thoroughly enjoy, the bigger the pimple popper effect the better!
Jamie loves and breeds Pomeranians and French Bulldogs and loves to spend time with her Man and 2 daughters. She would love to vacation professionally. She is always down for a great gym sesh and a rowdy card game. For fun, she loves camping, hiking, and eating competitively, but only against herself.
Tessa Jones
Veterinary Nurse
Tessa is currently working toward her AS in Biology at SLCC and plans to continue her education to get her DVM. She really would like to specialize in possibly genetics or exotics. She started working in the veterinary field during her senior year of high school as a kennel technician and then went on to be a veterinary assistant after she graduated and now is one of our very own skilled technicians. Tessa’s love for animals has helped her focus on her desire to be a veterinarian since as early as kindergarten. She had many different animals growing up and did some volunteering at a pet shop. She attended animal science and vet assistant courses in high school that only confirmed her passion.
Personally, Tessa only has fish at this time, but she claims her family dog Baxter, an 11 year old Shitzu mix, as her own. She has a lot of experience with different breeds as her brother is passionate about showing dogs and she gets to love on them when they are home.
Going out to eat is one of her favorite things to do with people and she will always make herself available to go, even if she doesn’t have time. She loves camping and going on vacations with family and friends. Reading is a big hobby of hers and she is an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy novels. Music is another love that she enjoys through her vast playlist or taking in the experience of a concert. Other hobbies of hers include skiing (she’s learning to snowboard, so it is not very fun yet), growing plants, crocheting, doing crafts, swimming and of course animals!
Whitney Patrick
Veterinary Nurse
Whitney is one of our very multi-talented Veterinary Nurses and has been in the field since 2017 . She studied Animal Science at BYUI and has special interests in cytology, ultrasound, and radiology. Whitney has a great desire to help animals by giving them a voice and advocating for them when they cannot. She loves helping to educate pet owners about proper pet health care and she just really really loves animals.
Whitney currently lives with her Mom and Dad, 2 sisters and 2 dogs, Australian Shepherd, Autumn, and Mini Schnauzer, Tucker. Whitney enjoys many hobbies outside of work including playing piano, crafting, reading, doing her nails, playing video games, and shopping. When she has spare time she can be found camping, going to movies and plays, traveling wherever the wind takes her, country swing dancing, and is always up for a trip to Disneyland or any other theme park.
Whitney is our resident vocal extraordinaire and can often be heard serenading our patients with just about ANY type of music.
Karla Lopez
Veterinary Nurse and Social Media Team
Karla is one of the amazing Veterinary Nurses here at Riverside and is also on our social media team. She graduated from Broadview University and has been in the veterinary field since 2020. Originally Karla had the desire to be an RN but over time that transitioned to working with animals in a medical capacity.
As a kid, Karla was constantly begging her parents for all the pets and feels like she has picked a profession where she can help animals and also help owners better understand their pets as well. She loves working as a Vet Nurse because it is ever-changing, there is never a dull moment and you never know what you are going to get. She loves being kept on her toes!
Karla comes from a family of 5 and is the oldest. She has 2 adorable Yorkies, Milo and Rosco. Karla is a purveyor of anything true crime or paranormal, podcasts, TV shows, movies, the works, bring it on. She also loves watching foreign TV even if she doesn’t know what they are saying. She loves trying new restaurants and finding new places to get bubble tea! In her free time, Karla is a crafter, a movie collector (horror is her jam), a shoe aficionado (she loooves shoes), and an avid car chase enthusiast. Also, she makes a wicked homemade flan!
Meghan Cash
Veterinary Nurse
Meghan has been a veterinary nurse since 2021. She always wanted to be a veterinarian but decided to follow another passion in college. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated in 2020 with a B.S. in Exercise Science. After graduation, she planned to take a year off before returning to school and got a job in this field through a friend. She fell in love with it and has continued to be a vet nurse!
Her family owns 2 Mini Aussiedoodles, Zeke & Lilly, named after Dallas Cowboys players for her dad. She has a Saint Bernard mix named Oshie after the Washington Capitals hockey player.
She moved here for the mountains and loves to ski, hike, camp, and paddle board.
She did gymnastics for 10 years at the Junior Olympic and collegiate levels and loves watching Utah Gymnastics (Go Red Rocks!).
While she can’t skate one bit, she loves watching hockey (Go Caps & Grizzlies!)
You can find her spending most weekends trying new restaurants and cafes because of her deep love for coffee and food. Reading and binge-watching TV, especially any sort of true crime/crime fiction are her other hobbies. Taylor Swift or The Chainsmokers are her JAM! Meghan is one of our resident “Swifties”.
Mads Fry
Veterinary Nurse
Bio Coming Soon!
Sandi Draper
Lead Customer Service Representative
Sandi is our stellar Lead Customer Service Representative and has over 13 years of experience in Vet Med as both a receptionist and as a Veterinary Technician. She has an Associate Degree in Dental and Medical Assisting from Utah State University. Sandi loves all animals and has always had the desire to be a voice for them.
When she isn’t keeping the clinic running smoothly, she can usually be found spending time with her husband, 3 children, and their dogs, Willow, Loki, and little hellion Moira. Sandi loves being outdoors, collecting vintage truck figurines, and going to the movies.
Chrissy Albertson
Customer Service Representative
Chrissy is one of the Customer Service Representatives. She has a sunshine personality with overflowing golden retriever energy! You will always know you’re messaging with her if you get texts with hearts and smile emojis! She is new to the vet med world, but not new to animals. She has had her fair share of a menagerie over the years, but right now has just 1 dog, a puppy and 3 cats at home with many more to come.
Before joining us at Riverside she spent most of her time being a professional artist for 11 years with watercolor and digital as her main mediums and still does a few shows every year. You might have seen her Disney work at FanX or other comic cons around the US. Born and raised in Utah, she graduated from Brighton High School where she met her husband, Orry, at 15 and they have been together ever since and celebrated their 20-year anniversary in 2023. ♡
They recently moved back to Utah from Saint Augustine, Florida. She misses the sunshine and thunderstorms and was probably a storm chaser in another life, but mountains and seasons are also pretty great.
When not working or rescuing lost animals (seriously if you are missing your cat… check with her because she might have found it), she is playing video games, board games, or D&D with her Viking husband. She also loves Star Wars, Sailor Moon, Disney, and animated shows and will geek out with you over anything. As one of the resident nerds at Riverside she will always get your geeky pet names and give you high fives!
Rest assured, she will love on your pets, take their pictures, and give them cheese and treats when you come in!
Renee Calkins
Customer Service Representative
Renee is one of our Customer Service Representatives who can always be found orchestrating things at the front desk if we have a full lobby. Renee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Thomas Edison University and has spent most of her professional career in customer service.
One of her superpowers is that she and her husband of 26 years were foster parents for 15 years, along with raising 3 biological children. Her other superpower is that she breeds, raises, and trains her own service dogs. She has been breeding high-quality Boxers for 9 years under the kennel name Gypsy Gold Boxers and you might catch a glimpse of her current working diabetic-alert dog, Mirage, under the front desk. Renee has 5 boxers at home and helping others with their own pets is what brought her into the veterinary world. Renee often offers service to her community in the form of animal therapy with her dogs and is very passionate about breeding stable well-rounded dogs capable of doing many jobs.
In her free time (is that a thing?) Renee loves reading, traveling, going to movies, spending time with her family and always has a good puzzle going!
Jameson Geurts
Veterinary Assistant
Jameson is one of our stellar Veterinary Assistants and what would we do without him? Jameson is currently a student at BYU studying Biology. Once he graduates with his bachelor’s degree he will be applying to vet school. Becoming a veterinarian has been his childhood dream, and he is learning so much here at Riverside. One of his favorite things about working in veterinary medicine is all the cute puppies. He loves that he is always doing and learning something new at work.
Jameson is originally from Irvine, California which he would say is the best place to grow up. When he’s not in school, he takes frequent trips home so he can hit the beach and catch some Angels games. He’s also a huge Disneyland fan since it’s not too far away from home, and grew up going to the happiest place on earth all the time with his little sister, Ashley. Jameson has also found a love for Utah. He and his friends love to go hiking, hit the lake, and he is pretty good when it comes to surfing behind a boat. He loves concerts and listening to music, especially Taylor Swift. He definitely gives Meghan a run for her money as the resident “Swiftie” in the clinic.
Talia Linford
Veterinary Assistant
alia joined us in 2023. She graduated from Lehi High school and then attended Snow College. Riverside has been her first experience in a veterinary hospital, though animals have always been a part of her life. Growing up she always loved animals, with horses being a special love for her. After working with horses through a different job, she realized that working with animals was something she wanted to pursue. While helping friends with their own breeding program, it sparked an interest in breeding dogs and reproduction. She has Bernese Mountain Dogs and wants to pursue showing in AKC shows and advancing her breeding program. She has enjoyed her time here at Riverside building her skills in being a veterinary assistant and gaining technical skills.
She grew up in Lehi and last summer, married her sweetheart that she had been with since middle school! Together they have a Bernese Mountain Dog named Nana and a Labrador puppy named Ladoux (Doozie), those dogs have their whole hearts! When Talia isn’t being a vet assistant extraordinaire, you can find her with her dogs, family and friends. Some of her hobbies include pet photography, horseback riding, hunting, camping and anything outdoors.
Brooke Maxfield
Veterinary Nurse
Brooke has always wanted to be a veterinarian, but for large animals like horses and cattle. She graduated from USU in 2013 with a B.S. in Animal Dairy Veterinary Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. After graduation, she moved to Connecticut to support her husband in earning a Masters and was fortunate enough to be able to move back to her home state of Utah after a few years on the East Coast. Currently her family is made up of her husband; Adam, three kids, two dogs; a young Tamaskan named Hawthorn and an old man Pomchi named Aiden, and a Quarter Pony named Denny. Though the kids are her world she still has a desire to go back to vet school to earn her DVM.
Brooke has always had her hands in any job that worked with animals. She began by breaking her first horse at the age of 13, taught horse back riding lessons, labored as a farm hand, worked for a genetic lab focused on discovering the genes that affect beef tenderness and marbling, helped in a study involving pacemakers in goats, cared for multiple species being used in psychological and immunological studies, drove draft horse teams, and is now working in the small animal field. Her favorite part of being a vet tech is constantly learning everyday and enjoying the comradery found in this clinic.
She played volleyball competitively throughout high school and ended up playing collegiately for University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She actually met her husband through being an assistant coach to his team at USU. She likes to joke that since he listened to her as a coach, she might as well marry him.
Her favorite past-times include camping, traveling, canyoneering (U-turn canyon in Moab is the BEST), Christmas Chocolate Dipping/Truffle making, horseback riding, playing volleyball or any sport really. She loves to spend time with her family outside doing anything active. She is an avid reader and continues trying to squeeze books in between the chaos of life.
