Winn Feline Foundation
Vicki Thayer DVM, DABVP (Feline)
Executive Director
888-963-6946, extension 702
Media Info
Steve Dale, CABC
Media Contact and Winn Board Member
888-963-6946, extension 703
Media Info
For Immediate Release
Wyckoff, NJ, June 26, 2014:
Winn Feline Foundation Board of Directors selects Vicki L. Thayer, DVM, DABVP (Feline) as its new Executive Director.
Dr. Thayer, currently in her second term as President of the Winn Board of Directors, will begin her new responsibilities effective July 1st. At that time she will also step down from the Winn Board. The decision by the Board underscores the Foundation’s strategy to deliver Winn’s mission to a larger audience of cat lovers and, therefore, provide more support for critical cat health studies.
In her role as Winn’s Executive Director, Dr. Thayer will assume management responsibilities for developing donors and growing donations, coordinating marketing, branding and communications, and foundation operations.
As President of the Board of Directors since June 2011, Dr. Thayer led the introduction of a new donor relationship management system, directed improvements in financial control and planning, developed an upgraded grant management process and assisted in the planning and implementation of the soon to be unveiled 2014 Winn Feline Foundation website. She has worked closely through the recent transition with Winn’s office staff, Alisa Salvaggio.
Dr. Thayer joined the Winn Board of Directors in 2008. She has considerable leadership experience in organized veterinary medicine with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), as well as in other community activities. She was a member of the board of AAFP for 20 years and President of the association from 1996 through 1998, along with being AAFP’s Delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates from 2004 to 2010.
A diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) in feline medicine since 1995, Dr. Thayer also participates in Winn’s scientific review before approving funding for cat health studies. She has contributed to past AAFP Guideline articles on feline retroviruses, with particular emphasis on clinical management. She has also written a chapter on Medical History and Physical Examination for The Cat: Clinical Medicine and Management (2012), edited and co-authored by fellow board member, Dr. Susan Little.
As the principal owner of Civic Feline Clinic in Walnut Creek, CA until 2003, Dr. Thayer established the first veterinary practice exclusively for cats in the Diablo Valley region of northern California in 1983. She currently resides in Oregon with her family including six cats and two dogs.
About Winn Feline Foundation
The Winn Feline Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1968 that supports studies to improve cat health. Since 1968, the Winn Feline Foundation has funded more than $4 million in health research for cats at more than 30 partner institutions world-wide. For further information, go to www.winnfelinefoundation.org.