Dr. Linder is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and Clinical Associate Professor at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, where she also earned her DVM. Her interests include talking about evidence-based nutrition everywhere from classrooms to exam rooms. She loves engaging the entire veterinary team to make nutrition information fun, helpful, and easily accessible to all. Her recent research has focused on safe and effective weight loss strategies for pets as well as developing and evaluating nutrition curriculum in veterinary schools. She is also Co-Director of the Tufts Initiative for Human-Animal Interaction and co-founder of the pet nutrition website www.petfoodology.org.

Lisa Weeth, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition), received her veterinary degree from UC Davis in 2002, and became a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist in 2007. For almost 20 years she provided in-person and telehealth consultations for veterinarians and caregivers in a private practice setting until joining Freshpet as the Head of Veterinary Research and Communications in November 2025. She has also been a member of the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee since 2016; served as Treasurer of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN) since 2021; and has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on canine and feline nutrition.

As creator of the 8 Pillars Framework™, Dr. Drake speaks to veterinary and human medical leaders who want more than growth — they want practices that elevate care, inspire teams, and endure. Her work is grounded in real-world ownership experience, informed by a decade of industry speaking, and driven by a single conviction: When we build better practices, we deliver better medicine.

Born in Barcelona (Spain) Graduated from Universitat Autonoma Barcelona. After 10 years in private practice ECC, moved to the UK to complete an ECC residency at the Royal College in London (UK), becoming a diplomate in 2006. In 2008 moved to the US, where he has worked since. Currently a criticalist and co-director of the ECC department at Guardian Veterinary Specialists in Brewster, NY. Has trained multiple rotating interns, specialty interns and residents. Author of several publications (papers and book chapters), and featured speaker at over 140 conferences pretty much all over the place. He believes sharing his knowledge is a way to pay back to the veterinary community and society at large for his luck of doing the job he loves and in the way he gets to do it.

Zijin Zhou, DVM, DACVD, is a board-certified veterinary dermatologist and head of the Dermatology Service at Guardian Veterinary Specialists. After earning his DVM, he completed a rotating internship at the University of Georgia, followed by two dermatology specialty internships and a dermatology residency at Michigan State University, where he also trained in CO2 laser surgery. Dr. Zhou serves on the Credentials Committee of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology and is an active reviewer for Veterinary Dermatology. His clinical interests include otitis, pododermatitis, and CO2 laser surgery, with a strong passion for advancing feline and canine dermatologic care.

Dr. Chris Rocchio founded Monarch in 2015 to help practice owners looking to transition out of ownership and to help associate veterinarians seeking to buy a practice. After starting two successful small animal hospitals in the Albany, NY area, Chris wanted to create a consulting business that would assist practice owners and associate doctors in transitioning the ownership of private practices. Over the past 11 years, Dr. Rocchio has helped over 65 veterinarians become practice owners and over 100 practice owners transition their practices to new owners. His first-hand knowledge of both the private practice market, as well as the corporate market, makes him unmatched in his qualifications to provide transition advice to Monarch’s clients.