Leadership

Helen Irving, an accomplished leader and executive, has devoted her career to operational excellence in the delivery of healthcare services. As a trained RN with an MBA and over a decade as a healthcare CEO, her wealth of experience and expertise includes hospital operations, clinical care and management, and leadership in healthcare administration.

Prior to joining AMC, Helen served for ten years as President and CEO of LiveOnNY, a federally designated organ procurement non-profit organization serving the New York metropolitan area, and one of the largest organ procurement organizations in the country.

Previously, Helen served as Vice President of Hospital Operations at Mount Sinai Medical Center for five years, where she oversaw a broad range of hospital services. She also has held positions as Transplant Operations Manager at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Clinical Manager at New York Organ Donor Network. She maintains her nursing license after earlier staff nurse positions at hospitals in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Helen holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and serves on the boards of the New York State Hemophilia Consortium, the Medical Advisory Board for NYIT, and until recently, the National Cancer Center.

A native of London, Helen lives in New York City with her husband and, on weekends when time allows, they can be found hiking and snowshoeing in the Catskill Mountains. Helen is the proud parent of a Welsh Terrier dog named Reggie Jack and an American Tabby rescue cat named Fidget.

Neil McCarthy has served as the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center’s Chief Administrative Officer since 2019. In this role, he brings a background of senior executive leadership expertise in business building, strategic partnerships, and growing client relationships. At AMC, Neil works to analyze the multiple opportunities facing our complex and growing organization in addition to further expanding the reach and imprint of AMC across the veterinary industry. Prior to joining the management team at AMC, Neil served as a member of the Board of Trustees for over 25 years in a number of roles, most recently as Chairman of the Executive Committee. His professional career in the investment management industry spanned over 35 years in a variety of leadership roles at both privately owned firms as well as global industry leaders. Neil holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross.

Dr. Katherine Quesenberry has been practicing avian and exotic pet medicine exclusively for nearly 30 years. She is recognized both nationally and internationally as a leader in this field of veterinary medicine. Dr. Quesenberry has trained more than 16 residents in avian and exotic pet medicine, most of whom are now board certified and are leaders in the field throughout the country. Dr. Quesenberry has co-edited several books, including Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, which is a best selling veterinary textbook, Avian Medicine and Surgery, and Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Pet Medicine I and II. Dr. Quesenberry is the Scientific Editor for the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, an international journal published by the Association of Avian Veterinarians. She has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Europe about veterinary care of birds, small mammals and other exotic pets.

Dr. West is a 2001 graduate of the Veterinary School at the University of Florida. Upon graduation, Dr. West completed a rotating internship at The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, followed by a residency in neurology and neurosurgery at Washington State University, under the tutelage of Dr. Rod Bagley. At the time, Washington State University was the only veterinary school to have in-house MRI capabilities solely for animal imaging. Dr. West is a self-proclaimed conservative surgeon who does surgery aggressively when necessary. Many times, surgery is pursued unnecessarily and without evidential support for the procedure. His primary interests are in diagnostic MRI and finding non-surgical options for complex neurological diseases. When medical options are not feasible or in the best interest for a patient, Dr. West enjoys performing and teaching advanced neurosurgical procedures. Dr. West has been a staff neurologist at The Animal Medical Center since 2005 when he became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Neurology.

In her role as Chief Veterinary Technician, Nancy is responsible for the management of the veterinary technician workforce and related patient care services, including oversight of Licensed Veterinary Technician Directors and Mangers, Licensed Veterinary Technicians (LVTs), Veterinary Assistants, and Clinical Educators. Nancy ensures compliance with patient care safety standards, fosters the professional growth of LVTs and Veterinary Assistants, manages the quality improvement of patient care across all services, and assists in strategic planning for the hospital. A technician with over 20 years of experience, Nancy has been at the Animal Medical Center since 2001 serving in several roles including Emergency & Critical Care Technician, Team Leader of Emergency & Critical Care, and Veterinary Clinical Manager. She is committed to providing the highest standard of care to a diverse array of patients. Nancy holds two Bachelor’s Degrees; one in Veterinary Technology from Mercy College and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Hunter College.

Paul Greene has served as AMC’s CFO since 2009 and feels privileged to work with a small and dedicated management team. As CFO, he is responsible for all financial and investment matters. He brings nearly 30 years of non-profit finance experience to AMC. Having spent the majority of his career in the non-profit animal field, his experience has taught him the importance of being a steward for donations.

Prior to joining AMC, Mr. Greene spent 14 years in the finance department of North Shore Animal League America, leaving in 2006 as their acting Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Greene received his B.B.A. degree in accounting from Hofstra University and lives on Long Island with his wife and two children. They love their Chinese Crested Powder Puff rescue, Mini.

Courtney Rabb has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 15 years with expertise in development, strategic planning, and board development. She has worked at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center since 2006 in a number of roles. In her current role as Chief Strategy Officer, she provides high level counsel to development, marketing, and senior leadership and oversees special projects as well as the capital campaign. Prior to coming to AMC, Courtney earned a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and worked in the Development Department of the Weill Cornell Medical Center. Courtney has a strong passion for AMC’s mission and is grateful for the opportunity to work closely with our most dedicated constituents and supporters, as well as our highly committed staff, toward expanding AMC’s impact.

An experienced healthcare marketing and sales executive with proven results in management, patient satisfaction, sales, operations, and strategic planning, Ms. Everaert has held various positions that focused on optimizing both client services and referring doctor relations in different hospital systems and outpatient practices. From managing sales teams, to business development and leading patient satisfaction committees, her emphasis has always been on providing exceptional customer service to both clients and referring practices. Ms. Everaert previously served as Sales and Marketing Director at Montclair Radiology, as Manager of the Physician Liaison team at NYU Langone Medical Center, and as Physician Liaison for Barnabas Health Care System in New Jersey. Prior to that, Ms. Everaert served as a Regional Director for Ivy Ventures, LLC, a national consulting hospital company based out of Virginia. Ms. Everaert received her Bachelors of Animal/Equine Science from the University of West England in the UK. Ms. Everaert is an accomplished equestrian in showjumping and proud mother of two rescued Bengal cats, Kashi and Oban.

Michelle has dedicated her career to creating marketing strategies for causes she believes in and is honored to lead the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center’s marketing team. A seasoned strategist and creative thinker, she is adept at aligning a brand’s identity with its public message to support an organization’s key goals and firmly believes that data can lead to key marketing insights. In her role at AMC, she manages the hospital’s brand, messaging, public relations, internal and external communications, as well as all print and digital properties. Prior to joining AMC, Michelle served as Account Director at MarinoPR, Communications Director for Hunger Free America, Communications Director for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and Press Officer for the New York State Senate Majority Press Office, among other roles.

She holds a BS in Communication Studies from Boston University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids.

Linda Faison has dedicated nearly 30 years to her career in human resources. For the past 11 years, she has directed organizational development and human resources management at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center. In this role, she serves as administrator of the organization’s compensation program, manages policy development, and handles compliance oversight and multiple retirement plans for our more than 400 employees. A skilled negotiator, Linda has instituted several cost-saving initiatives, including health and welfare plan renewals. She has also developed and introduced a career ladder program for AMC’s clinical staff, establishing valuable workforce retention.

Before joining AMC, Linda was Vice President of Human Resources at Barnert Hospital and served as Vice President of Human Resources at St. Mary’s Hospital. Linda received her MBA from New Jersey Institute of Technology and her BS degree from Rutgers University. Linda resides in New Jersey with her husband and enjoys spending quality time with her family and serving in her local community.

Pompeii Conover is responsible for all aspects of technology at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, bringing over 25 years’ experience as a senior technician and technology leader. He previously held positions at large retail, banking, and healthcare organizations.

In his role as the Executive Director of Information Technology, Pompeii utilizes ITIL methodologies and best practices to help the organization achieve superior outcomes and implement new technologies to increase efficiency.

Pompeii graduated from Stony Brook University, enjoys spending time with his family, and volunteers with organizations in his community, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Pamela Butler joins AMC as Executive Director of Development to support AMC’s mission to provide excellent care to animals as NYC’s only level 1 trauma center. With over three decades of experience as a fundraising leader in major gifts, endowments and capital campaigns, Pamela Butler has a proven track record, coming from iconic nonprofit institutions including Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Central Park Conservancy, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.