Sarah Reuss, VMD, DACVIM, and Mitchell Rode, DVM, have been appointed officers of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and will assume their respective positions when installed during the Dec. 2 President’s Luncheon at the 69th Annual Convention in San Diego, Calif. Dr. Reuss has been named 2024 vice president and will assume the role of AAEP president in 2026; Dr. Rode will serve a three-year term as treasurer.
Dr. Reuss is a Littleton, Colo.-based equine technical manager with Boehringer Ingelheim with unique perspective from a diverse career in private practice, academia and industry. She spent six years on faculty at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine as a clinical assistant professor and chief of the large animal medicine service. Dr. Reuss served on the Admissions and the Internship and Residency Evaluation committees and as a faculty advisor to the AAEP and AVMA student chapters. She transitioned from academia to industry in 2016 with Merial, which was subsequently acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim. She served as a professional services veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim based in the northeast from 2017–2020, assuming her role as a technical manager in 2020.
Dr. Reuss received her veterinary degree in 2005 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Following an internship at Equine Medical Center of Ocala, she completed a large animal internal medicine residency at Texas A&M University, achieving board certification in veterinary internal medicine. Dr. Reuss practiced general and specialty medicine at McKinlay and Peters Equine Hospital in Newman Lake, Wash., until she moved to academia. Her professional interests include gastrointestinal disease, neurology, endocrine disease and infectious diseases of the horse and foal.
An AAEP member since 2003, Dr. Reuss chairs the Horse Owner Education Committee and co-chairs the Internship Subcommittee of the Commission on Equine Veterinary Sustainability. She previously served on the board of directors from 2020–2022; the Welfare and Public Policy Advisory Council; and the Educational Programs, Member Engagement and Nominating committees.
Dr. Rode is founding owner of Clarke Equine Wellness and Performance in Berryville, Va. He started his full-service ambulatory practice and intermediate care clinic in 1987 following several years in mixed-animal practice where he focused exclusively on the care of horses. He services the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia, directly west of Washington, D.C.
A 1980 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Rode joined the AAEP in 1983 and currently chairs the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. His legacy of volunteer leadership within the association dates back over a quarter-century and includes service on the board of directors from 2019–2021 and terms on the Educational Programs, Member Engagement, Nominating and Practice Management committees.
About AAEP
The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.
Contact: Keith Kleine
Director of Industry Relations
kkleine@aaep.org or (859) 327-8750