Dr. Jennifer O'Brien
Chief of Staff
Dr. Jennifer O'Brien is a 2005 graduate of the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine. She worked in a private practice near Knoxville, TN for 6 years before moving to the Charlotte area to join the Banfield family. In early 2013, Dr. O'Brien accepted her current role as Chief of Staff at the Charlotte Southwest Banfield and continues to enjoy performing surgery, as well as training associates and educating clients. Her family consists of her husband, Patrick, 2 daughters, 3 Afghan hounds, and a cat.
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Dr. Alexis Clinton
Veterinarian
Dr. Alexis Clinton has been a doctor with Banfield Southwest Charlotte for almost 4 years. She graduated with her DVM from The Ohio State University in 2010 (GO bucks!). She has an ornery American bulldog/doberman mix named Brew and a red foot tortoise named Sly. Dr. Clinton loves camping, kayaking, skiing, horseback riding, and reading.
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Dr. Jeanette Anderson
Veterinarian
Dr. Jeanette Anderson has been with the Banfield since 2013. She received her DVM from Tuskegee University in Alabama. She has 3 pets, Lady (a 4-year-old beagle), Sanih (a 4-year-old mixed breed dog), and Boss (a 7-year-old orange tabby). In her spare time, Dr. Anderson loves going to the movies and trying new restaurants.
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Dr. Anna Caroline LaCalamito
Veterinarian
Dr. LaCalamito is our newest veterinarian at Banfield and joined us in June of 2017. She is originally from Morganton, NC and attended undergraduate school at Duke University. She then attended veterinary school at The Ohio State University. Dr. LaCalamito and her husband, Mike, moved to the Charlotte area in 2017 and own several hermit crabs, including fan-favorites Spinel, Valentino, and Indominus Rex. In her spare time, Dr. LaCalamito likes to bake, garden, read and spend time with her husband.
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Nikki Headrick
Practice Manager
Nikki has been a proud Banfield family member since 2007 and has worked at several locations within the Charlotte market. She has been a practice manager for 2 locations and most recently in Southwest Charlotte. She has been married to her high school sweetheart, Ryan, since 2001 and they have 2 dogs, Max and Lucy, and 7 cats, Bernadette, Howard, Penny, Einstein, Luigi, Matilda and Little Man. In her free time, Nikki enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling around the globe. She is very passionate about associate engagement and client satisfaction.
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Nicole Iannucci, RVT
Veterinary Technician
Nicole started working with Banfield in 2010 and became a RVT in 2017, with a degree in Veterinary Medical Technology from Gaston College. Nicole is originally from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, but has lived in Charlotte since she was seven. Nicole has several pets including a chocolate lab mix named Odin, a hound mix named Tyr, an orange tabby cat named Mookiebear, a domestic short hair kitten named Vilde, and three snakes named Blaze, Valkyrie and Ruby. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, being outdoors, crocheting, hanging out with family and pets and watching movies. When asked where her passion for animals comes from, Nicole says, "I have always loved animals of all kinds and was always interested in medicine and science. Becoming a RVT is a perfect combination of these passions! Working with Banfield allows me to advocate for the preventive care and health of pets in my community and allows me to do what I love most everyday - help animals in need!"
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Kristen Gauthier
Shift Lead/Veterinary Assistant
Kristen has wanted to work with animals since she was a child. She grew up in Chicago and received her bachelor's degree in animal sciences from the University of Illinois and moved to Charlotte in 2011. She has been with Banfield since the fall of 2012. Kristen, her partner, Jason, and merged family of 7 children, have a 6-year-old pit bull mix named Marley, a 7-year-old cat named DeeDee, a rooster named Legs and 8 hens. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, kayaking, hiking and tubing. She respects and tries to live by, both professionally and personally, the 5 principles of Banfield: Efficiency, Mutuality, Freedom, Responsibility, and Quality.
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Katie Schafer
Veterinary Assistant
Katie has been with Banfield since June 2014. She moved around a lot as a child but found her home in the Charlotte area. Katie and her husband have several pets including Melody, a bulldog mix; Abby, a lab mix; Jojo, a beagle; Loki, a husky mix; and 5 cats named Navia, Twister, Buckwild, Buttons and Elsa. In her spare time, she likes to read, watch movies, travel, bake, play with her pets and rescue animals. She never thought to work in this field because she decided she wanted to have her own bakery for pets. One of her friends works at a Banfield though and convinced her to apply, because it would help increase her knowledge of pets and their nutritional needs. In August of 2018, Katie will be starting classes for the RVT program through Penn Foster.
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Christian Thompson
Veterinary Assistant
Christian has been with Banfield for a year and loves taking care of all the pets that come in to visit. He has 2 dogs, Baloo, a year old miniature schnauzer, and Xerxses, his 3-year-old mixed best friend who loves giving hugs in between playing fetch the bone. They both love to play with each other daily.
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Caitlyn Balkcum
Veterinary Assistant
Caitlyn has been working for Banfield for 8 years and has been surgery trained for almost 2 years. She is originally from Charlotte and graduated from Elon University in May of 2016, with a B.S. degree in music education. Working full-time during the week at Banfield, she also performs as the lead singer of a band and has shows every weekend, putting her love of both animals and music to work 24/7. Caitlyn lives with her family and they have a 2.5 year old rescued boxer mix named Maya, a bunny named Whiskers and a turtle named Turtle. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, traveling, hiking, watching movies and HGTV. Her passion for animals first began with horses as she used to ride and collected all things horses (figurines, breed encyclopedias, etc). Caitlyn and her sister never had a dog growing up, so they used to pet sit for their neighborhood. She needed a summer job in high school, found Banfield and has stayed for the past 8 years.
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Arielle Resch
Veterinary Assistant
Arielle has been with Banfield for almost 4 years, at this location for 3 months, but has worked with animals for over 12 years. She loves assisting in surgery and working with cats. She has a dog named Winnie and 2 cats, Griff and Duke. Arielle is also a new mom to a baby boy named Calvin. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, gardening and spending time with her family.
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April Chamberlain-Gentry
Veterinary Assistant
April has been with Banfield since August of 2017. She is originally from Wagener, SC and received a bachelor's degree in animal sciences from Clemson University. She moved to Rock Hill, SC in August of 2017 and got married in October of 2017 to her husband, Nevin. They have a beagle-hound mix named Hannah and in her spare time, April likes to go on new adventures in Charlotte with her husband, watch movies, read and do anything outdoors like hiking and kayaking. Her passion for animals comes from being raised on a farm and she loves to have the opportunity to be a voice for animals.
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Ben Cobb
Veterinary Assistant
Ben is originally from Charleston, SC and moved to the Charlotte area in 2016. He has always had a passion for animals and started working for Petsmart. In November of 2016, Ben decided to come work at Banfield to explore veterinary medicine, and is now currently enrolled in the RVT program through Penn Foster. He has a pet hamster named Lil' Toots and an English springer spaniel named Cody. In his spare time, Ben likes to go out for coffee, hiking, camping and almost anything that has to deal with animals.
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Louise Kessinger-Maynard
Client Service Coordinator
Louise is originally from Adelphi, Maryland but she and her husband of 27 years have lived in North Carolina for the past 10 years. They have a son named Michael who still lives in Maryland. She started her Banfield career over 11 years ago at a location in Maryland and has worked at multiple locations, but has found her permanent work family at Southwest Charlotte. Louise and her husband have a cat named Caroline.
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Megan Felkner
Client Service Coordinator
Megan started at Banfield in July of 2017. She was born and raised in Fort Worth, TX but has been in Charlotte for the past 2 years. Megan, her husband and 4-year-old son have 5 cats; Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Persephone and Aphrodite and an American bulldog named Cerberus. In her spare time, she likes to kayak, hike, play video games and go to the beach. Megan chose Banfield because she loves how much Banfield gives back to the community. Her passion for animals comes from growing up in farm life and learning about different animals at an early age.
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Melissa Stevenson
Pet Care Assistant
Melissa started with Banfield in August of 2013. She has called several places home including New York, Texas, Japan and North Carolina, and has called Charlotte her home for the past 26 years. Melissa, her husband and 2 sons have 3 cats named Synaka, Candace and Mittens, and a Chihuahua mix named Pudge. In her spare time, she likes to read, crochet, Sudoku, play with her boys and online gaming. Melissa has always had a passion for animals and chose Banfield because their preventive care shows the kind of care she thinks animals deserve
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