Dr. Jena Valdez oversees our most innovative and impactful veterinary care programs, which are designed to offer quality, compassionate care to shelter animals and affordable, non-judgmental veterinary care to clients and their pets. She has extensive experience in private practice, sheltering, and high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter services. A graduate of Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Valdez has been a nationally recognized advocate for increasing access to veterinary care and increasing diversity within the fields of veterinary medicine and animal welfare. She pioneered the launch of the Community Veterinary Clinic, a first-of-its-kind, preventative care center in San Francisco’s Excelsior district, and is working to export the scalable Community Clinic model to under-resourced communities throughout California. Dr. Valdez shares her San Francisco home with her husband, their ball-obsessed Dachshund mix, and a regal brown tabby [citation][3][5].