2025 Spring Conference

Martha Smith-Blackmore, DVM, PSM-FS

President, Forensic Veterinary Investigations, LLC



Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore is a practicing veterinarian with extensive expertise in veterinary forensics. She offers consulting and expert witness services in legal cases involving animals, providing specialized insights that inform judicial processes related to animal welfare. As a faculty fellow at the Center for Animals and Public Policy at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, she teaches Veterinary Forensics.

Dr. Smith-Blackmore is an associate member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where she serves on the forensic science committee. She chairs the Veterinary Forensic Sciences Task Group for the Crime Scene Investigation and Reconstruction Subcommittee within the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Organization of Scientific Area Committees (NIST-OSAC).

Her forensic career includes collaborations with law enforcement and animal control agencies both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as attorneys involved in civil and criminal cases for prosecution and defense. After receiving specialized training from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston, she was a Visiting Fellow in the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Dr. Smith-Blackmore has been instrumental in investigating cases of animal cruelty, addressing both uncomplicated and severe forms—including torture, sexual abuse, and animal fighting—in pursuit of justice and truth. She is the co-author of Investigating Animal Abuse Crime Scenes: A Field Guide (CRC Press, 2023).

Jessey Scheip, LVT, VTS (Behavior), KPA-CTP

Owner & Behavior Nurse, Mindful Mentor Behavior Consulting



Jessey Scheip (“SHY”-puh) is a licensed veterinary technician practicing in Northern Virginia. She obtained her license in 2012 and quickly realized she had a passion for animal psychology and training. She spent the next several years pursuing her behavior specialty, obtaining an animal training certification through the Karen Pryor Academy and her Fear Free Elite Certification. In 2018, she obtained the distinction of “Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior.” Throughout her career, she has spent time in general practice, emergency and critical care, surgical specialty, behavior specialty, and shelter medicine. She now owns her company, Mindful Mentor Behavior Consulting, where she focusing exclusively on dogs and cats with significant behavioral challenges.

Amelie McAndrews, DVM, DAVDC-Eq

Owner, Garden State Equine Veterinary Dentistry



Dr. McAndrews is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, class of 2009. After an internship and time as an equine general practitioner, she founded her dentistry exclusive practice, Garden State Equine Veterinary Dentistry, in 2015. Her practice is based in New Jersey. She completed a residency in equine dentistry and oral surgery and became board certified in 2022. Besides managing her own practice, she is a clinical associate at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, where she manages the dentistry caseload.

Michelle Abraham DVM, DACVIM, LAIM 

Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine

University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center



Dr. Abraham is currently an Assistant Professor in clinical Critical Care Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. Michelle has had a lifelong love for horses. Her early career was in the world of equine business management, and this saw Michelle travel to and work on some leading Thoroughbred breeding farms throughout the Northern and Southern hemispheres. After deciding to explore a career in veterinary medicine, Michelle returned to her homeland Australia to study veterinary medicine. After graduating from Murdoch University in 2008, Michelle has completed neonatal and critical care internships and an internal medicine residency. In recent years, Michelle has led New Bolton Center’s NICU. When she isn’t working, she is chasing after her toddler which doubles as some of her training to run marathons in the US and internationally