MEET THE STAFF
The Heart of the Clinic is our Amazing Staff
We are very fortunate to have a staff of individuals who believe in and are truly supportive of UCAN’s mission. Our staff is dedicated to providing the best care possible for every animal that the clinic serves. Without their experience and tireless professionalism, we could not accomplish what we do every day.
Melanie Corwin
Executive Director
513-762-0144 mcorwin@ucancincinnati.org
Melanie has been the Executive Director of UCAN since July 2012. She was a member of the Board of Directors of UCAN for several years prior to that, serving as a Director, then as Vice-Chair and eventually as Chair of the Board. Her focus as Executive Director is grant writing, development, marketing, risk management, and community outreach to help as many pets as possible.
Melanie became interested in spay/neuter after volunteering at a no-kill shelter for 9 years. She became frustrated when after celebrating each adoption, more animals just kept coming in to fill the empty cages. She realized that spay/neuter was the solution, so she became involved with UCAN.
Prior to UCAN, Melanie worked as an attorney in private practice for 25 years, focusing on profit and nonprofit corporate law, general business law and securities law.
She enjoys reading and playing with her rescue animals, senior dogs Blackie and Teeny and three cats, Katniss, Grayson and Calypso, which she rescued from a hoarding situation when they were just a few weeks old. She also loves helping to save lives by fostering cats and kittens for local shelters.
Amy Strabala, DVM
co-Medical Director
Dr. Amy joined us in January 2014, as a spay/neuter surgeon. She later became our Medical Director and oversees all of our medical protocols and medical staff. She is an extremely talented surgeon, the fastest and most efficient we have ever had.
Prior to UCAN, she worked for Banfield Pet Hospital for 8 years, gaining substantial experience in veterinary medicine. Amy has experience in many aspects of small animal veterinary medicine and finds particular interest and joy in surgery and UCAN's mission.
Amy grew up in Northeast Ohio where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology and pre-veterinary medicine from Kent State University. She went on to receive her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from The Ohio State University in 2005.
She has had many pets of a wide variety since a child. She currently has a happy and energetic Lab mix named Indy.
Aimee Hrunek, DVM
co-medical director
Dr. Aimee joined our staff in January 2020, when her family moved to the Cincinnati area from Indianapolis. Aimee was previously a surgeon at the Low Cost Spay Neuter Clinic in Noblesville, IN. Prior to that, she provided full-service veterinary care, including spay/neuter surgery, to pets in the Indianapolis area.
She obtained her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from Purdue University in May 2009. She graduated from Ohio University, Cum Laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in November 2003.
Her family includes her husband Mike, her three children, and their dog Reis. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, camping, biking, and exploring the great outdoors with her family.
Katie Mertz
Registered Veterinary Technician
Katie is a Registered Veterinary Technician licensed in the State of Ohio and graduated from Brown Mackie College with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Veterinary Technology in 2014.
Katie’s favorite thing about working for UCAN is helping clients and patients that are in need.
In her spare time, she loves to read, spend time with family, hike, camp, and draw. Her main hobby is medical fostering cats and kittens of all ages.
Her family includes her husband, her daughter and several fur babies: a boxer/pit mix named Sindri, a black/white cat named Ineko, a manx named Valkyrie, a tabby named Ruby, and a buff/white cat named Jadam.
Melanie Pettis
Registered Veterinary Technician
Melanie is a Registered Veterinary Technician licensed in the State of Ohio. She graduated from UC Blue Ash with an Associate Degree of Veterinary Technology in 2017.
Some of her favorite things about working for UCAN are working with the community and their fur babies.
She loves spending time with her family and hiking with the dogs in her spare time. Her family includes her partner Phil and three dogs, Echo, Maxxi and Lupin.
Carly Garrett
Registered Veterinary Technician
Carly attended the Veterinary Technology Program at UC Blue Ash College, graduating in April of 2024. After graduating, she began working for UCAN as a Veterinary Assistant and after passing her state boards she is now a Registered Veterinary Technician.
She likes the fast pace of working at UCAN and being able to help so many people in our area in need. She also volunteers with a local nonprofit no-kill shelter in her spare time. She loves fostering pets who need in-home medical care.
Carly enjoys hiking with her dogs and walking her cat, Salvador. She also loves to cook and bake.
Carly’s family includes her two dogs, Ruby and Max and her three cats, Salvador, Zelma, and Tofu.
Morgan Deno
Veterinary Assistant
Morgan has been a Veterinary Assistant with us since January 2018. She oversees the medical staff scheduling, the ordering and inventory of medications and medical supplies, she preps cats and dogs for surgery, completes surgical records in the Operating Room during surgery, and monitors the "beach" where pets recover after surgery before returning to their kennels. Morgan also provides the comedy relief to ensure staff members have fun while doing their job every day.
Morgan completed her internship at Onslow Animal Hospital in Jacksonville, North Carolina prior to joining UCAN. She is currently pursuing a veterinary technician degree.
Morgan's family includes her husband Daniel and several fur babies, including a Terrier/Beagle mix named Hailee, a black cat named Potter, a brown Tabby named Hobart, and a grey and white Tabby named Bones.
Alicia Howard
Veterinary Assistant
Alicia is a certified Veterinary Assistant graduating from Brown Macke College, in 2014. She was a Vet Tech at Lewis Animal Hospital for 12 years and then at PetWow for one year before coming to UCAN.
She assists in helping prep the cats and dogs for surgery, monitors the pets after surgery, prepares paperwork for the Operating Room, and helps with the Friday Vaccine Clinic.
She enjoys working with UCAN’s team and all the animals that come in. Alicia loves being able to help clients and patients in need.
In her spare time, she takes care of her two cats, Lilbit and Tinker. She also loves to read, sing, and listen to music.
Olivia Gutzwiller
Veterinary Assistant
Olivia is one of our Veterinary Assistants.
Her duties include helping prep the cats and dogs for surgery, monitor the pets after surgery, prepare paperwork for the Operating Room, and help with the Friday Vaccine Clinic.
She loves the fast pace at UCAN and being able to help so many cats and dogs and their families.
Olivia enjoys the outdoors, camping, hiking and loves reading.
Her family includes an adopted dog from Stray Haven, named Papaya, and a kitten named Lindsay.
Erin Bullock
MEDICAL RECORDS SPECIALIST
Erin joined UCAN in October 2013 and she is responsible for the invoicing of our daily surgery patients and our Friday vaccine clinic patients. She also helps respond to customer phone calls and emails and confirming online appointment requests. She is the best multi-tasker we have ever met and has always ensured that all clients and pets coming to our clinic obtain excellent service.
She is a passionate animal-lover and she has rescued several animals over the years, her most recent being an adorable pit bull puppy, Darla, from our partner Adopt-A-Pit Rescue.
Nicole Bowyer
CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST
Nicole is our Customer Service Specialist, responsible for surgery check-in and check-out and for helping customers in our lobby and via phone and e-mail. She graduated from Caris College as an Approved Veterinary Assistant in 2021, and is currently continuing her education at Gateway Community College for Biology and Penn Foster’s RVT program.
She enjoys spending her time outdoors. Some of her favorite outdoor hobbies are kayaking and paddleboarding. When at home, she enjoys binge watching Netflix with her fiancé, Brendan. They have 2 cats, Bucky and Peter, a dog, Mango, and a pet rat named Elvis.
She loves interacting with all the people that come into UCAN every day and getting to work close with so many rescues and other organizations that love animals just as much as she does.
Mindi McCarthy
Surgical Aide
Mindi joined UCAN in April 2015. She runs our pack station, cleaning surgical instruments and putting together and sterilizing all of the surgical packs used by the medical team during surgery. She also handles the tons of laundry we go through every day (every cat gets a towel and dog gets a blanket to ensure they stay warm and comfortable during recovery after surgery). She performs a variety of other tasks daily to help the medical team and the animals we serve.
Before UCAN, she worked in the veterinary field as a receptionist or surgical aide for ten years.
Mindi enjoys spending lots of time with her son, Mason, and her two dogs, a Sheltie named Newt and a rescued Chihuahua named Ladybug.
Rachel Gideon
Operations Manager
Rachel joined UCAN in June 2020. She is responsible for our front office operations and bookkeeping. She also invoices surgery and wellness clients and assists customers on the phone and in our lobby.
She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2015, from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining the UCAN team, she worked as a Park Naturalist for Cincinnati Parks for 3 years.
She has been involved in animal welfare for many years, working or volunteering with several local shelters and rescues. In her spare time, she fosters cats and kittens for Crazy Cats Animal Rescue. She has a pit bull mix named Angie and 3 cats named CeCe, Fred, and Wilma.