This webinar took place on Monday October 3, 2022 at 12 pm PDT. To register, please click here.
Meet the Presenters
Dr. Mitja Sedlbauer (DVM), MSc (2006)
Policy Officer, European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, Animal Welfare Unit
Mitja Sedlbauer obtained an MSc from the Animal Welfare Program in 2006 after completing his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in Slovenia. His career has spanned many roles in government institutions, including the Slovenian Veterinary Administration where he worked on drafting and implementing both national and European animal welfare legislation and as a veterinary counsellor for the Representation of Slovenia to the EU. He now acts as a Policy Officer in the Animal Welfare Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). His research with the AWP focussed on lameness in dairy cattle, and at present he is working on the revision of EU legislation on the protection of animals during transport and pet animal welfare.
Dr. Amber Itle (DVM), MSc (2014)
State Veterinarian with the Washington State Department of Agriculture
Amber Itle obtained her MSc from the Animal Welfare Program in 2014 after completing her DVM at the University of Pennsylvania. grew up in Pennsylvania on her family’s small multi-generational producer-handler dairy farm. She shares the veterinary profession with her father and sister. Dr. Itle worked in large animal private practice with a dairy focus for 10 years before joining the Washington State Department of Agriculture starting in 2013 as a field veterinarian, Dr. Itle served as Washington’s Assistant State Veterinarian for almost 5 years and was appointed as Washington State Veterinarian in March. Currently, Dr. Itle serves as Chair for the National Assembly of State Veterinarians Animal Welfare Committee.
Terri Giacomazzi, BSc (2001)
Team Lead – Livestock Industry Specialists, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Terri obtained her BSc in Agriculture from UBC in 2001; over the course of her undergraduate degree, she had the opportunity to take several courses taught by faculty in the Animal Welfare Program. Terri has held several government roles over the past 21 years including Senior Policy Analyst, and the role she holds today, Team Lead – Livestock Industry Specialists with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Having grown up on a farm, she has always had a love for farm animals and she continues to actively farm with her husband and two sons.