Our passion for best practice veterinary nursing is highly infectious!

HARRIE PHILLIPS
MANAGING DIRECTOR

PGCertClinED, BAdVocEd (VocEd&Trng), RVN, DipVN (Surgical, ECC), DipTAE (Development & Design), DipBus, TAA, MACE

Harrie Phillips is one of Australia’s most highly qualified veterinary nursing educators. Harrie qualified here in Australia but was also a UK registered veterinary nurse for many years. She has completed two Diplomas of Veterinary Nursing (Surgical and Emergency & Critical Care) and has worked in a variety of clinics from general practice, ECC, specialist centres and in universities. Her passion lies in surgical nursing, and in particular neurosurgery and orthopaedics. She regularly publishes articles in veterinary nursing publications, and you’ll see her at various conferences lecturing on foundation skills and surgical nursing. She has also volunteered as a veterinary nurse for Vets Beyond Borders in India and Te Are Manu in the Cook Islands.

Harrie’s passion lays in education and she founded the Australian College of Veterinary Nursing in 2010. She completed both a Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education and  Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Education focusing on simulation and is currently studying equine healthcare.

Harrie not only runs the college, she is our lead course developer & instructional designer and has authored many of our subjects. She also has qualifications in management, human resources and small business. In addition, she is trained in human hospital level sterilisation and infection control, applying this knowledge to improving procedures in veterinary clinics. She has previously sat on the Practice Guidance Committee for the Australian College of Infection Prevention & Control.

Outside ACVN, Harrie breeds Norwegian Fjord Horses and enjoys competing in working equitation and dressage.

NATALIE WOOLLEY
ACADEMIC DIRECTOR

BTrngDev, DipVET, DipVN (ECC & Surgical), ISFM AdvCertFB, Cert IV (VN & CGC), Cert IV TAE, MHFA, RVN

Natalie is well-qualified with multiple Diplomas in Veterinary Nursing and degree in Training and Development. Education, and backs this up with around 20 years of clinical experience in high end practice. Natalie continues to work as a casual speciality emergency nurse for a specialist centre (AAERC) in her hometown, Adelaide.

Her nursing interests extend across a huge array of disciplines including behaviour, reproduction, medical management of disease and surgical support. In the world of academia, Natalie’s focus is on helping veterinary nursing students build skill, knowledge and resilience through evidence-based teaching and learning. Her ideal is to make this accessible to every student, in a way that makes the application in clinical work practical and relevant.

Natalie has recently completed a Bachelor of Training and Development through UNE. This personal learning will be used to continue the growth of our Academic Programs.

When not at work, Natalie dedicates her time to self-care activities such as gardening and maintaining her immaculate lawns; hanging with her chickens; running with her partner Kerrie and their border colliesDjango, Lexie, Jolie and Split; or curled up on the couch with a good book and their stunning cat, Baci.

NICOLA WILKINSON
PROGRAM CO-ORDINATOR

PGCertVetAnA, BSc (CVN), DipAVN (Small Animal), DipHECVN, RVN, TAA, TAE

Nicola is a RCVS Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) with 19 years experience in the veterinary industry having worked in first opinion and specialist practices across the UK and Australia.

Nicola is passionate about gold standard care and best practice within veterinary nursing, and has completed a BSc (Hons) in Clinical Veterinary Nursing, Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (small animal) and more recently a Post Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. Nicola has a keen interest in pain management, anaesthesia and emergency and critical care.

Nicola strongly believes that veterinary nurse students are the future and strives to teach them to be motivated to learn, stay current and generally to keep being awesome!

NICOLA WILCOCK
NURSE EDUCATOR

RVN, TAA

Nicola is a UK qualified and RCVS Registered Veterinary Nurse. Her passion for working with sick and injured animals started at a very early age and once she finished school she started training as a Veterinary Nurse and qualified in 2005. Nicola has worked in both small and large animal clinics throughout the UK and Australia.

Nicola’s passion for Vet Nurse education grew through training students in practices around Australia and in 2016 she joined ACVN to assist students in fulfilling their dreams of becoming a qualified Veterinary Nurse.

Nicola now works part time from home in the UK as our Program Co-Ordinator and providing after hours student assist 1 evening a week.

CHERIE MURDOCH
NURSE EDUCATOR

BA, Cert IV VN, TAA

Cherie is a qualified veterinary nurse who completed her Cert III in Animal Studies in 2018 and Cert IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2019 both with ACVN. She has been working in veterinary clinics in some form of another in Adelaide since 2013 and currently works as a Vet Nurse in a busy GP clinic in the western suburbs. Cherie joined the ACVN team in late 2021. She has always had a passion for administration and education, often teaching work placement students gold standard practices within her clinic and as a previous student of ACVN has a good scope of what is expected of our students.

Outside of work, she enjoys working out at the gym with a passion for strength training, taking her border collie Buddy for a walk and fostering orphaned kittens. She’s also an avid film buff!

JACQUI BREDEN
NURSE EDUCATOR

BMarSc (Marine Biology), VN, TAA

Jacqui began her veterinary nursing career in her hometown of Sydney, completing her Certificate II in Animal Studies at Taronga Zoo while simultaneously finishing her HSC. During her undergraduate studies in Marine Science, she volunteered for two years at the Australian Reptile Park, where she developed a deep fascination for reptiles, especially snakes. In her final year of university, her desire to study veterinary nursing became overwhelming, and she began pursuing a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing.

Since 2017, Jacqui has been working as a vet nurse and relocated to Newcastle in 2018. She has always had a passion for all kinds of animals, both big and small, furry and feathered. Jacqui has two Staffy crosses named Randall and Elly, as well as a bold little cockatiel named Hank.

Her favorite aspects of the job include nursing surgical and hospital cases, performing phlebotomy, and handling snakes. Jacqui is currently working at a clinic that sees a wide range of animals, not just cats and dogs, but also various exotics, including birds, rats, ferrets, snakes, lizards, and more.

JESS MALE
NURSE EDUCATOR

Cert IV TAA, RVN, AVN, DipVN (ECC), RN, BSc (Biological & Biomedical)

Jess is a qualified Veterinary Nurse and Registered Nurse (human) in orthopaedics and plastics. She holds Bachelor degrees in Biological and Biomedical Science from Murdoch University, WA. Jess has worked in a variety of busy veterinary practices over her vet nursing career (commencing in 2001) and has maintained special interests in wound care, the pre and post-op care of critical and trauma patients, fluid therapy and anaesthesia. She went on to complete her Diploma of Veterinary Nursing (ECC) and currently works in a large veterinary clinic in Adelaide.

Jess is passionate about the education and development of veterinary nurses in practice, seeing this as a key aspect in achieving greater respect and recognition for the vital role that veterinary nurses contribute. With her invaluable knowledge, she currently assists in the development and validation of our assessments and resources, and has previously been involved in assessing student work.

MICHELE EL BAYEH
NURSE EDUCATOR

BSc, RVN, TAA

Michele is an Australian qualified Veterinary nurse who has been working in general practice for over 8 years. Her introduction to the veterinary world was as a volunteer at the RSPCA where she helped walk and provide enrichment to the many dogs housed there. Michele is currently a Practice Manager/Head Nurse for a busy small animal clinic in Sydney’s Northern suburbs. Through this and various other roles Michele has developed a passion for training and mentoring people. In 2019 Michele completed her Cert IV in Training and Assessment which has now allowed her to further help junior nurses grow and develop their skills. She splits her time between her clinic role and being a Nurse Educator for ACVN.

ELIZA MACEY
NURSE EDUCATOR

B Vet Tech, BMRS (Medical Imaging), Cert IV Veterinary Nursing, Cert IV TAE

Eliza always dreamed of becoming a Vet when she grew up. With this goal in mind, she sought volunteer work at her local clinic and fell in love with vet nursing!

Having completed the Cert IV in Vet Nursing she wanted to know more, she enrolled in the Bachelor of Veterinary Technology degree at CSU as a distance education student. This allowed her to continue working as Head Nurse at her GP clinic and also complete the degree at the same time. She also undertook casual work at a 24hour emergency hospital and developed a passion for ECC work which shaped her choice in elective subjects and CPD.

At some stage during the completion of the Vet Tech degree Eliza decided that balancing one degree, full time and casual work was not enough so added in the commencement of a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (Medical Imaging) at the University of Canberra. The decision to enrol in this degree was sparked from her interest in imaging procures performed in veterinary medicine. Imaging is such an essential tool in making accurate diagnosis and it is absolutely amazing all the things that can be done especially with experience in the various modalities available.

Having completed both degrees she continued to work in both GP and ECC and casually at the human hospital. Eventually stepping back from her role as head nurse so she could spend more time in the human industry and developing further skills in other modalities (advanced CT for example). This reduction in vet nursing workload afforded her the time to undertake her Cert IV in TAE. Over the years she had mentored many nurses and student’s in practice and she wanted to be able to do this to the best of her ability and in particular educate vet nurses about all the amazing things imaging can bring to the vet world!

Eliza currently works part time in human medical imaging and then splits the remainder of her time between locum vet nursing in GP/ECC and working for ACVN to educate the next generation of wonderful vet nurses.

YVONNE FUNK
NURSE EDUCATOR

RVN, cert IV veterinary nursing, DipEqSc, TAA

I am from South Africa and moved to Hong Kong 1 and a half years ago. I have been nursing for 9 years and qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2017 through ACVN. My biggest passion for nursing is Emergency and Equine nursing but recently have developed a passion for mentoring junior nurses and helping them develop the skills and passion I have for veterinary nursing. Education was always a goal for me to end up doing once I gained enough knowledge and skills to help other nurses get qualified.

I have worked my way up to the Veterinary Nursing Director for 3 clinics in Hong Kong where one of my main responsibilities are mentoring /overseeing the nurse managers, senior nurses and veterinary assistants (junior trainee nurses).

TESS WEIR
NURSE EDUCATOR

BSc (Vet Bio), Cert IV (VN), RVN

Tess emigrated to Australia from the UK and completed her Bachelor of Science (Veterinary Bioscience) before switching from Vet Medicine to nursing. She completed her Certificate IV with ACVN in 2020 and has worked full time as a veterinary nurse since 2015. Tess has worked in various rural clinics and has experience with small animal, large animal, equine and exotic nursing.

Tess is one of our Educators but also splits time working at a busy hospital in the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia. She has a strong focus in client relations and education, administration and emergency. Whilst also assisting her husband, with whom she owns a mobile large animal practice, heading out in the car on the weekends to help with the odd calving or sick alpaca. In her spare time she enjoys exploring with her border collie Indiana Bones.

ANN GARCIA
VN ASSESSOR

RVN, Cert IV VN

Ann is a registered veterinary nurse and ex-student of ACVN, who completed her Certificate IV in 2018. She has been working in general practice for almost 6 years, and is a proud wildlife advocate, believing that all animals deserve the right to gold standard care. She volunteers for a local wildlife organisation frequently undertaking rescues and rehabilitation, and you will often find an assortment of native animals in her home.

Ann’s favourite aspects of veterinary nursing are clinical pathology, anaesthesia, and surgical nursing. She has a keen commitment to her own professional development as well as the education and training of student nurses and is currently on her way to completing the Training and Education Assessor Skill Set.

On her days off, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two young daughters and 3 cats.

JARDENE CERA
VN ASSESSOR

Cert IV VN

Jardene is a Certificate IV qualified Veterinary Nurse with 13 years of experience. Most of that time was spent in various GP settings but the last 5 years have been spent as a triage nurse in an emergency clinic. Although the majority of the patients Jardene has worked with have been dogs and cats she also has lots of experience in nursing and husbandry for pocket pets and reptiles.

Jardene has a keen interest in holistic animal care and is currently studying animal acupuncture and shiatsu massage.

KAYLEIGH WILLIAMS
VN ASSESSOR

BSc (AnScBehWelf), RVN, TAA

Kayleigh completed her Bachelor degree in Animal Science in the UK, she worked within the animal husbandry industry for several years before moving to Perth and completing her Certificate IV in Veterinary nursing in 2015. Kayleigh has worked within the veterinary industry in 2 major corporate clinics and various practices around the Perth region.

Kayleigh has previously assisted student nurses both in clinic and within a position with a registered training organisation in Perth. Through this role and clinical practice, Kayleigh developed a passion for assisting in the learning and success of students.

Kayleigh also manages her own successful dog grooming business which also focuses on delivering veterinary nursing services. She is passionate about providing gold standard care to clients and patients, and loves to spend time volunteering in veterinary projects abroad when possible.

ANGELIQUE BREARLEY
VN ASSESSOR

Angelique is an Australian qualified veterinary technician with over 14 years’ experience; gaining experience in general practice, emergency care and specialist vet nursing.

She has a strong passion for critical care nursing and gold standard care. A keen interest in internal medicine, behavior and oncology. A fascination for detailed patient care, love and compassion for all patients big and small and a soft heart for the naughty and fearful biters. A quirky and bubbly personality, loves to teach with her heart, having compassion and empathy for students from all works of life.

Angelique enjoys outdoor adventures and sets herself crazy athletic goals. She loves to hang out with friends and family. Long days on the beach with family and her best fur friend Shiloh, the crazy Jack Russell. Whilst at home, she enjoys crafty activities and lazy couch time with her cat Nemo.

KYMBERLY SALTER
VN ASSESSOR &
CLINICAL SKILLS TUTOR

cert IV RVN

Kymberly has been in the veterinary field since 2011, starting out in general practice where she learnt her foundational skills, then going on to graduate in 2015. From there she moved into Emergency nursing and teaching clinical skills workshops. Her most recent achievement is assisting to set up a brand-new 24hr emergency clinic and lead a team of 15 nurses.

Her favourite aspect of Veterinary Nursing is Emergency and critical care as she finds it very rewarding. Kymberly also has a passion for teaching, hence why she wanted to come on board with ACVN.

At home she has a 10-month-old Whippet named Audrey, a 6yr old Chihuahua cross named Taco Belle and a 5-year-old Chocolate Burmese named Albert. As well as the pets, Kymberly also has three boys who keep her on her toes. When she’s not at work or looking up nerdy nurse things, she enjoys playing guitar and recording songs with her fiancé Ben.

MAHNI DAVIES
INTERNAL COMPLIANCE AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

BSc (Zoo, Rep), TAA

Mahni is multi-talented and has been with ACVN since 2014. She has worked in various different positions here in this time and these days she is busy working hard in the background on our internal compliance and project management. Mahni works to keep things running smoothly by creating, updating (and sometimes fixing) the student portal and student resources. She works closely alongside Harrie and Natalie to produce and maintain the gold standard resources that our students are used to receiving.

Mahni has a varied animal care background where she started off veterinary nursing through high school and University. After graduating she went on to immerse herself in her passion of embryology as an AI tech in cattle. Mahni’s diverse range of skills include managing a large doggy day care centre, managerial roles in pet stores and as the animal welfare liaison for one of the largest microchipping companies in Australia. Mahni has also worked extensively in animal welfare as Lead Animal Attendant in the Education Barn at the RSPCA. During this time Mahni also worked alongside Victoria University as a Trainer and Assessor for Cert II in Animal Studies. This sparked her love of teaching and education and she has not looked back since.

GAYLE PEDRON
RTO ADMIN OFFICER

Gayle has over 8 years of experience working as a Customer Service Officer and Senior Training Officer for a Registered Training Organisation. In these roles, Gayle has supported students in all aspects of their enrolment through to graduation and issuing qualifications. Many of our students will have had the pleasure of dealing with Gayle when beginning their journey with ACVN or through student assist when they have needed further admin support.

RIKKI RANUI
RTO ADMINISTRATOR

Rikki is our admin superstar! Rikki has joined our team with over 5 years experience working as an Administration Officer for Registered Training Organisations. Students will know Rikki as the go to person for all their administration and enrolment queries through Student Assist. Rikki also keeps the head office running making sure all our students get their folders and resources on time.

BREE TAYLOR
STUDENT WELLBEING COACH

Cht, Dip App Sci, Mas NLP

Bree is here to assist ACVN students with emotional support, guidance and simple strategies to help increase success during their studies.

Bree holds a Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy & Applied Sciences, is an NLP Master practitioner and has over 20 years’ experience in the coaching and personal development industry. Her specialities include self-care and wellness coaching both in-person and online.

With a passion for animals (especially dogs and horses) Bree is new to working in the veterinary industry but brings a wealth of knowledge from a range of mental health roles.