AAHA taps Bryan Clarke as board president for 2026-27
Bottom line
The American Animal Hospital Association has named Bryan Clarke, DVM, DABVP, as president of its 2026-27 board and added two new directors, Chelsea McGivney, DVM, MBA, and Jenifer Wieneke, DVM. AAHA announced the leadership slate on October 12, 2026, saying the appointments bring experience in small animal practice growth, multi-hospital operations, and end-of-life care. Clarke owns All Creatures Animal Hospital in Lutz, Florida, and also serves on AVMA groups focused on veterinary economics and emerging technologies. McGivney is executive director of operations at Caring Pathways, which AAHA says became the nation’s first AAHA-accredited end-of-life care practice, while Wieneke owns the two-hospital Cincinnati Family Vet group. (aaha.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, AAHA board appointments can signal where the association may put its energy next, especially around accreditation, practice standards, workforce support, and care delivery models. Clarke has recently framed AAHA accreditation as a practical guide for consistent care and team alignment, while McGivney’s background in hospice and Wieneke’s experience in accredited multi-site practice could broaden board attention to end-of-life services, operational scale, and day-to-day clinical execution. Since AAHA is the only organization accrediting companion animal hospitals in North America, its leadership choices matter well beyond the boardroom for practices watching standards, education, and member resources. (aaha.org)
What to watch: Watch for how this board’s priorities show up in AAHA programming, accreditation resources, and leadership messaging over the 2026-27 term. (aaha.org)
The American Animal Hospital Association has installed a new board president for 2026-27, naming Bryan Clarke, DVM, DABVP, to lead the organization and adding Chelsea McGivney, DVM, MBA, and Jenifer Wieneke, DVM, as new directors. The announcement, made October 12, 2026, gives AAHA a leadership team that blends companion animal clinical practice, multi-hospital operations, and a growing area of interest for the profession: hospice and end-of-life care. (aaha.org)
The move comes at a consequential time for AAHA. The association has been emphasizing its role not just as an accreditor, but as a broader platform for veterinary practice support and professional connection. AAHA appointed Brady Beale, VMD, DACVO, as chief executive officer earlier this year, effective April 1, 2026, marking a wider leadership transition at the organization. AAHA has also continued to highlight board voices around accreditation, practice improvement, and the pressures facing modern veterinary teams. (aaha.org)
Clarke’s selection is consistent with that message. According to AAHA, he owns All Creatures Animal Hospital in Lutz, Florida, where the practice has grown from two to eight veterinarians since 2017. He is board certified in canine and feline practice through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and also serves on the AVMA’s Veterinary Economics Strategy Committee and Task Force on Emerging Technologies. In a recent AAHA board column published before his move into the presidency, Clarke argued that accreditation gives practices a trusted framework to define, evaluate, and improve care as medicine and team demands evolve. (aaha.org)
The two incoming directors add perspectives that are notable in today’s practice landscape. McGivney leads operations at Caring Pathways, an organization focused on veterinary hospice and end-of-life care; AAHA says she helped lead it to become the first AAHA-accredited end-of-life care practice in the country. Wieneke, meanwhile, owns Cincinnati Family Vet, a two-hospital AAHA-accredited group in Ohio, and brings clinical interests spanning dentistry, feline medicine, soft tissue surgery, and internal medicine. Together, those appointments give the board direct experience in both specialized service delivery and multi-site accredited practice management. (aaha.org)
AAHA CEO Brady Beale said in the announcement that the new leadership group reflects “the evolving needs of our profession,” pointing specifically to clinical excellence, multi-hospital practice ownership, and end-of-life care. That framing is useful on its own: even without an explicit policy shift, it suggests AAHA wants its board composition to mirror the operational and clinical realities many member hospitals are navigating now. (aaha.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, board changes at AAHA are worth watching because the association’s priorities often shape the conversation around hospital standards, accreditation, team support, and continuing education. Clarke’s public emphasis on accreditation as a practical management tool, not just a badge, may resonate with practices trying to create consistency across teams or locations. McGivney’s hospice background could also elevate attention to end-of-life protocols, staff wellbeing in emotionally intense care settings, and communication support for pet parents. Wieneke’s experience in accredited group practice adds another lens on scalability, data use, and maintaining standards across more than one site. Those aren’t abstract governance issues; they connect to how hospitals recruit, retain, and deliver care. (aaha.org)
There’s also a broader workforce and business angle. AAHA has increasingly positioned itself around helping practices navigate change, and this board lineup reinforces that direction. A president involved in veterinary economics and emerging technology, paired with directors rooted in hospice operations and multi-hospital ownership, could influence how AAHA talks about efficiency, care models, and support systems for teams under pressure. That doesn’t guarantee new programs, but it’s a reasonable signal about the issues likely to stay prominent. (aaha.org)
What to watch: Over the next several months, veterinary professionals should watch for this leadership team’s priorities to surface in AAHA conference programming, Trends content, accreditation guidance, and member resources. The clearest signals will likely be what AAHA chooses to emphasize publicly during the 2026-27 board term: practice quality systems, workforce resilience, end-of-life care standards, technology adoption, or some combination of all four. (aaha.org)