AVMA podcast spotlights advocacy path through Jacey Cerda

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AVMA is using its My Veterinary Life podcast to put a spotlight on veterinary advocacy, this time through the career story of Dr. Jacey Cerda. In the October 2, 2025, episode, Cerda describes a path that moved from wildlife biology to law and then into veterinary medicine, including time as an AVMA Government Relations Division extern. AVMA’s summary presents the conversation as both a profile of Cerda’s unconventional career and a case for why students interested in policy should consider the externship. (podcasts.apple.com)

That message lands in the middle of a broader AVMA push to show that organized veterinary medicine isn’t limited to association leadership or committee service. Recent My Veterinary Life episodes have focused on early-career veterinarians finding entry points into organized medicine, while AVMA’s advocacy arm has continued promoting student fly-ins, federal policy engagement, and congressional fellowships as ways to bring veterinary expertise into legislative decision-making. AVMA has also repeatedly argued that veterinarians need a voice in public policy because lawmakers are making decisions that directly affect animal health, workforce capacity, public health, and practice conditions. (avma.org)

Cerda’s own background helps explain why AVMA chose her for this conversation. Colorado State University lists her in Clinical Sciences, and outside profiles describe her as a biodiversity conservation and emergency response postdoctoral fellow. A 2025 Federation University profile says Cerda was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship to study what U.S. systems could learn from Australia’s response to the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, with a focus on biodiversity protection, wildlife welfare, and cross-disciplinary emergency response. Her personal site similarly frames her current work around One Health, disaster management, policy, and biodiversity conservation. (vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu)

The policy angle is important. AVMA’s Governmental Relations Division externship is not new; the association has operated versions of the program for years to give veterinary students hands-on exposure to Congress, federal agencies, and the legislative process. Archived AVMA reporting shows the association restored funding for the Washington extern program in late 2003, later formalized selection criteria, and described the program as a way for students to gain practical experience in how Congress and regulatory agencies affect veterinary medicine while helping advance AVMA’s legislative agenda. (avma.org)

Industry reaction in this case is more thematic than controversial. The available episode descriptions and related AVMA materials position Cerda’s story as evidence of the profession’s versatility and as encouragement for students to explore policy-facing careers. AVMA has made similar points in announcing congressional fellows, saying veterinarians bring scientific and clinical expertise that can improve policymaking on agriculture, food safety, public health, wildlife, and animal welfare. While no independent expert commentary tied specifically to this episode was readily available, AVMA’s own recent advocacy messaging suggests the association sees public policy training as an increasingly strategic part of professional development. (podcasts.apple.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially students, interns, residents, and early-career associates, the bigger takeaway is that regulation and advocacy are workforce issues, not side interests. Federal and state policy decisions shape student loan relief, shortage-area incentives, telehealth boundaries, antimicrobial policy, disaster response frameworks, and public health infrastructure. AVMA’s recent support for legislation such as the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act shows how closely advocacy is tied to day-to-day professional realities. Stories like Cerda’s may help normalize policy engagement as a legitimate veterinary career competency, even for clinicians who never plan to work full-time in Washington. (avma.org)

Cerda’s current work also broadens the frame. Her research on biodiversity conservation and emergency response suggests advocacy training can translate into work on wildlife disasters, ecosystem health, and One Health challenges that increasingly intersect with veterinary medicine. For practices and institutions thinking about future leadership, that combination, clinical training, legal literacy, public health, and policy fluency, may become more valuable as veterinarians are asked to weigh in on complex regulatory and environmental issues. That’s an inference based on Cerda’s trajectory and AVMA’s advocacy priorities, but it’s a reasonable one. (federation.edu.au)

What to watch: The next signal will be whether AVMA expands recruitment and visibility around student advocacy pathways, including the GRD externship, legislative fly-ins, and fellowships, as it continues trying to build a stronger bench of veterinarians prepared to influence regulation and legislation. (avma.org)