AVMA spotlights advocacy career path through Jacey Cerda

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The AVMA’s My Veterinary Life podcast has released a new episode, “AVMA Government Relations Externship and Beyond with Dr. Jacey Cerda,” spotlighting one veterinarian’s path from wildlife biology and law into veterinary medicine, policy, and conservation. In the episode, Cerda discusses her experience with the AVMA Government Relations Division externship and how that exposure fits into a broader career that now includes work as a biodiversity conservation and emergency response postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University. Outside the podcast, Cerda’s current profile shows a notably interdisciplinary resume: she is a veterinarian, attorney, and 2025 Fulbright postdoctoral scholar studying how Australia’s response to the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires could inform wildlife disaster planning in the U.S. (fulbright.org.au)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the episode adds to AVMA’s recent messaging around organized veterinary medicine and advocacy as viable career-building pathways, especially for early-career veterinarians and students. Cerda’s trajectory underscores how policy training and organized veterinary medicine can translate into roles well beyond clinical practice, including government relations, wildlife conservation, disaster response, and One Health work. That’s particularly relevant as the profession continues to emphasize leadership development, public policy engagement, and nontraditional career pathways. (avma.org)

What to watch: Watch for whether AVMA continues expanding this podcast series into a broader recruitment and visibility push around advocacy, externships, and organized veterinary medicine for students and early-career veterinarians. (avma.org)