New SAVMA leaders step in as student advocacy sharpens

Spencer Stelly is stepping into the SAVMA presidency with an unusually public profile and a clear policy message. The LSU veterinary student, recently profiled by Vet Candy Radio, said he once imagined a future on Broadway, but is now focused on representing veterinary students nationwide through the Student American Veterinary Medical Association. His rise comes alongside the election of Cayden Smith of Long Island University’s Lewyt College of Veterinary Medicine as president-elect, giving SAVMA a new leadership team as student concerns about training, wellbeing, and professional identity continue to intensify. (lsu.edu)

That leadership transition lands in a profession already deep in debate over workforce design. SAVMA historically functions as the student voice connected to AVMA governance, with the AVMA vice president serving as a key liaison to the student association and veterinary colleges. Student leaders, while still in training, often become early messengers on questions that later dominate organized veterinary medicine, including economics, access to care, technician utilization, and scope of practice. (avma.org)

In Stelly’s case, one of those questions is explicit. Vet Candy’s profile says he plans to advocate against the mid-level veterinary practitioner concept, often referred to in Colorado and national debates as the veterinary professional associate, or VPA. That is not a fringe issue. Colorado voters approved Proposition 129 on November 5, 2024, creating the new profession, and the state later enacted House Bill 25-1285, which set additional implementation requirements effective January 1, 2026. Colorado’s regulatory website now lists 2026 as the year VPA regulation begins. (historicalelectiondata.coloradosos.gov)

The broader profession has not spoken with one voice in support of that model. AVMA has continued to oppose a mid-level practitioner position and instead has emphasized fuller use and support of credentialed veterinary technicians, according to a 2025 House of Delegates summary. AAHA has said it opposes the role and specifically noted that SAVMA is among the organizations aligned in that opposition. AAEP likewise states it opposes creation of an MLP/VPA role with authority over diagnosis, prognosis, treatment planning, prescribing, or surgery. More recently, NAVTA’s task force concluded the current VPA/MLP model lacks sufficient clinical preparation and could undermine team-based care. (aav.org)

That makes Stelly’s election notable beyond biography. His personal story, including his interest in theatre and emergency and critical care, gives the profile a human angle, but the substantive takeaway is that SAVMA’s top elected student leader appears ready to anchor student advocacy in one of the profession’s sharpest policy fights. Smith’s parallel profile, while more focused on stress management, growth, and following passion, suggests the incoming leadership team may also lean into the day-to-day realities of veterinary training, not just headline policy disputes. Long Island University’s veterinary college, where Smith studies, was renamed the Lewyt College of Veterinary Medicine in February 2025 under a $20.5 million agreement that also included scholarships and shelter training support, underscoring how student leadership is emerging from institutions that are themselves evolving quickly. (headlines.liu.edu)

Why it matters: Veterinary professionals should read this as an early signal about where the next generation is positioning itself. Student leaders don’t set state law, but they do influence the profession’s pipeline, advocacy culture, and future leadership bench. If SAVMA amplifies opposition to the VPA model, that could reinforce organized medicine’s current stance and shape how new graduates think about delegation, technician advancement, and workforce reform. It also highlights a tension many practices are already feeling: the need to expand access and capacity without deepening confusion over training standards, supervision, or accountability. The 2025 AVMA economic report, published last month, shows the profession is still grappling with workforce and compensation pressures, which helps explain why scope-of-practice proposals continue to gain traction even amid strong opposition. (ebusiness.avma.org)

What to watch: The next test is whether SAVMA’s new leadership turns these views into visible action through resolutions, public advocacy, or collaboration with AVMA and state VMAs as Colorado’s VPA framework comes online in 2026, and as other states consider whether to follow Colorado’s lead. (dpo.colorado.gov)