Heather Lee, DVM, DABVP, leads with authenticity, resilience, and earned expertise. As Regional Medical Leader for Division 6 and interim Medical Director at North Dallas Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital and Emergency Pet Care of Texas, her leadership is shaped by hands-on experience, high standards of medicine, and a deep commitment to creating space for others to grow.
Outside of her formal leadership roles, Dr. Lee’s commitment to service and growth extends well beyond the hospital walls. She serves as a mentor for our ABVP Guided Program and balances a full life as a volunteer firefighter, wife, mother, and beekeeper. These roles ground her leadership in real-world responsibility, adaptability, and care, reinforcing her belief that strong leadership is built through lived experience, not polish.
Dr. Lee credits much of her growth to the women who came before her. Early role models, such as Celeste Hill, DVM, demonstrated what it meant to be tough, capable, and deeply committed to both medicine and life beyond it. Later, Carol Hillhouse, DVM, DABVP, inspired her to pursue board certification and helped her recognize what her clients and patients already knew.
Those influences continue to shape how Dr. Lee leads today. She pays it forward by mentoring intentionally, advocating loudly, and creating clearer, more humane pathways for others than the ones she navigated herself. Her philosophy is simple but powerful: open doors, then step back so others can walk through stronger.
That same drive for excellence led Dr. Lee to pursue ABVP certification. The decision was never about proving anything to others; it was about holding herself to the highest possible standard and answering an honest question: Was I truly practicing at a specialist level?
That pursuit sharpened her medicine and reinforced a mindset of lifelong learning, one she now actively encourages in those she mentors.
Dr. Lee’s advice to women entering the profession reflects both realism and resolve. Don’t wait for permission to take yourself seriously. Claim your competence early. Seek mentors who challenge you, not just those who comfort you. Build grit, but don’t confuse suffering with worth.
Veterinary medicine needs diverse voices and strong leadership, especially in spaces where women may still feel like outliers. “Stay curious, stay brave,” Dr. Lee said, “and remember that the trail only gets wider if someone is willing to walk it first.”
Through her leadership, mentorship, and commitment to advanced training, Dr. Lee continues to widen that trail, creating space for the next generation of women leaders to follow.