Staff

Dr. Kathleen Hanson
Veterinarian/Owner

Dr. Hanson grew up in Hawaii, where she attended Punahou School (the same school as President Obama). After graduation, she obtained a BS in Biology from Cornell University and then a DVM from the University of California, Davis. She went on to complete a one-year rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in New Jersey.

Since then, she has worked at a number of clinics, including: New Haven Central Hospital (New Haven, CT); VESCONE (Waltham, MA); Woburn Animal Hospital (Woburn, MA); and Dr. Wolf's Animal Medical Center (Dedham, MA). She was also an adjunct clinical instructor at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine from 2003-2009, teaching a section of their problem based learning (PBL) class. She lives locally in North Woburn with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and three cats, and is very excited to be working close to home. In her free time, she competes with her border collies in dog agility. Dr. Hanson is particularly interested in managing internal medicine cases.

Colleen S.
Head Technician
Certified Veterinary Technician

Colleen graduated from Wilmington High School as a valedictorian, and earned her bachelor's degree in biology at Tufts University. She has always had a passion and love for animals, which sparked her career in veterinary medicine. She currently has one dog (Xander), four cats (Twist, Andy Moog aka Moogie, Olaf, and Ghillie), two bunnies (Apple and Peach), and three parakeets (Joy, Faith, and Love). She has worked in the field for over twelve years, and has worked at both the Woburn Animal Hospital and the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center of New England. Colleen focuses on establishing a comfortable and calm environment for both the clients and the pets. Her professional interests include small animal dentistry and internal medicine.

Carolyn Z.
Office Manager

Carolyn grew up in Lexington and earned her BA from Regis College in Weston. After graduation, she obtained her paralegal certification, and worked for nearly two decades for various law firms around Boston. She made a career change, and is excited to be working with animals full-time. In her spare time, Carolyn volunteers for local greyhound placement organizations. She and her husband John have adopted several former racing greyhounds; they currently have two named Rollie and Sheena. She has a passion for finding homes for retired racers and hound crosses.

Kristi F.
Practice Manager

Kristi grew up in Saugus and currently lives in North Andover with her cat Jackson. She began working with animals by doing volunteer work for MSPCA Nevins Farm and working at a dog daycare. She holds an Animal Care Degree, and has an extensive background in emergency medicine, working at both Mass Vet and BluePearl. She also has experience in general veterinary practice.

In her spare time, Kristi enjoys a wide variety of arts and crafts. She especially enjoys painting and embroidery.

Victoria L.
Head Receptionist

Victoria grew up in New Hampshire and moved to Massachusetts when she was in middle school. She lives with her boyfriend of ten years. While pets are not allowed where she currently lives, she spends some of her time pet sitting.

Victoria studied for three semesters at U Mass Dartmouth, then worked at a daycare for 13 years. After spending time caring for the pets of her family and friends, she has realized that she would like to care for animals as a career. She has a special interest in animal behavior and dog training.

In her spare time, you will find Victoria curled up with a good suspenseful novel. She also spends much of her spare time with her three year old niece, who will Facetime her to arrange their many outings.

Kamree T.
Technician

Kamree was born in Germany and moved to South Carolina when she was just ten years old. She attended school there and studied Graphic Design, Computer Science, and Media Arts. She moved to this area in her mid-twenties and attended Salem State College.

When Kamree was working for a family medical practice doing IT work, she saw an advertisement for a Veterinary Assistant Program at Mass Vet Referral Hospital. She decided to apply for the program and was accepted. She later became interested in transitioning from assistant to technician duties. She began working at Middlesex Animal Hospital as a technician, and worked there for almost two years until the owner retired. One of the highlights of working there was helping examine the Reading police dogs when they would come in for their visits.

Kamree has a special interest in surgery, and hopes to go to school to become a veterinarian one day.

In her spare time, Kamree enjoys gaming and reading at her home in Lowell, surrounded by her three cats Louie, Greyson and Henry.

Marissa H.
Veterinary Assistant

Marissa is from Billerica and lives with her two dogs AJ, a three year old boxer, and Miley, a nine year old chihuahua mix. She attended Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, where she studied cosmetology. After obtaining her license, she worked as a hairdresser.

Marissa has always wanted to work with animals and hopes to continue coursework towards becoming a certified veterinary technician. She worked at Countryside Veterinary Hospital in Chelmsford as a kennel attendant, where she was able to use her knowledge of dog behavior. There she not only cared for the boarding dogs, but helped assist the veterinarians in other areas such as with physical therapy appointments. Marissa's special interests include physical therapy and pet nutrition.

When she is not working Marissa enjoys spending time at her family's house on Lake Winnipesaukee. She considers the lake to be her special place. She also enjoys hiking with her dog AJ.

Sophia W.
Veterinary Assistant

Sophia relocated a lot when younger but found her home in the Somerville/Medford area. She shares her home with two snakes named Matilda and Zelda, two dogs named Akeva and Bullet, and four cats.

After attending Somerville High School she went to Unity College in Maine. She has an interest wildlife rehabilitation, and studied wildlife care and education in college.

Sophia likes to go camping in Maine where she enjoys hiking and kayaking. She us currently working with her older dog Akeva to become more comfortable on a kayak, so he can go with her on more camping adventures.

Alyssa C.
Veterinary Assistant

Alyssa has always loved animals and began her work with them in 2014 at the Lowell Humane Society, volunteering and fostering kittens. One of her first jobs was at a local doggie daycare. She also completed an internship at an alpaca farm in Groton.

After high school Alyssa attended Endicott College in Beverly where she earned her BFA in Art Therapy and studied abroad in Florence, Italy.

Alyssa's first job in the veterinary field was at Countryside Veterinary Hospital in Chelmsford, where she worked in the kennel. As part of the kennel staff, she was trained in all aspects of care of the boarding pets. She also frequently helped out on the hospital side and enjoyed learning from the doctors and technicians.

Alyssa then briefly moved to an editing job, but missed being surrounded by animals all day and realized she wanted to continue working in the veterinary field. This led her to join the staff at Burlington Animal Clinic.

Alyssa currently lives in Westford with her cats Clementine, Lilo, and Pringle (all former fosters). In her free time she enjoys painting, traveling, and ice skating.

Hannah L.
Veterinary Assistant

Hannah grew up in Burlington and then attended UMass Amherst, where she earned her degree in animal sciences. At UMass, she worked in their livestock barn, where she tended to sheep, goats and cattle. Later, she branched out to work in other livestock barns across the state.

After UMass, Hannah went to the University of Pennsylvania, where she did her internship in pig welfare. She is looking to further her career working with animals, and is currently applying to veterinary schools. She has special interests in both pathology and barn animals, especially pigs. She is excited to be working at Burlington Animal Clinic to further expand her skills by working with cats, dogs, and small animals.

Hannah has two cats named Dwayne and Nani. They were barn cats where she used to work. In her spare time she enjoys hiking in the White Mountains and at the Olympic National Park in Washington on their Rainforest Trail. She also loves to travel, with Mexico being one of her favorite destinations.

Amy B.
Receptionist

Amy was raised in Woburn and attended Woburn High. Currently she is raising her 13-year-old daughter in the same neighborhood she grew up in. After high school, Amy had a focus on taking online courses in Drug and Alcohol Counseling and Child Psychology. She had seen people close to her throughout her life struggle with these issues, including friends, classmates, and relatives. She has also taken online courses in Veterinary Assistant and Animal Care.

Amy's first jobs were in childcare, working as a nanny. In 2010 she became the mama of a child with medical special needs. Every day is a surprise. Then after a long period of time being a stay-at-home mom, she decided to pursue her passion for animals by working in the veterinary and medical field. Growing up, her dream job was to be a vet.

She is interested in the similarities and differences between human and veterinary medicine. She has a special interest in dog training, after getting her 2-year-old working line German Shepherd "Sarge" who she describes as a "work in progress." You can find Amy on Sunday mornings working with her trainer and other dogs in her class, helping her overcome past dog anxiety. She knows quite a bit about dog training, focusing on those anxious ones that need a little extra time and support than others — problem-solving, finding ways to make it fun, and positive reinforcement.

Amy is excited to jump into this role as it gives her the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of family pets and be able to meet friendly and furry faces at Burlington Animal Clinic. On her days off, you can find her listening to music, laughing and joking around, at the beach no matter what the weather is, spending time with family, and vacationing in Maine. She may also be working on arts and crafts projects with her daughter Jordynn or catching up on the latest Netflix shows.

Maddie B.
Receptionist

Maddie is from upstate New York and grew up in Saratoga Springs. She relocated to Boston where she attended MassArt, focusing on animation.

After graduating college, Maddie walked dogs for several years, and also did some petsitting. She has always loved animals and had once considered becoming a veterinarian. She currently shares her home with a playful seven-year-old cat named Holly, as well as a snake named Autumn. Her parents also have three dogs who she visits with.

When she's not working, Maddie is busy making costumes for cosplay conventions, and enjoys performing at them. She also works on animation and digital art, and is a seasoned ballet dancer.

Valerie K.
Receptionist

Originally from Burlington, Valerie went on to receive her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Keene State University. Then she attended Plymouth State College, and obtained her Masters degree in K-12 special education. After this, she went to White Mountains Community College, where she earned advanced certificates within the Special Education field.

After a twenty-year career working as a high school special educator, Valerie decided that she would like to pursue working with animals, and joined us here at Burlington Animal Clinic.

Valerie has had an array of animals her whole life, ranging from dogs and cats to rabbits and even a tarantula. She had a pair of St. Bernard/Newfoundland mixes that lived to the age of 16! Currently she shares her home with four cats and two rabbits.

Valerie enjoys spending time with her 14-year-old daughter Nevaeh. She also loves to go skiing in New Hampshire and ride her e-bike.