Associate Executive Vice President and Chief Veterinary Officer
American Veterinary Medical Association
Dr. Golab earned her PhD in biochemistry from Texas A&M University and her DVM from the University of Illinois.
After completing a medical and surgical internship, and several years in private practice, she accepted a position with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as a scientific editor for the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Journal of Veterinary Research. In 1998, Dr. Golab joined the AVMA's Division of Education and Research as assistant director, serving as staff consultant for issues related to human-animal interactions (animal welfare, human-animal bond). In 2001, she became assistant director of the AVMA’s Communications Division, where she continued to serve as staff consultant on human-animal interactions and also managed professional and public affairs and crisis communications for the AVMA. In 2006, Dr. Golab became associate director of the newly created Animal Welfare Division and, in 2007, was named director of that Division. In 2015, she was appointed to the newly created post of Chief Advocacy and Public Policy Officer, overseeing the Advocacy and Public Policy Strategic Business Unit and, in 2017, she was named Chief Veterinary Officer. In 2022 she moved into her current role as Associate Executive Vice President and Chief Veterinary Officer.
During her tenure at the AVMA, Dr. Golab has served as staff consultant for its Animal Welfare Committee; Panels on Euthanasia, Depopulation, and Humane Slaughter; Model Animal Welfare Curriculum Planning Group; Working Group for The Conversation on Animal Welfare; the Strategic Task Force on the American Journal of Veterinary Research; Animal Welfare Advisory Committee; Committee on the Human-Animal Bond; Task Force on the Housing of Pregnant Sows; Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions; Task Force on the Legal Status of Animals; and Task Force on State Legislative and Regulatory Initiatives. In addition, she was a member of the AVMA Animal Welfare Governance Task Force, represented the AVMA on the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy’s Board of Directors, served as AVMA liaison to the Federation of Animal Science Societies’ Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Care, and provided oversight for the AVMA’s animal welfare symposia.
Often acting in an advisory capacity, Dr. Golab currently represents the AVMA on the Scientific Advisory Committee for a Humane Hollywood (No Animals Were Harmed), the Steering Committee of the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), and the Delta Airlines Animal Advisory Board, among others. She previously served on the panel of advisors for the Food Marketing Institute Animal Welfare Program, the Center for Food Integrity’s Responsible Antibiotic Use Project, as a member of the Sysco Animal Welfare Advisory Council, chaired the Animal Welfare Committee of the US Animal Health Association, served on the steering committee for the Future Trends in Animal Agriculture program developed by USDA-CSREES, vice-chaired the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s Animal Care Council, served as a member of the Animal Welfare Working Group of Farm Foundation’s Future of Animal Agriculture in North America project, and was a member of United Egg Producers Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Welfare, and Tyson’s Animal Well Being Advisory Panel. Dr. Golab also has assisted hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare centers with the development of guidelines and protocols for animal-assisted interventions (animal suitability, welfare assessment, and disease control); and has helped develop animal care guidelines for retail pet stores.
In 2005, Dr. Golab was inducted into the National Academies of Practice (the nation’s distinguished interdisciplinary healthcare forum addressing public policy, education, research, and inquiry). In 2008 she became the first American veterinarian to quality for certification as a Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists’ Animal Welfare Chapter (MANZCVS) and in 2012 became a Charter Diplomate of the AVMA-recognized veterinary specialty, the American College of Animal Welfare, for which she served as President from 2015-2018.
Dr. Golab’s 30 plus years of involvement in the human-animal interactions field, including research and policy development, began as an undergraduate, transcends both professional degrees, and has included opportunities for exposure to a variety of concerns affecting diverse species. Work experiences in academia, industry, and private practice set the stage for a well-balanced approach to difficult issues.