Our Team

Jenny Russell, DVM, MPH

Owner

Dr. Russell originally hailed from a farm and ranch family in Stonewall County, Texas and moved to Uvalde from Southlake, Texas in 2014 to support her longtime friend and veterinary classmate in running a veterinary practice.  Dr. Russell has a particular fondness for cats and shares her life and home with “Carl Cotton” & “Flousy Goose” , nakkie Sphynx kitties, and “Pico Sir”, the slightly naughty JRT, and Mr. Harry Brown, the boisterous Briard who all accompany her to work on occasion. She and Eddie Stevenson joined their lives in Cabo San Lucas in 2017 and enjoy participating in and raising their children, Lauren and Wesley Stevenson, in the Uvalde community.

Dr. Russell believes in education and remaining up to date with current veterinary medical knowledge, techniques, and treatments. Her current professional development interest is ultrasonography and becoming proficient in both abdominal and cardiac scans.  Her overall professional interests are centered around public health and small animal medicine & surgery. In 2015, in order to help SWTVMC continue its tradition of caring for orphaned and injured wildlife, she became licensed to rehabilitate native Texas wildlife.

Dr. Russell enjoys team building and strives for the practice to continually invest and develop its members. Her most current efforts are in increasing the internal capacity of our SWTVMC team by raising both technician and client service skill levels.  Each member of the SWTVMC team has a pathway to follow for continuous improvement. Fear Free has been integrated into our practice culture and onboarding process. Fear Free signifies a transformative approach to veterinary care that ensures a patient’s emotional well-being is given the same level of attention as their physical well-being. Fear Free helps us make the veterinary visit more pleasant for both our patients and clients.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science in 1994 from Texas Tech University, a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1995 and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1998, both from Texas A&M University and completed her Masters in Public Health (epidemiology)  from University of Texas, in 2013. She has served as President of the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice whose members voluntarily agreed to complete at least 50 hours of continuing education each year. She also maintains membership with The Veterinary Information Network (VIN).   Dr. Russell is a member of American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Texas Veterinary Medical (TVMA), and the Southwest Texas Veterinary Medical Association (STVMA). She serves on Paraprofessional and Practice Management Committees for Texas Veterinary Medical Association, previously serving on the Public Health and Disaster Preparedness Committee. She also serves as Uvalde County’s Local Rabies Control Authority

Her hobbies include continuing education, physical fitness, and bible study. Dr. Russell is a member of First Baptist Church Uvalde and is a sustaining member of The Junior League of San Antonio.

Mary Verstuyft, CVBL, CVA 3

Practice Coordinator

Mary Verstuyft was born in Texas City and raised in Leakey. Mary married her husband, Nathan in 2009 and they are raising their two beautiful daughters, Claire (6) and Margaret (2) on their farm in Batesville, Texas.

Mary began working at Southwest Texas Veterinary Medical Center in February 2012 as an animal care attendant, and was trained to work as a veterinary technician later that year. In March of 2016, she became one of our lead technicians. Mary completed her Certified Veterinary Assistant Level 3 in 2020. It is the policy of TVMA that all certified veterinary assistants must progress through each certification step in sequence, that is, all CVAs must certify first at Level I, Level II and then Level III in sequence. At the time Texas had only 75 Certified CVA III technicians, Mary has became the 76th. A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT!  Mary became Fear Free Certified in 2021 and has completed her Practice Management Certification.  She is currently a Certified Veterinary Business Leader.

Mary’s hobbies include saltwater and freshwater fishing, dove hunting, deer hunting, and spending time with her family and 4 canines.

Kassandra Lopez, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Kassandra was born in Uvalde and raised in Crystal City, Texas.

She joined SWTVMC as a Licensed Veterinarian Technician in May of 2021. She attended Southwest Texas Junior College and earned her Associate’s degree. Kassandra continued her education at Texas A&M in Kingsville and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Veterinary Technology. She also completed a 2-year Veterinary Technician Program in which she became licensed to practice in the state of Texas shortly after graduation. Kassandra completed her Fear Free Certification in 2018.

Her hobbies include, tennis, playing video games, and listening to music. Kassandra is very family oriented and enjoys spending time with her dog, Coconut.

Barbara Rodriguez, CVA 2

Client Service Coordinator

Barbara Rodriguez was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Hondo, Texas. She graduated from College of Texas Careers in San Antonio with a certification as a nationally registered medical assistant.  She currently resides in Sabinal, TX.

Barbara worked as a medical assistant at Community Health Development for 16 years.  She is passionate about learning.  She brought years of medical experience and her kind caring nature with her when she joined SWTVMC as a Client Service Coordinator in July of 2015.    She has already earned her Certified Veterinary Assistant Level 2 training certificate.  In 2018, Barbara traveled to Ames, Iowa and received her certificate in Coggins lab training given by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. Barbara completed Fear Free Certification in 2018. The Fear Free program helps us make each visit as stress-free as possible for all of our patients. In 2019, she was certified for Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Sample Collection. Barbara completed her HR Management Certification in 2021 and has also received her Certification for PVU Communication and Service. She has also completed ACT / VHMA Client Service Certification.

Jenny Heard

Client Service Coordinator

Jenny was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Jenny went to McNeese State University and Louisiana State University where she studied Communications. She joined our team in 2014 and stayed until 2016 as Client Service Coordinator. She then moved to Shreveport, Louisiana with her family where she continued her career as Veterinary Customer Service Specialist from 2016 to 2021. She returned to Uvalde in September of 2021 where she was welcomed back at SWTVMC resuming her career as a Client Service Coordinator. She completed her ACT / VHMA Client Service Certification in 2021.

In 2004 Jenny married Brad Heard and they have two beautiful kids Madison 16 and Remington 13. They have a fiery Dachshund named Tabasco and sweet blue healer / coonhound mix named Blue. She enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Amber West

Groomer

Amber moved to Texas with her family when she was in junior high.   She graduated from Sabinal High School in 1992.  After high school she studied nursing at Southwest Texas Junior College.  Amber has been grooming dogs for over twenty years, and recently started grooming cats here at SWTVMC.  Her passion for grooming started in junior high when she decided to groom her own poodle. She loves all dogs but especially enjoys grooming poodles, shih-tzu, and doodles.   She is currently working towards completing her Fear Free Certification.

Amber enjoys camping, hiking, and kayaking.  She also enjoys reading in her spare time.

Marc Jacquez, CVA 1

Veterinary Technician

Marc was born and raised in Uvalde, Tx. After graduating from Uvalde High School in 2019 he went on to earn an associate degree from Southwest Texas Junior College. He then relocated to San Angelo, Texas where he graduated from Angelo State University with a Bachelor’s degree in animal science. He joined SWTVMC in January of 2024 and completed the Fear Free certification and the Certified Veterinary Assistant Level 1 certification shortly after. Marc enjoys working with animals, team roping, and spending time with friends and family.

Carly Rae Colvin - CVA 1

Veterinary Technician

Carly Rae Colvin was born and raised in Uvalde, Texas. She currently attends Uvalde Classical Academy. She has always wanted to be a vet and follow in her mother’s footsteps and has started her training from the bottom up. She loves caring for animals and making sure they are in their best health.
She has completed her Certified Veterinary Assistant Level I and Equine Fear Free Certifications. Carly Rae plans to attend West Texas A&M university after high school where she will study animal science and tryout for the stock horse team.
She spends her spare time riding her horses and preparing them for rodeos and stock horse shows. She also enjoys trail riding, hanging out with friends and family as well as playing tennis.

Madaline Samarripa

Animal Care Attendant

Madaline joined our team and began her training in August 2024 as an animal care attendant. Maddie knew she wanted to become a veterinary technician at a very early age. She learned about veterinary medicine when her mother worked at SWTVMC as a technician when she was very young. Madaline graduated from Uvalde High School in 2024. She was attracted to the veterinary field because she loves helping people and animals! She has four dogs, Daphne, Velma, Vincent, and Huey. She also has one cat named Gwen. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, swimming, and hanging out with friends.