Meet our Incoming At-Large Members
Matt Antkowiak DVM ’97
Dr. Matthew Antkowiak was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. After graduation from Cornell, Dr. Antkowiak found his way to Washington, DC completing an internship at SouthPaws Veterinary Referral Center and stayed on as an emergency veterinarian for 15 years.
In 2011, he and his business partner started AtlasVet on Capitol Hill and grew the fledgling business from 6 employees and 2 doctors to 50 staff members and 10 DVMs. AtlasVet has been repeatedly voted "Best Veterinarian in DC" and has become an important part of the local community. Dr. Antkowiak is a frequent participant in Cornell's annual Hack-a-thon, a financial supporter of the Veterinary Players (which remains near and dear to his heart) and is also helping support Dr. Radcliff's Conservation with Communities for One Health. He is excited to join the AAEB and continue to give back to the Cornell veterinary community.
Mark Chmielewicz ’78, DVM ’85
I am passionate about my career in veterinary medicine and have spent considerable time supporting my colleagues in the profession. I am a NYS Gaming Commission Supervising Veterinarian for Horse Racing at Vernon Downs in Vernon, NY and a Veterinarian at VCA North Country Animal Hospital in Watertown, NY.
This includes two 4-year terms on the executive board of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS) and previous officer positions representing the Central New York Veterinary Medical Association (CNYVMA) followed most recently by two 5-year terms on the New York State Board for Veterinary Medicine (NYSBVM). With the NYSVMS I gleaned considerable experience working with the NYS legislature in support of veterinary and agricultural issues. I have represented New York for several years now at the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) annual meeting as the voting delegate.
Educationally, I received both my bachelor's and doctorate from Cornell. My animal science focus was dairy production, nutrition and management. I worked both on small and large dairy farms including the Cornell research farm in Harford, NY. I spent 2 years at Cornell’s Veterinary Research Tower (8th floor) working at the largest lab studying dirofilaria immitis and schistosomiasis with radioisotopes working with parasitologist Jay Georgi and physiologist Fred Lengemann. Professionally I've worked with small animal to include exotics and equine with standardbred racehorses.
Currently I'm president of the New York State Ski Race Association Nordic. I love winter and all skiing disciplines and race both cross country and biathlon.
Free time has been spent above the Arctic Circle exploring the north of Canada and most recently Alaska. The YouTube video "Arctic Wolf vs Pakcanoe" is me in the High Arctic of Victoria Island ~ 72-73° latitude. I am a lifetime member of the National Eagle Scout Association.
Edward Gschrey ’83, DVM ’86
Dr. Ed Gschrey was born in the Bronx but moved to Lake Grove on Long Island when he was six years old. He graduated from Cornell's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences with a B.S. in Animal Science with honors and distinction in 1983 and was proud to be a member of the great Class of 1986 at the NYS College of Veterinary Medicine. He immediately began to work as a small animal practitioner in Rochester, NY and has been there ever since. He has worked at South Towne Veterinary Hospital seeing dogs, cats, and exotics for the past 35 years. He became a partner in 2002 and purchased the practice in 2012, selling it 5 years later. Since then, he has "semi-retired", working only three- and one-half days a week doing small animal ultrasound and performing soft tissue surgery. Many question his definition of "semi-retirement." He met his future wife, Janie, after his freshman year in veterinary school through a classmate. The long-suffering woman has somehow stayed married to him for nearly 40 years.
They have two children, Chris and Travis, who are no longer children but still manage to keep their folks busy. Ed and Janie have a goofball German Shepard (aren't they all?) named Deacon, a mildly overweight cat (KitKat), and a Goffin's cockatoo (Odie but usually called "The Devil Bird" by their children). Ed enjoys reading, golf, driving his 2004 Mustang, and soon will be spending his off time in a newly built vacation home on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. He was the secretary treasurer of the alumni executive board for over 10 years in the past and decided he missed Ithaca and wanted to visit more often.
Amanda Nicklin DVM ’14 (MBA)
Amanda is a graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine class of 2014. Prior to attending Cornell, Amanda earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Amanda completed a small animal rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City and an ophthalmology internship at a private practice in Florida before opting for a career change. Amanda earned her Master of Business Administration from Columbia University in 2019, then joined IDEXX laboratories to pursue her passion for applying business concepts to the animal health industry to solve problems for veterinarians and their patients.
In 2021, Amanda joined Antech Diagnostics where she currently works as the Director of Corporate Customer Growth. In this role she leads large scale initiatives that focus on improving patient outcomes and the work experience for veterinary hospital associates.
Amanda lives in Amherst, NH with her fiancé, Haarris, two cats Spyder (who she has had since starting vet school), and Goose, and Golden Retriever, Carley. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and playing soccer.
Heather Sacks DVM ’03
Dr. Heather Sacks' main interests are acupuncture and herbal medicine, dentistry, chemotherapy as well as general medicine and surgery. She attained her undergraduate degree from Tufts University with a bachelor's degree in English Literature before attending Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Sacks earned her DVM degree in 2003, and moved to Buffalo, New York to begin her career as a small animal and exotic veterinarian.
Prior to Cornell, Dr. Sacks worked as a veterinary technician at Jardin Gaia, a wildlife rehabilitation and education center in Costa Rica, Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, and at Animal Rescue League of Boston. After graduation from veterinary school, Dr. Sacks earned her master’s in Chinese herbology and moved to Buffalo and began practice at a prestigious small animal referral hospital. Dr. Sacks co-founded City Creatures Animal Hospital in 2007 before opening Nickel City Animal Hospital in Buffalo in 2012. In the same year, Dr. Sacks also received the 40 under 40 award from Buffalo Business First for her community outreach as a vet and Nickel City Animal Hospital was awarded Best Vet Hospital by Buffalo Spree Magazine.
Dr. Heather Sacks moved to Massachusetts and became Chief of Staff at Hingham Animal Clinic in 2014, while continuing to serve her client base in Buffalo and return to her beloved Nickel City Animal Hospital. Dr. Sacks started Athena Veterinary Herb and Acupuncture house call and canine rehabilitation practice where she still cares for patients today. Her love of integrative medicine has led her to study with CIVT for her certified veterinary natural nutrition certification as well as deep diving into Chinese Herbal medicine with Dr. Steve Marsden and Dr. Nate Heilman. Dr. Sacks has lectured on herbal therapies and acupuncture for ICTVM and NYSVMS. Dr. Sacks is thrilled to be joining the board and bringing her passion for integrative veterinary medicine back to her alma mater.
Jeremy Salvatore DVM ’10
Dr. Jeremy Salvatore grew up in Queens, New York. He attended the University of Connecticut where he received his Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and Pathobiology. He is a 2010 graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
During his time at Cornell, Dr. Salvatore served as SCAVMA Vice President and was a student representative on the Curriculum Committee. After graduation, Dr. Salvatore went into private practice as an associate veterinarian. He has practiced in several different locations for both private and corporate practices. Dr. Salvatore and his wife, Dr. Emily Salvatore, (Cornell CVM Class of 2012) opened their own practice, Evergreen Veterinary Clinic, in Oxford, CT in August of 2022.