Dr. Flynn joined the United States Equestrian Federation as senior staff veterinarian in March, following two years as the Kentucky state veterinarian and nearly 10 years as equine staff vet for the California Department of Food and Agriculture Animal Health Branch . Dr. Flynn received her veterinary degree from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Her area of interest is biosecurity, specifically event biosecurity, and she has developed biosecurity educational materials that have been distributed to all 50 states and 12 countries. Dr. Flynn previously chaired the AAEP’s Infectious Disease Committee, her contributions to which earned her the AAEP President’s Award in 2019.

Dr. Armando Nieto received his veterinary degree from Colorado State University in 2008. After three years in mixed practice in California, he joined the racetrack circuit—first in New Mexico and eventually in Kentucky and Florida. While his racetrack practice focused on sports medicine and lameness, Dr. Nieto began incorporating chiropractic care to better diagnose and treat the “whole horse.” This led to an interest in traditional acupuncture and integrative medicine, which he continues to develop to this day. Dr. Nieto, who serves on the AAEP’s Scientific Review & Editorial Committee, is based out of Washington.

Dr. Cynthia MacKenzie is trust veterinarian for the AVMA Trust, working with veterinarians and veterinary students to raise awareness of insurance offerings and risk-management solutions in addition to reviewing veterinary malpractice claims. Prior to joining the Trust in 2017, Dr. MacKenzie held several industry positions and also worked in private equine practice in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and Lexington, Ky. She earned her veterinary degree from Texas A&M University in 1998 and has served the AAEP as former chair of the Welfare and Public Policy Advisory Council.

Michael Casey is a partner in Casey, Bailey & Maines, PLLC, in Lexington, Ky., a specialty firm with 90% of the practice comprised of insurance defense litigation and 10% dedicated to protecting creditors’ rights and assets. Casey received his law degree from the University of Louisville in 1995 and is admitted to practice in all courts in Kentucky and Indiana. He has defended hundreds of cases with trial experience in veterinary malpractice, professional malpractice, products liability and more.

Dr. Sherry Johnson attended veterinary school at Iowa State University, completed an equine internship at Equine Medical Center of Ocala and then completed a one-year equine diagnostic imaging fellowship at Colorado State University. She then transitioned into the collaborative Equine Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation residency program through Colorado State University and Equine Sports Medicine, LLC. Following her residency training, she became a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (DACVSMR) in 2019. She then completed a PhD program at Colorado State University with specific research focus on orthopedic rehabilitation, specifically tendon healing and blood flow restriction training (2022). Dr. Johnson is the recipient of the American Quarter Horse Foundation Young Investigator Award (2018), named the EQUUS Foundation Research Fellow (2019), and was most recently granted the Storm Cat Career Development Award (2020), Iowa State University’s 2020 Young Alumni Award and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP’s) President Award (2020). She is honored to serve as the Program Chair of AAEP’s Performance Horse Committee and is a 4-time Kester News Hour moderator. She also serves on the equine advisory board for Pulse Vet Technologies, LLC, as a key opinion leader for American Regent Animal Health, and on Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine strategic advisory board. She is a partner & managing rehabilitation veterinarian of Equine Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, LLC (ESMR) for which she oversees rehabilitation centers located in both Whitesboro, TX and Scottsdale, AZ.