UGA Koi Class 2010 - Instructors

The instructors for the course have varied from year to year based on availability. One year Tim Miller-Morgan was a father, another year we had Sandy Yosha, a lot of years we have brought in Dr Roberts, Brian Palmiero and Jay Sheldon. Here's a partial listing of who has taught the course before. This year's instructor panel awaits acceptance by all invited teachers.

Speakers:

Dr Erik Johnson

Dr. Erik Johnson is a veterinarian and fish health specialist. He has been practicing fish medicine since graduation in 1991 from UGA. He's a well known speaker on the national level. He has been an instructor of UGA Ornamental Fish Health Course on many occasions. Dr. Johnson is a published author with books and many articles to his credit. He sponsors multiple websites on fish health.

Dr Steven Hernandez-Divers

Dr, Stephen Hernandez-Divers graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in London, and is a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Diplomate of Zoological Medicine, a RCVS recognized Specialist in Zoo & Wildlife Medicine, and a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine. He is a past-president of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians, associate editor for the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, and chair of the editorial board for the Journal of Herpetological Medicine & Surgery. Dr ‘HD’ is Associate Professor of Exotic Animal, Wildlife, and Zoological Medicine, and co-director of the Endoscopy Research and Development Center, at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia.

Dr Helen Roberts

Dr Helen Roberts received her DVM from the University of Georgia in 1990. She currently co-owns a small and exotic animal practice in Orchard Park, NY and also owns an ambulatory practice exclusively for pet fish. Helen is involved with local emergency and disaster response in Western New York, where she serves as the veterinary sector leader for a regional specialized medical response team. Dr Roberts is also a consultant for Veterinary Information Network (VIN-aquatics) and teaches several veterinary technician courses online for Vet Med Team. In her spare time, she enjoys being in her backyard where she has several ornamental fish ponds and over fifteen bird feeding stations. She also is an avid computer gamer.

Dr Brian Palmeiro

Dr. Brian Palmeiro received a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University with a major in animal science and a minor in marine biology. While at Rutgers, he worked as head aquarist at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. Dr. Palmeiro attended veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine. Currently, Dr. Palmeiro is employed as a small animal veterinarian at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Palmeiro is also the staff veterinarian for a large ornamental fish wholesaler in Philadelphia, where he works with an extremely diverse population of fish. Dr. Palmeiro also does consultations for private koi ponds, aquaria and other fish retail and breeding facilities (www.petfishdoctor.com). He is an aquatic animal medicine consultant for the Veterinary Information Network. Dr. Palmeiro is involved in various studies focusing on ornamental fish health including a research project establishing normal biochemistry values in koi and research on microbiological characteristics of koi ulcer disease. He has given numerous lectures and laboratories on fish medicine to hobbyists, veterinary students and veterinarians. Dr. Palmeiro recently created and directed the first clinical rotation in pet fish medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a founding member of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medicial Association, and a member of the Fish Veterinary Society.

Vicki Vaughan

Vicki is the Director of KOILAB Diagnostics and owner/operator of Flat Rock Koi (www.flatrockkoi.com) which breeds and imports koi. Ms. Vaughan is the course coordinator for The Koi Health Seminar which is a 3 day hands on lecture series and wet lab designed to introduce hobbyists, retailers, and veterinarians to disease identification, treatment and prevention.

Joe Hatfield, Jr.

Joe is a Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and is currently a Pilot Instructor and responsible for Corporate Emergency Plans for Delta Airlines. Joe is also an active golfer and grandfather of three beautiful little girls who love Spooky, their Hi Utsuri.

Joe's interest in the fish goes back to college days in the 1960’s, when he set up his first aquarium and began raising live bearers. Numerous anatomy courses taken and the eventual minor in biology left a lasting interest in the fish hobby. The first real exposure to Koi was on his first trip to Japan while assigned to the Far East in the military. One look and he was hooked. He swore to himself that someday he would raise and keep Koi. It wasn’t until after retirement from the US Army in 1993, some 20 years later, that Joe was able to build his first Koi pond.

The more experience Joe had with koi keeping, the more he wanted to learn. Joe completed the AKCA Koi Health Advisor Course. He has studied water quality extensively and served as subject matter expert at numerous Koi Shows. Joe has completed enough continued education to achieve the Advanced KHA Certification.

Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson is an Electrical Engineer who has worked with telecommunication systems since 1972. Michael and his wife Toni built their first pond in the spring of 1998. It was in reality a water garden with koi. This combination caused them to both learn better ways to keep koi. In 2001 the water garden was replaced by a 4,000 gallon koi pond designed by Michael. In 2003 Michael and Toni moved to Atlanta and joined the Atlanta Koi Club. Michael designed the club's website and is the club's AKCA Director. Michael is also Vice President for 2008-2009. Toni is the Newsletter Editor. Michael designed and built their current 8' deep 10,000 gallon koi pond.. He is a contributor to KOIUSA and KOI NATION magazines and is a regular on koi-related bulletin boards such as KoiShack (www.koishack.com).

Dr. James (Jay) Shelton

Dr. James (Jay) Shelton is an Associate Professor of Fisheries in the D.B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, where he conducts research and teaches a course in fish culture. He has a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Aquaculture from Auburn University. He has worked with artificial propagation of a variety of fish species including koi, striped bass, grass carp, and channel catfish. He is currently assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in an effort to develop artificial propagation techniques for use in the recovery an imperiled fish species, the robust redhorse (Moxostoma robustum), native to Georgia, North and South Carolina. He has given presentations at past koi health management and koi breeding classes, as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention.

We look forward to seeing you at the seminar in March 2010!

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