John Rossi, VMD, M. Bioethics
HumaneVMA Pennsylvania State Representative

Dr. John Rossi is a veterinarian and bioethicist currently working in the animal health industry. He has previously held full-time positions in academia, government, and companion-animal clinical practice, and he still enjoys practicing medicine in a relief capacity.

Dr. Rossi is passionate about animal welfare and ethics, and in addition to his work with HumaneVMA he enjoys teaching and writing about various topics in the field, particularly topics relating to the moral status of animals and the ethics of animal use. He currently resides in the greater Philadelphia area.

Melissa Resnick, DVM, MPH
HumaneVMA Pennsylvania State Co-Representative

Dr. Melissa Resnick is a graduate of the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Texas School of Public Health. She also completed the University of Wisconsin/UC Davis Maddie's Shelter Medicine Fellowship. 

She enjoys the variety within her career which includes shelter medicine, HQHVSN surgery, teaching, public health and epidemiology, general practice and emergency medicine, and farm animal sanctuary medicine. Her years of experience as a shelter veterinarian in an open-admission municipal shelter shaped her perspective on barriers to care, animal welfare laws, and gaps in community services. She is passionate about improving access to veterinary care, interventions to pet relinquishment, humane management of community cats, community outreach and education, advocating for legislative changes, and ethical veganism. She enjoys teaching shelter medicine and surgery to both veterinary students and veterinarians new to sheltering, which are also opportunities to discuss policy and ethics.

As a HumaneVMA Pennsylvania State Co-Representative, Dr. Resnick hopes to facilitate discussion among veterinarians in different fields and encourage their involvement in legislation.