Meet our team!

Kat Hilerio

Kat has been passionate about animals and has enjoyed working with them since a very young age. She has had the exciting opportunity of working with a variety of animals from servals, marmosets, and exotics to dogs and cats. She loves learning and has a profound interest in animal behavior and nutrition. While not working she can be found hiking, kayaking, gardening, reading, and spending time with her two American Pit Bull Terriers and her cat.

Helena Burrage

Helena was raised in Hampton, Virginia and recently moved to the Chesapeake area. She has always been a lover of animals, big and small. Having 10 tarantulas and a leopard gecko, her goal is to become an LVT and work in a veterinary practice specializing in invertebrates and reptiles. Helena also has three fur babies; her two kitties Ziggy and Holly and her dog Boog. When not working, she can be found going to local concerts and playing the French Horn.

Cynthia Manley

Cynthia is an Accawmacke Indian from the small town of Cape Charles, Virginia, located on the beautiful eastern shore. Before joining the Highlands family, she worked for 2 years at an animal hospital on the shore. She is currently pursuing her goal to become a licensed technician at Northern Virginia Community College. She is the mother of 3 human babies, one fur baby and one scaly baby. She enjoys nature, animals, and traveling. 

Rachel Remington

Rachel started her career in veterinary medicine in 2002 as a kennel attendant. She worked her way up to Veterinary Technician and graduated from Northern Virginia Community College in 2011 as an LVT. She moved to Virginia Beach in 2012 to expand her skills at an exotics veterinary practice. Her passion for sea turtles and other marine life led her to volunteer with the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center from 2015-2020. Rachel has also volunteered with Back Bay Sea Turtle Nesting Program as a nest sitter & the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team as a nest spotter. Rachel has three dogs – Bindi, Noelle (mostly known as Squirrel), & Pua; and five cats – Rogue, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, & Beast. In her free time, Rachel can be found hiking or kayaking with her dogs, drawing & painting, or lounging on the beach.

Carmen Acevedo

Carmen has lived in Chesapeake all her life. She graduated from Indian River High School in 2022 with an advanced studies diploma. She is currently attending Tidewater Community College as the first step in pursuit of her ultimate goal of obtaining her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. She has four dogs: Biscuit, Bella, Milo, and Toby. Carmen loves to read, listen to music, and go on walks with her dogs.

Jessica Prosper

Jessica has lived in Chesapeake, VA, all her life. She graduated from Deep Creek High School in 2021 and was on the Superintendent’s Honor Roll list. Prior to working at Highlands as a Veterinary Assistant, she worked at another veterinary clinic as a Kennel Attendant. She plans to enroll in a program with Penn Foster to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician in the not-too-distant future.

When not working, she loves watching Disney movies, reading Disney blogs, creating makeup looks, listening to music, stargazing, and hanging out with her adorable Tortoise, Pumpkin. She loves reptiles!

Ronda Cantwell

Ronda started in the veterinary industry as a Receptionist and Veterinary Assistant 14 years ago. However, she had to leave to run my own painting business in order to better support her 3 children due to being a single mother. Now she is back doing what she loves as a receptionist in a veterinary office. She likes to spend time with her three boys. She enjoys riding on her husband’s motorcycle. She loves spending time on the lake in their boat as well as camping.

Samuel Springer, DVM

Managing Veterinarian

Education: Virginia Tech.- VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Interests: Mountain Climbing, Hiking, Running & Crossfit

Dr. Sam was born in Western Pennsylvania; however, he was raised in Virginia Beach, VA, where, in 1988, he graduated from Green Run High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at Washington Jefferson College in 1992. He went to Veterinary School at Virginia Tech and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1997. Dr. Sam joined Highlands Pet Clinic in May 1997. He oversaw the construction of Highlands Veterinary Center, which opened February 24, 1999, and became sole owner after his father’s retirement in 2014. He is a member of the A.V.M.A and is a past president of the Tidewater Veterinary Academy. He is married to Diane and has two sons, Jacob and Dylan. In his off time, he likes singing at Great Bridge Presbyterian Church, hiking with his family, mountain climbing, and fishing. In his mountain climbing endeavor, he has climbed to the top of 49 states! (Everyone except Alaska)

Diane Springer

Practice Manager

Education: Virginia Tech- Pamplin School of Business
Interests: Camping, Hiking, Reading

Diane joined our staff in Sept. of 2010. She was born in South Boston, VA and moved to Chesapeake, VA, at the age of 11, and has lived here since. She received a BS degree in Accounting from Virginia Tech. She comes to us with 22 years of accounting experience. She is married to Dr. Sam, and they have 2 boys, Jacob and Dylan. She loves spending time with her family away from work, singing in her church choir, reading, camping, fishing, and hiking. She has 2 cats named Sirius and Sage.

Diann Leisher

Groomer

Diann is the pet stylist here at Highlands Veterinary Center. She has 35+ years of experience in the profession and has always loved what she does. She likes to take her time to get to know your pet. She has extra love for senior pets. She also likes to groom pets that other groomers find difficult to handle. She is mom to her fur baby, Juanita, a loving Chihuahua.

Kelly Hood, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Education: William Paterson University, University of Central Florida, and North Carolina State University
Interests: Reading, music, hiking, and sewing

Dr. Kelly graduated from William Paterson University in New Jersey with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Business in 2003.  Her first career started in New York City in Public Relations before moving to Nashville where she worked as a music journalist and played with the Nashville Philharmonic.  She met her husband, a recording engineer in the Music City, and moved to Florida with him where she began her veterinary career as a kennel technician and volunteered at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center.  She attended the University of Central Florida for pre-veterinary studies.  After taking a hiatus from the veterinary field to have her son, she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from North Carolina State University in 2019.  While in vet school she was an active member of Christian Veterinary Missions and went on five trips to the Cherokee and Navajo reservations and also volunteered with the ASPCA deploying three times with the medical team to care for animals following hoarding and dog-fighting raids.  She spent the last four years at Owl Creek Veterinary Hospital prior to joining Highlands.  Outside of work, she can be found cheering on her son Alex who races motocross, or tending to her own dogs and cats. Her downtime is spent reading, music, hiking, and sewing.

Claire Hutchens

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Education: College of Southern Nevada
Claire was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She attended the College of Southern Nevada and graduated from the Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) program in 2016. She moved to northern Virginia in the summer of 2016. She moved to Chesapeake in the fall of 2019 when her husband’s job was transferred here. She would like to further her career by specializing in veterinary dentistry with the Academy of Veterinary Dental Technician program through the National Association of Veterinary Technician Association. Claire loves cats, especially the spicy ones, since she can identify with them. She is mom to 7 cats, 1 dog, and 1 snake.

Ashleigh Pair

Veterinary Assistant

Ashleigh was born in Bakersfield, California. She worked on her grandfather’s farm and rode horses for fun. She also was involved in FFA in high school. She graduated from her local community college with an associate’s degree in animal science and is currently looking into the veterinary technician program at TCC. Ashleigh moved to VA with her husband, who is on active duty in the US Navy, and their dog Stella. Since then, they have rescued two more dogs: another heeler mix Tuck and a Frenchton Magwai. Ashleigh plans to obtain her vet tech degree and then pursue a degree in zoology. Her dream is to work either in an equine veterinary hospital or at a zoo or wildlife conservation.

Kiera Walker

Veterinary Assistant

Kiera has been employed at Highlands since December 2020. Kiera is originally from Charlotte, NC. She is a veteran of the U. S. Navy, where she served for 2 years. She received her Veterinary Assistant Certificate in February 2021 from Penn Foster College. She has 2 pets: Henri, a Dwarf Hamster, and Anny, a stray kitten she saved from the bushes in front of our clinic. In her spare time, she likes to travel and cook.

Catlynn Powell

Veterinary Receptionist

Catlynn was born in Pensacola, Fl, and has spent her life on the east coast due to her father being in the military. She received a BS degree in Biology from Old Dominion University in 2020. She plans to pursue a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. She loves exotics and pocket pets.

Stacy Wallen

Veterinary Receptionist

Stacy was raised in Valhalla, N.Y., and moved to VA. to be closer to family in March 2020. She joined our staff in March 2021. After working for a veterinarian in high school, she started her career as an assistant/technician in 1985 before switching to the reception in 2012. She has worked in the veterinary industry for 28 years. She is currently pet-free but has enjoyed 13 cats, 4 dogs, and various fosters over the years. Her hobbies are camping, skiing, scuba diving, horseback riding, and traveling. She is excited to be working with Dr. Stuppler again. She worked with him for 4 years in Mohegan Lake, N.Y.