Meet Our Team's Friendly Faces

Dr Andrew Hemming - Senior Veterinarian
Dr Andrew Hemming graduated from the University of Queensland in 2005 with honours and immediately embarked on an internship training position with the Queensland Veterinary Specialists and Pet Emergency Room which has put him in good stead for life as a vet.

Dr Joanna Oreb - Veterinarian
Dr Joanna Oreb graduated from the University of Queensland with honours. She is a recent addition to our veterinary team, but you may recognise her as she has been one of our Saturday nurses for the past two years!
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Dr Stephanie Clark - Veterinarian
Dr Steph graduated with honours from the University of Queensland in 2011. Since then she has enjoyed working in shelter medicine and a range of private practices. Her special interests include internal medicine, osteoarthritis and geriatric care.
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Tanya Kunzel - Practice Manager
Born and raised in South Africa, Tanya joined the veterinary field to complete her certificate IV in veterinary nursing. Initially working as a therapeutic horse-riding instructor for disabled children, she transitioned to her real calling - veterinary nursing.

Olivia Kretschmer - Veterinary Nursing Operations Manager
Olivia is our senior head nurse and wonderful team leader! Liv started her career in the veterinary industry in 2015 as a volunteer veterinary nurse. After only twelve weeks of hard work, she was offered a permanent paid role! Liv always knew her calling was in the animal care industry and began her certificate straight out of high school. While working in a small animal clinic in Salisbury, she completed her certificate IV in Veterinary nursing in 2017.

Erin - Veterinary Nurse
Erin is one of our qualified Vet Nurses! She graduated from TAFE Queensland in 2020 with her Certificate III in Animal Studies to then go onto her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing where she graduated in 2021, she completed her placement alongside the team at Ripley Vet every week. From there Erin seemed to stick and hasn’t left our side since! She has a special interest in anaesthetics and dentals. When she’s not hard at work, Erin enjoys 4wdriving, camping on the beach and spending time with her 3 beautiful fur children Bel, Bean and Bert.

Yasmin - Veterinary Nurse
Yasmin is one of our qualified Vet Nurses! She graduated from the University of Queensland with a bachelor’s degree in Equine Science in 2020, prompting her to further pursue a career within the Veterinary Nursing industry. She has a special interest in all things dental! When she’s not hard at work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, her gorgeous cat “Maya” and her beloved horse “Narpoo”. Growing up on a farm, she has always enjoyed being in the outdoors whenever possible, whether that be going on hikes through the rainforest or camping at the beach.

Rylee - Veterinary Nurse
Rylee is one of our amazing Vet Nurses! Rylee joined our team after many years of searching to find her passion, including working as a paralegal prior to her career change. Rylee is currently finishing her certificate IV in veterinary nursing and has come along in leaps and bounds, with a special interest in all things surgical. If you don’t find Rylee further progressing her studies, you will find her baking, reading, or finding new adventures. To keep her company at home, she has a cheeky little Jack Russell called Archie. While Rylee has a love for all animals, she has a particular soft spot for Jack Russells and Tenterfield terriers.

Samantha - Veterinary Nurse
Sam is one of our casual vet nurses who moved all the way from Canada to study Veterinary Science full-time! She has a special interest in surgeries. When she’s not hard at work or studying, you can find her at the gym and playing the guitar.

Chloe - Veterinary Nurse
Chloe is one of our casual nurses who is currently in her third and final year of her degree, Bachelor of Veterinary Technology. She has a particular interest in anaesthetics and feline behaviour. If you don’t find Chloe at University or within the clinic, you will see her reading, going on walks, or watching the latest documentaries on Netflix. At home, Chloe has her two cats Jellybean and Lollipop that love to keep her on her toes.

Kayla Duckham - Senior Client Liaison
Kayla’s first introduction to the animal industry was through her certificate III in Animal Studies, where she gained experience working with wildlife in a student and volunteer capacity. This love of animals led her to volunteering with domestic animal shelters and becoming a foster carer for young kittens.
After years of working in the travel industry, she found her calling and joined the Ripley team as a receptionist! She is also currently completing a degree in conservation biology. In her spare time, she enjoys teaching yoga, spending time in the great outdoors and at home with her cat, Elby.

Courtney - Client Liaison
Courtney started her journey within the veterinary industry as a nurse in 2014. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science with a major in Equine Science and her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. In 2019, she moved into equine care and shortly after, stepped into the role of practice manager at her clinic. Looking for a change, Courtney made the move to Ripley Vet at the start of this year! She is passionate about customer service, quality veterinary care, and a caring, fear-free approach. In her free time, she loves taking her two horses out for rides and enjoying spending time at home with friends, family, and her menagerie of pets.

Samantha - Client Liaison
Sammy moved to Brisbane from New Zealand back in 2007 and she hasn’t looked back since. After exploring city life and working as a childcare educator, she moved to Ripley in 2014 when she met her partner and decided to start a family. Since then, she’s built a home in Ripley and has three beautiful children. Sammy jumped on the opportunity to fulfill her childhood dream of working alongside our furry clients. When Sammy isn’t at the clinic, you can find her on the beach or bushwalks with her children. She likes to think she shares her home with a great guard dog, however, their family rottweiler Odin is just a great goofball!

Annika - Kennel Hand
Annika is one of our incredible kennel hands! Annika started with the team at Ripley Veterinary Hospital in 2022 after discovering her passion for working with animals. She has dreams of becoming a veterinary nurse after school and has shown to have the compassion and care to be an amazing nurse one day. During Annika’s spare time, you will find her playing fetch with her dogs and reading.

Neve - Kennel Hand
One of our superstar kennel hands, Neve found her passion for vet nursing during school work placement at our clinic. With her love for animals and curiosity about their wellbeing, Neve instantly knew that vet-nursing will be her future career! While she loves giving patients cuddles, she really loves learning new things about the industry and is particularly interested in surgeries. When she isn’t at the clinic, Neve enjoys playing both the piano and drums, as well as spending time with her bearded dragon, Draco, and two dogs, Benji and Milo.

Marjorie- Clinic Diva
I started my clinic cat life by charming all the staff into loving me. I even managed to get Meika on my side and then I just had to stay!
I'm good at keeping patients warm and warming equipment! You may see me hard at work on top of some of the machines around the place. I'll happily take cuddles from anyone who wishes to give them but don't forget that I'm your top priority from then on!
I let Meika think she runs the place but really, I'm the true boss and everyone knows it.

Meika - Clinic Queen
I love every minute of my life since being introduced to the world of being a hospital cat (Dr. Andrew found me under his tractor as a tiny little stray kitten)! I would say I've got an adventurous spirit... although I can be a little clumsy at times. I keep the staff entertained with my antics always finding something new to climb or showing off my amazing tightrope walking. I'm always interested in helping patients finish their food or just happy to say 'hi'. I don't mind a cuddle from time to time - wet food should always be the reward for my loyalty. I'm glad I've got an awesome new job running a clinic. Don't know what they would do without me!