On Thursday, October 8, 2026, ACVS announced the Board of Regents election results for the new president-elect and two new members of the ACVS Board of Regents at the 2026 ACVS Diplomates’ Business Meeting held at the 2026 Surgery Summit in Charlotte, NC.
President-elect is Stacy A. Semevolos, DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVSMR (Equine); large animal regent is Samantha “Sam” L. Morello, DVM, DACVS (Large Animal); and small animal regent is Nicole J. Buote, BS, DVM, DACVS (Small Animal).
Each year, the ACVS Nominating Committee submits a proposed slate of candidates for president-elect, one large animal regent, and one small animal regent to the ACVS Board of Regents for approval. The approved slate is forwarded to the membership for a vote.
In addition to the new president-elect and regents, Kelly D. Farnsworth, DVM, MS, DACVS is the chair of the ACVS Board of Regents, and Denis J. Marcellin-Little, DEDV, DACVS is ACVS president. The ACVS president-elect, ACVS president, and chair of the ACVS Board of Regents serve one-year terms in each subsequent position.
Continuing as members of the ACVS Board of Regents are David Dycus, DVM, MS, DACVS (Small Animal); José M. García-López, VMD, DACVS, DACVSMR; Timothy B. Lescun, BVSc, MS, PhD, DACVS; and Jason A. Syrcle, DVM, DACVS (Small Animal). Julie D. Smith, DVM, MBA, DACVS, CCRT, continues to serve as treasurer. Ann T. Loew, EdM, CAE, serves as chief executive officer.
About Dr. Stacy A. Semevolos
Dr. Semevolos is currently the associate dean for academic affairs and graduate programs and professor of clinical sciences at Oregon State University. She obtained her doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degree from the University of Illinois in 1994 and completed an internship at Rochester Equine Clinic in New Hampshire. She spent two years in private practice in Albuquerque, NM, before entering a large animal surgery residency at Cornell University. She completed her residency and obtained a Master of Science degree from Cornell University in 2000. She is board-certified by ACVS (2001) and the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (Equine) (2016).
Since starting her faculty position as a large animal surgeon at Oregon State University in 2002, Dr. Semevolos has sustained a clinical and research focus in equine lameness and comparative orthopedics. Her research on molecular expression changes in equine osteochondrosis has explored the quantitative and spatial alterations of matrix molecules, growth factors, and cell-to-cell signaling in the important study of this disease. She served as associate dean for student and academic affairs from 2015 to 2019, director of professional and graduate programs from 2019 to 2023, and associate dean for academic affairs and graduate programs since 2023.
About Dr. Samantha L. Morello
Dr. Morello earned her DVM degree from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006, completed a residency in large animal surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and became board certified by the ACVS in 2010.
She spent more than a decade in academic veterinary medicine as a large animal surgeon, training students, interns, and residents, and served as courtesy associate professor at Cornell’s Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship. Alongside her clinical research in musculoskeletal disease, her work increasingly focused on the veterinary profession itself, including workforce demographics, career pathways, compensation, faculty experience, and work-life integration. Her research has centered on generating data to inform organizational strategy and decision-making, and she has published and presented nationally and internationally on these topics.
In 2022, her research on postgraduate trainee compensation and living wages contributed to a nationwide effort that resulted in substantial salary increases for veterinary interns and residents. She has also held leadership and advisory roles with ACVS as assistant director of continuing education, the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative Board of Directors, blendVET®, the President’s Council of Cornell Women, and AO VET. Through AO VET, she led a global assessment of organizational demographics and climate that helped launch the AO Access program, an initiative focused on engagement, mentorship, and opportunity across the international AO community.
Dr. Morello joined the American Veterinary Medical Association Education and Research Division in 2023. As associate director, she supports the Council on Education in its role as the accrediting body for veterinary medical education programs.
About Dr. Nicole J. Buote
Dr. Buote is an associate professor of small animal soft tissue surgery at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Buote received her DVM degree from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, completed a rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, and completed a surgical internship at the Dallas Veterinary Surgery Center. Dr. Buote completed a surgery residency at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, became board certified in 2010, and, in 2022, was awarded ACVS Founding Fellow, Minimally Invasive Surgery (Small Animal Soft Tissue) status.
After residency, Dr. Buote worked in private practice for eleven years in southern California as a staff surgeon and then the chief of the surgery department. During that time, she started a residency program, continued to publish clinically relevant surgical literature, and spoke nationally and internationally. She founded the Association of Women Veterinary Surgeons and was elected twice to the executive board of the Veterinary Endoscopy Society, serving as secretary, president-elect, and president from 2021 to 2025. Dr. Buote has delivered over 80 invited presentations and taught multiple minimally invasive soft tissue courses.
Dr. Buote joined Cornell University in 2020 and began the first small animal minimally invasive fellowship at Cornell and supported the large animal fellowship program. She has also volunteered on multiple ACVS committees, including the Resident Credentialing Committee, the Residency Program Compliance Committee, and the Examination Committee. She serves as an associate editor for Veterinary Surgery, covering small animal minimally invasive surgery, and has piloted the surgical robotics program at Cornell, continuing to mentor other surgeons in her effort to push the limits of minimally invasive surgery.
Meet the entire 2026–2027 Board of Regents.
