Meet Our Veterinary Team

DVM

Dr. Holden grew up in Claremont, NH, along with her family’s Goldens. She always wanted to be a veterinarian and graduated from UMaine with a degree in animal science. She worked as a technician at the Bangor Humane Society, and she received her DVM from Ross University after spending her clinical year at Purdue. Dr. Holden previously worked at Broadway Veterinary Clinic and the Bangor Humane Society. A cat person, her special interests include feline medicine.
Dr. Holden lives with two cats and is getting married to her best friend of 13 years. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor fun. She loves candy more than food!

VMD

A native of Connecticut, Dr. Berdahl grew up with dreams of becoming a veterinarian, and it was her high school biology class that sealed the deal. She went on to graduate from Bowdoin College in Brunswick and then worked for a Michigan zoo and cat-only clinic before enrolling in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Berdahl’s extensive experience includes an internship at the Regional Veterinary Referral Center in Springfield, VA, where she focused primarily on emergency and critical care medicine. Later, she joined District Vet in Washington, DC, a general small animal practice. Her special interests include behavior, wound care/management, and palliative care.

A self-described dog person, Dr. Berdahl’s childhood pets included a Golden Retriever named Holly and a fat Tabby named Juniper. She’s a now proud dog mom to Moxie, a mixed breed.

In her spare time, Dr. Berdahl enjoys bird watching, reading (especially anything by Stephen King), and hiking in the woods with Moxie and her husband, Charlie.

Head CSR

Jenna was born and raised in Beaver Falls, PA. She grew up surrounded by dogs, primarily strays that found their way into her family’s home and hearts. Then one stray cat took over the dog household and changed her family into cat lovers. Following her love of all animals, Jenna earned a Veterinary Technology Degree from Fairmont State University. After several years as a surgery technician in small animal practices, her career took a detour through human resources and human medicine before returning to her passion for animals and the veterinary field. A dog person at heart, she loves cats and all furry things. She enjoys creating a special bond with our patients through loving care and positive interactions.
Jenna has three fantastic rescue dogs, two Pit Bulls (Lucy and Joey) and an English Setter (Sophy). When not at work, she enjoys going to the ocean, shopping (usually for the dogs), and crafts, especially knitting, crocheting, and cross-stitching, while snuggling with her fur babies and watching movies.

CSR

Alexa grew up in the coastal town of Bristol, Maine and graduated from UMF with a Bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Services. After working in healthcare for 10 years, she made the shift to pursue a passion for working with animals. She would someday like to combine her background in rehabilitation with animal sciences and pursue a path in Animal Assisted Therapy. Her fur family includes Lazlo a pit mix and a black cat Sylphrena. Alexa loves to make jewelry, watch horror movies, and camp whenever possible!

Veterinary Assistant

Rachel has been working with animals her entire life. As a kid, she mucked stalls for horse farms, which later turned into managing a large, competitive equine eventing barn. After about six years of doing that, she worked as a vet assistant for an equine veterinary practice for four years. In 2020 she decided to dive into the small animal world and loves it! Away from work her hobbies include studying dog behavior and dog training. She also loves to go backpacking, running, and mountain biking with her husband and her three rescue dogs.

Veterinary Assistant

Caitlyn was raised in Chapel Hill, TN, and started her work in the pet field as a Lead Kennel Tech at Williamson County Animal Center in 2019-2021. Working at the shelter sparked her love of caring for animals. Caitlyn had many animals growing up, including cats, hamsters, and her family’s yellow lab (Honey Pup). Caitlyn rode horses every week and even competed in a few rodeos. Caitlyn and her fiancé Kelsie moved to Maine in September of 2021 to get out of Tennessee and see other places. They immediately fell in love with Maine and decided to stay. Caitlyn and Kelsie got engaged & bought their first house in Auburn, ME, in December of 2021. Caitlyn and Kelsie have two dogs (Honey & Penny) & one cat (Pico) they adopted from the shelter.  

Julia grew up in Oxford, ME and has always had a passion for helping animals, even at a young age. During her childhood her parents had to shoot down many requests to take in wild and stray animals. Julia studied Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Maine from 2014-2018 where she earned her B.S and fell in love with equine science and small animal medicine. She worked in the horse barn and was on the Standardbred Drill Team. During her college summers and holiday vacations she was a Veterinary Assistant at Norway Veterinary Hospital. After graduating college she went into emergency veterinary medicine, during this time she honed on her technical knowledge and skills in vet med. Julia strayed from the clinical veterinary world in 2020 working at IDEXX Laboratories and Abbott Laboratories, but recently came back and joined NWVH in June of 2024. She missed the passion and fulfillment she felt when working hands on with animals. Julia values fear free veterinary care and building strong client relationships. In her spare time, you can find her adventuring with her 3 dogs, Bee (a Shar Pei mix), Molto (a Maltese mix), Daphne (a dachshund mix), her kitty Squidward, and her husband Ethan

Practice Manager

Sarah grew up in East Tennessee and followed her passion for Marine Mammals to Portland, Maine. She began her career in animal care in 2007 at the University of New England’s Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center as a technician, where she aided in the rehabilitation of hundreds of seals and sea turtles. When the program was shut down unexpectedly in 2014, she decided to try more terrestrial animal medicine. She started as the practice manager of NWVH in June of 2021 and is very proud and excited to work with such a fantastic team in such a great area.

Sarah lives in Windham with her husband, Barry, and their large fur baby family, which includes two Dalmatians named Mac and Cheese, a Leonberger named Boris Karloff, two kitties named Zeke and Benedict Cumberscratch and a part-time pack member, a pug named Hazel. Sarah loves going to comic and horror conventions and volunteering for Marine Mammals of Maine in her free time.