Meet Our Team

|
Dr. Brian Silvis
Dr. Brian is the Medical Director of Allegheny North Veterinary Hospital, Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital (Wexford), and Pets in Harmony Veterinary Hospital (Zelienople).
After completing his B.S. in Biology at Westminster College, Dr. Brian earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ohio State University in 1999. He worked in Erie, PA after graduation and helped found an emergency veterinary clinic before moving to Pittsburgh.
Dr. Brian's family includes his wife, Kate (a professor at LaRoche College) and two beautiful children, Phillip and Clara. He enjoys spending time with his family, attending baseball games, rooting for OSU, and playing video games.
The Silvis home also includes a furry family of two Pugs (Floyd & Forest) and two cats (Tigger & Siamese rescue Lilly).
|
|
|

|
Dr. Lisa Macom
Dr. Lisa completed her B.S. in Biology at Gannon University in Erie, PA before earning her Veterinary Medical Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. She has practiced veterinary medicine for over 30 years and has been with us at Allegheny North Veterinary Hospital since 2001.
Since working at ANVH for 23 years, her favorite part is that she has long term clients, and she has been able to care for the pets their whole life. Dr. Lisa especially enjoys seeing new puppies and kittens and providing lifelong care into their geriatric years.
In her free time, Dr. Lisa enjoys hiking, reading, crafting, and baking. She loves the ocean and the beach and has swum with sting rays, dolphins and manatees. She hopes to swim with sharks some day!
Dr. Lisa resides in Wampum, PA with her husband James (who is also a Pittsburgh veterinarian) and their two cats, Pickles & Blue.
|
|
|

|
Dr. Nathaniel Gaiser
Dr. Gaiser also serves as Medical Director. He earned his B.S. in Biology from Penn State Erie, the Behrend College in 2004 and his M.S. in Biology from Clarion University in 2005 before completing his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Ross University in 2009.
Dr. Gaiser has been working with us at Allegheny North since 2012. Passionate about his work, his favorite aspect of veterinary medicine is focusing on ultrasounds, surgeries, and chemotherapy treatments. Of ANVH, he says, "We have great clients and a great team. I enjoy working to help our clients keep their pets as healthy as possible and helping those pets recover when sick or hurt. Our team's knowledge and experience are essential to the practice and I enjoy working with them all."
His free time is spent enjoying family time with his wife, Kasey and their 3 children, biking, golfing, and hiking. He is an avid Pittsburgh Penguins and Steelers fan. The Gaisers share their home with a lovely cat named Tiger Lily.
|
|
|

|
Dr. Natalie Liebold
Dr. Natalie completed her B.S. in Zoology at Kent State University before earning her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee in 2020.
Prior to joining the team at Allegheny North Veterinary Hospital in 2022, Dr. Natalie worked as an overnight critical care doctor in Texas and as a small and large animal doctor in Hoosick, New York.
Dr. Natalie enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but especially nutrition, alternative medicine, pain control and rehabilitation. Away from work, she enjoys being outdoors hiking
Her family includes her husband, Adam, her dog Wyatt and three cats, Finnegan, Hamish and Lucky.
|
|
|

|
Dr. Carolee Switalkski
Dr. Carolee earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. She has been a part of the ANVH team since 2024. She also sees patients at our sister hospital, Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital in Wexford.
Prior to working in general practice, Dr. Carolee was a veterinarian at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York and a Senior Veterinarian at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. She later was responsible for the Pittsburgh Zoo's hospital design and project management.
Dr. Carolee entered the practice of small animal veterinary care in 2005 and practiced as a relief vet for many Pittsburgh area veterinary clinics.
She especially enjoys preventive medicine and dermatology.
Dr. Carolee resides in Gibsonia with her dog. three cats, daughter and grandson.
Her free time is spent cooking, biking, boating, skiing and taking long hikes with her dog.
|
|
|
 |
Tawnya, Office Manager
Tawnya joined Dr. Silvis in overseeing his three practices in 2022. She brings with her more than 25 years of business management experience and a strong passion for pet care and creating a work culture that fosters fairness and fun!
She takes pride in her listening skills and ability to find solutions in difficult situations.
Tawnya has had the opportunity of leading teams in private and corporate-owned veterinary practices and outside of the veterinary industry. Her passion for animals led to her founding a 501c3 dog rescue in Beaver County. She and her family found homes for over 50 dogs!
Her favorite thing about leading teams is coming up with fun team building exercises such as hiding 160 ducks throughout the hospital and planning outings and parties for the teams.
Tawnya lives at home in Chippewa Township with her husband, daughter and three dogs Mocha (chocolate lab), Porter (pit-dane) and Ditto (cattle dog/pit). She also has three sons, two of whom live out-of-state and a grand-cat, Greyson.
When not at work, she can be found in the garden tending to her dahlias or on a beach hunting for seashells.
|
|
|
 |
Caitlin, CVT - Lead Technician
Caitlin is a Certified Veterinary Technician who is our acting Lead Technician. She graduated from the Veterinary Technician Institute in 2020 and joined the ANVH team in 2022 bringing with her over 12 years of experience as a technician.
Caitlin enjoys educating clients on proper pet care and she is exceptionally skilled in handling anxious and fearful pets.
Caitlin lives with her two Great Danes, Octavia and Ransom, and her once feral, now friendly, cat Bobo Del Ray (AKA Mama Cat).
Her spare time is spent at her grandparents' farm in Northern PA and relaxing with her pets.
|
|
|
 |
Shania, Certified Veterinary Technician - Lead Surgery Technician
Shania is a Certified Veterinary Technician who joined our team in July of 2020. She graduated from the Vet Tech Institute in 2016 and secured her license shortly after graduation.
Shania is our Lead Surgery Technician. She enjoys training and assisting technicians in their surgical role, educating clients and helping animals alongside a great team at ANVH.
Shania has a Triple Registered Gelding named Hustled My Invite AKA Mack, a cat named Chiquita and a miniature horse named Reagan. She spends much of her spare time in the barn with her horse Mack. Shania and Mack were in the Top 5 at the AQHA World Horse Show in OKC! Shania competes at horse shows with Mack several times a year and she is thankful for the support of her parents at every show!
When Shania is not at work or in the barn, she can often be found on an adventure with her boyfriend, at an amusement park or playing video games.
|
|
|
 |
Annie, Certified Veterinary Technician
Annie is a Certified Veterinary Technician who joined the ANVH team in June of 2015. She graduated from Grove City with a BS in biology and continued her education at the Vet Tech Institute becoming a CVT while working at ANVH.
Annie's favorite things to do as a technician are blood draws and placing catheters. She also loves how well everyone at ANVH works together as a team.
Annie grew up in Ohio, but now lives in the Pittsburgh area with her husband and three children. She has two dogs, Lane & Rory (she's a big Gilmore Girls fan!) and two cats, Eevee & Cadet.
When not at work, Annie likes to run and spend time with her family and friends.
|
|
|
 |
Elizabeth, Veterinary Technician
Elizabeth joined the ANVH team in 2023 after moving from Greensburg to Pittsburgh. She graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 2020.
Elizabeth’s career started at a wildlife center where she cared for injured and orphaned wildlife with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. The center also had an assorted array of animals that she worked to train and handle for education programs. She is grateful for the experience of working with wildlife animals as it helped her transition to her veterinary technician role (especially when it comes to spicy cats!)
Elizabeth enjoys working at Allegheny North, but what makes the job exceptional for her is the camaraderie with coworkers and genuinely feeling accepted and part of a team.
Elizabeth lives with her fiancé, two cats, two hermit crabs, a turtle, and 60+ house plants. When she is not at work you can find her at a concert, music festival, hiking, or tending to her indoor garden.
|
|
|
 |
April, Veterinary Technician
April graduated from the Median School of Allied Health Careers and has over 20 years of experience working in general practice and emergency veterinary medicine.
While working at an emergency facility in Kentucky, she volunteered for Alley Cat Advocates, a local trap-neuter program. Returning to her hometown in the Pittsburgh area, she came on board as a technician at ANVH in 2015.
April prides herself in providing education to clients that is easy to understand and offering comfort to both clients and patients.
She enjoys listening to podcasts, trying new restaurants and relaxing at home with her husband and menagerie of cats.
|
|
|
 |
Jenn G., Customer Service Representative
Jenn joined our team in 2024 after several years working at a remote call center for a veterinary practice. Much of her childhood was spent in North Carolina and Virginia, but she moved to Pittsburgh 20+ years ago and never looked back!
Jenn lives at home with her husband/best friend, her daughter and a slew of pets that are all rescues; two Chihuahuas named Pico the Guyo and Tater, an English Bulldog named Lucille Bull, a bully mix named Kismet, two cats named Leia and June Carter Cat and a guinea pig named Jim.
Jenn most enjoys being back in-person as a veterinary receptionist so she can meet all of the pets and their parents. She especially enjoys working with the passionate and committed team at ANVH.
Outside of work Jenn can be found "hitting up thrift stores" and flea markets hunting for treasures, reading, cooking, gardening or listening to music. She is renowned for making the world's best pickles!
|
|
|

|
Carolyn - Customer Service Representative
Carolyn joined the ANVH team in 2024 and has been working in the veterinary industry since retiring from teaching. Carolyn holds two masters in Biology/Technology and a Doctorate in education with six areas of certification, including: elementary education, secondary biology, reading specialist, technology design, supervision and administration. She was a Chemistry and Biology teacher for many years at high school and collegiate levels.
Carolyn grew up as the youngest of nine on the North Side of Pittsburgh. She and her husband built a home in Cranberry Township more than forty years ago where they raised their two beautiful daughters, Gabrielle and Autumn Faith
Her family has been blessed to have numerous pets throughout the years, but currently only have one dog, a Goldendoodle named Butterscotch and a grand-doggy named Zarah.
Of ANVH she says her favorite part is, "Interacting with our awesome and knowledgeable doctors, vet techs, and staff, welcoming our amazing clients, and most of all helping to provide the best care to their furry family members." Carolyn and her husband are avid hikers, traveling throughout the country to both state and national parks. In her free time she enjoys art photography, reading, baking, creating puzzles, swimming, collecting seashells, traveling, playing games, and volunteering, as well as spending time with my grown girls.
|
|
|

|
Alyson - Certified Veterinary Technician
Alyson came on board at ANVH as a technician assistant in 2024. She recently passed her Veterinary Technician National Exam making her a Certified Veterinary Technician!
Alyson graduated from Cal U in May of 2024 with an AS degree in veterinary technology.
She grew up in the Wexford area and likes to bake and read in her time outside of work.
She has two cats, Magic and Kitty, and two dogs, Bella and Gabby.
|
|
|

|
Michelle - Veterinary Technician
Michelle came to ANVH as a technician after growing up in Arizona and living in Michigan for ten years. Michelle has her Associate's in Veterinary Technology and worked at a shelter prior to going into the veterinary field.
Her favorite things about working at ANVH are her "great team," assisting with dentals, looking at things under the microscope and seeing puppies and kittens grow into adults and seniors.
Michelle lives in Pittsburgh with her partner, their dog Nutmeg (a boxer mix), and a bunch of houseplants.
When not at work, Michelle enjoys reading, gardening, camping, kayaking, hiking and being near a lake or ocean. Her all-time favorite animal is the sea turtle.
|
|
|

|
Harleigh
Harleigh began working for Dr. Silvis in 2024 at our sister hospital, Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital in Wexford and now splits her workdays between Allegheny North Veterinary Hospital and Pets In Harmony Veterinary Hospital in Harmony.
She enjoys the fast pace at ANVH and the challenges of a busy hospital while also taking the time to care for pets and educating their owners on treatments.
Harleigh makes the long trip to ANVH from Hermitage, PA where she resides with her wife and five cats; Josie, Whiskey, Michy, Winnie and Bogey. She recently got married on a holiday weekend and is enjoying married life.
When not at work, Harleigh can be found golfing, at a winery or brewery, or watching Pittsburgh sports.
|
|
|
 |
Jenn Z.
Jenn came onboard at ANVH in 2025 after several years of administrative experience in the veterinary industry. She welcomed the opportunity to join our small private practice and continue her career with animals.
She enjoys spending time with her cat, Hercules, her friends and family and especially her niece and nephew. Jenn is a homebody who is happiest when watching tv and relaxing.
|
|