Manassas Veterinary Center

Cate is the founding President and CEO of the Anicira Veterinary Centers. Since starting in this position in January of 2005, Cate has worked to improve the lives of people and animals in Virginia. During this time, the clinics have seen major growth both in the number of animals served and the breadth of services provided. Cate received a MS in public policy and animals from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and a BA in government from the University of Virginia. Cate is a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) as well as a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM). She shares her life with her three mixed-breed adopted dogs Bernadette, Liliana, and Louie.

Dr. Oelstrom has been involved with Anicira Veterinary Center since October 2013. She started as an associate veterinarian at the Manassas hospital helping the practice to grow and helping countless pets and their families. She now serves as the Chief Medical Officer overseeing all of the Anicira hospitals.

Megan received a BA in biology from the University of Virginia in 2005 and earned a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. After graduation, she completed a small animal rotating internship at Regional Veterinary Referral Center in Springfield, Virginia.

She has exhibited a passion for surgery and helping animals in need since veterinary school. During that time, she volunteered with the Rural Area Veterinary Service providing spay/neuter and vaccine clinics in remote areas of the United States.

Megan feels blessed to be able to help animals in her community by providing affordable surgical services.

When not in the hospital, Dr. Oelstrom enjoys many outdoor activities (beach-going, skiing, camping) with her husband, two children, and her “Mississippi mutt”, Obi.

Andrea was born and raised in Northern Virginia. As a child, she wanted to train special tactic dogs for law enforcement and federal agencies. Her strong love of animals led her to pursue a career helping animals in the veterinary field and her natural leadership attributes led her to the hospital management side of veterinary medicine. Andrea’s favorite part of working at Anicira is being able to help pets, and their families, who otherwise would not be able to afford medical care. Andrea believes that pets are beloved family members that bring tremendous joy and enrich their families’ lives.

Andrea has an associate’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College and is currently furthering her education by pursuing a BS in Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Management from Columbia Southern University. Andrea loves the “people” part of management.

Outside of work, Andrea enjoys sailing, water sports, spending time at the beach, gardening, listening to country music, jiu-jitsu, and visiting vineyards. She also enjoys spending time with her family which includes her husband, two stepsons, three dogs, two cats, and two birds. Andrea is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Dr. Signorino is a native of Virginia Beach and an alumnus of both JMU and Virginia Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, graduating with a BS in 2007 and a DVM in 2011. Working at a unique practice like Anicira and wearing a variety of “hats” each week as a surgeon, general practitioner, and problem-solver allows her to fulfill her lifelong dream of working with animals as well as her passion for educating and teaching. She lives with her husband, daughter, and their cat, Philly. Dr. Signorino tries to get to every Nationals baseball game and JMU football game that she can in her free time – if she’s not relaxing by the beach!

Dr. Ayre is an East Coast native, growing up in New York and attending Cornell University, before receiving his DVM from Western University of Health Sciences in California. After relocating to Virginia, he began practicing emergency medicine, where he enjoyed solving complex cases and working in a fast-paced environment. He brought his knowledge and passion to Anicira in January of 2020 and is enjoying being present for all aspects of his patient’s care and working through health and behavioral problems with compassion as well as an eye on a healthy future. Dr. Ayre loves working in Anicira’s collaborative environment and helping fellow teammates learn, grow and adapt to provide superlative help so that our patients have safe and successful visits. When not at work, Dr. Ayre can often be found relaxing at home with his wife, hiking with his dogs, or in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.

Dr. Brehm joined the Anicira team after completing a rotating internship at the Regional Veterinary Referral Center in Springfield, Virginia after veterinary school. Originally from Springfield, Dr. Brehm received her BS in Biology and Psychology from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, VA.

Dr. Brehm has owned and loved shelter pets for her entire life and her top career goal is to share her professional skills with the shelter community and those organizations that support them.  Dr. Brehm strongly believes that if people can afford veterinary care, they can afford to keep their animals- keeping more animals out of shelters.

In addition to surgery and preventive care, Dr. Brehm loves soccer and volleyball and hanging out with her black lab, Vader. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Brian, and their baby.

As an Army Brat, Dr. Creighton moved constantly growing up but through all her changes her love for animals remained constant.  She cultivated her love for animals and healing through riding horses, caring for her family dog & volunteering at wildlife centers & zoos.  In 2010 Dr. Creighton graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelors in Biology & continued to work in cancer research for 4 years.  After being accepted at the University College of Dublin she graduated in 2018 & continued to Alvarado, Texas for a mixed animal internship working on cattle, goats, sheep, horses, cats, dogs & small exotics.   She spent a year in Northern Virginia expanding her small animal practice skills & knowledge before joining the team at Anicira.

Dr. Creighton lives with her boyfriend in Middleburg with their dog Luna & two cats, Mumbo & Bixby.  In her free time, she likes to garden, practice yoga, hike & relax.

Dr. Galati fell in love with veterinary medicine as a high school student when he began interning at a local clinic. He attended Cornell University where he earned both his BS in Animal Science and Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Galati joined the team at Anicira in 2021 and has enjoyed working with a wide variety of people and pets. He takes special interest in surgery, ophthalmology and preventive medicine. Outside of work, Dr. Galati likes to travel with his wife and their three dogs, especially to the beach. Occasionally, he and his wife (who is also a veterinarian) will take “spaycations” where they travel and perform spay/neuter surgeries. Since moving to Virginia eight years ago, Dr. Galati has become interested in history. He plays bass guitar and is allergic to cats and dogs.

Dr. Sands received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California-Davis. Her favorite part of working with animals is their big personalities and she believes we are lucky to have pets in our lives. One of her favorite parts of working at Anicira is occasionally receiving a sloppy kiss or two from her beloved patients. Outside of work, Dr. Sands enjoys baby-proofing her house, trying new water sports, and baking babka bread. She has a domestic long-haired cat named Lord Marty McFly.

As a child, Dr. Sonja loved being outdoors and being close to nature. Her love of animals was evident from a very young age. She started working in a veterinary office before she could drive.

Dr. Sonja Szymeczek attended North Carolina State University for her undergraduate degree in Animal Science. After volunteering for 2 years in the U.S. Peace Corps, she returned to North Carolina State University to complete a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a small animal internship at Washington State University and returned to North Carolina State University for a surgery residency. Dr. Sonja Szymeczek is a board-certified American College of Veterinary Surgeons member. She travels to Virginia every month to perform orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries.

Dr. Sonja is married to a retired police officer. They have 3 daughters, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Mary. They have two adopted Golden Retrievers, Bailey, and Bo. In her free time, Dr. Sonja plays poker, loves to hike with her family and frolic at the beach.

Ashlee has been devoted to helping animals since she was a small child caring for her family pets. After earning her AAS degree in Veterinary Technology in 2007, she began working as an LVT and has never looked back. An exceptionally skilled technician, she provides invaluable leadership and experience to Anicira and takes pride in helping families and pets stay together and lead healthier lives. In 2021, Ashlee was promoted to Lead LVT – a title she is proud to have earned. She lives a busy life outside of the hospital, caring for her three dogs and energetic son.

Sam is a dedicated and caring licensed veterinary technician who loves helping animals recover from injury and illness. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Sciences from Virginia Tech and her Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Technology from Penn Foster. At Anicira, Sam most enjoys assisting with dentistry procedures because of how much more comfortable pets are after the procedures. When she is not at work, Sam can be found hiking, reading fantasy books, writing fiction stories, or knitting. She and her dog Kimber are both very active and enjoy agility sports, flyball, and canicross.

Animals have always been a big part of Michelle’s life. She started working with horses and then transitioned into the field of small animal veterinary medicine. She received her Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Technology from Northern Virginia Community College. Michelle believes that pets make our lives more meaningful and enjoys the privilege of working with them each day. She enjoys making a positive difference in her patients’ lives. Outside of work, Michelle stays busy on her small sheep farm and she spends many weekends competing at performance events with her three Swedish Vallhunds. They are trained in agility, obedience, rally obedience, and therapy work. In addition to her dogs and sheep, she has a rescue cat named Flyball.

Nicole has wanted to work with animals ever since childhood when she would bring home injured birds and wildlife to tend to them in her home. She has remained dedicated to the animals in her native Virginia, attending Fauquier High School and graduating from NVCC with her AAS in veterinary technology. Nicole thrives in the fast-paced environment of high-volume surgery, and particularly enjoys anesthesia and orthopedic surgery, in addition to utilizing fear-free methods to work with nervous animals and working dogs. She loves helping pets that would not otherwise receive veterinary care and considers herself an advocate and voice for each one of her patients. Outside of Anicira, Nicole hardly ever stops moving, and can usually be found hiking in Shenandoah National Park or running with her two dogs.

Lindsey received her associate of science degree from the Penn Foster Veterinary Technician program in 2020 after working as a veterinary assistant for eight years. Growing up, she always knew she wanted a career working with animals. Her favorite part of working at Anicira is caring for the many shelter/rescue pets that visit and getting to know the families of her patients. She loves being able to help clients care for their four-legged family members. Lindsey has many pets of her own including 3 dogs, a few ducks and geese, a horse, and a donkey. Outside of work, she enjoys watching movies, spending time with friends and family, and visiting local parks and historical sites with her dogs.

Lesly pursued her lifelong passion for helping animals by earning her Licensed Veterinary Technician degree at Northern Virginia Community College. She graduated in 2017 and joined the team at Anicira in 2021. Lesly enjoys being a part of the surgery and dentistry team and is always eager to learn new things. She has a rescue Pomeranian/Husky mix who she named Ghost after a half-dog creature featured in one of her favorite shows – Game of Throne. In her free time, Lesly loves trying out new cooking and baking recipes and traveling. On weekends when the weather is nice, you can find her with her friends hiking or trying new wineries.

Kaylin is a compassionate veterinary nurse who treats each pet who comes to Anicira like her own. She received her veterinary assistant certification through the Animal Behavior College. One of her favorite parts of working at Anicira is seeing very sick patients recover after receiving medical care. Kaylin enjoys working in the medical department because she gets to talk with pet families and help them on their pet’s individual needs. When she is not at work, Kaylin enjoys playing with her dog Charlie, cuddling with her cat Uno, and watching horror movies. Kaylin loves to cook and enjoys experimenting with new recipes and keeping old family secret recipes alive.

As a child, Brittany dreamed of being a veterinarian. After working at a veterinary hospital, she realized that she preferred working on the administrative side instead of the medical side of a hospital. As the Lead CSR, Brittany enjoys collaborating with other team members and working with clients to ensure that their pets get the best possible care. She loves working at Anicira because, no matter how difficult a day may be, seeing a pet’s friendly face will always cheer her up. In her free time, Brittany enjoys fishing, shopping, spending time with her three dogs and two cats, and going on adventures with her boyfriend.