Valerie E. Ragan, DVM

Valerie Ragan is director of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM). She is responsible for leadership of the Center, which trains students for veterinary practice other than private for-fee practice. This includes the areas of public health and policy, disease control and eradication, corporate veterinary medicine, systems thinking and implementing a One Health approach, and international veterinary medicine. The Center also works to increase opportunities for student engagement in national and international veterinary and animal health organizations involved in public veterinary practice, and provides training and guidance to veterinarians interesting in transitioning from one career area in veterinary medicine to another. Dr. Ragan also continues to work around the world on the control and eradication of brucellosis, a major disease of importance in livestock and human health, and on projects related to veterinary capacity building.

Prior to joining the VMCVM, Ragan was the president of a veterinary consulting company in Washington, D.C., where her activities included resolving animal health issues such as disease control, eradication, and surveillance, and international veterinary capacity building.

Before initiating her consulting company and after five years as a private small animal practitioner, Ragan transitioned to the Veterinary Services program with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS). She began her work with the USDA as a veterinary medical officer and public practice career trainee. She then served as the Area Epidemiology Officer in two states, before being promoted to senior staff veterinarian in Washington DC, serving as the National Brucellosis Epidemiologist. She subsequently served as assistant deputy administrator of the agency’s Veterinary Services program. In that capacity, she served as the national animal health surveillance coordinator, and established the National Surveillance Unit at USDA’s Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health.

Ragan completed her pre-veterinary work at Virginia Tech and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1983 from the University of Georgia. She also completed post-graduate work in biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.

Graduate work in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 1991
School of Public Health
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, 1983
University of Geogia
Athens, GA

Pre-veterinary work, 1976–1979
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

2014–present
Director
Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine
Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

2009–2014
Director
Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine
Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD

2006–2009
President
AgWorks Solutions LLC
Washington, DC

2002–2006
Assistant Deputy Administrator
United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services (USDA, APHIS, VS)
Riverdale, MD

1997–2002
Senior Staff Veterinarian / National Brucellosis Epidemiologist
USDA, APHIS, VS
Riverdale, MD

1994–1997
Area Epidemiology Officer
USDA, APHIS, VS
Nashville, TN

1993–1994
Area Epidemiology Officer
USDA, APHIS, VS
Gainesville, FL

1989–1993
Veterinary Medical Officer
USDA, APHIS, VS
Lehigh Acres, FL

1988–1989
Veterinary Medical Officer / Public Veterinary Practice Career Trainee
Jackson and Nashville, TN

1983–1988
Veterinarian
Animal Medical Center
Gainesville, GA

• American Veterinary Medical Association
• United States Animal Health Association
  Member: Committee on Animal Health Surveillance and Information Systems, Committee on Cattle and Bison, Committee on Global Animal Health and Trade,  Committee on One Health, Subcommittee on Rabies, USAHA/AAVLD Committee on Diagnostic Laboratory & Veterinary Workforce Development (Co-Chair 2014 – 2019), Subcommittee on Cattle Identification, Subcommittee on Brucellosis
• Member: Scientific Committee for the Consortium for the Advancement of Brucellosis Science (CABS)
• Alpha Psi Veterinary Fraternity - one of the two first women admitted to the University of Georgia chapter
• Maryland Veterinary Medical Association
• Virginia Veterinary Medical Association
• National Academies of Practice, Distinguished Practitioner member

Brucellis international program assessments, lectures and instruction including:

• Consultant - Armenia (2006 – 2019): Various programs, including National Animal Health Capacity building, and One Health Surveillance for Brucellosis. Included extensive didactic and field training.
• Consultant – 2019 - Brucellosis program review in the Dominican Republic
• Worked with a large private dairy Corporation in Uruguay to eliminate brucellosis (2017-2018), included herd plan development and evaluation, and training of veterinarians
• Invited speaker at the “One Health, One Caribbean, One Love” conference in Trinidad (2015)
  • Presentations on “Field Diagnosis and Control Measures for Brucellosis” and “Field Diagnosis and Control Measures for Tuberculosis”
• Invited speaker at the inaugural One Health, One Region conference in Tshakhkadzor, Armenia on “One Health, One Region: Strategies for the Control of Brucellosis and Anthrax”  (2014)
• Speaker on brucellosis eradication – Chine Yangzhou University (2014)
• Speaker at the Caribbean Veterinary Medical Association annual conference in Trinidad  (2012)
• Conducted an evaluation of the brucellosis program and developed recommendations – Uruguay (2011)
• Speaker at the XV Latin‐American and XXXIV Uruguayan Buiatric Congress, Paysandu, Uruguay – 2011
• Speaker at the National Conference on Brucellosis and TB, Belo Horizonte, Brazil – 2010
• Conducted an evaluation of the brucellosis program in the Republic of Georgia in May 2009, developed recommendations for program revision and enhancement to fit international standards for the Ministry of Agriculture, on behalf of the World Bank
• Traveled to Guatemala to teach veterinarians from throughout Central America about brucellosis control and eradication strategies
• Trained government veterinarians in Chile on brucellosis control and eradication (by invitation of SAG - Chilean Dept of Agriculture)
• Worked with a private dairy cooperative in Mexico on brucellosis eradication, including conducting a seminar on brucellosis epidemiology and management for Mexican producers, veterinarians, and dairy owners, and visiting affected diaries to develop disease management recommendations
• Traveled to the Azores, Portugal to do a program assessment, develop a brucellosis epidemiology course, and return to present it to Azorean animal health authorities and US military veterinarians
• Traveled to Argentina as a guest lecturer on brucellosis eradication at the National Veterinary Conference
• Represented the United States in a conference entitled Expert Consultation on Vaccines and Vaccination Strategies for Brucellosis Control/Eradication Programs in Chile sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
• Presented the US Brucellosis Program at the International Brucellosis Researchers Conference in Nimes, France
• Conducted a Basic Brucellosis Epidemiology course in Chihuahua, Mexico for Mexican veterinarians
• Invited guest lecturer on brucellosis at the XXI World Buiatrics Congress, Campo Grande, Brazil in 2001 and at the IX Latin American Buiatrics Congress in Uruguay in 2002
• Traveled throughout Chile to lecture on brucellosis eradication techniques and infected herd management and to train government and private veterinarians
• Traveled to Egypt as an instructor in the Brucellosis Epidemiology Course for veterinarians. Taught 110 Egyptian veterinarians, and participated in an adult vaccination seminar for high ranking Egyptian government veterinarians

AVMA Public Service Award (2017)