The North Dakota Veterinary Medical Association recently named NDSU’s Heidi Pecoraro as the 2023 North Dakota Veterinarian of the Year.
Pecoraro was presented the distinguished award and honored at the 118th NDVMA Annual Meeting held at the Fargo Holiday Inn on Aug. 14.
The NDVMA Veterinarian of the Year Award was established in 1975, to recognize the time and efforts by its members, above and beyond that of normal participation, for the good of the Association and/or profession. This prestigious award recognizes those members who have exerted outstanding leadership in building a stronger NDVMA and contributed significantly to veterinary medicine in North Dakota.
Pecoraro is the director of the NDSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and is a boarded veterinary anatomic pathologist. She joined the NDSU in 2019 and became the VDL’s director in 2022.
In addition to her directorship duties, Pecoraro shares her expertise in serving the greater veterinary community to support animal health and agriculture.
Pecoraro has committed to reserve corps training and volunteered to review disaster and disease response plans, be a sounding board for educational and outreach materials, and volunteer for Extension events. She has also engaged in activities to help build future home-grown animal health professionals including presentations to pre-vet clubs, offering practice tours and mini-internships to veterinary technician students and high school students.
Recently she was appointed to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network Coordinating Council, giving North Dakota a seat at the national table to guide policy making and recommendations for animal disease diagnostic best practices.
Pecoraro was described by colleagues as a veterinarian that embodies dignified professionalism through continual self - improvement, putting service first to others, empowering staff members in personal and professional development and demonstrating gratitude and hope in the face of adversity.
Pecoraro received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and doctorate in 2012 from Colorado State University. She was a post doctorate research fellow at Oregon National Primate Research Center from 2016-2018 before achieving board certification in 2018 as a veterinary anatomic pathologist and residency at Cornell University.
