Emergency Service
Dr. Jeff Nunez (Chief of Emergency Services) graduated from Louisiana State University in 1996. He completed a one year internship at Angel Memorial in Boston which has an annual case load of 45,000 patients. He worked for a year in general practice before becoming an emergency clinician for a 24 hour referral hospital in 1998. He lives in Orange County with his daughter and two sons.
Dr. Stephanie Garrity (Lead ER Clinician) was born and raised in New Orleans, LA and earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Louisiana State University. She completed a 1-year rotating small animal internship at MedVet Emergency and Specialty Hospital between their New Orleans and Mandeville, LA facilities. It was there that she discovered her love of Emergency Medicine. She and her husband (and their 2 adventurous dogs, Chewy and Milo) then embarked on a cross-country move to the Pacific Northwest where they lived in Seattle, WA and Dr. Garrity worked as an ER Veterinarian at Seattle Veterinary Specialists for 7 years. They decided to switch gears at that point and moved to Durham, NC to buy a home and be closer to family. Dr. Garrity came aboard with TVRH as an ER Vet in November 2022, and then accepted the position of Lead ER Clinician in January 2024. She enjoys the excitement of all emergencies, but has particular interest in toxicities, polytrauma, and head trauma.
Outside of work, Dr. Garrity enjoys backpacking, hiking, cooking, and seeing live music. You can usually find her fostering a rescue dog from Durham's animal shelter, APS.
Dr. Noelle White attended the University of Tennessee where she received her Bachelors and Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, she practiced in an emergency hospital in Virginia for 3 years before joining TVRH in 2003. Dr. White currently resides with her family in Garner, NC.
Dr. German Duran graduated from veterinary school in Colombia, South America where heinitially practiced. He moved to the US in 1998 and worked as a veterinary nurse with a referral practice for 5 years. In 2003 he was certified by theUS Veterinary Board and has practiced emergency medicine since that time.
Dr. Kate Goodman graduated from the University Of Tennessee College Of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. She then moved to Northern California and completed a one year rotating internship in small animal internal medicine, surgery, and emergency medicine at the VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center. She stayed on in the area for another year, doing a mix of general practice and emergency. She has spent most of her life in the Triangle, and so decided to return, joining the emergency team at TVRH in 2014. She currently resides in Durham with her Plott hound mix, ‘Sadie’.
Dr. Bethany Cashman is a Chapel Hill native and has lived in the Triangle for most of her life. Her undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering, but she made the transition to veterinary medicine and could not be happier to be playing with animals every day. She graduated from NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 2014 and did two internships, one in small animal medicine and one in exotic animal medicine (she is happy to see whatever species walks/slithers/flies/swims through the door). Dr. Cashman joined TVRH in 2016.
Surgery Service
Dr. Mike Grafinger graduated from Mississippi State University in 1999. He completed a one year internship at Animal Medical Center in New York City which has an annual case load of 50,000 patients and over 90 veterinarians. He practiced general medicine in NYC for one year before joining a North Carolina emergency and referral practice as an emergency clinician. He completed a surgical residency at NC State Veterinary School and is one of the few board certified surgeons affiliated with an emergency clinic in the Durham area. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and three sons.
Dr. Marc Hirshenson grew up in Rockville, Maryland. He received a BS in Animal Science from the University of Maryland and his DVM from Tufts University. After graduation, Dr. Hirshenson completed a one-year internship in small animal medicine, surgery, and emergency and critical care and a three-year residency in small animal surgery at Cornell University. He then returned to Maryland where he worked as a staff surgeon at a large specialty referral practice. For the last two and a half years he has served as the Chief of Surgery for a specialty hospital on Long Island.
Although he enjoys all aspects of veterinary surgery, Dr. Hirshenson is particularly interested in surgical oncology, canine stifle disease and repair, elbow disease, and wound reconstruction. He is proficient in minimally invasive surgical procedures including arthroscopy, cystoscopy, laparoscopy, rhinoscopy and thoracoscopy.
Away from the hospital, Dr. Hirshenson enjoys swimming, spending time outside, traveling or catching an Orioles or Terrapins game.
Dr. Morgan Hackett was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA before heading to the Caribbean where she attended veterinary school at Ross University. She performed her clinical year at Auburn University before graduating in January 2014. She completed a small animal rotating internship in Akron, Ohio, a surgery internship in Buffalo Grove, Il, a second surgery internship in Rochester, NY, plus a small animal surgery residency in Rochester, NY. Her professional interests include urogenital surgery, wound reconstruction, and miniature TTAs. Dr. Hackett lives in Durham with her fiancé and their three cats, Marge, Alice, and Howard.
Neurology Service
Dr. Josh Warren is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He received his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and his DVM from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. He practiced emergency medicine in Iowa for three years before pursuing a one-year internship followed by another year of emergency medicine at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey. Finally, he completed a specialty internship followed by a residency in neurology and neurosurgery at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital. He currently resides in Durham with his wife and elderly pets (two dogs, a cat, and a horse – the horse is elderly but does not live in the house). Outside of the hospital, he enjoys running, cycling, playing sports, reading, going to the movies, and traveling.
Internal Medicine Service
Dr. Melissa Chrzanowski graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. Following graduation, she completed a one year small animal rotating internship at the Veterinary Specialty Center in Buffalo Grove, IL. After her internship, she stayed on at the Veterinary Specialty Center and completed her internal medicine residency in 2014. She is very excited to be a part of the TVRH team.
Dr. James (Jim) Hummel is originally from the Northern Virginia area. He moved to the Triangle to attend veterinary school at NC State University (NCSU). After graduation from NCSU, he completed a small-animal rotating internship at Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and then returned to NCSU to finish a residency in internal medicine. Dr. Hummel says he chose Internal Medicine because he loves problem solving.
Away from the hospital, Dr. Hummel enjoys spending time with his three girls: Olivia, Katie, and Sophia as well as running with his labs, Finley and Fred.
Radiology Service
Dr. Lisa Woolman graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. She then completed one year of internship at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dr. Woolman moved to the triangle to begin a 4 year residency in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging at North Carolina State University in 2005. She obtained board certification in her specialty in 2009. Dr. Woolman provides on-site in-patient and out-patient imaging services for Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital. She has settled in Chapel Hill with her husband, son, daughter and their pets.
Dr. Stephanie Belhorn earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University in 2017. She completed a small animal rotating internship in Virginia, a second small animal rotating internship in North Carolina, and a diagnostic imaging fellowship in
California. She then moved back to the east coast and completed a three-year residency program in Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Georgia. Dr. Belhorn grew up in the Triangle area and is excited to return home and join the TVRH team.
Cardiology Service
Dr. Jennifer Myers graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 2008. She then completed a one year small animal rotating internship at Garden State Veterinary Specialists and a one year cardiology internship at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center. In 2010 she began a combined cardiology residency and masters degree at Colorado State University. She lives in Raleigh and has a small mixed breed dog named Bruce.
Oncology Service
Dr. Laurel Williams graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. She then completed a small animal rotating internship at Purdue University, an oncology residency at Tufts University, and a Research Fellowship in Molecular Biology at the University of Minnesota. She was a Professor of Oncology and on the faculty at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine from 1998 to 2013 and remained an Adjunct Professor of
Oncology through 2020. Dr. Williams worked as an Oncologist at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas for 5 years before moving to the Pacific Northwest and serving as Medical Director and Oncologist at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle. Looking to return to the Triangle, Dr. Williams happily joined Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals in spring 2021. She has authored/co-authored 30+ publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, written 25+ book chapters, and delivered more than 120 invited lectures at local, state, regional, national, and international meetings. She is very excited to be part of the talented team at TVRH.
Critical Care Service
Dr. Dawn Lanza graduated from Louisiana State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She worked in emergency for thirteen years before moving into the hospitalist role at TVRH.
When Dr. Lanza is not at work, she loves going to the beach with her family as well as cycling, working out, and doing puzzles with her son. Dr. Lanza lives in Wake Forest with her children and beloved pets, Rocco, Vito, Enzo, and Foggy.
