Practice Manager
Erika grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania and went to Milton Hershey School in the famous town of Hershey (yes, the chocolate). Milton Hershey School provided many opportunities for Erika, one of them being working on a dairy farm. It was here that she developed a special interest in working with animals. Tending to the calves was her favorite part and she was always eager to help the veterinarian when he came to the farm. This was when she decided she wanted to have a career as a veterinary technician.
After visiting a friend who lived in Tucson, Erika realized that this was the place she wanted to live. In 1996 Erika and her mom made the 2,500 mile journey cross country in a Ryder truck with Erika’s two cats and settled in Tucson. Shortly after arriving, Erika enrolled at Pima Medical Institute in the veterinary assistant program. In early 1997, Erika started her career at Dr. Trueba’s emergency and referral center as an emergency veterinary assistant. Erika fondly remembers her first shift “I was definitely nervous. I was working under the senior emergency veterinary technician and I remembered thinking “someday I want to be the senior emergency veterinary technician”. In 1999 Erika earned her certification and shortly after became the senior emergency veterinary technician.
A few years later Erika transferred to Dr. Trueba’s other veterinary clinic, Wiseman Animal Hospital. After taking a short break in 2004/2005 to pursue a career as a massage therapist, Erika realized that working with animals was her true passion and came back to work for Dr. Trueba at Wiseman Animal Hospital where she was offered the position of Clinic Manager. Managing a veterinary hospital and boarding kennel keeps her very busy but she doesn’t mind, “I love working with animals and the staff here are the absolute best, I couldn’t ask for a better boss than Dr. Trueba”.
Erika has one cat (Simon) and enjoys spending her time away from work with her family and friends. One family favorite, especially for her nephew, is going down to Dr. Trueba’s mule farm to feed the mules. She also enjoys cooking, reading a good book, and rooting for her favorite sports team, the Tennessee Titans.
