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Maryland Campus Faculty

Valerie Ragan

Valerie E. Ragan, DVM

Director, Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine
 
e-mail: vragan@umd.edu


Education

1991 Graduate work in Biostatistics and Epidemiology
School of Public Health
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
1983 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
1976-1979 Pre-veterinary work
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA

Professional Experience

2009-present Director, Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
College 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

Professional Memberships

  • American Veterinary Medical Association
  • United States Animal Health Association
    Member: Brucellosis Committee, Livestock Identification Committee
  • National Institute for Animal Agriculture (Chair, Animal Health and International Trade Committee, 2007)
    Member: Cattle Species Committee, Animal Health and International Trade Committee, Animal Identification and Information Systems Committee
  • 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
  • District of Columbia Veterinary Medical Association
  • Maryland Veterinary Medical Association
  • Virginia Veterinary Medical Association
  • National Academies of Practice, Distinguished Practitioner member

International Activities

  • Brucellosis program assessments, lectures and instruction including:
    • 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 Researcher’s 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
  • Other international activities:
    • Listed as an Expert for the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA)
    • Member of the USDA/Colorado State University team, working with the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture in the development of a National Animal Health Program for Armenia, including workshops, training of veterinarians, animal health capacity building, and initiation of demonstration community pilot projects, coordinating work with the World Bank and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
    • Assisted Colombian officials in understanding processes for the development, implementation of and compliance with US regulations for the exportation of agricultural products to the United States
    • Traveled to Cairo, Egypt to work with USDA and the Egyptian government on Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues (SPS) impacting trade
    • Served on the United States team for trade negotiations in Japan, Korea, and China after the discovery of BSE in the United States and served as the US technical team leader for BSE in further meetings in Korea
    • Traveled to Ottawa, Canada to meet with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to discuss equivalency of the brucellosis and tuberculosis programs, and surveillance issues
    • Traveled to Bolivia on a three week detail to conduct Foot and Mouth and TB testing for prequalifying llamas for entry into the United States