René A. Carlson, ’76 BS, ’78 DVM

René A. Carlson, ’76 BS, ’78 DVM, Chetek, Wisc., died March 29 at 64. Carlson started her professional career serving a clinical internship at Rowley Memorial Hospital in Springfield, MA. She practiced in Elmwood and Madison. Wisc., before moving to Chetek in 1990. In 1996, She built the Animal Hospital of Chetek.

Carlson was elected President of the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVA) in 1994. She was the first woman to hold that office. In 2001, she was voted Wisconsin's Veterinarian of the Year by her colleagues. She served as the Wisconsin delegate in the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) House of Delegates from 1995 through 2003 and was elected to a two year term as AVMA vice president in 2004.

In 2010, Carlson was elected president-elect of the AVMA and became president in 2011. In 2013, she was appointed director of international affairs for the AVMA. In 2014, she was elected president of the World Veterinary Association (WVA), the first woman to hold that office. Carlson traveled to over thirty countries to promote veterinary causes during her term, which ended in 2017. She also served the AVMA on the Council of Education and on the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. In 2018, the AVMA awarded her the Global Veterinary Service Award for promoting veterinary medicine worldwide. She was also honored with a lifetime honorary membership in the WVA. This year, during International Woman's Day, Carlson was named to the list of groundbreaking women in veterinary medicine. She loved mentoring young veterinarians in leadership skills. Carlson is survived by her husband, Mark.