Meet Our Staff
The success of our facility is due to the kindness and dedication of our staff.Our staff is the backbone of our business providing top notch service for all our clients/patients.
Take a moment to get to know each one as they are here to help.
Simply click on the + sign in each one below to get to know each of our staff members.
Doctors

Michael Giacopuzzi, DVM
Dr. Mike is one of the founders and co-owners of Humphrey, Giacopuzzi & Associates. He grew up on a dairy farm in Ventura County and graduated veterinary school from the University of California, Davis in 1980. Dr. Mike specializes in general surgery and lameness. He is very active in the local 4-H program and serves every year as the veterinarian for the Ventura County Fair.

Richard Giacopuzzi, DVM
Dr. Richard is a co-owner of Humphrey, Giacopuzzi & Associates. He grew up in Canoga Park where he was raised in a ranching and dairy family. Before veterinary school, he worked as a racetrack groom. He graduated veterinary school from the University of California, Davis in 1979. He is one of the most respected doctors in the area in the reproduction field.

Hannah Klasson, DVM
After graduating from UC Davis Veterinary school in 2012, Dr. Klasson began at HGAE as an intern and then permanently joined the team as an associate the following year. Although she provides routine health and hospital care, her primary passion and focus are on sport horse lameness, and medicine. She is able to offer a myriad of diagnostic and treatment modalities; including ultrasound, radiographs, shockwave, PRP, and Prostride therapies. In addition, Dr. Klasson is certified in equine acupuncture which complements her traditional diagnostic and treatment options.
Dr. Klasson is often accompanied by her rotating canine assistants – Rooster, Vienna, and Verona, and is kept current on the emotional complexities of horse ownership by her young warmblood gelding Sleepy.

Fallon Haig, DVM, MS, DACVS
Dr. Fallon grew up showing Hunter/Jumpers on the east coast. She moved to the west coast for her undergraduate studies to attend Stanford University, where she received degrees in Biology and Studio Art. She attended Auburn University for veterinary school and completed an internship back in California at the Steinbeck-Peninsula Equine Medical Center. Dr. Fallon accepted a second internship at the University of Missouri and then her combined Large Animal Surgery Residency and Master’s Degree Program at Purdue University. When not at work, Dr. Fallon enjoys spending time with her husband and their four dogs, as well as riding her own horses.

Melissa Von Zup, DVM, DACVIM
Dr. Melissa grew up in Southern California where she fell in love with horses and riding Hunter/Jumpers. She attended Cal Poly SLO receiving a degree in Animal Science with an emphasis on Equine Science. She continued to move farther North and attended veterinary school at UC Davis with an equine focus. From there, she moved to Florida for a rotating internship at Equine Medical Center of Ocala with a focus on internal medicine. She went to Oregon for her residency in large animal internal medicine. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and taking her dog to the beach.

Erin Elder, DVM
Dr. Erin grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for her undergraduate degree in Animal Science. She then went to St. Kitts and Nevis for veterinary school at Ross University.
Her first internships were in equine private equine in Alberta, and then an academic large animal medicine internship at the University of Minnesota. She finally completed her residency program at North Carolina State University in equine internal medicine.
Dr. Erin enjoys snowboarding and spending time at the beach in her free time.
Technicians
Bex Felch, RVT - Lead Technician
Bex Felch, RVT ~ Bio
Bex hails from Northern Virginia where she grew up competing in Hunter Pleasure. She received dual bachelor’s degrees from Virginia Tech in Biology and Animal & Poultry Sciences in 2005. After graduation, she completed a management internship at a major thoroughbred racehorse breeding farm and became certified in equine sports massage. Bex has been working as a supervising veterinary technician since 2006, and obtained an R.V.T. license in 2009. She spent several years in both Virginia (Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center) and Kentucky (Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital) prior to moving to Ventura in 2011. Outside of work, Becky enjoys exploring California wine country, the beach, and camping with her husband.
Amy Trottier, RVT, EST - Inventory Manager
Amy Trottier, RVT, EST ~ Bio
Amy was born and raised in Canada where her passion for horses began at a young age. She grew up riding and showing any horse she could! After attending school to become an Equine Sports Therapist she knew she had more to learn. Her love of horses brought her (and her horse at the time) down to California. Amy began volunteering at HGAE in January 2016 while attending Mount San Antonio College where she graduated from their Veterinary Technician Program with an Associate’s Degree in Science. She was hired on as a full-time employee shortly after graduation. When she is not working, she enjoys traveling and hiking with her husband her two adorable sons, Wade and Lucas, and her chihuahua Sonny!
Jennifer Nunes - Veterinary Assistant
Jennifer Nunes ~ Bio
Jen grew up in Camarillo riding hunter in ETI. Jen now rides dressage and manages the dressage shows at both El Sueno and Mission Pacific Equestrian Center. Jen is the volunteer chair of the CDS chapter in Ventura.
Melissa Hiatt - Veterinary Assistant
Melissa Hiatt ~ Bio
Melissa grew up around horses in Simi Valley. During high school, she volunteered at Therapeutic Horseback Riding. Melissa moved to Colorado to attend Colorado State University and completed a degree in Equine Science in 2017. She earned her Masters of Kinesiology at California State University Northridge in 2022. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Ruby.
Lillian Hilgers - Veterinary Assistant
Lillian Hilgers ~ Bio
Lillian (Lilly) was born and raised in Ojai, California. She has always had a passion for animals but found her true passion within the equestrian sport. Lilly competed in the hunters, jumpers, and equitation at the national level from a young age, and continued through high school. She received a sports scholarship to ride for the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she went on to captain the team to multiple national championships. After graduating with a BA in Equestrian Studies in 2019, Lilly managed a private traveling show barn of nationally ranked hunters and jumpers as well as FEI Grand Prix horses. After spending almost two years traveling around the east coast and parts of Europe, Lilly decided to return home to California and pursue her passion for equine medicine at HGAE. When she is not at work, Lilly enjoys riding, hiking, and getting to spend time with friends and family.
AnnaRose Kamperman - Veterinary Assistant
AnnaRose Kamperman ~ Bio
Annie has been riding her entire life. She found her passion for western all around and competed at the national level in the youth division. She coached the Crook County High School equestrian team for 2 years. She moved to California in 2018 where she started training horses at Robert’s Ranch in Murrieta, CA. Annie joined HGAE in 2022. In her free time, Annie takes her dogs to the beach.
Tracie Maccanelli, RVT - Anesthetist
Tracie Maccanelli, RVT ~ Bio
Tracie was born and raised in Southern California. She started riding when she was twelve with the California Rangers where she competed in equitation and drill team. Tracie started her career in the small animal field in 2004. She graduated from Pierce College in 2010 and received her RVT license in 2011. She worked for 10 years in small animal surgery and anesthesia where she has carried over her knowledge to the large animal field. In her free time, she enjoys adventuring with her husband and two kids, baseball with her son, sharing the love of horses with her daughter, and riding her horse Apache.
Dannielle Hargrove, RVT, HSC - Technician
Dannielle Hargrove ~ Bio
Dannielle is a Ventura County native. Having a love for horses and spending the best part of her childhood on horseback, she pursued a career working with horses. While employed at Humphrey, Giacopuzzi, and Associates Equine Hospital in the late 1990’s she earned an Associate in Science degree for Veterinary Technology along with a Horse Science Certificate from Pierce Community College and became a Registered Veterinary Technician. After working here for a few years and being blessed with the opportunity to stay home to raise 2 amazing children, 20+ years later, Dannielle has returned to HGAE.
Alix Benjamin - Reproduction Veterinary Assistant
Alix Benjamin ~ Bio
Alix lives in the small town of Leona Valley, CA. She grew up competing in gymkhanas and rodeos for her local 4-H club. She and her husband own and operate a small farm in Leona Valley, West Roots Farm. When they aren’t working on the farm, you can find them backpacking in the mountains or on a cross country road trip. Alix is currently pursuing her RVT license.
Anna Lowe - Veterinary Assistant
Anna Lowe ~ Bio
Anna grew up in Ventura County and has been riding her whole life. Anna is currently a student at Ventura College. In her free time, Anna enjoys going to the beach or riding her horse.
Christine Grade - Veterinary Assistant
Christine Grade ~ Bio
Christine was born and raised in Glendale, CA. At nine, she joined the California Rangers and went on to become the Cadet Commander of her troop. When Christine went to college, she discovered and fell in love with three-day eventing which she continues to enjoy in her free time.
She graduated from Fresno State in 2017 with a BS in Animal Science, Pre-Veterinary Medicine and began working for an ambulatory equine veterinarian.
In November of 2019, Christine transitioned to small animal medicine and spent 4 years as lead surgical assistant. She is currently in the Penn Foster University RVT program and was recently accepted to the University of Georgia’s Master of Science in Comparative Biomedical Sciences program.
Christine aspires to go to veterinary school and is thrilled to be back in large animal medicine.
Office
Kathleen Winters - Office Manager
Kathleen Winters ~ Bio
Kat grew up around horses in her family-owned Santoro Thoroughbred Farms and raced all over California. Kat had been involved in the pony club as the Horse Management Regional Organizer and District Commissioner for Santa Rosa Valley for over 10 years. In her free time Kat enjoys riding dressage, traveling, and spending time with her daughters. Kat is currently pursuing the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager’s accreditation.
Candice Mitchell – Reproduction Receptionist
Candice Mitchell – Reproduction Receptionist
Candice was born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley. She had a variety of animals growing up including dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots, and horses. Candice graduated from Cal State Northridge with a in BA Journalism. She was always enchanted with Alamo Pintado Equine; after college, she spent ten years at Alamo Pintado where her position evolved from reception to pharmacy inventory and assisted with internal medicine and reproduction specialists. Candice moved to Ventura County and temporarily joined the dark side, small animal. However, she missed equine medicine and found her way to HGAE. In her free time, Candice enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and their families, cooking and hiking with her two pups, Violet and Milo.
Tracy Thomas - Client Specialist/Accounts Receivable
Tracy Thomas ~ Bio
Tracy has returned to HGAE after a few years off. Tracy handles open invoices and acts as a liaison with farm managers and business representatives. Tracy is the leader of the Santa Rosa Valley Market Lamb Project and has been involved with the 4H program for 12 years. Tracy enjoys barrel racing and trail riding with Tracy’s daughter Makayla.
Colleen Whiting - CVPM, Practice Manager
Colleen Whiting ~ Bio
Colleen has been riding and working around horses her entire life. She taught riding lessons for many years and was an accomplished junior rider. As an amateur rider, she has ridden with the best professionals on the West Coast and has competed in numerous West Coast finals. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at California Lutheran University, she became a professional rider and assisted in lay-up care, rehabilitation, and barn management. She graduated in 2017 with a degree in accounting and joined HGAE. In 2022, she earned her accreditation as a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager. Outside of work, Colleen competes on her jumpers, Apple and Noodle, and spends time with her family and friends.