Staff

Dr. Nathan C. Heilman, BS, DVM, CVA, VSMT

Dr. Nate earned his B.S. from Cornell University and then a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 1997. He graduated from the International Veterinary Acupuncture (IVAS) course in 2004, becoming certified as a veterinary acupuncturist, and got his veterinary spinal manipulation certification from Healing Oasis. Since then he has studied Chinese veterinary herbal medicine intensively under the most qualified veterinary herbalists in North America. Dr. Nate, his wife, Thérèse, and their two children, Emmaline and Giles, make their home in New Haven, VT.

Thérèse M. Fafard, BA, MBA

Thérèse received her B.A. from Amherst College in 1984. She and Nate fell in love, first with each other and then with Vermont; they were married at Shelburne Farms in 2000. Thérèse worked for twenty years in the Boston High-Tech/Internet scene before starting her own business consulting practice. This enabled her to work from home, move to Vermont, have kids and be there to raise them (in that order). Thérèse oversaw the build-out of Qi Veterinary Clinic and can be found in the "back office" making salads at lunch or handling the Marketing, Advertising, HR, Insurance and Finances for Qi as well as A Time To Heal Chinese herbal distributorship.

Karena

Karena is a native Vermonter who has been in the field of veterinary medicine since 1997. By passing the national certification exam in 2005, she became a certified veterinary technician. Her primary work passion is all things surgical/dental-related and, of course, spending time with all the four-legged patients. She enjoys trying to make a pet’s stay with Qi as comfortable and “fearless” as it can be. 

Outside of work, her passions are doing just about anything outdoors. From skiing, skating and sledding to hiking, kayaking and camping (depending on the season), the great world of nature that surrounds us always leaves her in awe- as does the acute power of literally lifesaving acupuncture points!

Bailee

Bailee is a native Vermonter who grew up with two cats (Mickey & Sassy) and a ginormous love for horses. Ever since she was a kid, she had felt she had a special connection to animals. When horses came into her life that feeling only got stronger. When Bailee graduated from high school, she had no idea what she wanted to do for her career, so she took a gap year to get the experience of a full-time job while in search of something more permanent. When Bailee stumbled on the application for Qi, it almost sounded too good to be true, but after a day of shadowing she instantly fell in love. Bailee had always wanted to work for a clinic that went above and beyond for their patients and had great relationships with their clients. Bailee credits her horse, Misty, for teaching her most of what she knows about horse behavior and training and believes this background has been helpful in learning cat and dog behavior at Qi. You will see Bailee in the exam rooms, holding your creatures with a big hug, or giving them some scratches under the chin. You may also see her making up your herbal supplements in the Pharmacy. Outside of the clinic, Bailee enjoys hiking, fishing, singing, and of course, working with her animals.

Heather

After serving 20+ wonderful years caring for Seniors with Dementia, Heather is excited and overjoyed to join Dr. Nate’s team. She gets to work with some of the most kind, caring, and intelligent people she’s ever met and learn more about caring for animals!

She has two sons, but is also an animal mother for sure! She has 4 cats, 2 birds, 2 bunnies and 2 dogs and is also an artist, and an adventurer. Her husband and her love to hit the Green Mountain Forest Trails in their bright-green Jeep whenever they can along with her Jeep-Dogs. She grew up on a sailboat in the Virgin Islands and lived in Hawaii for a time with her native Hawaiian family before finding her true home here in Vermont.

Kaylee

Kaylee grew up in the South Hero area of Vermont and later moved to the Bolton/Richmond area. Kaylee is passionate about animals and has always wanted to work in the field of veterinary medicine. She has always adored animals but fell in love working with them while living on a “mini farm” in Bolton where her family-owned goats, chickens, ducks, bunnies, cats, and dogs.

After she graduated from high school, she sought to get her foot in the door of veterinarian medicine. Qi’s holistic approach to medicine naturally aligned with how her family approached health. With the amazing opportunity to work at Qi, she has been able to learn from the kindest and smartest people on the team and love what she does every day. In her free time Kaylee loves to go to work on art projects, visit farmers markets, go thrifting, as well as adventures with her dogs, Axl and Molly Mae.

Mikaila

Mikaila is a true Vermonter, born and raised. She has a driving passion to care for any and all four-legged critters that cross her life’s path. She has been actively involved in animal rescue for over 16 years, opening her home, and heart, to over 300 fosters as they awaited adoption. She has taken in many hospice patients and helped them to feel safe, comfortable, and loved, in their final days. She does this in addition to caring for her own pack of dogs, horses, and chickens!

A self-employed business owner for 15 years, she delivers customer service at the highest level, treating everyone with genuine kindness and consideration. Though Mikaila has been part of the Qi clinic family as a client from 2013, she finally decided it was time to follow her dream of working directly with the passionate animal owners and their special companions here at Qi. The compassion, dedication, and love she gives to every animal and owner that walks through our clinic doors is inspiring. We are so fortunate to have her!

Molly

Originally from Long Island, Molly is currently a senior at the University of Vermont studying Animal Science and hopes to become a veterinarian one day. Her love of animals has given her the chance to work with quite a few different species along the way. During her freshman year at UVM, she learned how to horseback ride on Otis, the farm’s largest horse (see picture!). She later spent a summer in UVM’s CREAM program caring for the university’s dairy herd, where she quickly discovered just how easy it is to fall in love with cows. Now at Qi, she has traded some of her time in the barn for dogs and cats and has loved getting to know a whole new side of veterinary medicine.

When she isn’t at Qi or busy with school, you can find Molly outside. Growing up on Long Island gave her a love for being on the water, so in Burlington she’s happiest walking along the Lake Champlain waterfront, preferably with a maple creemee in hand. And, of course, living in Vermont means she has fully embraced ski season and loves spending winter days at Smugglers’ Notch. She also loves taking classes at Orangetheory in Burlington and is always looking for her next adventure.

For now, her animal family consists of Hades, her gecko. However, she has big plans for the future and hopes that one day she and Hades will be joined by a whole crew of dogs, cats, horses, goats, cows, and whatever other animals happen to find their way into her life.

Rory

Rory has always loved animals and is so fortunate to be able to continue to work with them on a daily basis. After working for many years in an animal rescue she decided to pursue veterinary nursing full time. She will one day go back to animal rescue, but for now, she is learning as much as she can to be able to help as many animals as possible. 

Aside from a career working with animals, Rory has only 2 goals in life; to live a life like Enya and to be the next Stephen King. She’s pretty much achieved the first one already, living alone in a big old house with a bunch of cats. And so, working towards that second goal, much of her free time is spent coming up with strange stories that may, or may not, one day be published.

Shannon

An enthusiastic fan of feisty felines, Shannon cared for many ferals in Napa, CA and made one forgotten kitten a forever friend. Recently she, her partner Matt, and that cute kitty (the amazing Maisley Montrachet pictured here) realized their dream of moving back to Vermont and have settled in the Five Sisters neighborhood in BTV. It was Maisley who first saw Qi’s lovely job posting in Seven Days and encouraged Shannon to apply - she loves to sniff mama’s shoes after she spends a day there. Shannon loves her truly terrific team-mates and very kind clients.

When not at Qi, Shannon loves to explore Burlington by foot. Favorite destinations are the library (Fletcher Free is so friendly), the movies (Partisan has the best popcorn), Dirt Chic (thrifting is a treasure hunt) and the Red Cross (platelet donors are always welcome). An avid baseball fan, Shannon can be found cheering on the Lake Monsters or planning trips to see her beloved Red Sox. She is also fanatical about theater and loves to participate on stage, behind the scenes, and as a member of the audience. Shannon gives the whole Qi family of caring pet parents a standing ovation!