Meet Our Team

He enjoys spending time with his friends and playing video games in his spare time.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading comics, collecting action figures, and spending time with her son, her family, and her dogs.

She loves helping all the pets as well as spending time and hiking with her own dogs, Marley and Jude. In her spare time, she enjoys concerts at Red Rocks, gardening, and fostering dogs.

Levi grew up in Conifer, CO, so he naturally loves the mountains and enjoys outdoor activities like hiking. He was a raft guide for a summer in Durango, CO.

He loves German Shepherds and now has his very own German Shepherd named Denali.

Hillary is originally from Syracuse, NY, and moved to Colorado in 2016. She has worked at Mesa since 2016 and is our front end supervisor. Hillary went to school for fine arts, but has always had a love for animals and has worked in veterinary medicine since 2007.

She has worked in general practice, exotic animal practice, and emergency veterinary medicine. Hillary enjoys being outdoors, working on various art projects, cultivating plants, and spending time with her cat/dog/reptilian crew.

Bio Coming Soon!

Outside of Mesa, Rylee loves spending time with her dog Paisley, and her bunny. She also enjoys being outside and spending time with her family.

Kristen is from Onalaska, WI, and has an Associate of Applied Medicine in veterinary technology. She loves being busy and bonding with all her patients throughout the day.

When relaxing, Kristen enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, running, and anything that involves dogs!

In her spare time, you can find her skiing, mountain biking, gardening, cooking, or just hanging out with family.

Bio Coming Soon!

Tanya is originally from Appleton, WI. She graduated from CU Denver and Bel-Rea Institute, and then started as a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) at Mesa Veterinary Hospital in 1995.

Tanya loves facing new and exciting challenges on the job every day. She enjoys tackling a lot of our computer system work as well as bookkeeping and inventory. She spends her spare time with her husband, kids, and their golden retriever, Nugget. They enjoy hiking, skiing, mountain living, and traveling.

“I am very passionate about fostering a positive, supportive, and service-focused team.”

When she isn’t managing the hospital, Kelsey is spending time with her husband Mitchell and their two daughters. They have an animal pack that consists of two dogs and a cat named Dennis who thinks he is a dog. They enjoy spending time together outdoors. Kelsey loves hiking, reading, fly fishing, gardening, and sugar cookie art.

Dr. Stephens is originally from the suburbs of Houston, Texas. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology at Texas A&M University and went on to complete her doctor of veterinary medicine degree at Texas A&M University in 2021. She then promptly moved to Colorado to work as a mixed animal veterinarian in Glenwood Springs. Her love of small animal medicine led her to accept an associate position with Mesa Veterinary Hospital to help serve families of the Denver/Golden community.

Dr. Stephens’ special interests include fear-free handling of her patients, preventative care, feline medicine, soft tissue surgery, and internal medicine. She is a certified feline friendly veterinarian through the American Association of Feline Practitioners and has a passion for providing comfortable, quality care to nervous kitty patients in particular. Dr. Stephens has a husky mix rescue pup, two cats, and three hens at home.

Dr. Lawrie was born outside of Toronto, Ontario. She attended Grand Valley State in Michigan on a swimming scholarship and completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

While applying to vet school she took a year off to work and spent about 3 months in South Africa working at West Coast National Park. She attended St George’s University in Grenada, West Indies for her doctor of veterinary medicine degree, ultimately completing that degree at Auburn University in Alabama.

She and her husband, who is also a veterinarian, moved to Colorado in 2023. Dr. Lawrie enjoys traveling, sewing, and spending time outdoors in her spare time.

Dr. Kingett grew up in Texas with a plethora of animals before attending Texas A&M University, where she graduated summa cum laude. Colorado had always been calling after visiting multiple times as a child and so Dr. Kingett headed to Fort Collins where she graduated with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from CSU Veterinary School in 2015. After graduating Dr. Kingett had a brief but lovely stent in Bend Oregon, before returning back to Colorado.

Dr. Kingett and her husband enjoy many outdoor activities, but she specifically loves trail running with her pitty mix Luna as well as going on dignified hikes with her older heeler mix, Oliver. Dr. Kingett also enjoys reaping the rewards of baking and has an obsession with reading/books.

Dr. Dieckmann grew up in Oakland, CA where her best memories were exploring the coast, riding horses, and traveling with her family. She first came to Colorado for her undergraduate degree in Biology which she obtained through Colorado College.

She fell in love with the mountains and began thinking of ways to return to Colorado. After college, she spent a few years teaching English in Korea, working as a zookeeper/vet assistant in a zoo hospital, and working with an equine veterinary practice.

Her next chapter was vet school at University of California, Davis. Outside of the curriculum, she was an integral part of the fire response for the Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT) and continued expanding her interest and knowledge of zoo and exotic species. After Davis, she matched with a small animal rotating internship at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital and finally returned to Colorado!

She now lives in Colorado with her husband, their dog Tater, their cat Ouray, and their uromastyx lizard PD. She loves to backpack, hike, travel, and eat food.

Dr. Katzenbach hails from a northwest suburb of Chicago and attended the University of Illinois for both her undergraduate and veterinary degree before joining our team in 2013. Her education includes a small animal rotating internship at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital and an exotics internship at Colorado State University.

“My favorite aspect of working at Mesa is bonding with amazing pets and their pet parents. I also enjoy performing surgeries and handling emergencies to protect pet health.”

When she is relaxing and having fun, you will likely find Dr. Katzenbach taking full advantage of the Colorado outdoors by running and backpacking with her dogs. She also enjoys climbing and skiing.

Originally from Colorado Springs, Dr. Nickerson joined the Mesa team in 2006. She is a practicing veterinarian and partner in the business. After earning her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Masters degree from Colorado State University, she went on to earn her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State, graduating magna cum laude.

“I enjoy developing relationships with so many different people and their pets. I also love seeing new puppies and kittens that are starting life with their new families!”

Dr. Nickerson surrounds herself with animals at home, as well as at work. She has four dogs, three cats, and horses. She regularly competes in 3-day eventing of horses.

Dr. Horst is from Golden, Colorado, and is a mom to two awesome boys. She tries to mountain bike as much as possible and she loves bike racing, skiing, and spending time with her family. Dr. Horst loves enjoying the outdoors with her kids. They currently share their home with two Bernese Mountain Dogs, a cat, and a guinea pig.

She attended Kent Denver School and upon graduation attended Colby College in Maine and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Cum Laude. Dr. Horst then received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from CSU Veterinary School. She has been with the practice since 1999 and is a partner. Dr. Horst loves getting to know families and enjoys watching their pets grow old with them.

“I love getting to see the role pets play in our lives, and being a part of that bond is everything to me!”

Dr. Batch is originally from Helena, Montana, and grew up in the Golden area. He joined Mesa Veterinary Hospital in 1984.

• Colorado State University – Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc), 1980
• Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine – Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), 1983
• Post-Doctoral Small Animal Rotating Internship of Medicine, Surgery, and Emergency Medicine at West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group, 1983-1984

“I love the incredible scope of medicine that veterinarians can practice and experience on a daily basis. From essential wellness care to emergency surgery, advanced dental procedures, video endoscopy, cardiology, and oncology, the list is endless, all on a variety of species and all on any given day.

“No two days are ever the same. Not many professions can say that. The amazing teamwork and dedication of our phenomenal staff allow me to focus on, celebrate, and honor what is most important — the relationship with my clients, their precious companions, and this magical thing called the human/companion animal bond. This bond is truly a transformative force and such a blessing for each of us.”

Dr. Batch has a well-rounded life outside of the hospital and spends plenty of quality time with his wife, his two adult daughters, their husbands, and his grandchildren. Dr. Batch thinks that grandchildren are the best! They make him smile and bring him so much joy. One of his favorite family times is gathering together to cook great food.

The outdoors also plays an important role in Dr. Batch’s recreational time and he enjoys catch-and-release fly fishing.

A little-known fact about Dr. Batch is that he loves singing. He has been a member of a singing group or ensemble for most of his life. Choral and small ensemble vocal music feeds his soul and takes him places he would otherwise never have gone. Vocal jazz as well as secular and sacred music in a choral setting is priceless to Dr. Batch and occupies a few hours of his time every week.

“Singing is great for the brain. Everyone should try it!”