Banfield Names Dr. Lisette Farve ’04 Chief of Staff of the Year, Southwest Region

Banfield Pet Hospital recognized Dr. Lisette Farve ’04 at its national conference in March as Chief of Staff of the Year in the Southwest Region. Farve joined Banfield in 2012 after graduating from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. After two years as an associate with Banfield, she was promoted to Chief of Staff and eventually moved back to California to be closer to home.

In her role as Chief of Staff, Farve trains and mentors associate doctors and works as a practicing veterinarian. “I like the mentorship part, talking to other doctors. I learn the most there, hearing their perspective and learning how they practice.” Recently she was promoted to Area Chief of Staff and now oversees a pod of four hospitals across Upland, Eastvale, and Riverside. In addition to her management role, she continues to see pets for spays, neuters, teeth cleaning, and more.  

Farve always knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. In kindergarten, she drew a picture of herself as a pet doctor which her mom framed next to her DVM diploma. “It’s a very competitive field,” said Farve. “You need a lot of science classes and hands-on experience. Before I applied, I knew it’d be helpful to have different experiences, so I volunteered at vet clinics and did research with large animals and lab animals.” While she was a student at Webb, she volunteered at a local small animal clinic and the 4H club at the Chino Fair working with pigs.

As a day student, she fondly remembers weekend activities like trips to Disneyland, downtown Los Angeles, and the Webb van runs to local shopping areas. She also participated in afternoon activities like soccer, volleyball, track and field, and theater. She loved English class with Jim Kingstone and the interactive science class with David Sculley. She also appreciated the extra time that AP bio teacher David Fitzgerald gave her. “Bio was difficult at first, but he took the time to talk with me outside of class. Very quickly, I caught on.”   

Farve earned her BA at Claremont McKenna College, majoring in biology. She lives in Guasti with her husband Orlando Hodges and their Yorkie Duchess.