Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Dr. Katie Eick
CEO & FOUNDER, DVM
Dr Katie Eick, Founder and CEO of Rockin Pets, Rollin Vets, is a 1998 Graduate of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was the recipient of the Gentle Doctor award, given to the student who exhibited outstanding and compassionate patient care. Dr. Eick has practiced in Virginia, where she started and built a brick and mortar practice, Alabama where she did relief work, and finally Texas, where she worked in a no kill shelter in Austin before finally settling down in Houston in 2013. Having had the benefit of working in so many different aspects of veterinary medicine, Dr Eick saw a real need for at home vet care, whether it be for larger dogs that had difficulty loading into the car, for busy people with busy schedules, for people with multiple animals, or for CATS, who hate to ride in the car, and she recognized that this was a relatively difficult service for owners to find. So she decided to change that and in 2016 she launched her full service mobile veterinary practice, South By South Vets, now known as Rockin Pets, Rollin Vets, and she could not be happier!
'It is so amazing to be able to offer not only convenient service, but service with so much less stress for the pets!"
Dr. Eick lives in Houston, Texas, with her Fiance, Mike, and their dogs: Cooper, Raoul, Prego, Rocky and Flower, and their cats: Bob, Petunia and Felipe. When not in these crazy times she loves attending concerts and traveling, and during these times she is so thankful she chose Houston to be her home. She wasn't born in Texas but she got here as soon as she could!
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Dr. Carrie Nealon
DVM
Dr. Carrie Nealon received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Kenyon College in 1992 and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. She started her career as an Associate Veterinarian in Chicago practicing in a small animal practice on the north side of the city. She later moved to a feline only practice located in downtown Chicago, working as both the practice’s Medical Director as well as it’s lead veterinarian. She relocated to Houston in 2014 to join a small animal practice specializing in both feline and canine medicine. Dr. Nealon has a special interest in managing senior patient care, feline and canine dentistry, and overall wellness medicine. She enjoys spending time with her extended family as well as her own two elder pets.
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Dr. Christine Stephenson
DVM
Dr. Christine Stephenson graduated magna cum laude in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2010, before earning her DVM from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2014. While pursuing her formal education, she conducted innovative research in tissue engineering for a biotech firm, assisted in equine reproduction research, and helped map the GI biome at Texas A&M’s Gastrointestinal Laboratory. During Veterinary School she was an active foster with Aggie Feral Cat Alliance, a member of A&M Christian Fellowship, and Secretary for LGVMA.
Christine started her career as a primarily small animal practitioner. However, living out in Montgomery means seeing the occasional FFA cow, goat, or pig upon request. She was the rotating veterinarian for Lake Conroe Veterinary Group for 6 years prior to joining the Rollin’ Vets team.
Dr. Stephenson’s professional interests include soft tissue surgery, trauma and emergency cases, internal medicine, dermatology, and preventative medicine. Christine is a competitive runner and avid athlete and is also recently commissioned as Captain Stephenson in the Army Reserves Veterinary Corps, where she is excited to put her skills to use serving her country as well. In her free time, Dr. Stephenson can be found fishing and relaxing on Lake Conroe.
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Dr. Jennifer Penland
DVM
Dr. Jennifer Penland is a proud native Houstonian. Early on in her education, Dr. Penland’s summer job working at a local veterinary clinic is what ultimately led her to her passion and career of veterinary medicine. After graduating from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Behavior and a minor in Theatre, Dr. Penland went on to obtain her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ross University and additional clinical training at Texas A&M University. Dr. Penland takes special interest in behavioral medicine, geriatric medicine and pain management. Dr. Penland and her Fiancé share their hearts and their home with Gladys, her Golden Retriever who has been her constant companion since college, Kat, a goofy cuddle bug Catahoula/ Pit mix, and Edith (affectionately referred to as Screamith) a tiny but very vocal little cat. Outside of work, Dr. Penland loves cooking and traveling.
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Bobby Gatto
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Bobby completed his education in San Francisco with a degree from FIDM and began working in the restaurant industry while attending fashion school. After leaving the restaurant world, Bobby took a very quick *and very cold* detour to Chicago, but eventually landed back in Houston and began working in the world of veterinary medicine. He ran a corporate veterinary practice for almost three years, where he met Dr. Katie Eick. Blown away by her personality and dedication to animals, the two became fast friends and teamed up. Bobby was the first Rollin’ Vets employee, and now manages all operations as the Operations Director for Rockin’ Pets, Rollin’ Vets. He is incredibly passionate about client service, and is committed to making sure clients receive the best experience possible. He is the proud parent of 2 crazy (but oh so lovable) chihuahuas, Buffy and Riley, and loves to bake while listening to Mariah in his free time.
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John Sussman
MARKETING ADVISOR
John brings 23 years of B2C brand marketing experience, focusing on innovation and new product development at Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola, Shell and Euromonitor International. During this time, he has led project teams through all aspects of innovation and new product development: strategic opportunity mapping, ideation, business modeling, feasibility assessment, piloting, launch, and post-launch optimization. He has worked across a range of B2C industries, from super-premium line extensions in the haircare market, to low-calorie juice drinks, to motor oil for gas trucks. Currently, he leads the Portfolio & Innovation team within Shell’s North America motor oil group. He lives in Houston, TX with his wife, three kids, and most importantly, his Goldendoodle.
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Caroline Aycock
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
With nearly a decade of digital marketing experience, Caroline Aycock helps businesses tell their story in a creative, meaningful way that drives growth. On the Rollin’ Vets team, Caroline serves as the Marketing Director leading all digital & brand marketing efforts, in addition to social media and public relations. The foundation of her career was formed during her years working for a fast-paced PR agency in San Francisco where she was a part of the team that helped launch start-ups such as Birchbox and Whistle. It was during this time that Caroline fell in love with the energy and passion of start-ups. She further expanded her industry expertise, working with a variety of CPG companies, including Annie's Organic, Peet's Coffee & Tea, and Luna Bar. Upon returning to her Texas roots, Caroline transitioned to in-house Marketing & PR Director with Austin-based beverage start-up, CLEAN Cause. Caroline most recently worked as a Brand Marketing Manager with global skincare brand, Sunday Riley, leading their digital brand marketing efforts. Since 2012, on the side of her full-time work, Caroline has always sought out small businesses with big ideas to partner with and help grow, which is what ultimately led her to Rockin’ Pets, Rollin’ Vets. Caroline resides in Houston with her husband and two year old son, and has a big heart for animals as her family frequently fosters cats and dogs in need of a temporary home.
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Patrick Lewis
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Patrick is a founder and managing partner of BBL Ventures + BBL Labs, innovation partner to the energy, industrial and natural resources industries. BBLV brings highly informed early stage venture investing and consulting capability to solve industry pain points and technology gaps. Patrick is co-founder of vLAB and previously Chief Strategist at ETR&D (Enterprise Technology Research & Development) and brings over twenty years of experience in credit, private and public equities, He has developed a holistic perspective to investing in emerging, disruptive technologies. He built his career on deep proprietary research and utilizing unique data sets. Patrick joined ETR&D after eight years of investing in technology equities at Invesco, in this capacity, he focused on small and mid-cap companies. He also led Invesco’s efforts in late stage venture investing including Facebook. Prior to Invesco, he spent twelve years at DG Capital, Carlson Capital and ECT investing in public and private technology and energy equities.Patrick began his career in commercial banking in New Orleans. He currently serves as a mentor / advisor to Station Houston, Founder Institute and Capital Factory, Alchemist and Mass Challenge accelerators and as the Chairman Emeritus of the Houston Angel Network (HAN) as well as co-chairs the Technology Investment Committee. He is also a member / co-chair of two Houston X committees.