Meet our team of veterinarians

Dr. Teresa Beck
Dr. Beck is co-owner of North Star Animal Hospital. Dr. Beck was raised in Palmer, Alaska and is a graduate of Palmer High School. Dr. Beck completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University in 1996. Dr. Beck and her husband have three daughters and they enjoy swimming, cross country skiing, and being outdoors. The Beck family has a cattle dog, “Charlie”, a Labrador Retriever Mix, “Jasmine”, two cats, “Jack” and “Jenny”, chickens and sheep.

Dr. Shauna Henry
Dr. Henry opened the doors of North Star Animal Hospital in 2006 with Dr. Beck. Dr. Henry grew up on a cattle ranch in Southern California. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Montana in 1996. Dr. Henry completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University in May 2004. Dr. Henry is happily married and has three sons. Their family enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, boating and being in the great outdoors. The Henry family has a German Shepherd Dog, “Bosko”, a Goldendoodle, “Scuppers”, two kittens, two box turtles and a Chinese Water Dragon.

Dr. Chelsea Grimstad
Chelsea grew up in Palmer and is glad to be back in her home community. She completed her undergraduate training in 2010 with a bachelors in Animal Science at Andrews University in Michigan before “hopping the pond” for veterinary school. She graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK in 2015. After two years of working at a predominately small animal clinic in Kodiak, she is excited to settle down in her home town. Her professional interests include internal medicine and anesthesia. She is also developing a growing interest in sled dog medicine, and enjoys volunteering at sled dog races around Alaska. When she’s not at the clinic, you will find Dr. Grimstad pursuing all things outdoors in the Alaska backcountry, usually accompanied by her enthusiastic dogs, Kiva and Bean.

Dr. Madisen Watkins

Dr. Kevin Snyder
Dr. Kevin Snyder is a board-Certified Veterinary Ophthalmologist that performs ophthalmic exams, OFA CAER certifications and treatment plans for a variety of ocular issues including but limited to corneal ulcers, glaucoma, dry eye and orbital diseases such as infection, tumors and immune-mediated diseases which involve the eye. Dr. Snyder also performs eyelid, eyelash, third eyelid surgeries and has the ability to perform advanced mircosurgery using an operating microscope for cataract removal. Clients do not need to have a referral from their primary veterinarian in order to schedule an appointment.
Learn more at his personal website https://www.polareyesvet.com.
Meet our staff

Jill – Practice Manager, Licensed Veterinary Technician
Jill grew up on a hobby farm in her home state of Minnesota. Jill has always had a big passion for animals of all types. She decided at a young age that working with animals is what she wanted to do. In 2001 she graduated with an AAS in Veterinary Technology from Ridgewater College. Jill worked at a small animal practice in Minnesota until she moved to Alaska in 2005. Jill became an active part in opening the doors of North Star Animal Hospital in 2006, and has been a vital member of our team ever since. In her spare time she enjoys horseback riding, gardening, and taking care of her two French Bulldogs “Bell” and “Bianca”, a Goldendoodle “Pilot”, and cat “Tessa”.

Miranda – Office Manager
Miranda was raised in Colorado and moved to Alaska with her husband and three boys in 2013. Miranda joined the North Star team in September 2014. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and their Great Dane, “Jake”, and Labrador Mix, “Abbey”.

Amberlyn – Lead Nurse
Amberlyn is a 2015 graduate of the Veterinary Assistant Program at the Mat-Su College. She was born and raised in Illinois. She moved to Alaska in 2010 and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. Amberlyn has one dog, a great dane named “Shamus”, one cat named “Cole”, and a ferret named “Leta”. Amberlyn loves her job, hiking, reading and being around family and friends.

Alyssa – Licensed Veterinary Technician

Cecilia – Licensed Veterinary Technician
Cecelia was born in Eugene, Oregon and moved to Palmer, Alaska in 2002. She graduated the Veterinary Assisting program at Mat-Su College and gained practical experience working in the veterinary field at a local animal hospital for several years prior to joining the North Star team in 2017. In her free time she enjoys spending time outdoors, crafting and fostering animals.

Mary Ann – Licensed Veterinary Technician
Mary Ann is a Licensed Veterinary Technician and has made her home in Alaska since 2006. She has been with us at North Star for 7 years and graduated from the very first Veterinary Assisting Certificate class at UAA Mat-Su. Mary Ann is most at home as a surgery technician with a focus on anesthesia and is dedicated to providing the best care to her patients before, during and in recovery of surgery. She shares her home with her beloved “fur babies” Koa, Big Cat, Tim, Buster and a flock of chickens. Mary Ann enjoys spending time with her children and grandson and she is an avid gardener, beekeeper, kombucha brewer and rock painter.

Melissa – Licensed Veterinary Technician
Melissa was born and raised in the Palmer area, and is a graduate of the Veterinary assisting program at Mat-Su College. She is currently working on a bachelors degree in Biology and hopes to one day pursue a career as a veterinarian. Melissa has three dogs; “Filmore” a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, “Teddy” a dachshund mix, and “Suzy” a schipperke mix, along with “Cosmo” a tortoise, “Sunny” a rabbit and “Rosie” a ball Python. In her spare time she enjoys reading, traveling and camping.

Therese – Licensed Veterinary Technician
Therese graduated from the Veterinary Assisting Program at Mat Su College in 2017. She is working on her associates degree to get into a Veterinary Technician school in the fall 2018. She was born and raised in Alaska. She has two dogs, a Shitzu “Coco” and a Chocolate Lab “Mocha”. She likes to go hiking, running, and camping.

Jessica – Veterinary Assistant
Jessica grew up in Kentucky and moved to Alaska in 2016. She is a recent graduate of the Veterinary Assistant program at Mat-Su College. When not working, Jessica enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with her husband and dog (Liam).

Lacey – Veterinary Assistant

Lynna – Veterinary Assistant

Roxanne – Veterinary Assistant

Sarah – Veterinary Assistant
Sarah has lived in the Mat-Su Valley most of her life and worked with children for the majority of her time here, most recently as a preschool teacher. For her, switching from caring for children to fur babies has been a great transition and experience. She has two sons of her own at home, along with two dogs; a German Shepard, and a Cane Corso.
She plans on pursuing a deeper understanding of animals to broaden her horizons in the veterinary field, and hopes to make it a lifetime career.

Taylor – Veterinary Assistant
Taylor grew up in New York and moved to Alaska in 2015. Prior to joining the North Star team, she worked in a busy emergency and specialty animal hospital in New York as an ER receptionist and a dermatology assistant. She finds working in the veterinary field to be fun and rewarding. Because she likes to travel the world, Taylor only keeps easy to maintain pets. She has a fresh water aquarium, an orchid collection and a vivarium inhabited by springtails. In her free time she enjoys playing piano, guitar, ukulele, sing, draw and explore beautiful places outdoors.

Christina – Customer Service Representative

Kyra – Veterinary Assistant
Kyra has lived in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley for most of her life. She has a 13 year old American Bulldog named Brutus. She has always loved animals and had an interest in working in the veterinary field.
Kyra is new to the veterinary field but has loved every moment so far. Before working in the veterinary field she was in childcare. Moving from caring for human babies to fur babies was an easy transition for Kyra. She plans on continuing to advance her career here at North Star and become a Licensed Veterinary Technician.
In Kyra’s off time she likes to go fourwheeling, snowmachining and hiking. She also likes to spend time with her family, she has 2 nieces and 1 nephew that she spends most of her time with.