Meet our team of veterinarians

Dr. Teresa Beck | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

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 | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

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 - Palmer, AK - North Star Animal Hospital

Dr. Madisen Watkins

Dr. Madisen Watkins graduated from Washington State University in 2020 and is excited to begin her veterinary career in Alaska at North Star Animal Hospital. Madisen grew up in Great Falls, Montana surrounded by her family’s Labradors and horses. She attended undergrad at Northern Michigan University where she competed for 4 years for the Women’s Swimming & Diving Team. Madisen and her husband are looking forward to taking advantage of all the outdoor activities Alaska has to offer and enjoy skiing, hiking and camping in their spare time.

Meet our staff

Jill | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

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 | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

Miranda – Customer Service Representative

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”.

Shania – Customer Service Representative

Shania was born in Anchorage, Alaska and was raised in Palmer. She is currently enrolled in the veterinary assistant program at Mat-Su College. Shania joined the North Star team in 2019. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, pets, hiking and horseback riding.

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 | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

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.

Amberlyn | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

Amberlyn – Veterinary Assistant

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.

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.

Alyssa | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

Alyssa – Veterinary Assistant

Alyssa was born and raised in Alaska. She is a 2017 graduate of the Veterinary Assisting program at Mat-Su College. She has 4 cats, 3 dogs, and an indoor pig named Miss K. Her free time is spent at the gym and hanging out with her son and family.
Therese | North Star Animal Hospital | Palmer, Alaska

Therese – Veterinary Assistant

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).

Cecilia – Veterinary Assistant

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.

Lynna – Veterinary Assistant

Lynna graduated from Career Tech in 2021 where she took Veterinary Assistant 1 and 2 as well as Veterinary Science. She has a willingness to grow and gain more experience. Born in Illinois but raised in Alaska, she enjoys a variety of activities such as hiking, reading, painting, crocheting and baking.

Sarah – Veterinary Assistant

Sarah is new to the veterinary field and has been enjoying every moment so far. Since early childhood she has had a passion for animals that led her to dream of a life in the veterinary field.

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.

Lacey – Veterinary Assistant

Born and raised in Palmer Alaska, Lacey started her career working with animals in 2010 as a dog trainer and her interests grew from there to include rescue, dog sports, conformation and breed preservation. A lover of all animals, Lacey has three beloved cats Timothy, Neckbone Nigel and Captain Marble, a rabbit, Bun Jovi and a “variety pack” of dogs, Mildred Bean the pointer mix, Fawkes, a chihuahua mix and cardigan welsh corgis Quill and Ren. At any point she may have a foster dog or two in the pack and always room for one more. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her two boys outdoors camping, hiking and fishing and of course, training her dogs and competing in dog shows.

Roxanne – Veterinary Assistant

Roxanne grew up always having a passion for animals from a young age. During her childhood, Roxanne had a variety of small animals but she knew someday she would need a career that could support her passion and addiction. Roxanne finds working in the veterinary field highly beneficial and enjoyable and hopes to continue expanding her career and farm while working towards a vet tech license. Outside of work, Roxanne runs her own hobby farm Bannon Barnyard. She likes spending time outdoors, showing rabbits, grooming, horseback riding and pretty much any activity that will allow her to be around animals and learn more. In the midst of all the chaos Roxanne is most grateful to have a husband who supports her, a healthy baby girl and her 6 Holland Lops, 2 dogs Henry and Daisy, and her 2 cats Alfredo and Moonshine.

Jerica – Customer Service Representative

Jerica grew up traveling across the U.S. with her family. She was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, where she domesticated her first feral cat at a young age of 6 years old. This would shape her passion for helping animals, and as an adult, has spent much of her time fostering animals for various rescues in Alaska. Jerica got married in 2018, and she and her husband put down roots in Alaska. Together they have rescued 5 dogs, 4 cats, and a hamster.

Christina – Customer Service Representative

Christina was born and raised in the small town of Magnolia located northwest of Houston, TX. Growing up she had the opportunity to raise and care for a variety of animals including; horses, goats, chickens, peacocks, guineas, turtles, fish, cats and dogs! She graduated from Magnolia High School in 2002, then attended Lone Star Community College where she met her husband Cody. While attending college she began working at a veterinary clinic, there her love of animal care blossomed into a passion. She worked there until 2005, then her and husband Cody answered the call to serve our Nation and joined the United States Air Force. Since then, she has moved several times in support of her husband’s military career. They moved from Texas to live in Florida, then Delaware and now their family has been Alaska since 2018! In addition to loving her job at North Star Animal Hospital, she takes great pleasure in photography, hiking, crafts, and making an extensive honey-do list for her husband!