Meet Our Expert Vet Techs and Assistants

Freda was born in Florida and started working with wildlife and exotic animals at the age of 19. She worked at the South Florida Wildlife Center for over 15 years where she was the head of the nursery as well as one of the head veterinary technicians, she was also the manager of a house call practice here in South Florida until 2016, when she moved to Virginia. There she worked at SEAVS, one of the busiest exotic exclusive animal hospitals in the United States. Along with Dr Romo, she returned to Florida and built an exotic animal practice at a local specialty animal hospital before venturing into her new endeavor at TBEH. Freda and her dog Maggie live with her husband, Dr Romo and the rest of the zoo. They all love her better than him. Freda is a sucker for chickens.

Mitch graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s in science and is now pursuing a Certification for Veterinary Technology, he hopes to one day become a veterinarian. At home, Mitch has a reptile collection that consists of two snakes, two chameleon geckos, a leopard gecko, a day gecko, a blue tongue skink, and a bearded anole, as well as an ever-growing number of other lizards. He hopes to adopt a pigeon one day.

Originally from New Jersey, Elisabeth graduated from Florida Southern College in 2021 with a Bachelors in Marine Science. Her goal is to specialize with sea otters and other marine mammals. She loves to spend her days off by the beach or the pool. At home, she has an adopted rabbit named Chewy and a plant collection that she loves dearly.

Born and raised here in south Florida, of her multiple pets growing up her favorite pets were her rabbits. Nowadays, Haley enjoys spending most of her free time at home with her two rabbits, two dogs, and a cat. Her hobbies include reading, line dancing, and taxidermy.

Born a Floridian, Vanessa started her veterinary medicine journey in Georgia, where she worked in a wildlife rehabilitation hospital as well as an exotic animal practice. After 3 years, she decided it was time to move back to Florida and joined us at The Bird and Exotic Hospital. Growing up with different pets, including skinks, cockatiels, and rabbits, she is not unfamiliar with exotic animals, but currently only has four cats. She enjoys painting, spending time off on a boat, or relaxing at home with my cats.

Originally from Maryland, Alessandra first started working with animals at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Washington, DC. After getting her degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management, she moved to New Mexico, where she had the opportunity to work with canids, mainly wolves and wolfdogs, and fell in love with them. Alessandra and her partner decided to move to South Florida and are happy to have found a place where she can continue working with animals and hone her skills. She aims to be a certified vet tech and hopes to one day have the opportunity to work with large carnivores.

The Bird and Exotic Hospital is the trusted choice for quality veterinary care for the avian and exotic pet communities in Greenacres, Wellington, Lake Worth, Lantana, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Jupiter, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Hollywood, and Miami and the surrounding areas in Florida. We offer a wide range of services, including preventive pet care and vaccinations, pet consultations, pet emergency and urgent care, pet grooming, pet boarding, pet laser therapy, pet radiography, pet ultrasound, pet endoscopy, pet soft-tissue surgery, pet orthopedic surgery, and pet nutritional and behavioral consultation. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and learn more about our comprehensive services for your beloved exotic pets.