Meet Our Staff
We love getting to know you and your pet! It is important to us that we form a long lasting bond with all of our clients and patients, and we would love for you to meet our staff members here at Court Square Animal Hospital.
Joan Rifkin, Office Manager, LVT
Joanie is our Office Manager and LVT at Locust Valley veterinary clinic. She has been working in the veterinary field since 2004. She worked her way up from an attendant to a technician, then head technician and finally the office manager. She has always loved animals and has been drawn to working with animals since she was a child. Her parents even told her that her first ward was bow wow. Working in this field and at this practice has been a dream come true.
Ann Delaney
Ann has always loved animals. Her mother told her when she was married she could have as many pets as she wanted, so when she married she had 5 cats and 2 dogs. Ann started working for Dr. Gross at East Meadow Animal Hospital in 1972 and has been with him since, working at Locust Valley Vet since it opened in 2003.
She also worked for the Nassau Animal Emergency Clinic for 6 years until it closed. Ann loves her job and what she does. She currently has 3 dogs, Forest a lab mix, Peanut a Rat Terrier mix and Callie an Australian Shepherd who is deaf.
Paige Ehlers
Paige has always had a passion for animals and has owned many in her lifetime. She started working at Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic in 2018 as an attendant and has since wanted to further her passion to a career. She started technician school only a year into her time here, and has since been working as a technician in training and hope to continue as a licensed technician here once finished with all our beloved patients.
Jackie Weisbrod
Jackie has been working in the veterinary field for over 10 years as a receptionist and an assistant. Prior to joining the Locust Valley Vet team in October 2021, she worked at our main location, West Hills Animal Hospital in Huntington, for 6 years. She has always had a passion for animals and is a dog mom to two border collies, Ryder and Rhea.
Eleni Kakoulidis
Eleni started working at Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic 2022 but we have been her animals’ veterinarian since she was young. She has two dogs at home, KoKoBean and Georgie and they are the reason that she decided to start working with animals. This experience has helped her to realize how much she loves working with animals and is looking forward to meeting many more pets!
Angelo Albanese
Angelo has been part of the Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic since 2016. He started as a high school student and has been with us in some capacity ever since. He grew up in Glen Cove and still live locally. His 2 passions are working with animals and martial arts.
Sara Gerken
Sara started at Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic in 2021. Sara started out as an EMT but after a knee injury wished to continue in the medical field while pursuing her love of animals. Working here has enabled her to continue serving both humans and animals.
Kayla Bailey
Kayla had a love for animals all her life! Ever since she was a little girl she knew she wanted to work with animals for the rest of her life. She grew up with dogs and cats and started fostering kittens every year since she started the BOCES vet program in high school. After high school Kayla wanted to continue her work with animals to expand her knowledge. So, in 2019 she started an internship at Locust Vally Vet Clinic. Not long after, she became an attendant. She is planing to continue her career to become a vet technician and give the animals at Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic the love and care they deserve!
Priscilla Briones
Priscilla has been working at Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic since 2020 and was grooming previously since 2018. She has worked with animals since 2018. She started in a shadowing position, then realized she wanted to become more involved in the care of animals. She realized how much she loves and cares for each and every one of them, no matter what the circumstances. Priscilla has a dog, rabbit & a kitten she just adopted recently.
Stephanie Zaharakis
Stephanie has always loved animals and had many pets throughout her life. She first started working in the animal field in 2005. She joined Locust Valley Veterinary Clinic in 2013 as an assistant and receptionist and is currently enrolled in the Penn Foster veterinary technician program. She is married with two wonderful girls, two dogs and two cats.