Lawyer turned state veterinarian brings crisis leadership to Virginia Tech

Lawyer turned state veterinarian brings crisis leadership to Virginia Tech 

Former Minnesota and South Dakota state veterinarian joins faculty to teach regulatory medicine.

Beth Thompson spent a decade making decisions most veterinarians never face: whether to shut down livestock markets when disease threats emerge, how to coordinate multi-agency responses to animal health crises, and which rules and regulations would protect both animal agriculture and public health.

As state veterinarian for Minnesota and then South Dakota, Thompson led animal health protection for two states with massive livestock industries. Now she joins the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine as associate professor of practice in the Department of Population Health Sciences and Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine, bringing frontline experience to students and practicing veterinarians exploring regulatory careers.

Her background is unusual: law degree first, veterinary school at 40. That combination proved essential in navigating the intersection of animal health, public policy, and emergency response.

From law to veterinary medicine

Thompson earned her law degree in 1992 while working full-time as a paralegal. She practiced family law in the Twin Cities, then agricultural law. A conversation with her cat’s veterinarian prompted a career shift.

“What came out of my mouth was, ‘Man, if I had to do it all over again, I think I’d want to be a vet,’” Thompson said. “And she said, ‘What’s stopping you?’”

Seven years later — after completing chemistry, biology, physics, and other prerequisites while working for a judge — Thompson graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 with a swine medicine certificate. She worked as a swine veterinarian for Holden Farms before spotting a job posting from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health in 2008.

“The position talked about writing rules and regulations, testifying at the legislature,” she said. “It seemed to match my skill set.”

Building systems that prevent crises

Thompson joined the Minnesota Board of Animal Health as senior veterinarian, became assistant director in 2012, and then Minnesota state veterinarian in 2016. In 2022, she moved to South Dakota as the state veterinarian and director of the SD Veterinary Licensing Board.

State veterinarians oversee disease surveillance systems, coordinate with USDA and other federal partners, manage animal disease control programs, regulate veterinary practice, and prepare for foreign animal disease incursions that could devastate livestock industries.

Thompson’s responsibilities included food safety at small meat plants, monitoring antibiotic use, identifying new pathogens, and emergency response planning. When avian influenza crossed state lines or bovine tuberculosis was detected in the state due to a cattle movement, she made the calls.

Her legal background proved invaluable. Regulatory authority in animal health rests on complex statutory frameworks. Quarantine orders and movement restrictions must withstand legal scrutiny while remaining practical for producers.

“You need that veterinary component for the bigger picture—one health, the environment, the animals, the people,” Thompson said. “Veterinarians have the training and a different way of approaching problems.”

National leadership

Thompson served as past president of the National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials and treasurer for the United State Animal Health Association - organizations coordinating efforts across states and between state and federal authorities.

She also worked on rural veterinary service access, addressing workforce challenges in communities struggling to maintain adequate veterinary services as practitioners retire—an issue connecting directly to disease surveillance and response capacity.

Teaching careers that students don’t know exist

At Virginia Tech, Thompson focuses on regulatory veterinary medicine through the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine—one of few such programs nationally. The center serves both veterinary students and practicing veterinarians exploring career transitions into public and corporate roles.

“Somewhere in veterinary school, somebody started talking about the fact that a DVM opens up so many doors,” Thompson said. “When you have people in Congress or attached to agencies with that veterinary background, I think that’s really important.”

She wants students to develop effective communication skills for complex issues where stakeholders rarely agree.  Continued access to important tools, such as xylazine, is crucial for veterinarians to continue to do their work, and today’s students will need to continue to advocate for their profession. 

“Talk about xylazine,” she said, referring to the veterinary sedative now appearing in illicit drug supplies. “There are folks who want to pull it completely away from use. But veterinarians still need access — it’s a very important drug. Being able to educate but not aggravate — that’s where it starts.”

Thompson’s first veterinary school test came back with a C-plus after earning A’s in every pre-veterinary class. That experience shapes how she thinks about student potential. The ability to take tests is only one part of the veterinary school training and experience. 

“When we were all taking the NAVLE at the end of four years, there were two people in my class who had to go back and take it again,” she said. “And I would take my pets to those two versus someone sitting in that top-grade position anytime, any day.”

What comes next

Thompson arrives as veterinary medicine faces emerging disease threats, antimicrobial resistance, rural service collapse, and the need for veterinarians in policy and regulatory roles.

The Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine prepares students and practicing veterinarians for careers in government, industry, public health, and policy — roles that require an understanding of both veterinary science and the systems that protect animal and human health.

“At some point, you need to keep learning,” Thompson said. “If I’m able to help students understand that regulatory aspect, the big picture of veterinary medicine, hopefully get the students interested — I get to do something new and help them out.”

Thompson has settled into Salem with two Humane Society cats — Elsa, an orange cat she describes as “chaos on four legs,” and Poe, a black cat, a gentle giant. She’s been exploring Virginia’s trails, completing an eight-mile hike on Thanksgiving.

For students and practicing veterinarians who might become the next generation making crisis decisions when disease threats emerge, having an instructor who spent a decade actually making those calls offers something textbooks can’t provide.