Amy Holland’s Journey from CSR to Area Manager
Amy Holland has been with Lakefield Veterinary Group since the very beginning—before the company was even officially Lakefield. Over the past decade, she’s gone from client service representative to area manager, building her career with a combination of humility, leadership, and an unmistakable Southern drawl that clients never forget.
An Unexpected Door Opens
Amy’s path into veterinary medicine wasn’t planned. She originally worked in human healthcare, but after relocating to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for her husband’s military orders, the job market was tight. A routine vet visit for her own pet turned into a job offer on the spot. “I say it was my accent that got me into vet med,” Amy laughs. “I’ve always had a passion for animals, and that moment just felt right. I’ve never looked back since.”
That was nearly 20 years ago. She eventually moved to Texas and joined what would become Lakefield in 2013 as a CSR at Animal Emergency Clinic Northeast in Humble. She later transferred to daytime hours at VMC of The Woodlands—one of many moves that mirrored her husband’s military career.
Climbing the Ladder
Lakefield’s culture of internal growth gave Amy the opportunity to advance as her experience deepened. After relocating to Indiana, she joined one of Lakefield’s hospitals there and quickly moved from lead CSR to hospital administrator. Not long after, she became a senior HA and now serves as an Area Manager overseeing 10 hospitals across Texas, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Her leadership journey wasn’t something she initially set out to do. “I actually didn’t want the hospital administrator job at first—I was worried about putting a team through turnover with my husband’s military orders,” she says. “But things worked out. He retired, and I realized I was meant to lead again.”
A Culture of Trust and Respect
Amy points to Lakefield’s culture as one of the biggest reasons she’s stayed. “The core values here are real. Respect, Do the Right Thing, Learning, Fun—I live all of those,” she says. “And the trust I’ve felt from my leaders? That’s meant everything to me.”
Now in a position to mentor others, Amy embraces the idea of lifting people up as she continues to grow herself. “I think of it like a ladder. When you move up, you should be pulling someone up behind you. That’s how we keep growing as a team, and as a company.”
A Southern Accent and a Legacy of Care
Whether she’s in Texas, Indiana, or Wisconsin, Amy says her former clients and colleagues always remember her for one thing: her accent. “They’ll answer the phone and say, ‘I’d never forget that voice,’” she laughs. But the truth behind that recognition runs deeper.
“If they remember me, it’s because I made an impact. I want my legacy to be that I cared—deeply. About pets, about their families, and about our teams,” she says. “If I helped someone feel supported, or empowered a colleague to grow, then I’ve done something meaningful.”
