Dr. Michelle Lem graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in 2001, and founded Community Veterinary Outreach in 2003, a registered charity that improves the health of homeless individuals and their pets through a “One Health” model of care. By offering human health services and health education alongside preventative veterinary care, Community Veterinary Outreach was the first of its kind to provide innovative access to both veterinary and human health care for at-risk populations. Community Veterinary Outreach has programs in 5 communities in Ontario, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Kelowna, Canada and has recently received non-profit status in the U.S. After graduating from OVC, Michelle practiced on the North Island of New Zealand before returning to Ottawa, where she has practiced companion animal medicine and surgery as an associate veterinarian, companion animal mobile service and locum. From 2003 to 2009, Michelle provided behavioural consultations for companion animals on a referral basis; consulted for police canine units, was contracted by the Department of National Defence (military working dog program) from 2009 till 2011; and taught in the Veterinary Assistant and Technician programs at Algonquin College from 2004 till 2014. In 2009, Michelle received an OVC fellowship to pursue graduate research in the Department of Population Medicine, studying the effects of pet ownership on street-involved youth, receiving her MSc in 2012. This research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare and Anthrozoös. Michelle authored a chapter on street-involved youth for the 2016 Springer Publication “Men and Their Dogs: A New Understanding of ‘Man’s Best Friend”, and co-authored publications on Community Veterinary Outreach’s One Health model in the Canadian Veterinary Journal and Canadian Journal of Public Health. Michelle speaks internationally on Community Veterinary Outreach’s One Health model of community care. Michelle has served on the College of Veterinarians of Ontario’s Shelter Medicine Task Force, is an active member of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) as a trained member of the Canadian Veterinary Reserve and has served on CVMA’s Animal Welfare Committee from 2013 to 2018. Michelle also serves on the Board of Directors of PetSmart Charities of Canada. In 2018 Michelle received her Master of Social Work from Carleton University. Her areas of interest for her MSW were: the link between human and animal violence, pet ownership among marginalized populations, wellbeing in the veterinary profession, and One Health approaches to intervention and practice. Michelle’s current projects include the development of Animal Care Guidelines for Emergency Co-Sheltering and the Risk Assessment for Companion Animals in Domestic Violence. Michelle was elected an Ashoka fellow for her social innovation in accessible health care for marginalized populations and has received numerous awards including the Summit for Urban Animal Strategies’ Individual Achievement Award and Community Collaboration Award, the OVC Young Alumnus Award, The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award and the CVMA’s Presidents Award. Michelle is the recipient of the 2019 World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Global One Health Award.