AAEP Announces Election Results for 2026 Vice President, Directors

Emma Adam, BVetMed, PhD, DACVIM, DACVS, associate professor and industry liaison at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky., has been elected 2026 vice president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. She will assume the role of AAEP president in 2028.

In addition, Stacey Cordivano, DVM, owner of Clay Creek Equine Veterinary Services in Chadds Ford, Penn., and Ernie Martinez, DVM, MBA, field care veterinarian at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky., have been elected to three-year terms on the AAEP Board of Directors.

The results follow a month-long vote by the AAEP membership that concluded Aug. 17. Each will be installed Dec. 9 during the AAEP’s 71st Annual Convention in Denver, Colo.

Dr. Adam possesses unique perspective, having practiced in four countries on three continents and in positions encompassing clinical practice, research, and academia with a focus on industry outreach. In her current position, she supports the profession and equine industry, conducts equine research, mentors and teaches undergraduate and veterinary students, and assists with the pre-vet program at the university.

Dr. Adam served on the AAEP’s board of directors from 2021–2023. She currently chairs the Member Engagement Committee and previously served on the Racing and Nominating committees. In addition, Dr. Adam is the vice president of the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners.

Dr. Cordivano established her two-doctor equine ambulatory practice in 2010, and her interests include performance issues in the sport horse, alternative medicine and emergency medicine.

In 2020, Dr. Cordivano launched The Whole Veterinarian Podcast committed to holistic professional wellbeing. She also supports the professional growth and retention of early career veterinarians as an equine cohort facilitator for MentorVet and of mid-career equine practitioners as co-founder of the Sustainability in Equine Practice Seminar series, which in 2025 merged with Decade One. Dr. Cordivano co-chaired the AAEP’s Practice Culture Subcommittee and currently serves on the Healthy Practice Committee.

Dr. Martinez completed a rotating field internship at Hagyard Equine in 2003–2004 and remained with the practice, where he focuses on Thoroughbred farm breeding work, mare and foal care, stallions, herd health and dentistry. Dr. Martinez also oversees the practice’s internship and externship programs.

Dr. Martinez chairs the AAEP’s Foreign Veterinary Graduates Task Force, which is working to address the challenges and opportunities of integrating graduates of foreign, non-AVMA-accredited veterinary schools into the U.S. equine veterinary workforce. He also serves on the Early Career Committee and is the association’s primary representative to the AVMA’s Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee.

About AAEP

The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.

# # #