NAVEC — North American Veterinary Ethics Council

Our Team

Max Tokarsky, Founder and Executive Director of NAVEC

Max Tokarsky

Founder & Executive Director

Max Tokarsky has spent nearly 25 years as an entrepreneur and advocate working at the intersection of institutional failure, community need, and systemic reform.

He co-founded RAJE (Russian American Jewish Experience) and has served in leadership roles across health, civic, and defense sectors — including InvestAcure, a public benefit corporation focused on Alzheimer's research funding, and USABDM, a biosecurity organization founded during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a former member of the Forbes Business Council and a graduate of the Wharton entrepreneurship program.

Max founded NAVEC after years of direct exposure to the veterinary workforce crisis — watching communities lose access to care not because of any shortage of qualified candidates, but because of a licensing monopoly that limits the profession's growth by design. His focus is on replacing gatekeeping with merit, transparency, and accountability.

Rick DuCharme, Director of Partnerships and Advocacy at NAVEC

Rick DuCharme

Director, Partnerships & Advocacy

Rick DuCharme is one of the most recognized leaders in the American animal-welfare movement. In 2002 he founded First Coast No More Homeless Pets, which he built into a nearly $10-million organization with 165 staff, more than 20 veterinarians, and two safety-net hospitals — and which helped make Jacksonville one of the first large U.S. metros to reach and hold no-kill status. Its targeted spay/neuter programs delivered over 22,000 surgeries a year and cut shelter intake by more than half.

He went on to co-found the Target Zero Institute, which has helped dozens of communities raise their lifesaving rates, and to create the shelter-based “Feral Freedom” model now replicated nationwide. Today he leads RLD Consulting Services, advising communities on access to veterinary care and sustainable spay/neuter programs. Rick has worked with the University of Tennessee’s Program for Pet Health Equity and the new Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine in Orange Park, FL.

Rick is managing partner in Community Cat Clinic, with two feline-only access-to-care veterinary clinics in Atlanta’s northside.

At NAVEC, Rick brings more than two decades of frontline experience to the effort to end the veterinary shortage — connecting the organization with the shelters, clinics, and community groups living with it every day.

Edward Timmons, Head of Research at NAVEC

Edward Timmons, PhD

Head of Research

Dr. Edward Timmons, NAVEC's Head of Research, is one of the nation's leading scholars of occupational licensing and its effects on workers, consumers, and access to professional services.

He is Vice President of Policy at the Archbridge Institute, where he leads the institute's economic policy strategy — setting research priorities and bringing its work to policymakers and key stakeholders. His research focuses on labor economics and regulatory policy, and he is regularly asked to provide expert testimony to U.S. states on occupational licensing reform and the practice authority of nurse practitioners.

His work has been cited in top-tier scholarly journals, including The Journal of Law & Economics, The Journal of Regulatory Economics, The Journal of Labor Research, the British Journal of Industrial Relations, Health Policy, and Health Economics. In addition, he has authored more than 100 articles for media publications, appearing in U.S. News & World Report, National Review, The Hill, Harvard Business Review, The Washington Examiner, and dozens of regional outlets. His research is frequently cited by the popular press and has been featured by the Federal Trade Commission, the Obama White House, and in a U.S. Senate hearing entitled “License to Compete: Occupational Licensing and the State Action Doctrine.” He publishes a weekly newsletter on Substack with the latest research and policy insights surrounding occupational licensing.

Dr. Timmons received his Ph.D. in economics from Lehigh University and his B.A. in economics and actuarial science from Lebanon Valley College. He was the founding director of the Knee Regulatory Research Center and is currently an affiliate at the Center for Healthcare Delivery Research and Innovations at Columbia University's School of Nursing and a regulatory policy analyst at the Bluegrass Institute.

At NAVEC, Dr. Timmons turns two decades of peer-reviewed licensing scholarship — work relied on by legislatures and federal regulators — toward the licensing structures behind the veterinary shortage.

Kurt F. Geisinger, Head of Psychometrics at NAVEC

Kurt F. Geisinger, Ph.D.

Head of Psychometrics

Dr. Kurt F. Geisinger is an internationally recognized authority on psychometrics, test validity and fairness, and high-stakes educational, licensure, and certification testing. He served for two decades as Director of the Buros Center for Testing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, one of the world's leading organizations devoted to the evaluation and appropriate use of educational and psychological tests, and is a W.C. Meierhenry Distinguished University Professor.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Dr. Geisinger has held leadership and advisory roles involving some of the most consequential testing programs and standards organizations in the United States and internationally. He has served as Chair of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Board and its Technical Advisory Committee, a member of the SAT Advisory Committee, and a member and chair of the College Board Advisory Research Committee. He also chaired the Joint Committee on Testing Practices and served on the American Psychological Association's Committee on Psychological Testing and Assessment.

Internationally, Dr. Geisinger has served as President of the International Test Commission, President of the American Psychological Association's Division of Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics, and President of the Psychological Assessment and Evaluation Division of the International Association of Applied Psychology.

His scholarship and professional work have focused extensively on validity, test fairness, high-stakes testing, testing of language-minority populations, cross-cultural assessment, accommodations, performance assessment, and the legal and ethical implications of test use. He co-edited Psychological Testing of Hispanics and has edited or co-edited numerous major works in psychological and educational measurement.

Dr. Geisinger also brings significant experience in professional accreditation. He participated in the commission involved in bringing together the organizations that ultimately formed the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and later served on CAEP's Appeals Council.

He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, American Educational Research Association, International Association of Applied Psychology, and International Test Commission. Dr. Geisinger earned his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, his M.S. from the University of Georgia, and his A.B. with Honors from Davidson College.

At NAVEC, Dr. Geisinger serves as Head of Psychometrics, bringing expertise in testing, validity, fairness, and assessment to NAVEC's examination of professional gatekeeping systems and development of evidence-based alternatives.

Dr. Annie J. Daniel, NAVEC Head of Education & Assessment

Dr. Annie J. Daniel, Ph.D.

Head of Education & Assessment

Dr. Annie J. Daniel is an educational leader whose career spans medical, veterinary, and health professions education. For more than two decades, she has worked with deans, department chairs, and faculty to develop curricula, strengthen examinations, evaluate educational outcomes, and improve the preparation of future health professionals. She holds a Ph.D. in Vocational Education from Louisiana State University.

At LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Daniel served as Associate Professor of Veterinary Medical Education and Director of Veterinary Outcomes Assessment, and directed the Graduate Certificate for Teaching in Health Professions. Her responsibilities included advancing veterinary curriculum development, improving assessment practices, and preparing faculty and health professionals to become more effective educators.

Previously, she served as Director of the Office of Medical Education at Tulane University School of Medicine and Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning at Des Moines University, where she also held an appointment as Associate Professor of Public Health. Her earlier work at Dillard University included educational leadership, teacher preparation, and program coordination.

Across these institutions, Dr. Daniel developed and implemented competency-based curricula, curriculum mapping systems, educational program evaluations, and course and clinical clerkship reviews. She also developed examination policy requiring faculty to write questions that assess students’ ability to apply knowledge rather than simply recall information. Her work connected learning objectives, teaching methods, and assessment across professional degree programs.

At Des Moines University, she worked with university leadership across multiple health professions and helped develop the Iowa Interprofessional Education Collaborative, bringing together Des Moines University, Drake University, and Des Moines Community College. She also oversaw the restructuring and modernization of the Iowa Simulation Center, supporting clinical education through standardized patients and advanced simulation technology.

Dr. Daniel’s expertise encompasses educational measurement and testing, curriculum and examination alignment, program evaluation, faculty development, and educational policy. As NAVEC’s Head of Education & Assessment, she brings this experience to research on professional competency, assessment quality, and the relationship between educational preparation and licensing requirements. Working with veterinary clinicians and psychometric experts, she will help develop practical, evidence-based approaches to evaluating readiness for professional practice.

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