Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine

Alexandra Halasz

DVM, MS

Dr. Halasz, a native Upper West Sider, first became enchanted with exotic pet medicine as a high school volunteer at CAEM. She fell in love with exotics and spent almost every summer and holiday here through high school, college, graduate school, and veterinary school. After earning her bachelor's degree in Music from Smith College, she went to Auburn University to study avian carotenoid coloration, earning a Master of Science degree in Biology. She then attended Cornell University for her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, where she was active in both exotic pet medicine and musical organizations. After graduating, she completed an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Louisiana State University's School of Veterinary Medicine, further focusing on the exotics she loves. She spent the next year working as a small animal emergency veterinarian at a specialty hospital in NYC and has finally made her way back to CAEM!

Dr. Halasz has had several exotic pets over the years, many adopted from this very hospital! She currently shares her home with a canary, a red eared slider, a crested gecko, two Pomeranians, and a radiologist (of the human kind). When she's not spending time with animals, Dr. Halasz enjoys sewing, playing the cello, and telling her coworkers all about the mechanisms of avian coloration.

Alexandra Wilson

DVM

Alexandra Wilson, DVM, has been working at the Center for 14 years caring for the medical and surgical needs of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and small mammals. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Oberlin College in 1998 and her veterinary degree from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2005.

Dr. Wilson has many interests and projects that she is passionate about. She is a consulting veterinarian for the Wild Bird Fund, NYC’s premiere wildlife rehabilitation and education center, and the Animal Care Centers of NYC. She has worked closely with the ASPCA and local law enforcement on cases involving exotic animal welfare, including testifying in court as an expert witness. Dr. Wilson lectures locally and internationally with World Animal Protection and participates in the training of veterinarians, veterinary students, and veterinary nurses on the care and welfare of exotic pets and wildlife. She is also an adjunct professor of Veterinary Technology at LaGuardia Community College. The NYC environment has also allowed Dr. Wilson to participate in the care of special exotic animals housed both permanently and temporarily at the American Museum of Natural History, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Guggenheim, Brooklyn, and Whitney Art Museums, and Creative Time’s “Fly By Night” in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Dr. Wilson shares her home with a tarantula named Amblik, and a hognose snake named Madu.

Jessica Grodio

DVM, PhD, DABVP (Avian Practice)

Jessica Grodio, DVM, PhD, DABVP (Avian Practice) began work with us in early 2016. She attended prestigious Cornell University where she obtained a BS in Biological Sciences as well as her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Loving research, academia, and avian medicine, Dr. Grodio also earned a PhD from Cornell in Comparative Biomedical Sciences, for which she studied Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a bacterial species that causes disease in finches and has greatly impacted wild bird populations across the country.

After receiving her DVM degree, Dr. Grodio worked with avian and exotic animal patients at Cornell’s exotic pet service. She then decided to pursue ABVP board certification in avian medicine and was accepted to a rigorous two-year residency in avian/exotic medicine and surgery at South Wilton Veterinary Group in Wilton, CT. While studying for her board exams, she worked in the avian and exotic pet service at The Animal Medical Center in NYC and finally found her home with us! Dr. Grodio is not only a board-certified avian vet, she is also Fear Free® Certified in Avian Practice.

In addition to her experience with exotic pet species, Dr. Grodio volunteered her time helping sick and injured wildlife for eight years at Cornell’s Wildlife Health Center. She has also worked with a variety of zoos and nature centers in the Northeast. Here she is with her beloved cockatiel, Pumpkin!

Board certification is given to veterinarians who have completed additional training in one of the following categories: Avian practice, Exotic Companion Mammal Practice, Reptile and Amphibian practice. They have also fulfilled the stringent requirements mandated by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). The ABVP is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association to provide board certifications in ten species categories. For more information visit: ABVP Specialty.