Jamilah Cherry
Jamilah Cherry, DVM, is a compassionate veterinarian, author, mental health advocate, and self-taught artist based in Oakland, California. She has been passionate about veterinary medicine since kindergarten, a calling rooted in her natural curiosity and empathy. After earning her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida, she completed a small animal internal medicine and surgery internship and spent six years practicing emergency medicine, primarily treating dogs and cats. Today, she serves as the Medical Director at a private practice hospital that operates as a hybrid urgent care and general practice, where she performs soft tissue surgeries, manages urgent medical cases, and mentors younger veterinarians while overseeing the hospital’s administrative and operational functions.
Beyond her clinical work, Jamilah is a dedicated mental health and community advocate. She co-founded Untethered Moms, a platform designed to help mothers reconnect with their personal identities beyond parenthood through workshops, podcasts, and supportive events aimed at combating burnout and fostering meaningful connections. Her approach combines evidence-based strategies with a non-judgmental, creative, and empowering space for mothers to redefine their roles on their own terms.
Outside of medicine and advocacy, Jamilah nurtures her creativity as a self-taught painter and balances her professional life with her role as a mother of three and caretaker of her nine-year-old fur baby. Her philosophy blends curiosity, compassion, and problem-solving with a strong commitment to equitable access to veterinary care, creating environments where both her patients and her colleagues can thrive.
• University of Florida - DVM
• Untethered Moms
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a combination of curiosity and compassion, along with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities effectively.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the field is to become highly skilled at multitasking. Veterinary medicine requires wearing many hats, and what drew me to it was not only the compassion involved but also the curiosity and adaptability the work demands. Coming from an emergency medicine background, I’ve honed my ability to manage multiple responsibilities at once—balancing appointments, procedures, mentoring, and administrative tasks. While the days can be full, this skill makes the workload manageable and rewarding.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in veterinary medicine right now is navigating access to care, because veterinary medicine is very expensive. I'm deeply focused on how we can provide services in an equitable way. As veterinarians, we have big hearts and we care deeply about our animal patients and their pet parents, but the cost of care creates barriers. Finding ways to make veterinary services more accessible and equitable is something I believe in deeply as part of my commitment to advocacy.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The things that are most important to me are being compassionate, creative, and I believe deeply in advocacy. These are values I bring to my life as a veterinarian, as a mom, and as a wife. I like problem-solving, which shows up in the hospital and also allows me to creatively complete tasks, whether I'm with my patients or with my kids. The compassion part is huge - veterinarians have big hearts, and dealing with animals who are truly innocent and mean so much to their families as pet family members requires deep compassion. Sometimes that compassion is a heavy weight because our pets' lifespans are too short. The advocacy piece is also critical - I think it's important to show up fully for my patients and for the clients who are the pet parents, and to work toward providing care in an equitable way.
Locations
Crystal Springs Pet Hospital, Inc.
Oakland, CA 94609