Our
Veterinary
Team

Dr. Zachariah Marteney

Medical Director

A lifelong lover of all things furry, four-legged, or feathered, Dr. Marteney wanted to be a veterinarian from a young age. He studied veterinary medicine at Kansas State University, graduating in 2012. After completing additional training in small animal medicine and surgery, he worked in emergency medicine before finding his calling in general practice.  Dr. Marteney’s special interests include preventive care, soft tissue surgery, wound management, and exotic animal medicine.

Dr. Marteney is a transplant from Kansas but enjoys living on the East Coast with his wife and daughter and a home full of pets. In his free time, he can be found outdoors mountain biking, snowboarding, or hiking, or at home brewing beer and cider.

Dr. Holly Hansen

Dr. Holly Hansen is a born and raised “Jersey girl”. She completed her undergraduate studies at Felician College in Lodi, NJ graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. She earned her DVM degree in 2005 from Tufts University-School of Veterinary Medicine. She then completed a one-year small animal medicine and surgery internship outside of Chicago.

Prior to becoming a veterinarian though, she worked at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Newark, NJ covering multiple counties as a medical crime scene investigator for quite a few years.

Her interests in veterinary medicine include feline medicine, geriatric medicine, and internal medicine. She shares her home with a clowder of felines. She speaks “cat”, but absolutely loves all kinds of animals.

In her spare time, she enjoys the beach, going to the movies, watching football, concerts, music, anything Barry Manilow, and horror conventions.

Dr. Manali Desai

A New Jersey native herself, Dr. Desai graduated from Ontario Veterinary College in 2019, and has been working in Northern NJ ever since. In her undergraduate career, she pursued a 3 month expedition In Equatorial Guinea, Africa, where she spent time researching conservation of primates in the volcanic jungles of the region. She continued to pursue her passion for veterinary medicine all over the world, including South East Asia, where she worked to care for stray and shelter animals. Her current interests include internal medicine, geriatric care, and she enjoys working with clients to tailor the best treatment plan for their fuzzy family members. In her spare time Dr. Desai enjoys going to the beach, spending time in NYC with her dogphew Winston, and adding houseplants to her ever growing collection.

Brittni Martin, Practice Manager

Brittni began working at Meadowlands Veterinary Hospital in May 2017 when the hospital first opened. Since a young age, Brittni has had a true passion for helping animals. During high school and college, Brittni volunteered with rescues and shelters helping animals find their forever homes. She graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Bachelors degree in psychology and is currently working on her veterinary technician certification at Penn Foster. She enjoys spending time with her family and fur-children, Budha and Cheetara.

Crystal Vankoughnet, Head Veterinary Technician

Crystal has been in the veterinary field for over 20 years! She attended Tufts University where she studied parasitology and went on to co-start a parasitology department at one of the leading veterinary service companies. She has been a Veterinary Technician for as long as she can remember and loves every single bit of it.

Crystal lives in Bergen County with her husband and 2yr old son. Crystal loves exploring state parks, traveling, trying new cuisines, and reading.

Melissa Stevens, Veterinary Technician

Melissa has worked in the veterinary field her entire life. It’s the only job she’s ever had! Melissa studied veterinary medicine at Mercy College and is very active in animal rescue. She lives at home with her 4 dogs and 6 cats – all rescues! In her spare time she loves going
kayaking with her husband and going to the beach. She is very happy to be a part of the Meadowlands Veterinary team!

Lucia De Soto-Merino, Veterinary Technician

Lucia started at Meadowlands Veterinary Hospital in September 2020. She recently graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science, and has worked with a variety of species from farm animals to exotics. Lucia is a former dog trainer and has much experience with all kinds of behavioral issues. She applies her knowledge of behavior to make sure every animal feels comfortable during their vet visits. Lucia loves her job as a veterinarian technician and hopes to one day become licensed so that she can pursue her dream of working at a zoo hospital.

Michelle Millan, Client Care Supervisor

Michelle joined the MVH team in November 2018 and is excited to start her career in the veterinarian industry. In her spare time she travels with her husband and hikes with her 3 year old Chihuahua named Bella. Michelle also has 2 Sun Conures names Mango and Lola that love to drive her crazy. They love to chew off all the molding on the doors. Michelle looks forward to speaking to you and booking your next appointment.

Maria Tsimpedes, Client Care Representative

Maria has been working in the veterinary field for 2 years as a client care representative. She is currently pursuing her nursing degree and hopes to be a pediatric nurse in the future. In her downtime, Maria loves relaxing with her fur baby, Nico and watching movies.

Zoe Hill, Client Care Representative

Zoe came to Meadowlands Veterinary Hospital in 2020 from sunny St. Petersburg, Florida. She is a huge animal lover and believes in treating animals with kindness and respect. Zoe’s childhood was spent playing with her cats, dogs, turtles and rats. Allergies keep her from bringing animals home but she gets plenty of puppy cuddles on the job!

Laura Russo, Client Care Representative

Laura began working at Meadowlands Veterinary Hospital in January of 2021. Laura is currently enrolled in Penn Foster to pursue her career of becoming a Veterinary Technician. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and fur-babies; her beagles, Oliver and Sargeant, her cat named Daze, and three leopard geckos named Joker, Babette, and Bananas.