Owner, Nutrition Consultant – Amanda Ardente, DVM, PhD
Dr. Ardente founded Ardente Veterinary Nutrition LLC in August 2017, based on a long-term goal of combining her passion for nutrition with zoo and aquatic veterinary medicine. As a veterinarian with advanced training in animal nutrition and research, she understands that nutrition plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of disease and seeks to address clinically relevant nutrition concerns for all species. In her work, Dr. Ardente is inquisitive, energetic, dedicated, efficient and organized. She is active in the veterinary nutrition and zoo/aquatic communities and has established excellent rapport and collaborations with colleagues in those fields.
Dr. Ardente realized her strong interest in nutrition while attending veterinary school at North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine. She graduated with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2009 and stayed at NCSU the following year to complete a nutrition-focused internship. During this internship, she managed the diets of canine and feline patients of the NCSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital and worked closely with the North Carolina Zoo to study chimpanzee nutrition.
Dr. Ardente subsequently pursued a PhD in animal nutrition at the University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine. She investigated the role of nutrition in kidney stone development in bottlenose dolphins under human care, successfully defended her PhD in 2016. Dr. Ardente then spent time as a postdoctoral associate with Disney’s Animal Kingdom Animal Nutrition Center. In this role, she gained experience managing the nutrition of all animals, from insects, to sheep and goats, to birds and reptiles, to stingrays and eels, to elephants and giraffes.
Outside of her work, Dr. Ardente stays busy with her family, enjoying time outdoors with her husband Andrew and two little ones, Grady and Evelyn, their adorable pup Glen, and their red-footed tortoise Muncher. Dr. Ardente also enjoys volunteering when she can in her local community.
Nutrition Consultant – Kibby Treiber, PhD
Kibby Treiber served as an AZA Zoo Nutritionist from 2009-2024 and is now an independent consultant with Feed the Wild Nutrition, LLC. She started her Zoo Nutrition career as a Sue Crissey Animal Nutrition Resident at Fort Worth Zoo where she remained as a Nutritionist/Manager until 2015. In 2016 she became the first Nutritionist at Zoo Miami where she developed and managed the Zoo Miami Nutrition program. Throughout her career she has prioritized advancing nutrition science, improving animal nutrition management and collaborating with fellow experts in animal care, behavior, health, etc. to optimize the nutritional foundation and feeding practices for all species. She enjoys utilizing math and creativity to overcome nutrition challenges.
After deciding not to pursue a career in Ancient/Medieval history, Kibby began her animal nutrition journey by attending graduate school at Viginia Polytechnic Institute & State University where she was a Paul Mellon Graduate Fellow and completed her PhD in Equine Nutrition and Exercise Physiology under Dr. David Kronfeld. Her research focus was on the metabolic impacts of sugar and starch in herbivore diets and the benefits of fat supplementation and more naturalistic forage-like feeds. During her studies she assisted with a wide range of nutrition projects relating to exercise, obesity, laminitis, growth and reproduction while also assisting in the operations of a large Thoroughbred horse breeding farm. After joining the Zoo Nutrition world, she applied her horse nutrition background to research on elephant nutrition and obesity. From there, her interests and experience have expanded to the nutrition for hundreds of species, while remaining grounded in the same foundation of natural diet adaptations.
Kibby is a member of the Comparative Nutrition Society and AZA Nutrition Advisory Group. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation. She is a TAG/SSP Nutrition Advisor for equids, lions, otters, and small carnivores. She is always happy to learn and to apply her knowledge and experience to the improvement of animal nutrition and care. In her spare time she trains Kung Fu, writes novels, and adventures outdoors.
Nutrition Consultant – Carol Casey, MS, AHT
Carol Casey is a nutritionist with advanced knowledge and experience in the human and animal nutritional sciences, health education, and research fields. She is currently an independent exotic animal nutritionist and an instructor in veterinary nursing. She comes to Ardente Veterinary Nutrition LLC with a thirty five year history that demonstrates nutritional science qualifications, advanced animal medicine, and exotic animal hand rearing.
Carol was drawn to animals at an early age, especially equids. Being a native San Franciscan, horses were hard to find in the city, so she had to find them. She began her educational journey delving into veterinary medicine. She became a licensed veterinary nurse with an A.S. degree in Veterinary Nursing and obtained a second A.S. degree specializing in Equine Medicine and Management. She then continued on to receive her B.S. in Nutritional Science with a Concentration in Dietetics in the human sector, followed by a M.S. in Nutritional Science concentrating in Education from San Jose State University in California.
Carol is extremely at home in a hospital setting. On the human side, she worked at Stanford Hospital for seven years in the nutrition department and volunteered her nights at her local community hospital emergency room. She also worked as a health educator teaching children about nutrition and how to cook healthy meals. She worked health fairs educating groups on the importance of vitamins and bone density, and also one-on-one diet counseling. Carol’s animal hospital experience ranges from veterinary ERs, specialty practices, large animal equine practices, U.C.S.F. research clinics and over thirty years in a zoological setting at the San Francisco Zoo, where she eventually left the veterinary department and rose to become Director of Nutrition Services as the zoo’s first nutritionist. Carol also has extensive knowledge in the art and science of hand-rearing for exotic animals. She’s played an integral part in the hand-rearing and raising of many different species throughout her career, including newborn gorillas, giraffes, mandrills, rhinos, lions and tigers and fishing cats along with exotic hoof stock and birds. She was able to share not only her nutrition formulations and veterinary expertise but a little bit of nursing TLC.
Carol is a member of C.N.S. Comparative Nutrition Society and N.A.G. Nutrition Advisory Group and attends annual conferences and keeps current in her field.
Carol believes in implementing wellness measures into her own life that include yoga, ballet and taking Krav Maga classes from her certified long-term boyfriend.
Nutrition Assistant – Jennifer Rhodes, BS
Jennifer graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2013 with a BS in Veterinary & Biomedical Science. Following graduation, she set out to gain practical work experience to find her niche across the various fields of animal care. She completed two consecutive internships; a zookeeping internship at Tiger World in Rockwell NC, followed by an Animal Nutrition Center internship at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Jennifer realized her passion for animal nutrition during her internship with Disney, and she became a full-time employee with the company, remaining there for over four years. She then relocated to Virginia to be with her fiance and joined the Smithsonian National Zoological Park as a Commissary Animal Keeper, supporting their well-established nutrition program.
Jennifer has been working in the field of nutrition since 2014 and has expertise managing many different aspects of a centralized commissary including: floor/personnel management, diet preparation and delivery, proper sanitation/USDA/HACCP guideline implementation, facilities management, employee training, browse management, warehouse/inventory management, and “green” best practices. Her hands-on experience in the field is a perfect complement to Dr. Ardente’s medical and scientific expertise.
Jennifer recently relocated with her husband Andrew to the San Francisco Bay area. They enjoy spending time with their dog Lincoln and two kitties Ulyses and Sherman. Jennifer also dabbles in woodworking, dog training, and saltwater aquariums, and loves crafting, video games, being outdoors, and creating absurdly long playlists on Spotify.