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 – Natalie Erker, DVM, PhD, DACVPM
Dr. Natalie Erker joined Ardente Veterinary Nutrition LLC to pursue her passion for animal nutrition with her commitment to improving the health and well-being of the animals the company serves. As a board-certified preventive medicine veterinarian since 2019 with a PhD in animal nutrition, Dr. Erker’s research and clinical interests focus on the role of nutrition and the gastrointestinal microbiome in supporting immune function, preventing disease, and reducing reliance on antimicrobials.
Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Dr. Erker earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. Following graduation, she was commissioned onto active duty as a veterinarian in the United States Army, where she provided medical care for a diverse range of species, including dogs, cats, pocket pets, horses, falcons, bald eagles, reptiles and most recently dolphins and sea lions with the United States Navy’s Marine Mammal Program (MMP).
Dr. Erker’s interest in animal nutrition began during her undergraduate studies and continued throughout her veterinary career. While serving with the MMP, she managed subsistence and nutrition programs for the population and began collaborating with Dr. Amanda Ardente.
In Fall 2025, Dr. Erker retired from the United States Army and completed her PhD in May 2026. She brings extensive experience as both a clinical veterinarian and military leader to the Ardente Veterinary Nutrition team.
When she’s not working, Dr. Erker enjoys spending time with her husband, Josh, and their four children, Leland, Logan, Lucas, and Lexington. Together, they are working toward visiting all the United States National Parks. Their family also includes two dogs, Beatrix and Brewski, and a ball python named Queen Mira. In her free time, Dr. Erker enjoys cake baking and decorating and volunteers with a local chapter of Cake4Kids, creating celebratory cakes for deserving youth.
Nutrition Consultant – Barbara Toddes, MS
Barbara Toddes retired as the Senior Director of Animal Nutrition after a 41-year career with the Philadelphia Zoo, managing a comprehensive Nutrition Program that integrated animal care, welfare, and nutrition. Barbara is one of the founding members of the AZA Nutrition Advisory Group (NAG) and served on the NAG steering committee for 30 years. She also served as a Board Member for the Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation. She is a Professor at the Animal Behavior Institute, a member of the Comparative Nutrition Society, and the Nutrition Advisor for the New World Primate Taxon Advisory Group. She is a lecturer for Practical Zoo Nutrition Management offered through the Smithsonian/George Mason Graduate Program.
Barbara graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Animal Production and a Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics. She earned 30 graduate credits in Animal Nutrition from the University of Delaware and Rutgers University
and an MS degree in Nutrition and Human Performance from Logan University in 2020. Although Barbara has professional experience working with a wide range of taxa, she has focused on correcting the diets of non-human primates and promoting the bacterial health of the gut microbiome.
Barbara and her husband, David, live in a fishing village on the Delaware Bay with their dog, Sipu, which means quot;River" in Lenape. Barbara and David have two grown daughters who live in Washington. As a couple, they enjoy traveling across the country, camping, and kayaking.
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.
Nutrition Consultant (providing support as needed) – 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.