Dr. Robert C. Brown, Director
A native Virginian, Dr. Brown was born in Harrisonburg and reared in Luray on a small dairy farm. He attended Virginia Tech and graduated from the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1971. In 1972, Dr. Brown founded Cherrydale Veterinary Clinic strongly emphasizing wellness and preventive care, with a practice focus on geriatric medicine.

Dr. Farid Boughanem, Medical Director
Dr. Boughanem was born and raised in Algiers, Algeria where he received his DVM degree from the University of Algiers. He and his wife Nadia moved to the DC area shortly after they graduated from Veterinary School and Medical School respectively. While Nadia completed her residency in Radiology at the George Washington University, Dr. Boughanem put his veterinary career on hold, working first at a financial institution then at a research laboratory. He completed his foreign graduate examinations and licensing requirements while working as a veterinary assistant at Cherrydale. Very quickly, Dr. Boughanem realized the need to set new standards in diagnostic techniques allowing us to be more efficient and more accurate. He undertook the task of developing our state of the art telemedicine service along with diagnostic Ultrasound. In addition to English, he speaks fluent French and Arabic, allowing us to communicate with many of our clients in their native language.

Dr. Sunny House
Dr. House was raised in Bethel, Connecticut and completed her undergraduate degree at University of Connecticut graduating with a B.S. in Animal Science. She then attended Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. House aspires to continue to build on the medical and surgical foundations she has received from veterinary school.

Dr. Dharati Szymanski
Dr. Dharati Szymanski is a native of Orland Park, IL. She graduated from Brandeis University in 2002 with a B.S. in Biology and Psychology before attending Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine.  Her professional interests include Internal medicine, Soft tissue surgery, and Ultrasound. Her hobbies include dance (Ballet, Hip hop, Jazz, Bharata Natyam) (Indian classical dance) and reading. Her husband Adam is a computer scientist and they have one cat named Ronald Weasley.

Marco Cifuentes
I have been a part of the CVC team since October 2001, where I started working as a kennel assistant.  When given the opportunity to advance, I seized it and was promoted to Veterinary assistant after three months.  The promotion motivated me to pursue my education and to become a licensed technician.  With my school as my resource and foundation, I was able to explore new techniques and the caliber of my work increased.  For my own professional development, I was given the opportunity to work at the Houston Zoo, where I was able to use the techniques that I cultivated and perfected at CVC on exotic animals.  I also learned new techniques to take back with me after my time at the Houston Zoo was over.

George Montenegro
George is a native of Arlington, VA.  He hopes to eventually become a veterinarian specializing in exotic animals. Outside of the clinic George enjoys playing the guitar and drums, listening to metal music, and outdoor activities such as camping and fishing.

Meredith Halliwell
I am from Arlington, Virginia.  I am currently a senior at Washington-Lee High School and am looking forward to graduating in June and attending college in the Fall.  In my free time, I play softball and volleyball for school, and love spending time with my friends.

Belle Cadiz, Clinic Administrator
Belle Cadiz, Clinic Administrator, is a native of the Philippines. Belle studied Liberal Arts at St. Mary's College and Special Education at UCLA before starting as a veterinary assistant at Cherrydale in January 1986. Belle is a certified Meyers-Briggs interpreter which has benefited the clinic environment immensely as we build a cohesive clinic team. Belle recently became certified in Veterinary Practice Management from the Krannert Business School at Purdue University.

Denise Maddens-Gordy, Administrative Assistant
Denise Maddens-Gordy, our Administrative Assistant, is originally from Washington state and has lived in Northern Virginia for nearly 20 years. She has worked "behind the scenes" at Cherrydale for over 8 years. Without the hard work Denise does at our other office in Herndon, we would not be able to run an efficient business. Denise helps us strive toward being the best veterinary clinic in the country and is proud to be involved with its success from both the business standpoint and due to MBTI training, also from an employee standpoint.

Michael Powell, Administrative Assistant
Michael is from the island of St. Kitts/Nevis in the Caribbean. He's been working at Cherrydale since November of 2002. He has a degree in Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health, as well as in Wildlife and Forestry Conservation. He is a graduate of Freedom Bible College and Seminary and graduated with a degree in Ministry, and is now apart of the Pastor/Ministers, Evangelism and Christian Education Team at his local Church. Michael is now furthering his education, where is he studying for his Master’s in Ministry.  He enjoys listening to music, playing piano/organ, reading, cooking, watching TV, and attending church. He also works with community outreach programs focusing on shut-ins, youth, homeless, and prison populations.