Our Staff

  • Morgan moved to Escalante from Moab in October of 2023 and she quickly fell in love with the small-town charm and deep sense of community.

    Morgan has been a veterinary technician for over 10 years. Her experience includes small animal general practice, emergency medicine, and high-volume spay and neuter programs. She worked as a program manager and then director for a small social service non-profit for two years before relocating to Garfield County. Most recently she was a lead technician for a mobile veterinary program that provided door-to-door services on the Navajo Nation. The combination of experiences in veterinary medicine and social service programs inspired the vision for Escalante Community Animal Clinic.

    Morgan is passionate about increasing access to veterinary care in rural communities, with an emphasis on preventive medicine. In her free time Morgan enjoys mountain biking and camping with her two dogs.

  • Dr. Suzy Pape, originally from Iowa, has been a practicing veterinarian for 10 years in the southwest. She was first introduced to Utah when she took a backpacking trip during college to Escalante, where she immediately fell in love with the “desert solitude.” After graduating with her D.V.M. from Iowa State University, she accepted a position in Moab, Utah. During her time in Moab, she often returned to Escalante to hike and camp with her dogs.

    Since leaving Moab, Dr. Suzy has practiced in Durango, CO, Ridgeway, CO, and most recently, Taos, NM. On her weekends off, she often works spay/neuter clinics on the Navajo Nation, providing much-needed veterinary care to areas with limited access to veterinary services. She is passionate about providing services to rural regions and is excited to provide Garfield County with veterinary care.

    Her professional interests include soft tissue surgery, dentistry, and preventative care. When she is not working, you can find her trail running with her two “rez dogs,” mountain biking, skiing, or gardening with her cat, Detective Fin Tutuola.

Our Board of Directors

  • Susanne was born and raised in a small town in Switzerland. She was a career hairstylist which led her to northern California where she lived for many years. There, she pursued her lifelong dream of owning horses.

    Eventually she craved more space and moved to the central coast of California where she balanced running her hair salon and caring for her small farm that included goats, donkeys, dogs, chickens, and horses.

    While she was on her way home from a road trip to Colorado she unexpectedly fell in love with Escalante. After years of visiting, she finally moved here full time in 2018.

    Knowing the challenge of accessing veterinary care for her 8 horses, 2 donkeys, 5 dogs and 1 cat, she quickly jumped on board to support ECAC’s mission.

  • Emily Leach first came to the West in 2011, when she joined the Utah Conservation Corps. After her stint with the Utah Conservation Corps, she decided that Escalante is where she wanted to call home and is now the Layout/ Design Editor for The Wayne and County Insider newspaper and Program Director with Corner Post, a digital, web-based media organization. She enjoys hiking, photography, and snuggling baby farm animals.

  • Perrie joined the ECAC board with over 20 years of experience as a small business owner. As a successful hairstylist, she also has extensive experience mentoring and helping other woman develop their own small businesses. Perrie has a passion for helping others grow and succeed in opening their own small businesses, and her approach has helped many new startups with success. Perrie grew up coming to Boulder and Escalante since she was 13. She loves riding horses and recently fulfilled a long-time dream of moving back to enjoy the area. She spends her free time hiking with her beloved dogs or out riding with her horses. She also enjoys attending clinics and classes and she is always striving to continue learning new things.

  • Erin moved to Escalante from California in 2004 to work on a local ranch.

    While in California she studied Equine Science and worked as a large animal veterinarian technician with an ambulatory clinic. Since living in rural Garfield County and experiencing the challenges of poor access to vet care, Erin was very excited to help out where she could with ECAC.

    Erin is also a mother of two as well as a local business owner with her Husband Dave.