Head of Student Ambassador Program

Marie Bucko

DVM

Dr. Marie Bucko recently joined VETgirl as the Head of the VETgirl Student Ambassador Program. Marie is a 2021 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Veterinary Medicine and former Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) president, focused on making veterinary school a better experience for all.

Marie Bucko has spent her life using her personal and career experiences to help advocate for farmers. As a highly motivated public servant and veterinarian, she has a passion for working at the intersection of animal health, public health, public policy and communicating science. She serves as the Science & Technology Advisor for the National Pork Producers Council in Washington DC.

Before becoming a veterinarian, Marie served the US Food and Drug Administration’s Foods and Veterinary Medicine (FVM) Program as a Science Policy Analyst in DC. She helped in developing performance metrics for the Food Safety Modernization Act and Veterinary Feed Directive. She served as the point person for the agency’s Center for Veterinary Medicine helping to prepare agency leadership for Congressional briefings, leading FVM’s Congressional Appropriation’s response efforts, coordinating industry meetings, and leading the National Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring System communications across USDA, CDC, & FDA. During this time, she received her Master’s of Science in Food Safety from Michigan State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Marie grew up on a beef and sheep farm in a small town in south-central Wisconsin. She is an avid cooker/baker, anything outdoors, going on veterinary mission trips, supporting FFA & 4-H members, and eating too much Nutella. She loves spending time with her husband and two fur-children who reside Madison, WI.