Meet Our Staff
TRACY MENTO - DVM
Dr. Mento has owned Forest Heights Veterinary Clinic since 2013. She attended University of California, San Diego, and received her BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Cum Laude in 2000. In 2004, she graduated from University of California, Davis, with her DVM degree. She is a member of the Portland Veterinary Medical Association, the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners. Outside the hospital, she volunteers for the Pixie Project and Columbia Humane Society. Dr. Mento is a pet parent to Lucy, a 16 year old tuxedo DSH cat she adopted as an orphan kitten while in vet school and Asha, a 1 year old, grey kitty adopted from Forest Heights Veterinary Clinic. Her hobbies include travel, scuba diving and backpacking.
TAMMY TOMSCHIN - DVM
Dr. Tomschin attended Oregon State University, achieving her DVM degree in 1999. She is a member of the Portland Veterinary Medical Association, Oregon Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Tomschin interest in veterinary medicine all started after her family got their first dog. She was involved in 4-H throughout middle school and high school and also showed dogs for the AKC. She enjoys taking cooking classes, going on hikes with her pups, knitting and swimming. She has two dogs, Sonja, a 13 year old Lab/Rhodesian Mix, and Sander, a 9 year old Cockapoo and a one eyed black and white kitty named Cookie.
MARISSA PAOLACCI - PRACTICE MANAGER
Marissa studied fine arts with an emphasis in Ceramics at the University of Washington. She started her trek in working with animal in Chicago where she was a full time dog walker and veterinary technician for several years before relocating to Portland in 2014. She lives in SW Waterfront, you can find her walking the parks with her mailman boyfriend and their fur family. They proudly own four pets, an English Bulldog Judy, scrappy Pit Bull mix Gary, and two cats Usha and Yawn.
CANDACE HARPOLE - CVT
Candace joined the FHVC team in the Fall of 2021. She has been a certified vet tech for 19 years. The first six years she lived in Hawaii working with both large and small animals, and has been in Oregon for the past 13 years when she added working with primates and ferrets to her skill set. Her special interests include cytology, emergency, and reproductive surgeries. In her off time you can count on her spending time with her three rescue cats and her huge Great Dane, Remy.
HANNAH HARGENS - CVT
Hannah was born in Portland and raised in Beaverton, and has been working in veterinary medicine for 12 years. Her favorite dog breeds are French Bulldogs, Boxers and Pugs. She is the proud owner of a Bulldog/Boxer mix named Gretel, who loves to frequent coffee drive-throughs for pup cups and assorted treats. Hannah has been working as a certified veterinary technician at Forest Heights for five years, where she thrives in dental cleanings and procedures. She is an avid Lord of the Rings fan, attending special events with her friends and family, and filling her time with activities like drawing, making jewelry, playing volleyball and swimming.
TORI DIEKMEYER - VET TECHNICIAN
Tori (aka Panda) started working at Forest Heights in 2019 as a room technician. Tori got her nickname because of her love for food, cuddles and extreme obsession with pandas. Her loves include music and games of all kinds. She lives in a zoo like most of us, with a calico cat Callie, domestic long hair Chloe, and two corgis, B.B.8 and Princess Rey. Panda also adds on two guinea pigs, Meatloaf and Ozzy.
KELSEY CROW - VET TECHNICIAN
Kelsey started with Forest Heights in the winter of 2022 as a hybrid receptionist and technician assistant. After months of training she now assists the doctors as a room technician. Although she is slightly newer to the animal medical field, she is not new to helping people or pets. In fact, her first was dog! In her spare time she likes to go on long walks and lounge in the sun with her two bully breeds, Bronson and Satine. Kelsey also runs her own pet and house sitting operation.
KENDRA SUNDT - CVT
Kendra studied Music Performance at Lawrence University Technology at Portland Community College, becoming a certified veterinary technician in 2013. She has been working at Forest Heights since March 2014. In her spare time she enjoys reading, playing video games and watching anime. She has two very entertaining cats, Quill and Nym.
BECCA BEST- CLIENT
SERVICES LEAD
Becca became a member of our staff in September of 2022. Becca formerly worked in healthcare with dementia patients for over 30 years. Prior to Forest Heights she did take a break from healthcare and worked for a vet clinic from 2008-2011. Becca has been married to husband David for almost 23 years, and they share two beautiful human children. Becca has prior education in animal health. She enjoys working with animals as she currently has no pets.
MORGAN SALZMAN - CLIENT SERVICES, TECH ASSISTANT, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Morgan joined Forest Heights in 2023, originally working with Alzheimer's patients in retirement facilities. She has worked as a freelance photographer since 2021, and would like to go back to school to study Marine Biology. In the animal world she has taken interest in pet grooming as well as pet sitting. She and her husband Sam are newly weds, and together they own a zoo consisting of a deaf German Shepherd Boomer, a Golden Doodle Polar Bear, mother and son cat duo Nala and Ziggy, and Reggie the turtle.
DENISE NORTH - CLIENT SERVICES, TECH ASSISTANT
Denise studied nursing after 12 years of being a stay at home mom for three wonderful daughters. Before and in school, she worked as a caregiver. After 2 years of school and 10 years of caregiving, she made the decision to step away from the human healthcare field and transition to veterinary care. She began her journey with Forest Heights at the beginning of 2023. Her love for animals has been with her as long as she can remember. She cherishes and loves her husband and their blended family of seven children as well as her 2 dogs, 2 cats and 4 ferrets.
ANGELA HAAS - KENNEL ASSISTANT
Angela is the newest and youngest addition to our staff! She is the younger sister to Tori, one of our technicians here! On her days off she loves to relax with her fiance cuddling with her cat Chloe. Angela's top favorite hobby goes to drawing and art, but video games come in close second, her favorite being Stardew Valley.