Our Team

Veterinarian/Owner

Laura Brown, DVM

Dr. Brown graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987 after receiving her undergraduate degree in Biology at Illinois. Dr. Brown began her veterinary career in Southern California, where she was primarily involved in equine medicine for thoroughbred racehorses. She transitioned her focus to small animal medicine in 1989 when she joined Mission Animal Hospital in Oceanside, California. She remained at Mission until 1992, when her husband’s job transferred them to southeast Idaho. While practicing in Twin Falls and Pocatello, Dr. Brown and her husband Kris took advantage of the beautiful scenery and skied when not taking emergency calls. Dr. Brown joined DuPage Animal Hospital in Villa Park, IL, in 1993 (another husband job transfer), where she practiced small animal medicine and surgery. In August of 1996, Dr. Brown opened GreenTree Animal Hospital in Libertyville, and the rest is history. Thanks to the support of her husband Kris and their daughters Sara and Clare, finding a work-life balance has been enjoyable. Sara (ILL-INI) and Clare (Go Gamecocks) have recently made Kris and Laura empty nesters. For Dr. Brown, keeping busy with Stanley the Golden Retriever, Brownie, the geriatric cat, and getting together with friends have become the new normal.

Veterinarian

Deni Ianakov, DVM

Dr. Deni Ianakov received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois. In May 2004, she obtained a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. As a new graduate, Dr. Ianakov was excited to join our team in July 2004, where she is building on her strong interest in orthopedics and teeth cleaning. Dr. Ianakov resides in Highland Park, Illinois, with her husband Luis, daughter Giselle, son Sebastian, and rat terrier Ziggy.

Veterinarian

Laura Hardy, DVM

Dr. Laura Hardy received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State in 1986. She then completed a year-long internship at the Veterinary College of Kansas State University. Dr. Hardy has interests in soft tissue surgery, pet dentistry, and general medicine. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Hardy has also lived in New York, Virginia, Iowa, Oregon, and California before moving to Illinois in 1990. Along with her husband Mark, Dr. Hardy shares her home with their dogs Penny and Tucker, their cats Ace and Redford, and a menagerie of fish, amphibians, snakes, and sometimes her adult children, Sam and Sarah.

Veterinarian

Susan McKenzie, DVM

Dr. McKenzie has been an associate veterinarian at GreenTree since March 2012. She is a 1992 graduate of Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and practiced in St Louis, Missouri, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She lives with her husband Jeremy and their two children, Ben and Jillian. Dr. McKenzie currently has no four-legged pets as Jillian is allergic to dogs and cats. Hopefully, she will outgrow this soon as both children really would like to have a dog or cat of their own.

Lauren Hai, DVM

Dr. Lauren Hai, a native of the north suburbs of Chicago, joined our team in May 2019. She became our medical director in 2021. She obtained her undergraduate degree at Iowa State University and completed her veterinary degree at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, in 2014. She has worked in both emergency and general practice over the past years. She loves being a small animal veterinarian and has a passion for behavior, preventative and emergency medicine. She lives in Libertyville with her husband Josh, their daughter Winry, twin babies Maeve and Emmett, and their two dogs, Xena and Byron. She has many hobbies, including playing video games, traveling, boating, crafting, and gardening.

Veterinarian

Marina Jaworsky, DVM

Dr. Marina Jaworsky joined GreenTree Animal Hospital in February of 2020. She is excited to return to her hometown of Libertyville (Go Wildcats!) after working for the past five years as a small animal and exotic animal practitioner in Elmhurst, Illinois. Dr. Jaworsky is a 2015 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and has an interest in small and exotic animal surgery and medicine.

She lives in Grayslake with her husband, scruffy terrier, two house rabbits, and a small reef tank. Dr. Jaworsky is also a board member of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association and Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. In her free time, she loves to travel, read novels, bike ride, and swim.

Veterinarian

Katie Weber, DVM

Dr. Katie Weber grew up on a hog farm in central Illinois with her parents and four sisters. After completing college at Eastern Illinois University, she began her career working for various wildlife agencies in both Wyoming and Illinois. After several years of working with snakes and different species of game fish, she decided to attend veterinary school at the University of Wisconsin, where she graduated in 2019. She then began practicing at a small animal clinic in Madison, WI, where she also practiced exotics medicine with a specific passion for reptiles and fish. Her additional interests lie within surgical and anesthetic considerations for exotics species, soft-tissue surgery, ultrasound, and multi-modal pain management for every pet she sees. Dr. Weber lives with her wife Kelly (who is also a veterinarian), their dog, two cats, and two snakes. When not working or handling the zoo at home, she enjoys hiking, canoeing, camping, reading, and playing guitar.

Veterinarian

Liora Rephael, DVM

Dr. Rephael joined GreenTree Animal Hospital in September. If you’ve been in recently, you may have seen her working alongside one of our fabulous doctors to familiarize herself with the hospital and team.

Dr. Rephael was born and raised in Israel. She was enlisted in the Israeli Defense Force as a combat medic and served two years, followed by an additional twelve years in a search and rescue unit in the Israeli Reserves. She completed her BA in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Haifa and then went on to complete her prerequisites for vet school.

Dr. Rephael graduated from the University of Illinois in 2020 and has been working in emergency and General Practice for the past year. She has a strong interest in soft tissue surgery, emergency medicine, and client education.

Dr. Rephael lives in Mt Prospect with her significant other Jimmy and has a cat named Diego and a dog named Gia. When not at work, she enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors.

Ryan Taipalus

Ryan has been in the Veterinary field for that past 11 years, starting as a technician and for the past 5 years as Practice Manager for both General Practice and Emergency hospitals. Ryan is originally from Colorado, where he received his bachelor’s degree in biology. In 2020 Ryan, his wife Ericka, 5-year-old twin boys, and 3-year-old daughter decided to make the move to Southern Wisconsin for a less crowded lifestyle. They share there home with 3 dogs Rowdy, Jules, and Pinkie. When not at work Ryan can be found enjoying the outdoors, playing video games, or reading the newest fantasy book.