Dr Gerards was born and raised in Southern California, the daughter of a teacher and another local, small animal veterinarian.    She has wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps since she was in middle school.  She went to high school at Viewpoint, right here in Calabasas.  After finishing high school she got her undergraduate degree from University of California Davis where she continued to follow her dream of becoming a veterinarian by majoring in Animal Biology.  After graduation from university she traveled with her friends to Australia and loved it so much that she decided to apply to veterinary school overseas.  She was accepted into and completed her Veterinary degree at Murdoch University, in Perth Australia (the farthest city from any other city in the WORLD) in 2010. During her time at university she paid her way by working as a waitress in a local restaurant where she would soon meet her future husband (a native of Holland but living in Australia at the time). 

During her final year in veterinary school, Dr Gerards was accepted into a local rotating veterinary internship at Animal Specialty Group in Glendale, California.  Her Dutch fiancé travelled with her back to California where they had a beautiful wedding and began their new life together.  Dr Gerards completed her rotating internship in June of 2012 and has now joined the West Hills Animal Hospital family as a new associate veterinarian.  She loves running, swimming, shopping, and especially playing with her two dogs, Rusty and Jabba the Hut, and her kitty Clive.