Meet Our Team

Matt comes from an animal loving family where he grew up raising and showing 4-H animals from rabbits and pigs to lambs and horses. He has always had a dog and learned that he had a true love for cats when he bonded to his first cat Baxter in 1998. (Baxter lived to 21 years of age!). Wildland fire fighting and managing his own fire crew gave him great management experience where he had to manage several people in stressful and potentially life threatening situations. Matt left the job he loved to finish his college degree in Criminal Justice. He spent three years working and managing a veterinary boarding facility where he learned what it took to run a boarding facility as well as picking up some technician skills. Matt is now our bookeeper, Mr Fix It, tech assistant and boarding kennel manager.

After spending time at a local Animal Rehabilitation Facility, Matt has really gotten excited about all that rehabilitation can do for our patients. He is currently enrolled in a veterinary rehabilitation course that includes 42 hours of classwork online and hands on along with a 40 hour internship. He should be a Certified Rehabilitation Assistant by the end of 2024 .

Bri grew up in Abilene, Texas in an animal loving home. Her passion is caring for and working with small and large animals of all kinds. Throughout high school, she worked with a rescue and fostered over a dozen dogs and a cat. Each animal had a different obstacle they had to overcome before being adopted, which helped Bri realize the veterinary field is where she belonged. After high school, she went to College Station and attended the Veterinary Technician program at Blinn College. During the program, she had the opportunity to learn about and work with many different species ranging from small and large animals to exotics. She graduated from the program with an Associates of Applied Science Veterinary Technology degree in 2022. Later that year, she took the licensing exams and became an LVT. She moved to the Austin area in 2020 when she married her husband, Josh and commuted to College Station to finish her degree. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with friends and family and playing with her dogs, Raven, Dakota, and Maggie. Bri is excited for the opportunity to further her education at Whitestone and care for the patients like they are her own!

Carissa moved to the Austin area around 25 years ago from West Texas. She grew up in Carlsbad, NM, and Midland, TX and met her husband shortly after moving here in 95’ and they have been together ever since. They have a middle school aged daughter – Makena. She also fills her home with 3 dogs: Zoe a Boston Terrier, Isla and Cosmo her Boxers. She loves the smooshie faces dogs!

She started working with animals when she was 22, and has helped out in all areas of the hospital. From working in the kennel to being a technician, and helping out at reception and inventory manager. She took a break and was a stay at home mom but lucky for us she missed taking care of animals and came to work with us! One her favorite things about the job is being able to help calm a nervous pet, and make them feel more calm during their visit.

When not working with animals, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading, and staying active. She love watching scary movies and always makes sure we have fun in October. She stays active with Yoga, Pilates and walking her pups around the neighborhood.

We are excited to incorporate her into the Alternative Medicine part of our hospital as she has a strong interest here. You will often see her helping Dr Walden with Acupuncture and Laser appointments.

Jeff is a native Texan and grew up in the Dallas suburbs. He moved to Austin during his teen years and began his career in the Veterinary field as a kennel assistant. Jeff has been a Veterinary Technician since 1999, with five years in Emergency/Critical Care and 17 years in General Practice. Jeff and his wife Shannon moved to Alaska in 2006 for a few years, where he worked at an Animal Emergency Hospital. You can catch him on old episodes of the Animal Planet TV series “Clinically Wild,” where he obtained the title “Master Porcupine Quill Remover.

He and Shannon share their home with a high school daughter Hayden and elementary aged daughter Harper, 2 dogs and a cat.

He worked with Dr. Walden at a previous hospital in 2006 and again from 2009 until she left in 2018. Dr. Kramr also had the opportunity to work with Jeff previously from 2013 to 2018. We are happy to work together again. You can often find him working on hospital inventory, helping with surgery cases and helping patients feel better with Laser Therapy.

Alex was born and raised in Cedar Park Texas where she graduated from Vista Ridge High school in 2022 with a Veterinary Technicians Assistant license. She’s had a love for animals from a young age and found a passion in caring for animals through her time in veterinary medicine. Although she loves all animals, cats hold a special place in her heart. She can’t remember a time where her family didn’t have a cat around. Right now they have 5 fur babies, including 4 cats named Kendall, Oreo, Ginger and her cat Mae Mae who she raised from just 3 weeks old as a bottle baby. And of course her sweet aussie named Bentley who she adopted in 2018. Some of her favorite things to do include singing along to her favorite songs, dancing and spending time with friends and family. 

I grew up in Green, Wisconsin, and in 2012 moved to Austin. Before moving here, I met my husband, and we were married in 2014. I come from a large family of 9 and have two daughters and eight grandchildren.

For the past 20 years, I’ve worked in a call center. In 2020 I decided to leave the 4×4 cubicle to find a job where I could continue to help people face to face. I love animals, so I decided to find a position where I could continue to help people and meet their adorable pets.

We have two dogs, Maxx and Rocko, that keep us entertained when our grandkids are not visiting. I love to cook, spend time with my grandchildren, and hang out at the pool on my days off.

Kelly grew up in Austin and has always loved animals of all shapes and sizes. She joined the veterinary field in 2013 and cannot see herself anywhere else. Kelly is passionate about client education and Fear Free Practices. She is so excited to be on a team that prioritizes excellent medicine and patient care. She has a soft spot for senior pets and enjoys embroidery, reading, and attempting DIY projects in her spare time (with varying levels of success).

She shares her home with her husband Cody, two chihuahuas, a rabbit and a cat. In her free time she likes to watch crime shows, go running, make new salad recipes, she loves to read and loves to doodle!

Currently, Darby is a student at Texas A&M University Kingsville, where she is pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Veterinary Technology and licensure as a Veterinary Technologist. She is making strides there to continue to grow interest in the profession and animal nursing by spreading her passion for animal health as President of their Student Chapter of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America.

She is always excited about the opportunity to grow her skills here at Whitestone as she gets to know you and your pets between semesters.