Meet Our Team

Started with us in 2019

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 been a dog person but he has a soft spot for black cats after getting 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 is married to Dr Walden and after graduation and the birth of their first child, he redirected towards the veterinary field. He spend several 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, technician and now runs our Rehabilitation Center. 

Matt has always been fascinated with how the dog’s skeleton works and functions.  His Mr Fix It Brain naturally loves to figure out and fix dogs that are having trouble getting around.  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 with the Canine Rehabilitation Institute working towards his Certification in Canine Rehabilitation. 

Whitestone Employee since 2019

Alyssa grew up here in Cedar Park and moved out to Leander with her family to start a small family ranch, with a small cattle breeding operation. She graduated from Texas A&M, class of 2020 majoring in Animal Science with a certification in Equine Science. She previously worked with the Central Texas SPCA as Lead Care Taker which solidified her love of helping animals and the community. She has a small herd of animals including two horses, one cow, one cat and four dogs. She started working for us when we first opened to get more small animal experience and has stayed with us ever since. She is the one that keeps things flowing as she is able to run the treatment room, be a surgery techinician and she manages our boarding facility. Her first love are Pitties and she shares her home with two. She recently has also fallen in love with Frenchies and has one of those too. Her fourth dog is a mixed breed that has followed her from Texas A&M. You can find Alyssa never sitting still as she helps you with boarding questions, checks your pet in for surgery, you may see her in rooms or up front helping with a technician appointment. She has started the Licensed Veterinary Technician Program and should have her license in the next 1-2 years.

Whitestone Employee since 2023

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.  She has a special spot for blue heelers and is currently our Chaga’s expert as she is caring for a positive dog named Mia who is unfortunately in heart failure but has exceeded her expected lifespan due to Bri’s care and making sure she gets her life saving meds on time three times per day!

Whitestone Employee since 2023
**But has worked with many of since 2017

Whitestone Employee since 2023

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. She has recently been incorporated into our Rehabilitation Center and is starting her certification in Canine Rehabilitation and the Canine Rehabilitation Institute.

Whitestone Employee since 2022
**Has worked with Dr Walden since 2006

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.

Jeff is our dental guy and you will often meet him at check in or discharge from surgery.  He may also be on the other end of the phone answering your pet questions.

Whitestone Employee since 2021
**Has worked with Dr Walden since 2014

Kaia has been a veterinary technician for the past ten years working at various veterinary hospitals. She comes to Texas from the state of Michigan. She also has years of experience working in animal shelters and with rabbit and rat rescue groups. She has a passion for rat and cat medicine. In her spare time, you can find her working on her passion project – Central Texas Rat Rescue. If you are coming in with a rat then you will definately meet her.  She is also amazing with cats and you may run into her coming in to draw blood on your cat. 

Whitestone Employee since 2022
**Worked with Dr Grigsby, Walden and Kramr since 2017

Alicia has been in the veterinary field for 15 years. She is originally from Illinois (you can hear it in her Midwest accent!). She spent two decades working with Standard Bred horses at a breeding farm where she helped with foaling, breaking yearlings (she started training yearlings at 13 years of age!), breeding and Harness racing. She found her place in the veterinary field where she has been every since. She moved to the Austin area in 2017 where she met and worked with Dr Walden, Dr Grigsby and Dr Kramr. You will hear her voice if you are calling in with questions about your pet or getting help with medications. She is also the technician that is often helping take care of your pet when they are hospitalized. Her favorite past times include baking yummy food, hiking with her dogs and cheering on the Chicago Bears. She shares her home with her longtime partner Erik and her pet children Nori (Miniature Australian Shepherd) and Roxy (Lab Mix). Her adult son Jakes live about 3 hours away.

Whitestone Employee since 2023

Cayli is a Texas native and grew up in Lago Vista. She comes from an animal loving family and has always had a big heart for all animals ranging anywhere from dogs and cats to giant tortoises. Cayli has dreamed of helping animals since she was three years old. She has been in the veterinary field since 2016 where she started as a kennel technician. Now, Cayli’s passions are surgery and teaching others how to thrive in this field and fall in love with veterinary medicine just like she did. Cayli is in school to earn her Veterinary Technician License and she can’t wait to care for your pets as if they were her own. Cayli shares her home with her high school sweetheart, Chris, her 1 year old daughter, Amelia Jeanne, and her cats, Dale and Lead, dogs, Tardious (pitbull mix), Odyssey (Boerboel) and Rooney (Whippet Mix) and her many reptiles and amphibians. 

Whitestone Employee since 2021

Diana was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where my father was stationed in Fort Brag. From being an Army Brat.  She lived in Germany to upstate New York, Houston, and then finally landing in Austin.. At the age of sixteen, while in High School, she acquired a job that she maintained for twenty years. Animals have been part of her entire life.  She was that little girl that always came across an injured animal and brought it home. She enjoys spending time with her family that includes her husband Chris, daughter Lanah, son Austin, and fur babies Izzy and Charlie. We can’t forget Mr. krabs her hermit crab.  In her free time, you will find her in Lampasas visiting family and her favorite donkey. Diana came to us from recommendations of friends that told us how amazing she was and that she was wanting to make her dream of working with animals come to life. She wanted to work in treatment, but started up front since she came with no veterinary experience. She is amazing at customer service so will often see her smiling face up front. Her drive to learn and have her hands on your fuzzy babies has also moved her to the treatment area and you will often see her smiling face greet you in rooms! She has a special interest in nutrition and she is our go to person for dog food questions. 

Whitestone Employee since 2023

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. She adores her cat Mae Mae who she raised from 3 weeks of age and has a adorable black kitty named Beans. She has a sweet spot for Aussies and shares her life with 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.  She has been a great addition to our hospital. She always makes you feel welcome and heard. We discovered that she is an amazing teacher so she is our student mentor and works with our high school and community college students that come spend time at our hospitals. 

Whitestone Employee since 2023

Anecia was born and raised in Southern California, from a young age she has always had a passion for animals of all shapes and sizes, growing up she had many pets. In high school she had started studying veterinary medicine to become a technician. She had her first internship in 11th grade. Senior year Anecia decided to do something adventurous and joined the army in honor of her family members who also served. She served active duty for 4 and a half years for the army. While also going to Purdue University for business management. Her roles in the military included Human Resource Management and Chemical Equipment Repair. She was medically retired in 2023.

She started working with us through a program at Austin Community College working towards her Certified Veterinary Assistant Certificate and then we all decided that she had to stay.  Her customer service skills have her working up front and yet she also has skills that help us in the back getting your fur babies checked in and helping with hospital patients.  We also discovered her creative and technical skills and have harnessed them while she helps with our social media.  Any cute pictures you get after having your pet’s teeth cleaned her are due to her!

Anecia is also a mom of two toddlers and has a Golden Retriever named Oakley and an Australian Shepherd named Sage. S

Whitestone Employee since 2023

Anessia was born and raised in California. She began doing kennel attendant in 2019. She grew up around all different animals and always had a passion for taking care of everyone of them. She had worked in California for three years then moved to Texas and began working as a kennel technician. She drove past us every day to get to work. She shortly applied and became apart of the team here.  She is amazing with calming down dogs and cats. You will find her helping out all over the hospital from helping with the boarding cats, giving our patients extra love during their walks and keeping the hospital looking great.  We love having her work here she has been hard working. She currently has ten chickens, two cats, a bunny, lizards and fostering a dog named Irene. 

Whitestone Employee since 2022

Lisa grew up in Green, Wisconsin, and in 2012 moved to Austin.  For the past 20 years, she worked in a call center. In 2020 I decided to leave the 4×4 cubicle to find a job where she could continue to help people face to face. She loved animals, so decided to find a position where she could continue to help people and meet their adorable pets.

She shares her home with three dogs and her husband. She spends her free time with her two daughters and eight grandchildren.  She is also an amazing cook and we look forward for the days that she brings in yummy things. 

Whitestone Employee since 2022

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 has a great attention to detail helps get your pet all set up!

Whitestone Employee since 2023

Yulia is from Russia but spent most of her youth in the Houston area. She has always loved animals since she was little and wants to be an advocate for animals because they can’t speak for themselves. She is currently working on her veterinary technician license. She has previous experience in general and urgent care practices.

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! She is expecting a baby in June of 2025.

Whitstone Employee since 2023
**Has worked with Dr Walden since 2016

Whitestone Employee since 2019

Whitestone Employee since 2024

Eli grew up in Corpus Christi, but moved to Leander in 2017. Growing up  he always had a passion for animals, and always had a cat in the house. When his childhood kitty Rocky got very sick, it pushed him to look into helping out other pets who need help.  He graduated from Leander High School in 2024 and we met him through the Certified Veterinary Assistant Program. During this program I interned at Whitestone Animal Hospital, and quickly fell in love with the facility and the people. I officially joined the team summer of 2024, and have been loving it ever since!

Whitestone Employee since 2024

Giselle grew up all over due to the military but always has a strong love for all fur babies. She grew up showing rabbits, chickens, and sheep at her local junior stock show. Giselle is currently in the process of earning LVT and specializing in canine rehabilitation.  She came to work with us to continue her love and passion for canine rehabilitation. You will usually find her in the rehab part of our hospital but you may also find her in treatment working on her technician skills! If there is a French Bull Dog in the hospital then you will likely find her there too!  Frenchies o She loves taking my kids (fur babies) hiking and on longgg walks.  

Whitestone Employee since 2024

Maggie is a native of Georgetown, Texas, and has always had a deep love for animals, with a special fondness for cats. She earned her undergraduate degree in Communication Studies from Stephen F. Austin State University. While in college, Maggie began petsitting for neighbors, friends, and professors, discovering a true passion for caring for animals. After returning to Georgetown, she worked in the restaurant industry and continued to care for pets on the side. Eventually, Maggie took her passion full-time by starting her own petsitting business. Driven by her love for animals and a desire to expand her skills, Maggie decided to transition into veterinary medicine and is currently working toward becoming a Certified Veterinary Assistant through courses at Austin Community College. She is incredibly grateful and loves caring for every animal that comes through the door. Outside of work, Maggie enjoys walking dogs, spending time outdoors, and relaxing with her three cats: Tommi, Gracie, and Sammi.

Whitestone Employee since 2022

Ethan is a native Texan who grew up in Cedar Park where he graduated from Vista Ridge High School in 2023 as a Certified Veterinary Assistant. He will be attending Texas Tech in the Fall of 2024. His love for animals started with his family’s first cat, Althea, Now they have four animals! One dog named Gunther and three cats named Zelda, Zoe, and Roxy. As well as a passion for animals, Ethan is a massive theatre kid and enjoys spending his free time going to shows with friends! He also loves to bike and camp when the weather allows it. He is currently doing his undergraduate at Texas Tech.

Whitestone Employee since 2019

Donovan is a student at Texas A&M. He has been around animals for his entire life and because he is Dr Walden’s son, he has been surrounded by veterinary medicine since before he was born. It was natural for his first job to be at Whitestone Animal Hospital. His background besides hanging out at the vet hospital with his Mom and Dad includes training his Miniature Australian Shepherd Kip. He and Kip have done obedience training, agility training and got their first level of Trick Dog Certification. Although Kip holds a special part of Donovan’s heart, he also has a cat named Don Gato and a flock of chickens that he raises for eggs before they join the Walden Chicken Retirement Home. Life outside of the animal world includes being part of the Fighting Aggie Texas Band and majoring in Engineering.

Whitestone Employee since 2021

Darby grew up right here in Cedar Park Texas where she graduated from Vista Ridge High School in 2022 with her Certification as a Veterinary Assistant after completing an internship here at Whitestone during her senior year. Her love for animals began at a very young age from growing up with her first dog Mija and watching endless animal documentaries with her family. Later on, Darby also began to foster a love for medicine while watching her father go through nursing school, convincing her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.

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.

Whitestone Employee since 2019

Jordan has been with us since we opened. She has taken some time off to be with her kids and is helping with child care for some of our staff. We still consider her part of our family!