Meet Monarch Veterinary Hospital's Outstanding Team
Hospital Director
Glenn S. Craft, DVM
Dr. Glenn Craft graduated from Kansas State University in 1976 and then completed a 15-month internship in small animal medicine and surgery in Orange County, California. He then worked in private practice in Diamond Bar and South Orange County until 1997, when he and his wife Lisa began a 4-year term as fieldworkers with Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM).
Their work in northern Thailand ranged from assisting local hill tribes in their villages by training "village vets" and lending a hand with orphanages, to assisting Chiangmai University in starting their new Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Glenn served on the board of directors for CVM from 2003 to 2007, and he and Lisa still assist CVM at the CVC West veterinary conference each year in San Diego.
They have always worked together, so after returning to California in 2002, they opened Monarch Veterinary Hospital in Laguna Niguel with Lisa as the Hospital Administrator. Glenn, Lisa, and their young son, Ethan, reside in Laguna Niguel, where Glenn is also an elder at Grace Church of Laguna Niguel. As a family, they love the beach, hiking, and golf, and Laguna Niguel is perfect for all three.
Veterinarians
Kelly Alcala, DVM
Dr. Kelly Alcala was born and raised in Southern California. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from California Polytechnic and then continued on to veterinary school at the University of California at Davis, graduating in 2003. Dr. Alcala has been working both in Laguna Beach as a small animal clinician and in San Juan Capistrano as an equine veterinarian. She has been a relief veterinarian at Monarch Veterinary Hospital for approximately 3 years, but recently decided to retire from her equine practice and become an Associate at Monarch.
Dr. Alcala lives with her husband, Jason, in Corona, along with their three dogs and three cats, Rancho, Rebel, Roxie, Boomer, Napa, and Chewy. Jason and Kelly enjoy spending time with their families and doing many outdoor activities, including fishing, backpacking, surfing, SCUBA diving, and skiing.
Bradley R. Steele, DVM
Dr. Brad Steele is our Associate Veterinarian, and has been covering days part time for over 2 years now. He and his wife, Sophie (also a local veterinarian), and two young boys, Collin (age 8) and Samuel (age 3), live in San Diego County and formerly owned their own veterinary hospital in Vista. Dr. Steele’s undergrad degree was in natural resource economics. He also has a master’s degree in veterinary public health.
Dr. Steele has a special interest in service dogs and has a long-standing relationship providing medical and surgical care to Canine Companions for lndependence (CCI) in Oceanside, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and the Oceanside Police Department. He also has a keen interest in wildlife and exotic animal medicine, having traveled extensively in South America, Africa, and Australia. He has worked with Project Wildlife, the San Diego Zoo, and the San Diego House Rabbit Society.
In addition, Dr. Steele is certified to perform a particular hip X-ray procedure called Penn Hip X-rays, and he is taking advantage of our state-of-the art digital X-ray room, which he claims is the best he has seen. He was recently certified to perform stem cell therapy through Vet-Stem so we can provide that modality of treatment for severely arthritic canines.
Kevin Bissonnette, DVM
Dr. Kevin Bissonnette is a highly-trained and experienced surgeon who we have on call for high-end specialized procedures such as TPLO knee surgery, elbow dysplasia surgeries, and open chest heart surgeries, just to list a few of the procedures he has already performed at Monarch Veterinary Hospital. He brings with him all the specialized equipment that he needs, while we provide the operating room, support technical staff, and management of the patient’s anesthesia and recovery.
Dr. Bissonnette recently moved to Orange County from northern California with his wife, Mary. Outside the office, he has a real passion for wind surfing, and often travels to Baja to do so, or up and down the coast—wherever there is wind! We so appreciate the fact that he loves to interact personally with the pet owner both before and after his surgeries and takes an intense personal interest in his patients and their well-being. He brings the surgical skills aspect to Monarch that we value highly and we look forward to a long relationship with him.
Hospital Administrator
Lisa Craft
Lisa Craft, wife of Dr. Craft, is the Administrator of Monarch Veterinary Hospital. She has filled this role for over 20 years, including previous practices the couple owned. Her expertise in human resources and practice management is exemplified by the character and proficiency of the staff at Monarch Veterinary Hospital. She continues to work to improve both the level of care, as well as the state-of-the-art equipment the staff uses.
Lisa is always conscious of keeping the highest level of the personal touch in the ways we interact with pet owners. She believes that the quotient of Experience over Expectations should be greater than one (Experience/Expectations > 1.0). She makes sure that the integrity of our services is held to the highest standard no matter what, and that when explaining high-quality medical and surgical services to the pet owner, the care is not lost in translation. She makes sure that our caring touch goes beyond the pet to them as well. She is constantly looking for ways to improve client education and ways to make their experience at Monarch Veterinary Hospital even better. With a young son at home, she does much of the office work by computer remotely, but spends at least one day a week at the hospital.
Customer Care Specialists
Caran Orme
Caran is our Lead Client Care Specialist and brings a wealth of experience with her and a real love for animals. Her dream is to have a pet ranch someday, where she can harbor all the needy pets that she tends to collect along the way. Right now she has a newly adopted Chihuahua, Gingersnap; one cat; and a little Guinea pig at home. Gingersnap often comes to work and is right behind the reception desk with her. She and her husband, Dr. Steve Orme, used to own and manage a veterinary hospital in Mission Viejo, which they sold a few years ago as Steve retired and pursues his hobbies. Caran loves to spend many weekends at their mountain cabin with her family and pets.
Carla Kleist
Carla is one of our part-time Client Care Coordinators. She has devoted her career to caring for animals, having a heart for animal health care and wellness. With a degree in animal science, she has many years’ experience working with both large and small animals in veterinary hospitals, with livestock husbandry, and in teaching animal health care classes. Carla enjoys developing relationships with clients and their pets as a member of the team at Monarch Veterinary Hospital.
Veterinary Technicians
Jordan J. Tracy
Jordan is our Lead Technician and has been a technician for over 10 years now, with Monarch Veterinary Hospital since 2004. Her passion is her three dogs, Punky (a bulldog cross from the streets of Santa Barbara), Squirt (a Doberman/Bordeaux mix that is partially blind), and Megan, a black Labrador adopted from San Clemente Animal Shelter. Jordan has amazing speed on the computer, remembers everyone and their pets’ names, and has a true heart of compassion for the patients who come through our doors. Jordan oversees hospital inventory and makes sure that everything your pet may need is stocked and available. She also supervises technical staff training and makes sure the staff remains current and competent in their technical and nursing skills. She often stays late or comes in during off hours just to make sure everything is taken care of and all is well. She is bright sunshine every day, no matter what the day may bring, and continues to advance her technical and nursing skills.
Noah Anderson
Noah is one of our highly experienced veterinary technicians with over 15 years in the field (the last 3.5 with MVH), and has a serious passion for herpetology (reptiles). He has a moderate sized collection at home and is successfully breeding some unique species of snakes and chameleons. Noah spends most of his free time hiking, camping and fishing and is always searching for reptiles and amphibians. Noah was born in Santa Barbara and raised here in South Orange County and we are proud to have a man with his expertise. He sets the bar high for himself in whatever he does, and we rely heavily on him to assist in our dental and surgical procedures here at Monarch Veterinary Hospital.
He also performs our non anesthetic dental cleanings for the hospital and his attention to detail is very much an asset.
- Check out Noah's blog, Under Noah's Rock
Andrea K. Mullins
Andrea is the newest staff member at Monarch Veterinary Hospital. She moved to Orange County from Northern California in the spring of 2010 and is adjusting well to the beautiful weather and beaches Southern California has to offer. Andrea recently graduated from Sonoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in zoology. She has been working in the veterinary field for over 4 years as a Veterinary Technician and has a passion for continuing her education. Andrea loves spending time with her Cavalier King Charles, Brady; her chocolate Lab puppy, Penelope; and her cat, Shayla.
Veterinary Assistants
Ana Rea
Ana has been one of our Veterinary Assistants now for almost 5 years. She oversees our pet bathing and patient facilities—making sure they are always clean and odor free. She assists our Veterinary Technicians whenever they need her and continues to increase her technical skills. She is married to Albert and has a 4-year-old son, Damien, and a 1-year-old daughter, Brianna. She is also our Spanish-language translator.
Volunteers
MacKenzie Minnich
Mackenzie has been volunteering one day a week at Monarch Veterinary Hospital since she was 10. She would like to become a veterinarian in the future and says that what she has learned already at Monarch has been invaluable in pursuing her goal. Mackenzie helps her family raise Guide Dogs for the Blind and, with their two dogs, Michele and Teddy, besides their guide dog in training, they have a full house. She loves working at Monarch Veterinary Hospital and has become very close with all of the staff and many of the animals they care for.