Meet Our Staff
Veterinarians
Dr. 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 (15 years) 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 Veterinary College in starting their new Small Animal Teaching Hospital. When they returned to the states in late 2001, Glenn then 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 in San Diego when able.
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 very young children, Ethan and Indya, reside in Dana Point. Glenn is also an elder at Grace Church of Laguna Niguel and their children attend Grace Classical Academy, the school started by the church. As a family, they love the beach, hiking, biking, and golf, and the Laguna Niguel/Dana Point area is perfect for all three.
Dr. 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 State Polytechnic University in Pomona, and then continued on to veterinary school at the University of California at Davis, graduating in 2003. Originally after graduating, Dr. Alcala was working both in Laguna Beach with dogs and cats as a small animal clinician and with horses in San Juan Capistrano as an equine veterinarian. She retired from the horses several years ago and is now solely working with dogs and cats. Dr. Alcala started working at Monarch Veterinary Hospital in 2006 as a relief veterinarian off and on when needed, then part-time and has recently become an associate at the practice.
Dr. Alcala was the primary veterinarian at the Bluebell Foundation for Cats in Laguna Beach for approximately 10 years and has a love and passion for feline medicine, especially in dealing with the sweet, geriatric kitties who need a little extra TLC. She is currently a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the California Veterinary Medical Association, and the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association. She has also recently become a licensed Vet Stem practitioner.
Dr. Alcala lives with her husband, Jason and their sons Kaden and Kole in Corona, along with their dogs Rancho and Macy (and the occasional cat or kitten that lands on her doorstep). Jason and Kelly enjoy spending time with their family and love activities involving the outdoors, including fishing, backpacking, surfing, SCUBA diving, and skiing. They enjoy traveling when the opportunity arrives with their favorite trips being to Africa to see the incredible animal life that continent is home to and more recently to China to adopt their beautiful son, Kaden.
Staff
Lisa Craft
Hospital Administrator
Lisa Craft, wife of Dr. Glenn Craft, is the Administrator of Monarch Veterinary Hospital. She has filled this role from the beginning in 2002, and in previous practices the couple owned in the last 25 years. 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 being sensitive of the personal touch in the ways we interact with pet owners. She believes that the experience of each visit should exceed the pet owner’s expectations each and every time! (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 and daughter in elementary school (Ethan and Indya) she does much of the office work remotely by computer, but spends at least one day a week at the hospital.
Natalie Murchison
Practice Manager
Natalie is a native of Southern California. After working in customer service for over 15 years and then at a multi-specialty veterinary hospital for 6 years, she knew it was her passion to continue to help animals and the people who love them. She has also rescued several animals over the years and has always had a passion in helping others. She loves being able to work in a hospital with opportunities for growth and in an environment where the team feels more like a family. Natalie has special training in management as well as customer service and conflict resolution. She is also up to date on all state of the art equipment and IT needs for Monarch Veterinary Hospital.
Outside of the hospital, Natalie enjoys spending time with her son Ryder. She enjoys traveling, paddle boarding, hiking, and camping. She has 2 4-legged rescue daughters Strom and Rivi along with a Lion Cat named Wheezus. And while that takes the majority of her free time, she of course loves taking advantage of the beautiful Southern California beaches and lifestyle.
Sara Harlan, RVT
Veterinary Technician
At a young age, you could always find Sara outside saving small creatures from her swimming pool or helping the occasional loose neighborhood dog find its way back home. She knew one day she would make a career out of saving lives, which is what led her to Mt San Antonio college’s registered veterinary technician program.
While attending school she volunteered at Sycamore Creek Animal Hospital in her hometown of Corona, where they offered her a full-time position. After a couple of years of hard work she graduated from college and obtained her RVT license.
Although she loved her first hospital, it was time for Sara to move away from her hometown and start a new life with her fiancé Corey, and rescue cattle dog Oswald. In their free time, they enjoy camping, paddle boarding, and going to local breweries.
Sara is loving her new life living closer to the beach and the new work home she found in Monarch Veterinary Hospital.
Ardell Gutierrez
Veterinary Assistant
I was raised in North Orange County. I started in the Veterinary field by doing an ROP class in animal health care. After getting my certificate I continued to get my first Veterinary job as a kennel attendant. I have been caring for all types of animals since 1998.
I have worked with birds, goats and pigs, and reptiles as well as cats and dogs. I have worked in emergency hospitals, alongside surgical specialists. I also have an honorable mentioning in a book that was written by a client.
I have 4 daughters. We love singing and dancing as well as cooking together. Lillian is 15, Avaya is 5 and Lylah is 4, and Leorah is 2. We all love to walk our rescue puppy Moco Coco (the girls named her) and giving love to our old lady cat Shadow.
Destiny Summerell
Bather/Veterinary Assistant
Destiny was born and raised in Orange County, California. She has always had a deep love for animals, starting in childhood when she would bring home any needy animal that wandered into her path. As soon as she was able to, Destiny began to volunteer at animal shelters.
She took this knowledge she gained and found herself working as a manager of a doggy daycare and boarding facility. After working with the daycare for a few years, she decided she wanted to venture into vet medicine. Her career in the veterinary field started with us at Monarch, and her love of animals and vet medicine continues to grow each day.
It is her dream to one day start her own animal rescue and farm sanctuary, so she can provide a loving home to animals in need. In her free time, she enjoys spending time hiking with her rescue dog Luna and lounging around reading with her two cats, Amelia and Nymeria.
Jianna Marinelli
Customer Care Specialist
Bio Coming Soon
Caran Orme
Customer Care Specialists
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 3 small Chihuahau-mix rescued dogs (Rose, Windy, Sage) who sometimes come to work with her. She and her husband, Dr. Steve Orme, used to own and manage a veterinary hospital in Laguna Hills 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.
Kamryn Prevost
Customer Care Specialist
Kamryn is currently working on her degree in communications. Her experience in customer service along with her passion to communicate efficiently and effectively are a welcome addition to the Monarch team.
School and work tend to take up a lot of her time, but she finds time to care for her garden after discovering a love for horticulture through a college course she took. She nurtures her plants from seed to mature plant and is currently moving from flowers and trying her hand at producing vegetables.
Kamryn also loves her two rescue kitties, Cleopatra and Arsinoe. Arsinoe, a beautiful Siamese mix, was coincidentally rescued by Dr. Alcala who heard baby Arsinoe’s faint little cries for help from a bush in her neighborhood. She hopes to continue to grow her knowledge and deepen her love and understanding of the many adorable animals she encounters daily at Monarch Veterinary Hospital.
