Meet Our Staff

Veterinarians

Dr. Craig Evans, DVM

Though he was actually born in Bakersfield (father was working there after a stint in the air force) Dr. Evans considers himself to be the 5th generation, Santa Cruzan, as his mother’s side of the family was heavily involved in the agriculture in the Santa Cruz area. He spent a great deal of his childhood in cowboy horsemanship, especially team roping, and won team roping Championship saddle at the Santa Cruz County Fair in 1989. Dr. Evans attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Biological Sciences in 1982 and was also involved in horse training classes and the Quarter Horse Project there. Dr. Evans received his veterinary doctorate at UC Davis Veterinary School in 1988. Practicing briefly in Merced and Fortuna, he finally settled in Santa Cruz and has been here practicing steadily since 1991. He has two children currently attending Scotts Valley High. Outside of work he enjoys golfing, fly-fishing, camping, and a guilty pleasure of Xbox gaming (though pretty bad, he still enjoys titles like Skyrim and Diablo). Dr. Evans enjoys his job and is often referred to as the gentle giant (he is a big guy) and is known to sit on the floor with his patients. He has been an advocate for Project Purr from its inception and has always managed to offer some form of assistance to the feral cat program they run. With a very practical mindset towards animal care, Dr. Evans makes sure everyone gets what they need to keep their critters happy and healthy. His veterinary interests include general practice, pet care, and surgery. If he were to win the lottery he would still practice and simply offer his expertise for free.Dr. Evans is available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Dr. Hilary Stern, DVM DABVP

Dr. Hilary Stern has been an important part of our veterinary practice but especially so to the community of exotic pet owners. We are so excited and proud to announce that Dr. Stern recently became board certified, earning her DABVP in exotic companion mammal practice. She is the only doctor of veterinary medicine to do so in Santa Cruz. Congratulations Dr. Hilary Stern!

Practice Manager

Michelle grew up in Santa Cruz, attended UC Santa Barbara and JFK University. With her master's degree in Holistic Health Education, she worked in the Bay Area in non-profit Health Education for many years. She has been in the Veterinary field for 9 years, several of those at a 24 Hour Emergency Hospital. Helping animals and their people is what she loves to do. Her family includes two teenage daughters, two sweet pit mixes, and two crazy cats.


Veterinary Technicians & Veterinarian Assistants
Liz has been a veterinary technician since 1998 and an RVT since 2002. She has always worked with cats, dogs and all sorts of exotics. She loves the variety and challenge that comes with getting to help all sorts of different animals, including wildlife. Liz loves having a house full of animals and currently shares her space with a husband, two teenagers, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 10 chickens and 3 ducks.
Alex has worked as a veterinary assistant for over a year and in her spare time enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Brittany was born and raised in Georgia (go dawgs!) and moved to California a few years ago to marry her husband. She has been in the veterinary field since 2015 and her favorite part about general practice is the relationships she forms with clients and their patients. She and her husband are loyal subjects to two cats (Slade and Talia), and are planning on adding one more to the clan soon. She enjoys watching college football, playing video games, and snuggling her cats.
Dylan loves cats and dogs and has been working in an animal hospital setting since 2018 when he got his first job in an animal hospital in Berkeley. Besides that, he studies biology and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Mary is a Bay Area native and nationally Certified Clinical Medical Assistant and has a background in Park Management. She has worked in veterinary medicine for many years. The reason is simple: she loves animals and the people who cherish them. Mary shares her life and home with two German Shepherds, AJ and Siren; two cats, Boo Radley and Topo Gijio (a medical rescue raised since birth); and a 50 gallon fish tank. Whatever spare time she has is spent with her fur family and her loving husband of more than 28 years.
Katy is a Santa Cruz native with a long time love of animals. She graduated in 2013 from Shasta College with a Associate's in Veterinary Technology.
Andrea has been working in the veterinary field since 2011 and in 2019, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Animal Science. During her time working in the veterinary field she has worked with a variety animals, but have found exotics, especially reptiles, to be her favorite. In her free time she enjoys taking her dog on hikes, scuba diving, and taking wildlife and nature photos.
Lodging Attendants
Lodging Supervisor Mariah was born and raised in California, where she spent much of her childhood on a farm surrounded by an array of animals. She started working at a young age and quickly found that working closely with animals was her passion. Mariah has worked in a kennel setting for over six years, is CPR certified and has trained in canine body language. In her free time she enjoys camping, hiking with her dog, drawing and meeting new dogs.
Emily was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Her love of the outdoors and animals began at a young age with her beloved blind sheepdog Taffy. In 2012 her entire immediate family relocated to Santa Cruz. Once in sunny California she adopted her beautiful cockapoo, Biscuit. You might spot her around town riding her bike while pulling Biscuit in a trailer. Adopting Biscuit lead her to start a successful dog-sitting business. For over three years she housed and loved many dogs. In December 2018 she began working for the lodging department here at the Animal Hospital of Soquel. In her free time she hangs-out with her three young nieces, trail runs, fishes, and does many crossword puzzles.
Brandee was born in Southern California and moved to Felton 10 years ago. She has been in the animal industry for the past 10 years, working at the SPCA as a shelter coordinator and at Bed, Biscuits for five years and Canine Corral. She is happy to be here at the Animal Hospital of Soquel doing what she loves most.
In 2002, Mike left the world of high tech and found a true passion in working with animals. I worked at Humane Society Silicon Valley for 12 years where I was the Manager of Animal Care and I had a lead role in working with the onsite Doggie Daycare, Boarding and Grooming services I pride myself on looking at every animal as an individual and doing everything I can to ensure they’re happy and comfortable at their home away from home. When I’m not looking after the awesome animals at AHOS, I spend my time with my two- and four-legged family which includes my fiancé, three daughters, four cats, and one super-special dog.
Grooming
Amy graduated from Beugay’s School of Dog Grooming in Los Altos, CA in 1992. She went on to apprentice with a certified master groomer for the next year then continued to work with and learn from many talented groomers in the Los Gatos/Saratoga area for over 20 years. She joined our team at AHOS in January 2015. In her spare time, Amy enjoys spending time with her family and 3 dogs.
Hospital Assistant
Brianna has worked at the Animal Hospital of Soquel for over four years. She has been a life-long caregiver for animals and is dedicated to providing excellent care for our lodging guests. Brianna's interest in pampering pets extends to our Spa, where she assists our talented groomer with bathing, mani-pedi's, brush-outs, and other beautification services.
Client Service Representatives
Brittney grew up in Carmel valley on 13 acres with lots of animals. After going to college in San Diego she moved up here, to Santa Cruz to be closer to home. She has always loved animals but realized she wanted to work in the veterinary field when she rescued her dog brooks from near death in a ditch on the side of the road. Now she is able to watch and help animals be saved everyday!