Our Team
 | Dr. Rhonda Stallings, Veterinarian and Co-owner Dr. Rhonda Stallings and her husband, Practice Manager Rich Lee, have lived in Sonoma since 1992 and have owned Arroyo Veterinary Hospital since 1997. After graduating at the top of her class from The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1981, she practiced emergency medicine in Akron for one year before moving to San Francisco. In the city, she practiced at Pets Unlimited for four years, becoming medical director, and then at Avenues Pet Hospital for 11 years before opening her practice in Sonoma. Many of her San Francisco clients still travel to the Wine Country to see her Her family also includes son Michael and daughter Abbey, as well as dogs Sophie, Peanut, Sandy, and Shorty and cats Sammy and Tammy. With a flair for performing, she has appeared in local theater productions such as "Narnia" and "Jerry's Girls," and hosts a weekly radio show, "Sonoma Pet Talk," on local station KSVY 91.3 FM, every Thursday from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. And, as if she doesn't have enough to do, Dr. Stallings writes a monthly pet column for the Sonoma Index-Tribune for the "Pet Page" in the Dot. and writes occasionaly for the Sun as well. |
 | Rich Lee, Practice Manager and Co-owner Rich has worked as the practice manager of the hospital since 1998 after a 17-year career as a graphic designer and project manager. Since joining his wife, Dr. Stallings, he oversaw the extensive renovation of the building (formerly occupied by Goodtime Bicycle) to which the business relocated in May 2002. For the past several years, he has been active in the Rotary Club of Sonoma, serving on the board of directors and participating in many of the club's community service projects. He also serves on the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Sonoma Valley Redevelopment Advisory Committee, and the Springs Task Force Coordinating Committee. |
 | Dr. Deanna Schwab, Veterinarian Dr. Deanna Schwab joined Arroyo Veterinary Hospital in 2000 after working as an associate veterinarian in Walnut Creek for three years. She graduated from the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1996 and completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Earlier, she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Oswego and worked as an account executive at a San Francisco advertising agency. Deanna lives in Sonoma with her husband Mark, dogs Emma, Consuela, and Torpedo, and cats Steve, Winston Churchill, Big Ben and Fritz. |
 | Dr. Josephine McGrane, Veterinarian A Sonoma native, Dr. McGrane originally joined Arroyo Veterinary Hospital as an animal health technician before heading to the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she graduated in 2003 at the top of her class. She is a 1994 graduate of Sonoma Valley High School and 1999 graduate of University of California, Davis. She plans to become certified in veterinary acupuncture. Josephine's large local family includes her husband Mike, daughters Elizabeth and Samantha (born in May of '08), and her dog Sydney, and cat Jasmine. |
 | Dr. Suzie Johnson, Veterinarian Dr. Suzie Johnson joined Arroyo Veterinary Hospital in 2005, immediately after graduating from the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California, Davis, where she also earned a bachelor's degree in animal science in 2000. She lives in Petaluma, where she was born and raised. Her family includes her husband Corey, and cats Allie and Abigail. Dr. Johnson is also a talented pet photographer and many of her photographs can be seen on the Photo Gallery page. |
 | Kelly Granelli, Office Manager Kelly Granelli joined Arroyo Veterinary Hospital in 1998 as the receptionist. Today she oversees much of the day-to-day administrative operations of the practice, including accounts payable and receivable, human resources, insurance, payroll, and employee benefits. She is also highly knowledgeable about the practice's computer systems and the many laws and regulations that affect hospital operations. Kelly lives in Napa with her husband Kenny, sons Zach and Dante, and dogs Dio and Gabby. |
 | Delisa Dodge Yankee, Head of Client Services Joining Arroyo Veterinary Hospital in 2005, Delisa Dodge Yankee brings a wealth of skills and experience to her role of managing client services. She was previously clinic manager for the Marin Humane Society in Novato, hospital director of the Banfield veterinary clinic in Rohnert Park, and, for seven years, administrative manager at the Guide Dogs for the Blind veterinary clinic in San Rafael. She began her career working for Dr. Robert Wagner of Glen Ellen Veterinary Hospital. Delisa has lived in the Sonoma Valley since 1987. Her family includes her husband Alex and son Zachary, as well as her dog Cora and cats Spanky and Paprika. |
 | Xochitl Maldonado, Head Veterinary Nurse Xochitl (pronounced "Sochi") oversees the nursing staff to ensure a smooth workflow during our busy days. She also schedules the nurses and veterinary assistants and helps manage the hospital's inventory which is no small task! Xochitl enjoys fostering kittens for Pets Lifeline during the summer. Her husband, Dave, and three cats, Ghengis Khan, Azrael and Pandora look forward to socializing the little furballs each season. Her education includes a high school degreee from the L.A. Zoo Magnet and a BS in Animal Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She joined Arroyo in 2003. |
 | Lauree Searock, Veterinary Nurse Lauree joined our practice in 1998 while we were still in our old location at 18175 Sonoma Hwy. Lauree has extensive experience as a veterinary nurse and is called upon to handle many nursing duties. |
 | Lauren Triplett, Veterinary Nurse Lauren joined the practice in 2002 and among her many other duties at Arroyo is our diet expert. She is pictured here with her friend "Gracie". The rest of her family includes husband Tom and son Robert (born May of '08) In addition to being a great nurse, Lauren is also a frequent foster care provider for stray kittens and is a strong advocate for responsible pet ownership. |
 | Elizabeth Ponsford, Client Services Representative Elizabeth is our “veteran” Client Service Rep, she started with us October of 2004. She has worked in the two most opposite of career paths; animals and food, both are great passions for Elizabeth. She began her career in the culinary arts, previously involved in her family's business, Artisan Bakery. She wanted to expand her career path to her next passion for animals and came to Arroyo to learn more about the profession. Those who know Elizabeth know that she has a menagerie of exotic cats by breed and medically speaking! She also loves her brood of dogs and brings them to work to keep her company on occasion. Elizabeth recently took on the new position of "Doctor's Assistant" at Arroyo and is enjoying the challenges and rewards that brings. |
 | Katie Willard, Veterinary Nurse Katie has extensive experience as a veterinary nurse including work in zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers. She has participated in Arroyo's "Paws for Youth" school outreach program and enjoys working with kids. She lives in Sonoma with her two cats, "Hobie" and "Annabelle". |
 | Amanda Vollstedt, Client Services Representative Amanda started with us in October of 2006. She had previous experience working at The Garden Spa at MacArthur Place. Prior to that enjoyed working for Dr. Wagner in Glen Ellen where she learned about the veterinary field and found her passion. Amanda lives in Sonoma with her Pit bull, Leela who she rescued while working here at Arroyo, and her kitten Fry. Aside from having an array of pets her whole life, she also used to compete in numerous local equestrian competitions. Amanda looks forward to learning more about Veterinary medicine for years to come and broadening her horizons in the field. |
 | Diana Knighton, Client Services Representative Diana started working at Arroyo in June of 2006. She previously worked at Marin Filmworks and is a photographer in her spare time. Although spare time is difficult to find these days as she has a newborn named Justin at home. Diana lives in Petaluma with her husband Eric. She has a chinchilla and a cat she adopted from Arroyo named Leelo |
 | Ellie Fernandez, Veterinary Assistant Born and raised in Sonoma Valley, Ellie joined our team in 2003 and performed many roles including "floater" meaning she goes where most needed. Besides being good at caring for our patients, she serves as our Spanish interpreter. She's also great at organizing and cleaning, both of which are valuable skills in a veterinary hospital! She is attending SFSU to obtain a Bachelors of Science in design, specializing in Visual Communications. Ellie lives in Sonoma with her family and has two cats, Louie and Princess. |
 | Kirby Kane, Veterinary Nurse Kirby started at Arroyo in the Fall of 2005 after working at the Humane Society in Marin for 13 years as a Field Sargent and as an Animal Care Coordinator. She lives in Novato with her 5 year old son, Zander, and her Chihuahua (pictured at left), "Lelo". |
 | Brigitte Cuff, Veterinary Nurse Brigitte has been with Arroyo since 2003. She joined our staff after working with another local veterinarian for 2 years. She has sucessfully risen from Kennel Assistant to Veterinary Nurse since joining us. Brigitte lives with her two roomates, Valerie and Jamie and their three cats, Ariel, Tuscany and Puffin. She also has a 5 month old Shepard mix, Leanna, who is an adored pet by the whole Cuff family. Brigitte's education includes 3 years at Santa Rosa Junior College where she earned her AA. She then moved to attend California State University, Chico, where she received her Bachelors of Science with a major in Agriculture and an option in Animal Science. She graduated in May, 2007 and is currently working on obtaining her Registered Veterinary Technician's License. |
 | Heather Hingtgen, Veterinary Nurse Heather joined us in 2007 as a Veterinary Nurse having worked previously in another veterinary hospital in Sonoma Valley. She has learned the “Arroyo Way” very quickly and has become a valuable part of the team. Always happy to help in any way she can, never complains and is a hard worker. What more could we ask? |
 | Erin Riddell, Kennell Assistant Erin began working part time at Arroyo in 2006 while attending Sonoma Valley High School. After graduating in June of 2007 she enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College where she is working towards her degree. She currently lives with her family in Sonoma although she does plan to travel abroad some day. |
 | Katie Cuff, Kennell Assistant Katie joined us in 2005 while she was attending Sonoma Valley High School. Since graduating in June, 2007 she has been attending Santa Rosa Junior College. She is also the younger sister of another Arroyo employee, Brigitte. |
 | Robin Chadwin, Veterinary Nurse Robin is a great home-grown Sonoma story. She first started working part time at Arroyo in 2000 with her twin sister, Gail, as a kennel assistant. She continued to grow and learn and develop her skills and knowledge in animal care until she left for UC Davis and proceeded to obtain an undergraduate degree. Following that she was accepted into the School of Veterinary Medicine at Davis where she recently completed her freshman year. |
 | Ashley Aguilar, Client Services Ashley recently completed her freshman year at Brown University in Providence, Rhoad Island. She worked at Arroyo prior to graduating from Sonoma Valley High and going on to college and we're happy to have her back in Sonoma for the summer. |
