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We've Got You Covered

Meet the Team

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Carlos Rangel - Hospital Manager

Carlos began his Veterinary career after working in the human medical field as a Certified Anesthesia Technician for 7 years. He applied for a part-time position working in a Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Torrance, CA. He quickly fell in love working with four-legged patients and transitioned to a full-time position as a Veterinary Assistant and has never looked back ever since. He went on to obtain his Registered Veterinary Technician license thanks to his mentor, Dr Scott Anderson, a Board-Certified Veterinary Surgeon and Board-Certified Critical Care Specialist. He introduced Carlos to the world of orthopedic procedures and Emergency and Critical Care Medicine.


As Carlos continued in his career, the bonds he created with Veterinarians, fellow technicians, his patients, and their families kept him excited about his profession in veterinary medicine. He has had the pleasure of working with different organizations across Southern California, from large specialty and emergency hospitals to general practice hospitals. This has helped him gain almost thirty years of leadership experience in the field and has also taught him that there’s always more to learn. His seasoned experience covers Emergency and Critical Care, Surgery, Oncology, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology, and Dermatology to just to name a few.


Born and raised in California, Carlos recently moved back to Santa Barbara, where he joined the team at Urgent Veterinary Care of Santa Barbara as a Registered Veterinary Technician and hospital manager. Carlos is excited to be a part of our team so he can continue to work in the field he loves and support his fellow team members as they grow their skills.

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Ana Carrillo - Lead Tech

Born in Santa Barbara and raised in a small beach town called Carpinteria, where she grew up surrounded by pets. Ana started out working in the vet med field in 2015 and fell in love with the job. When she is not working she enjoys going to the beach, hiking, and spending time with friends and family. She has two cats named Smoothie and Milkshake and a Rottweiler named Nettie.

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Annette Vidana - Lead Tech

A native of Chicago, Annette is a recent transplant to Santa Barbara after spending the last decade in the Southeast. 

Her love for animals started at a young age, and her passion steered her into the veterinary field where she has been a Veterinary Technician for the last 9 years. Annette prides herself on loving and treating each animal as if they were one of her own and brings a compassionate and experienced skillset to Urgent Veterinary Care of Santa Barbara. In her spare time, Annette enjoys singing, traveling the world, and spending time with her husband and fur babies. 

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Armani Villegas

Armani has always dreamed of working with animals ever since he could remember. He knew that his future and career would involve helping animals in any way he could. Armani began working in the veterinary field in 2020 and has loved it ever since. He plans to further pursue his career in veterinary medicine while working on his music on the side. In his spare time, he loves watching movies, playing video games, making music and going to Disneyland. His favorite movie is The Little Mermaid and Jennifer’s Body. 

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Dr. Morgan Brown

Dr. Morgan Brown grew up in Woodbridge, Virginia before completing her undergraduate degree at Penn State University. Dr. Brown graduated with her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, she worked as an Emergency Veterinarian at a 24/7 emergency/specialty hospital in Richmond, Virginia for 3 years before establishing their first urgent care department where she worked for 2 years. She also served as the Radiation Safety Officer for their Radioactive Iodine program for the treatment of hyperthyroidism in cats. 

Dr. Brown loves traveling and working with animals in productions through her work with American Humane Association’s Film and TV unit. She also enjoys trying new restaurants and cuisines, exploring the great outdoors with her dog Zola and relaxing at home with her cat Winnie Harlow.

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Dr. Katie Sahyouni

Dr. Katie Sahyouni is a Southern California native. She attended the University of Southern California for her undergraduate training in Biomedical Engineering then went on to obtain her veterinary degree at UC Davis. Shortly after, she completed a rotating internship at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in Ventura, then a specialty internship at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center in Los Angeles where she worked exclusively with the Internal Medicine team. She then worked in general practice in Santa Barbara and now is happily part of the team here. She currently lives in Ventura with her husband, son, and her sassy orange cat named Cheesy Puff. In her time outside of work, she enjoys traveling, surfing, hiking, going to USC football games, and taking her baby to the Santa Barbara zoo. She’s looking forward to continuing to serve Santa Barbara’s incredible pet community.

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Tionna Elkins

Originally from South Carolina, Tionna studied Conservation and Ecology before beginning her career in wildlife rehabilitation, focusing on raptor care in wildlife rehabilitation centers around the country. A few years later, she settled in California & transitioned to veterinary medicine. She is driven by her passion for giving a voice to the voiceless and helping patients in need.
Tionna has a four-year-old cat, Birdie—named after an initial plan to adopt a bird before fate brought a litter of kittens needing homes. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, birdwatching, and relaxing with Birdie.

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Yolanna Lu

Yolanna is originally from the Bay Area and just graduated early from UCSB with a B.S. in Biology on the pre-vet track. She’s been a vet tech for around 5 years in both general practice and emergency settings and has a strong passion for small animal veterinary critical care. After spending a summer working at VCA West LA’s Critical Care Unit, she’s had the privilege to manage some of the most difficult, but rewarding cases at a level one trauma center. Yolanna is currently in the process of applying to veterinary school and is particularly interested in receiving a DVM-Ph.D. dual degree, eventually working in academia at a teaching hospital. In her free time, she loves to play beach volleyball and pickleball, go on hikes, and explore new foodie spots with friends.

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Jessica Diaz

Jessica was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. She spent her summers working at her aunt’s farm in Mexico and has continued working with animals since; whether it be vet assisting, grooming, or pet sitting. She studied mathematics and science at SBCC. In her spare time, she enjoys snorkeling, kayaking, and traveling with her son and their dog, Patron.

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Olivia Vaccaro

Olivia is a Santa Barbara native and has been in the veterinary field since she was in her teens. Her love of all creatures great and small shaped her since she was a small child. She always has a house full of dogs and aspires to have a much larger menagerie one day. She is an avid animal rescue advocate and fosters dogs very frequently. In her spare time Olivia loves to adventure outdoors - Hiking, camping, beach days and exploring both on horseback or on foot are always on the agenda. At home Olivia is always cooking or in the garden with her dogs alongside her.

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Kira Munoz

After working for a large corporation for 20 years, Kira decided to follow her dream of working in animal welfare. She is currently finishing Veterinary Assistant school with plans to become a Tech. In her spare time she volunteers at the county shelter and competes in strength sports. She also loves being an aunt to her 3 nieces and spending time with family.

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Yaneli Bravo

Born and raised in Ventura County, Yaneli always knew she wanted to work with animals. She began working in vet med in 2020 at an emergency facility and instantly fell in love with working in an emergency setting. She plans on furthering her career in veterinary medicine to become an RVT. In her free time, she loves going to concerts, trying new food, hanging out with friends and watching movies.

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