Meet Our Team in Stone Mountain, GA
Our vets know their stuff, and they love to share their knowledge, too. As a client of The Village Vets Stone Mountain, you can expect to be in-the-know about your pet’s health, because an educated owner is a better owner. You can meet our team of veterinarians below or stop into our animal hospital to meet them yourself!
A team with over of combined experience:
Dr. Françoise Tyler Practice Director
Since 2000
Françoise "Dr. Fran" Tyler is an Atlanta native and a 1984 Woodward Academy graduate. She attended University of Georgia (UGA) for undergraduate studies, and then Tuskegee University in Alabama for her DVM (received in 1991). Before moving back to Atlanta, she completed a small animal internship at UGA. She loves dermatology, internal medicine, and exotic animal medicine. She married Dr. Will Draper in 1993, and together they founded The Village Vets in 2000 with the purchase of Cedar Village Animal Clinic.
Dr. Tyler has been ranked as a FIVE STAR Veterinarian in the Atlanta magazine– which only 7% of the veterinarians in the metro Atlanta area have received (one of which is her husband, Dr. Draper). She enjoys listening to jazz, reading, walking her dogs around her Inman Park neighborhood ( dubbed "Atlanta's first suburb" near downtown Atlanta), as well as spoiling her family members, friends, team members. She loves time at the beach, and traveling anywhere her passport allows her to.
She and her husband have four children, David, Tyler, Gabrielle, and Olivia; four dogs: Max, Louie, Frank, Bella and Beauford; and one cat, Charlemagne.
Dr. Carrie McColgan Medical Director
Since 2010
Dr. Carrie McColgan grew up in Memphis, TN, graduated from Davidson College in 1995, and received her DVM from the University of Georgia in 2003. In addition to medicine and surgery, her interests include international veterinary medicine and welfare issues of working animals in developing countries. As of January 2018, Dr. McColgan is the Director of Project Samana Inc., a nonprofit veterinary education and outreach service in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Dr. McColgan and her husband, Mike Wsol, an artist, live in Lilburn and have two children, Vivian and Fineas. They also have two cats, John and Glitter Glamour ("Gigi"), and an English Bulldog named Hugo.
Dr. Brandi Flanagan
Since 2016
Dr. Brandi Flanagan grew up in Macon, Georgia and attended Georgia Tech for her undergraduate studies. Before becoming a vet, Dr. Flanagan worked as an architect designing homes in the Atlanta area. Her love for animals and passion for science, however, led her to pursue her DVM which she received from the University of Georgia. Dr. Flanagan loves helping animals feel better and live longer, healthier lives. Her special interests include ultrasound, surgery, and oncology.
In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, camping, cooking and spending time with her dog, Bisous, and her two kitties, Rocket and Luca.
Dr. Kylie Hurst
Since 2020
Dr. Kylie Hurst was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and moved to Atlanta in 2017. She received her undergraduate degree in Animal Biology and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida. Her veterinary interests include cardiology, dermatology, and decreasing patient stress during vet visits.
Outside of the hospital, Dr. Hurst enjoys spending time with friends and family, attending sporting events, going to see live music, and exploring Atlanta's restaurant scene. Dr. Hurst has two fur babies, a cat named Toby and a dog named Scarlett.
Dr. Gizelle Peynado
Since 2023
Dr. Peynado was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She knew from a young age that she was destined to help animals. She moved to the United States in 2012 to pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She graduated from Tuskegee University in 2019 and furthered her studies by completing a 1-year rotating internship in medicine and surgery at a specialty clinic in Coral Springs, Florida. She later moved to Las Vegas and practiced at a busy private practice hospital for 4 years before moving to Georgia and joining The Village Vets team in the summer of 2023. Her passions include surgery, internal medicine, and emergency medicine. Dr. Peynado enjoys traveling, long relaxing beach days, and exploring new restaurants. She has a toy poodle named Mia and recently adopted two kittens that she fell in love with at work. Dr. Peynado loves what she does and her ultimate goal is to treat every patient like family and offer them the best quality medicine available.
Dr. Will Draper
Since 2000
“Dr. Will” grew up in Inglewood, California. He graduated from Morningside High School in 1984, then attended Tuskegee University in Alabama (4th generation) for both undergraduate and veterinary medical studies. He received his DVM in 1991, followed by a 1-year internship at North Rockville Veterinary Hospital in Maryland. He moved to Atlanta in 1992, married veterinary school classmate Dr. Françoise Tyler in 1993, and together they founded The Village Vets in 2000. His special veterinary interests include dermatology, internal medicine, and practice management.
He has received a number of accolades including being ranked as a FIVE STAR veterinarian in the Atlanta magazine—an honor bestowed to only 7% of the veterinarians in the metro Atlanta area (which also includes his wife, Dr. Tyler). He has served on the board of the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA), and presently serves as a director on the board of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)- the first African-American to do since the organization was founded in 1933.
Dr. Will lives with his family in historic Inman Park, "Atlanta's first suburb". He's a big fan of Atlanta Braves baseball, United soccer, and Hawks basketball. In his leisure time he enjoys playing golf (with as many strokes as he can so he gets his money's worth), acrylic painting ("No patience for oils"), and considers himself a better-than-average singer and interior decorator. He is a true lover of all music- his passion is following the Dave Matthews Band, having attended over 55 shows to date.
He and his wife have four children: David, Tyler, Gabrielle, and Olivia. Four-legged kids include dogs Louie, Frank, Bella and Beauford- as well as "the boss", feline Charlemagne (Charlie).
Dr. Alissa Stephens
Since 2011
Dr. Alissa Stephens grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey. In 2008, she graduated from Rutgers University and moved to Atlanta to complete an internship at Zoo Atlanta. She began vet school in 2011 at the University of Georgia and during the summer and winter breaks, worked as a vet assistant at TVV Buckhead. Dr. Stephens joined us as a vet in 2015. She is currently completing her certification in veterinary acupuncture at the Chi Institute in Florida. Her special interests include general surgery and acupuncture.
Dr. Stephens and her husband, Chris - practice manager at TVV - live in Canton with their four rescue dogs: Stitch, a Lab mix; Virginia, a Boxer/Anatolian Shepherd mix; Madison, a Pitbull mix; and Captain Jack, a German Shepherd mix.