Our Team
Jayden Toulouse (They/Them)
Owner, Director of Animal Care, Trainer
Jayden is the founder of Visiting Animal Friends. Jay has a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Their major was Society and Environment with a concentration in Justice and Sustainability and their senior project was on The Value that Can be Added to the U.S. Economy in Environmental Health Benefits if New Urbanism were Enacted Nationally. They received their degree from the University of California, Berkeley. They have 25 years of experience with animals. Leadership was developed in Jay on their small companion animal farm in Oregon with their Mom. Jay was the lead on animal care on the farm. They started their first business when they were fifteen years old tutoring “super seniors” who were repeating senior year in high school and needed help to graduate.
Jay worked in both Government and Corporate Policy Campaigns and Development Leadership at Greenpeace, Planting Justice, The YWCA, and Charlie’s Acres Farmed Animal Sanctuary, plus more. Jay received their certificate in Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh, as well as their Certificate in Dog Training from The GoodPup Trainer Certification Program. Additionally Jay has a certificate in First Aid and CPR for dogs and cats from the Red Cross.
K McQuesten (She/Her)
IT Administrator
K has a background in communications, web, and software development and is retired staff from UC Berkeley. K lives in Berkeley and is a light in the life of many. She loves to spend her spare time when not creating effective systems for Visiting Animal Friends, staying informed about world events and politics, and improving herself through personal finance focus groups. K is a trustworthy, reliable, and talented person with a great sense of humor and an eye for creative design, and problem solving. VAF is so lucky to have her on as our primary IT administrator .
Tiffany Decker (She/Her)
Artist & Designer
Tiffany is VAF’s Lead Artist whose creative talents guide our communication campaigns to reach more pet parents. Tiffany (also goes by TiaDex) has 22 years of experience as a painter, 12 years as a set and prop designer, and 17 years as a vocalist musician. She is one of the most talented people we have ever met and anyone who gets to work with her is privileged to receive her wonderful, playful, and hilarious personality and sincere, beautiful, and magnanimous talents. You can follow Tiffany Decker on Instagram @Tia.Dex.
Michelle Truong (She/Her)
Michelle has a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies and her thesis was The Socioeconomic factors that created the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. Her minor was Early Development and Learning and her thesis was Implicit Racial Bias and Expulsion of African American Boys from Preschool. She received her degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has three years of experience with dogs and one year of experience with Oakland Animal Services as their Marketing Specialist, and Big Dog Handler. Photography and writing are strengths of Michelle’s as well as Tennis and Pickel Ball!