Our Staff

Gaby Avalos

General Manager

Gaby has been with Cheng Plastic Surgery since 2015 – simultaneously fulfilling her duties as General Manager and Financial Adviser all in one. We love to refer to Gaby as the “heart” of the office – as her first priority first and foremost is to make sure all of her staff is happy, taken care of and supported. She is responsible for managing our amazing team and making sure the day to day operations run smooth – always being the one person our doctors, staff and patients can go to in any situation.

Although her main role in the office is our General Manager, she continues to maintain her finance duties – as her first true love with always be numbers! She has a degree in public accounting from Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESO), from where she graduated with honors. She has experience with renowned companies such as Hewlett Packard, where she got to manage accounting and payroll processes. During her work experience, she has performed audits, accounting and financial analysis, budgeting, cost control, event and schedule planning.

Gaby’s hobbies include dance, painting, running and traveling. Her true passion is her family, as she loves nothing more than to spend her free time with her two sons and husband.

Edina Wittekind

Patient Care Coordinator / Medical Assistant Director

Edina came to Cheng Plastic Surgery in 2011 and currently serves as our Patient Care Coordinator. She also fulfills her duties as Medical Assistant Director – leading all of our medical staff to ensure our patients receive the best care possible. In the many years she’s been with the practice – she’s fulfilled almost every job title from receptionist to medical assistant and everything in between. For that reason, her vast arsenal of knowledge is able to better educate our staff and patients with any and all inquiries they may have.

Edina’s compassionate personality and love for the industry is why she loves taking care of patients and seeing how happy they are after having procedures at our center. In fact, she has her own after-care service, offering our patients at home care after surgery. She feels there is no greater feeling than guiding our patients through their surgical journey, both emotionally and physically.

Married with a daughter and adorable dog Coco, Edina was born and raised in San Jose and lives in Willow Glen. She loves spending time with her family and friends and volunteering in her community.

Alex Carlton

Registered Nurse

Alexandria Carlton is a Sigma Theta Tau graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she received a Bachelor’s in Nursing. Alex enjoys getting to know each patient and their personal aesthetic journey from their first encounter to their last follow up. Her natural compassion and genuine love for all things medical is what drives her passion in the field of aesthetic surgery.

Running our surgery center, she assists both of our board-certified facial plastic surgeons during their surgical procedures. She also loves to accompany her patients, providing them with the care and guidance to feel comfortable and receive the best possible outcome. Alex is our specialist in all laser and non-invasive treatments; from tattoo removal and skin tightening, to botox and dermal fillers.

Alex enjoys traveling with her husband both near and far, with her favorite destination thus far being Spain. When she’s back home – she loves nothing more than to relax with her two cats, Simon and Kapu.

Nam Saha

Licensed Medical Esthetician

Beauty and skin care have always been the greatest passion of Nam’s life. It is not only an art through which she can express herself, but it is also a powerful tool to help boost an individual’s self-esteem. Nam attended the Salon Professional Academy to convert her passion and skills into a profession. Her knowledge in the dynamic, ever-changing skincare/beauty industry ensures that she stays informed with the latest technologies and cutting-edge ingredients in skincare, which she loves to share with her clients.

As a self-professed "beauty junkie" she continues to enjoy searching for the best in unique and "must have" beauty items and services. Every product at Cheng plastic has been tried, tested by Nam herself. Prior to those studies, she worked as a student counselor and holds a bachelor's degree in Economic Geography.

Through the eyes of Nam-

“I draw inspiration from my Indian heritage, various lifestyles that I have been part of, my love for fashion and fitness helps me achieve proven skincare essentials that work with everyone’s everyday lifestyle.”

Vanessa Posadas

Registered Nurse

Vanessa graduated from Dominican University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2014 – with a well-rounded clinical background in maternity, psychiatry, surgery and geriatrics. As she continues her work in Cardiovascular care, her love for aesthetics and desire to broaden her nursing experience brought her to our office in 2019 as part of our surgical staff.

Vanessa’s enthusiasm, love for her work and natural skill is what makes her an amazing addition to our team. Her bubbly personality makes patients feel comfortable and at-ease, knowing they’re in the best hands possible for their treatment and post-care.

Although nursing is her passion – Vanessa loves to spend her free time playing and taking her puppy Axel on walks. She is a makeup and skincare enthusiast and loves to find new products to add to her collection.

Alyssa Tacci

Marketing and Social Media Specialist

Alyssa’s love for all things beauty and health resulted in her joining Cheng Plastic Surgery in December 2018, after working 4 ½ years as a salon assistant manager. She has also been a free-lance makeup artist for 5 years, specializing in wedding and bridal makeup. The process of helping someone feel confident with themselves is her favorite part – and that translates into making patients feel comfortable and confident here at the office as well.

Alyssa is our Marketing and Social Media Specialist, helping the practice grow and connecting with world with our office. She especially loves the process of creating exciting content to show our audience, from procedures and surgeries to daily skincare tips.

In her free time, she enjoys relaxing with her cats and going to the gym with her boyfriend. She loves finding new healthy foods to try – as she has a passion for all things related to health and nutrition.

Elissa Kurns

Administrative Assistant

Elissa joined Cheng Plastic Surgery in August of 2016 and now works as our Administrative Assistant. Before joining our team, she worked as a hairstylist and salon manager for several years.

Her caring and calm demeanor leaves patients feeling at ease as they make important cosmetic decisions. Elissa particularly loves guiding patients through the intimidating process of surgery and making sure they are comfortable and happy from start to finish.

In addition to working at Cheng Plastic Surgery, Elissa is finishing school at University of California Santa Cruz studying Business and Economics. She maintains a 4.0 GPA and frequently participates in school and extracurricular events.

When Elissa is not working or studying, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and two cats, Leo and Kona. She also loves to travel, go to concerts, cook, and exercise.

Claire Davis

Front Desk Coordinator

Claire joined the team in April 2019 as our Front Desk Coordinator, just two short months before graduating from San Jose State University with a Bachelors Degree in Child and Adolescent Development. Her natural compassion for helping others grow and achieve their goals is why she loves to help guide our patients through their aesthetic journey, from start to finish.

Claire is well versed in the field of aesthetics, as she has been actively working in spa and salon environments for over 3 years. Being a skincare fanatic herself, she loves being able to educate patients on what products and treatments work best for their specific concerns. She would love to eventually work in medical device sales – educating practices on the best and most innovative devices to help their businesses thrive.

Claire’s favorite things to do outside of work consist of reading and listening to true crime books and podcasts and trying new restaurants and foods. Most importantly, nothing can compare to her one true love: shopping!

Miranda Cibrian

Lead Medical Assistant

Miranda joined Cheng Plastic Surgery in 2015 as a Medical Assisting Intern at our office, after realizing her then path in Criminal Justice wasn’t fulfilling her passions. She decided to enroll in Carrington College’s Medical Assisting Program, realizing her love for the medical field and facial plastic surgery. Shortly after graduating, she was hired as a medical assistant, where she has since grown to our Lead Medical Assistant.

Miranda is often both Dr. Jacqueline and Dr. Elbert’s right-hand to assist in their surgeries. Her caring and conscientious approach makes her a crucial member not only the surgical staff, but to our day to day patient care as well. Her favorite surgeries to assist in are facelift and rhinoplasty, as the post-operative results and reactions from the patients are the most rewarding.

Miranda enjoys spending quality time with her two daughters, usually taking them to their favorite places: the zoo and Disneyland, of course. In her free time, she loves to attend baseball and football games.

Stephanie Tran

Medical Assistant

Stephanie joined Cheng Plastic Surgery in January 2018. She graduated from Dominican University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and completed a one-year post-baccalaureate program from California State University, East Bay to help further her studies in medicine. She continues to pursue her goals to become a Physician’s Assistant.

Stephanie has a broad range of knowledge in multiple medical fields, previously working as a medical assistant for both Pain Management and Neurology. She wants to continue to grow as a person and ensure all patients have quality care. Stephanie currently works as Dr. Elbert Cheng’s Medical Assistant and also assists with Dr. Jacqueline Cheng’s patients.

In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, boyfriend, friends, and her dog Pebbles. She also enjoys trying new cuisines, hiking, and traveling.

Cindy Lam

Medical Assistant

Cindy has been with our team since 2018 as our medical assistant – and lucky for us, doubles as our very own personal makeup artist! She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and shortly thereafter became one of the key-players in our medical staff. She has a great love for all things aesthetic and helping people feel confident – which helps her in her day to day duties as our medical assistant and her free-lance makeup artistry as well.

While working at our office, Cindy continues to work toward her goal of becoming a nurse – more specifically a nurse injector to stay in the field she loves – aesthetics. She would love to combine her love for all things beauty with her love for travel and be able to explore the nation as a traveling nurse. Regardless of where she ends up – her ideal career is one she would always be able to incorporate makeup into, to continue to do what she loves.

When she’s not at work, Cindy loves to experiment with the newest trends and products in the makeup industry as a creative outlet to express herself. She also loves music festivals, exploring new restaurants and foods, and working out.

Leilanee McCarns

Medical Assistant

Leilanee is currently a full time student at UCSC studying Neuroscience. She is passionate about the medical field and hopes to become a doctor herself someday. She wishes to become an expert in the field of psychiatry as she loves communicating and making deep relationships with people. Leilanee moved from Los Angeles to Santa Cruz last year to continue her undergraduate studies and further her experience.

Prior to joining our practice’s family in 2018, her medical experience began as a receptionist for an ENT/Opthalmology/Audiology medical office in Brentwood, CA. Leilanee loves working with patients and wants to ensure that every patient feels welcomed, cared for, and listened to.

Aside from work and school, on her free time she likes to work out, do yoga, dance, and spend time with family and friends.