The Staff
Janet is the executive director of Horse and Buddy. She has been involved with therapeutic riding for over 10 years. Her background is in the corporate world, having worked for IBM for 18 years. She has an MBA from Duke and is thrilled to be using it to help run Horse and Buddy. Janet is a registered PATH instructor. She has 3 horses (1 of whom is retired from the program!), 5 dogs and 2 cats at her farm in Siler City.
Holly is our Program Director. She is an Occupational Therapist and a PATH registered instructor. Holly earned her BS in OT at Tufts University in Medford , MA. She worked for 10 years in a pediatric rehab hospitial in NJ before moving to NC in 1997. Holly has been riding since age 9. She has been with our program since 2002, first as a volunteer and now as a staff member, and currently conducts most of our evaluation rides, private lessons, and all of our hippotherapy sessions. Holly also works part time for a local pediatric therapy practice. She is married to Joe and has 3 daughters (two of whom sometimes volunteer with Horse and Buddy).
Sharee is our volunteer coordinator and a PATH registered instructor. She lives in New Hill with her good-natured husband of 19 years and two handsome teenagers, Michael and Bill. She has worked full time for a law firm in Cary for almost 20 years. She has two cats, a border collie, a lab puppy and two horses – one of which, Tootsee, has recently joined the Horse & Buddy family. Originally from Canada, Sharee has lived in the states for over 30 years and is also a proud graduate of NC State. Sharee is a NARHA registered instructor and feels that the kids here bring joy to her heart and feels a strong passion for this program and the great people surrounding it. Sharee’s favorite things are her family, living on a farm, her horses, Scooby Doo, watching "Murder She Wrote" and pizza!
Rosa is a PATH registered instructor and was a volunteer before the instructor certification process. She is a Finance Office Manager and lives in Raleigh with her four-legged roommates, Bosley and Kismet. Rosa has always enjoyed working with kids and is a lifetime animal lover and feels the combination of kids and horses at Horse and Buddy is a rewarding part of her life.
Karen is our Barn Assistant. She has been with Horse and Buddy since 2004. She retired in 2008 after 35 years with Verizon Communications. She has over 20 years of Horse experience and riding. Although she does not ride anymore, her knowledge helps in feeding and taking care of our equine staff. Karen lives in Apex, with her 2 Dogs and 2 Parrot’s; she has 2 sons and a daughter n law, who live close by. Originally from Long Island, NY, she loves living here in the south. But most of all can not go a day without being around the barn and working with our wonderful, delightful children. She says ‘It is the best therapy for anyone.’
Willow started volunteering with Horse and Buddy seven years ago. At 18 years old, she became a PATH certified instructor. She has been homeschooled since the second grade, and plans to enter college soon where she will major in Psychology with the goal of working with children with special needs full time. She lives in Apex with her parents, little brother, 3 dogs, 1 cat and 1 rabbit. Willow says that Horse and Buddy is a huge part of her life and she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Melissa is a registered PATH instructor. She began volunteering back in 2004 at Horse and Buddy, and fell in love with the program. When she left for college at UNC-Asheville, she found another program in the Asheville area to volunteer with, but missed Horse and Buddy. After graduating, she moved back to the area and returned to Horse and Buddy. She is so glad to be part of the H&B “family”, and loves every second with the children! Outside of Horse and Buddy, she spends her free time reading books and working on a research project through which she hopes to have a few articles and perhaps a book published.
Nancy is a registered PATH instructor. She was born in Southern California and has an M.S. in Child Development/Family Relations. She works at BB&T on the Commercial Banking Team; and has been with them for 19 years. She has been married for 29 years to Richard who helped her achieve her lifetime dream of having a horse. Together, they have 3 lovely daughters and 2 wonderful grandchildren. Horses have been a big part of Nancy's life for over 20 years. She has shown Tennessee Walking horses and Spotted Saddle horses in the past. Now, she and Richard enjoy the slower pace of trail riding. Nancy says that Horse & Buddy is a dream come true; "If anyone asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up my answer was always 'work with children/adults and horses'. I’m thrilled to be part of this team."
Lisa grew up with horse trainer parents. She has an extensive background in training and showing Quarter horses, Appaloosas, and Thoroughbreds in english and western disciplines. Lisa has a B.S. degree in Animal Health Technology and works at GlaxoSmithKline as a Research Scientist. Lisa has a background working with young people through BSA. Lisa started volunteering at horse and Buddy in 2010 and became certified as a Registered Instructor in 2011. Lisa is married and has 3 children, 2 grand children, a dog, and 2 snakes. Her family is very supportive of her time at Horse and Buddy. “It makes my heart smile to be around horses again, and I love seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids and adults that come to Horse and Buddy."
© Horse and Buddy 2005