ABOUT US
Advisors
Two separate advisory committees exist to aid HHRF in decision making and planning; the Advisory Council provides professional advise in all areas of the organization and the Scientific Advisory focuses specifically on research-related topics.
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Scientific Advisory:
Horses and Humans Research Foundation's Scientific Advisory is a group of leading researchers and experts from equine assisted activities and related fields. Members respond and contribute to a variety of foundation research related needs including advising and assisting the staff and board in scientific strategic decision making, educational outreach and in areas related to grant applications and assessment. Their contributions in all areas help sustain the most relevant and highest quality research possible.
Renee Casady, Belle Center, OH
Renee Casady, PT MS HPCS, has been on the AHA board since 2002 and serves as the American Hippotherapy Association research committee chair. She is a frequent contributor to the AHA Hippotherapy publication. She obtained a BS in physical therapy from Ithaca College NY in 1983 and a MS in physical therapy from The Ohio State University in 2002. Her master thesis research project was a 30-week study on the effect of hippotherapy on children with CP. It was published in the Pediatric PT journal, fall 2004. Renee is employed as the pediatric specialist in early intervention and preschool services of the Logan County MRDD, Bellefontaine Ohio. Renee also has a physical therapy private practice called Gaitway Therapy to provide hippotherapy on their small farm in Belle Center OH. Renee is a board certified hippotherapy clinical specialist and a registered ridinginstructor with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.
Victoria Haehl, Chelsea, MI
Victoria Haehl, Ph.D. is a physical therapist who uses hippotherapy as a treatment tool with patients with neurologic dysfunction. As part of a Master’s Degree in Human Movement Science (The University of North Carolina), she conducted research that examined the effects of hippotherapy on children with cerebral palsy. As part of a Doctoral Degree (The University of Michigan) in Kinesiology, she conducted research that developed a mathematical model of the biomechanical relationship between the horse and human in an attempt to identify the underlying mechanisms involved. She has been involved in writing grants at the foundation level and at the national level (NIH) and has written and edited articles for professional peer reviewed journals. She also serves the American Hippotherapy Association as a reviewer of research grant proposals.
I sincerely believe that well designed research, as part of the scientific inquiry process, will assist in filling the void of knowledge that exists in the area of equine assisted activities. Further, I hope that by serving on the Horses and Humans Foundation Scientific Review Committee I will support and contribute to this process."
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Peter C. Dedon, Newton, MA
Peter C. Dedon, M.D., PhD, is Professor of Biological Engineering and Toxicology in the Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following graduation with a B.A. degree in Chemistry from St. Olaf College in 1979, he obtained an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Rochester in 1987, performing his thesis research in the chemistry of cancer chemotherapeutics with Prof. Richard Borch. He pursued postdoctoral studies in chromatin biology with Prof. Martin Gorovsky at the University of Rochester, and in the chemical biology of anticancer drugs with Prof. Irving Goldberg at Harvard Medical School before joining the Toxicology faculty at MIT in 1991. Prof. Dedon has served in senior leadership positions at MIT and in three major scientific societies, on the editorial boards of several international scientific journals, and on dozens of review panels for a variety of private and government agencies, including the NIH, NSF, DOE, and DOD. |
 Peter C. Dedon
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Prof. Dedon's research program addresses the fundamental chemistry of cancer and other human diseases, with a focus on the chemical mechanisms that link inflammation to disease. "My interest in serving on the HHRF Scientific Advisory arises from my
son's experience with hippotherapy as part of a physical therapy program. Alex suffered a pre-natal stroke that destroyed 20-25% of his brain. As a result, Alex has severe cognitive and physical impairments requiring a variety of therapies. My wife and I found that hippotherapy was one of the most enjoyable activities for him, so we are interested and invested in defining the scientific basis for and benefits of hippotherapy."
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Bradford H. Lewis, Laytonsville, MD
Bradford H. Lewis, ACSW, is a Program Officer for Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency where he has served for over 12 years. He manages a grant portfolio in the North Central region of the United States as well as working on youth voice, community-based issues and technology initiatives. Mr. Lewis received his Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Columbia University in 1983 and then worked in New York City and Connecticut for the next 10 years. He also served as a Governor's appointee on the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and more recently as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Maryland Graduate School of Social Work and Field Instructor for the
Howard University Graduate School of Social Work. Mr. Lewis co-founded Great Strides, an equine-facilitated mental health program in Damascus, Maryland in 1999 and currently chairs its board of directors. He has also served on the EFMHA (Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association) Board of Directors since 2001 and has presented at the NARHA Conference as well as at Horsepower (an EFMH conference) in Temple, NH.
Karyn Malinowski, Manville, NJ
Karyn Malinowski, Ph.D. is Director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers-Cook College and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. She also serves as Dean of Outreach and Extension Programs and Director of Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension. Dr. Malinowski has been a faculty member at Cook College since 1978, and rose to the position of Extension Specialist in Horse Management before being appointed Dean. Her equine research and extension programs concentrate on improving the well-being and quality of life of the equine athlete while ensuring the vitality and viability of the equine industry, both statewide and nationally. She has received numerous awards for her work, including a leadership award from the American Youth Horse Council, as well as the American Horse Council’s most prestigious national citation, Van Ness Award, in 2001. She was named "Outstanding Equine Educator" by the Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society, also in 2001. Dr. Malinowski grew up and still lives in Somerset County. She has been a “horse person” since she took her first pony ride as a toddler, and she has been involved in various horse disciplines and organizations throughout her career. She holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Nancy McGibbon, Green Valley, AZ
Nancy H. McGibbon, MS, PT, HPCS, is a licensed physical therapist with an advanced master’s degree in neurologic physical therapy. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including acute care, rehabilitation and private practice and serves as a consultant for Therapeutic Riding of Tucson. She has used hippotherapy in her practice for more than 20 years, was a founder and first president of the American Hippotherapy Association, and has taught workshops and lectured internationally. She is a published researcher and is presently involved in research in conjunction with the University of Arizona, Department of Pediatrics. In 2004, she received the ‘Therapist of the Year’ Award from the American Hippotherapy Association, Inc.
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Therese K. Schmalbach, Newton, MA
Therese K. Schmalbach, M.D., Ph.D., of Newton, MA is an independent physician consultant to biopharma companies. She has over 15 years of medical drug/biologic/device clinical development experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry and participated in the design, implementation, data collection and analysis of new chemical entities (drugs), biologics and devices resulting in one approved New Drug Application and one Biologic License Application, as well as >10 Investigative New Drug Applications. She has participated in meetings with FDA, expert clinicians and investigators, scientists, and investors, supervised and directed clinical, biostatistical, data management, project management and medical writing departments, and been responsible for data interpretation and reports including peer-reviewed publications. She also has extensive data presentation experience, as well as experience presenting to a variety of levels of audiences.
"My son is a young man with special needs who has participated in
hippotherapy at Ironstone Farm in Andover, MA and at the Mass Hospital School in Canton, MA for several years. I saw and learned the benefits a well-run program can offer. My daughter is an avid equestrian who has ridden for over 10 years. I also took riding lessons as an adult and know the thrill and challenge of riding at any level."
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Debbie Silkwood-Sherer, Holt, MI
Debbie Silkwood-Sherer has bachelor and advanced Doctoral degrees in Physical Therapy and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Administration. She has approximately 30 years of experience as a physical therapist, including 10 years of supervisory experience and 12 years providing hippotherapy services to both adults and children. She has also taught physical therapy students at the graduate level for 12 years, currently at the Herbert H. and Grace A Dow College of Health Professions at Central Michigan University. Dr. Silkwood-Sherer has conducted eight research projects, with three additional projects beginning in the spring of 2008. Of five hippotherapy research projects she has completed, one has been published and three others are expected to be in the future.
Paul Spiers, Danvers, MA
Paul A. Spiers, Ph.D., has been conducing research into psychology and behavior his entire career, since being an undergraduate at McGill University. For the past two plus decades he has been specifically interested in brain-behavior relationships, and in pharmacological therapies to promote recovery of function after injury, or to compensate for developmental disabilities, or to slow declining function in the face of degenerative disease. It has been his personal experience, meanwhile, that equine assisted activities can provide valuable benefits in the realm of physical mobility, psychological functioning and mood, and, perhaps equally importantly, in helping to promote improved cognitive functioning. His interest would be to combine these two themes and interests in my life, and serving on the HHrF-SRC provides that opportunity.
"I have served on Grant Committees and as a scientific journal reviewer for a number of professional publications. I enjoy this work and see it as an opportunity to shape the field and to educate new researchers so as to help them avoid methodological errors that might undermine their data collection, or theoretical assumptions that may not be justified and might invalidate their results. Research and Grant Review is a “process”, and one that I enjoy."
Jose Szapocznik, Miami, FL
José Szapocznik, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Architecture, Psychology, and Educational and Psychological Research, at the University of Miami. Szapocznik has over three decades of experience as researcher, and directs the University of Miami Center for Family Studies with approximately $10 million in total funding, and has received over $50 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Szapocznik has served in research reviews committees as well as national oversight councils at the NIH.
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Renee Taylor, Chicago, IL
Renee Taylor, PhD is a professor of occupational therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an internationally-recognized researcher on the psychobiological aspects of post-infectious fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. Recently, she has initiated a line of research on therapeutic use of self leading to the development of a new conceptual practice model for occupational therapy. In 1995 and 1997, Taylor received her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from DePaul University. She completed post-doctoral training in 1998. |
 Renee Taylor |
Taylor has received over $3,500,000 in federal research grants and has served on numerous federal and international grant review panels. Currently, she is completing an NIH-funded, prospective study of post-infectious fatigue following acute Epstein-Barr infection in adolescents. The grant aims to identify key biological, psychological, social, and behavioural variables that may converge and be associated with the etiology and course of post-infectious fatigue syndrome. Taylor has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles on fatiguing conditions and five books.
Clare Thomas, Dover Foxroft, ME
Clare Elizabeth Thomas is a member of NARHA & EFMHA, and co-chair of the EFMHA research committee. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Maine, Orono, on an Interdisciplinary PhD in Behavioral Studies and working on a thesis investigating the effects of Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy on humans and animals. Elements of her PhD will enable her to become a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Maine.
"I am personally fully invested in this field, and I have a tremendous interest in ensuring that thorough scientifically valid and valuable research is carried out in the field of Equine Assisted Activities. It is essential that the research produced by those interested in this field start to become readily accessible and available to those not already in the field. Equine Assisted Activities needs to be considered by the medical and mental health profession as a valid, reliable and realistic alternative to conventional forms of treatment and the only way to encourage its use and further its understanding both by the professional and lay audience is to produce excellent caliber research. I feel that my research background and personal interests would make me a valuable addition to the scientific review committee for the Horses and Humans Foundation."
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Advisory Council
The Advisory Council looks at all aspects of the organization, acting as direct advisors to our governing board and staff. They will provide perspectives and recommendations related to governance, administration, finance, fundraising, research priorities and more.
Jane Fitzpatrick, Punta Gorda, FL
Jane Fitzpatrick holds a B.S. degree in physical therapy, a master's in psychology and is certified in Neurodevelopmental Treatment. She practices physical therapy with Pegasus Therapeutic Riding and as a consultant. Jane has been published as a writer and featured as a speaker on the topics of Hippotherapy and Therapeutic Riding in notable journals and arenas over the past ten years. She is a founding member of the American Hippotherapy Assoc. where she has served in many positions on the board including president. She is also a member of NARHA, the American Physical Therapy Assoc. and serves on an Advisory Committee under the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Jane has been a staunch supporter of research on the benefits and effects of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy both in the US and abroad. It is her hope that within a short time the public will begin to understand the beneficial effects that can occur when the horse and human interaction takes place in a safe, controlled environment.
Leeda Fletcher, Mount Kisco, NY
Leeda Fletcher has spent most of her adult life in the volunteer community with various projects. Her passion for horses and giving back to the community were joined when she began volunteering with Pegasus Therapeutic Riding of Stamford, Connecticut, where she is currently an
honorary board member. Upon retirement, Leeda was able to more fully pursue her personal
passion for riding: she now concentrates on dressage, often riding two horses every day, and competing in horse shows throughout the winters in Florida. Says Leeda: "I would love to be involved with your organization because I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface of the benefits to be gained through therapeutic riding."
Marjorie Kittredge, Boxford, MA
Marj Kittredge was inspired to work with horses in therapeutic settings after many years of involvement in Outward Bound programs. Marj founded Windrush Farm, one of the first therapeutic riding programs to be established in the United States, based on the idea that “we could do through our horses what Hurricane Island did through the land and the sea”. Marj's long history in Equine Assisted Activities includes instructing, judging, program management and past service on the NARHA board of directors. Marj has trained the trainers and led the leaders while also impacting the lives of countless students she personally taught over her many years of dedication.
Marion L. May, Woodstock, Il
Marion L. May, MS, OTR, is an Occupational Therapist with over 40 years of experience primarily with children and young adults. She has worked in a variety of settings, including day and residential schools, psychiatry, private practice and rehabilitation. She has been involved with therapeutic horseback riding since 1969 when she got her start at the Cheff Center in Michigan. She has been active as a board member and president of three centers located in the Chicago Metro area, as well as a board member and president of NARHA. Marion was active in the development and instruction of the NARHA training courses under a grant from the Kellogg Foundation and instrumental as the NARHA president in the formulation of AHA as a Special Interest Section of NARHA. She was a member and chair of the Accreditation Committee and is currently an advisor to the committee and a site visitor.
Pat Mullins, Bumpass, Va.
Pat Mullins is the Director of Association Development for Markel Insurance Company, where he has designed insurance programs for a number of equine-specialized programs. Pat currently serves as President of the Certified Horsemanship Association and is Past President of the North
American Riding for the Handicapped Association and the Virginia Horse Council. He is also Vice Chair of the American Horse Council's State Horse Council Committee and the Past Vice Chair of the Virginia Horse Center. His unique expertise in equine-related liability and insurance
are an asset to the HHRF Advisory Council. Pat and his wife of 44 years, Jackie, have four children and six grandchildren.
Kitty Stalsburg, Lyme, CT
Kitty Stalsburg has been involved in therapeutic riding since 1986. A NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) Master Instructor, she is the Program Director of High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc. In her role as Executive Director, Kitty interacts daily with participants, parents, educators, health professionals, instructors and other staff. Kitty coordinates and lectures for the NARHA Approved Instructor Training Courses as well as other educational courses offered at High Hopes. Kitty has lectured on various topics relating to the field locally, nationally and internationally. A life long equestrian, Kitty holds a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Cornell University. Active in NARHA since 1987, Kitty is a NARHA Evaluator, NARHA Visitor, past Chair of Accreditation and Standards Committees as a former NARHA Board member and Past President.&nb sp; Kitty is currently a member of the NARHA Health and Education Committee. Residing in Lyme, Connecticut with her husband Rob Hageman and 17 year old daughter Kathryn, Kitty enjoys riding,biking, kayaking and skiing.
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Harry Swimmer, South Waxhaw NC
Founder of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Swimmer Insurance Agency, Inc., Harry Swimmer also founded Misty Meadows Mitey Riders, an equine assisted activities program on the Swimmers’ farmland estate. Harry, now retired, is involved with the Jewish Community Center and Temple Israel Synagogue and has held offices in the past with NARHA and the Charlotte Independent Insurance Agents. Under his leadership, Misty Meadows Mitey Riders has grown to serve 75+ ‘Mitey Riders’ per week. |
 Harry Swimmer |
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