Bobbi Woolwine, is an Equine-Assisted Psychotherapist based in Decatur, GA.
A lifelong animal lover, she combines her dedication to integrating equine interactions with her research background to practice therapeutic approaches that foster human emotional healing and learning.
Bobbi spent much of her career conducting neuroscience research at Emory University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in Atlanta, GA.
As the Director of Research, she collaborated with internationally recognized scientists in the Emory Behavioral Immunology Program to investigate human brain-immune interactions in the context of depression, cancer, and schizophrenia research. Her responsibilities
included implementing Good Clinical Practices, maintaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) compliance, ensuring inter-rater reliability standards, recruiting, consenting, and evaluating research participants, and training Psychiatry residents and fellows to administer
standardized psychometric and diagnostic scales like the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis I Disorders (SCID) for NIMH, CDC, and industry-funded grants.
Bobbi served on the Clinical Research Oversight Committee (CROC) and the Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the Emory Brain Health Center (Departments of Psychiatry,
Neurology, and Rehabilitation Medicine), and co-authored over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles.
As Vice Chair of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning (Eagala) Research Committee and IRB Subcommittee lead, Bobbi lends her research expertise to advance the scientific validity of equine-assisted therapy. She is the founder of Herd Your Heart, LLC, and practices with
Stride Ahead Equine Therapies and Winning Strides, where she continues to witness the meaningful impact of equine-assisted therapy and learning.
Above all, Bobbi cherishes her partner horses, Panda and Raven, who daily teach and inspire her to advocate for the improved well-being of these sentient creatures.
I am honored to collaborate with HHRF and this talented team of people who are dedicated to improving horse welfare through rigorous, evidence-based research and education.