STAFF
Kristen Kallai
Program Manager
[email protected]
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kristen has always had a passion for horses. She moved to Santa Barbara in 2008 and made it her home. After being a stay-at-home mom for 4 years, she came to Hearts as a volunteer. Before long she found herself happily involved in the Hearts volunteer program most days of the week! And while the horses are what she initially came for, it was the people of Hearts that captured her heart.
Kristen enjoys all types of athletics, especially Olympic weightlifting, as well as spending time at the beautiful beaches of Santa Barbara.
Kiz Richter
Volunteer Coordinator
[email protected]
Growing up, Kiz was obsessed with horses that she wanted to be one when she grew up. She took a break from becoming a horse to earn a degree in Environmental Sciences from Indiana University and a Masters degree from the London School of Economics. Kiz moved to Santa Barbara in 1999 and worked in the tech industry doing Program and Partner Management.
As a way to reconnect with horses and to fulfill the yearning for helping people, she came to Hearts as a volunteer in 2017 and was a long-time Team Captain, as well as part of the barn crew. It was a natural shift to join the Hearts staff in 2021. She and her husband live in Santa Barbara and can often be found doing some sort of outdoor activity with their dog Lily.
Shannon McGraw
Veteran's Program Manager
Shannon McGraw is a retired US Marine Corps Captain who had a MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) as a Staff Judge Advocate and JAG Lawyer. She served in the Marines for 10 years primarily as a Human Rights Expert assigned to US Southern Command and Marine Corps Forces South. As a JAG lawyer, she helped assess and determine the legal status of unlawful enemy combatants and detainees in the Global War on Terror.
Since retiring, Shannon has become a full-time mom to an active and precocious 8-year-old and enjoys working with others in the field of Therapeutic Riding. Shannon is the lead instructor for the Hearts' Equine Services for Heroes Veterans program.
Alicia D'anna
Barn Assistant
Murray Neale
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Murray began teaching people with disabilities at the age of 14 when one of her mother’s friends brought a young girl, who was blind, to visit the stable. Murray helped introduce her to the world of horses, and she was amazed by the girl’s reaction. Murray continued to work with her throughout high school. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion for connecting horses and people with disabilities.
She earned her certification as a therapeutic riding instructor at the Cheff Center in Michigan. While working on her Masters’ thesis in Physical Education, Murray developed a therapeutic riding program for United Cerebral Palsy of New York City. Murray continued developing programs and teaching therapeutic riding while working with the United Cerebral Palsy Center in Sullivan County, UCP in Manhattan, and Winslow Therapeutic Riding in New Jersey.
Murray came to Hearts in 2020 after retiring as executive director of the Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding, Inc. (CATR). During her 23 years at CATR, the program grew from 12 students at a borrowed facility to serving over 175 students on its 30-acre farm, employing two dozen horses and a staff of twenty.
Tina Seebach
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Amanda Dwyer
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Diana Ferrari, M.A., L.M.F.T
EAGALA Certified Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
Diana is a licensed Marriage and Family Psychotherapist who has maintained a private practice in Santa Barbara since 1986. She offers individual, couples, and family psychotherapy addressing a broad range of human issues.
Besides providing psychotherapy in her downtown office, she also conducts equine-assisted psychotherapy at Hearts. Equine-assisted psychotherapy incorporates horses experientially for emotional growth and learning. Clients work outside, unmounted in the arena accompanied by Diana, horse, and an Equine Specialist. Diana has also been a volunteer at Hearts since 2015.
DeeDee Conrad
Development & Marketing
DeeDee joins the Hearts team from the Conrad Collective on a consulting basis and handles all fundraising and development. She is passionate about connecting individuals to causes they care about and has a deep respect for the mission of Hearts.
