STAFF
Pamme Mickelson
Executive Director
[email protected]
Pamme brings more than 30 years of experience and a passion for non-profit development, marketing, and management to her position at Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center.
Prior to joining Hearts Therapeutic in May 2017, she worked at the Alano Club of Santa Barbara and the Sansum Diabetes Research Center. Pamme was in Austin, TX before to that, first attending The University of Texas and then working for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and serving as the director of development for both the ZACH Scott Theatre and the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Susan Weber
Program Director
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
[email protected]
Susan Weber moved here from Connecticut in 2013, where she had launched two different therapeutic riding programs – one for a school devoted to children with autism and the other at an established able-bodied barn. She has been a PATH instructor for over 14 years. Susan is also a certified Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning, a Mentor Instructor, and an Equine Services for Heroes Instructor. She lives in Santa Ynez with her 6 horses and 2 dogs.
Dawn Nelson
Volunteer Director
PATH Intl. Certified Equine Specialist
[email protected]
[email protected]
Dawn is a native of Goleta where she grew up with a love for horses, music, the mountains, and people. Her family opened a horse boarding facility on the Ellwood Bluffs and she started riding her first pony at the age of 2. She studied Business Economics at UCSB and recently became a PATH certified ESMHL. Dawn’s strong love of community and giving grew through her participation in her children’s’ preschool co-op, classroom, sports activities, and local organizations before coming to Hearts as a volunteer. She can be found participating in bike fundraisers and spending time with family outside of rallying and inspiring the volunteer community at Hearts.
Duane Harsh
Equine & Facilities Manager
[email protected]
Laurie Barene
Campaign Director
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Laurie was born and raised in Santa Barbara and is proud to call herself a Santa Barbara Don and a UCSB Gaucho. Her background includes the financial industry, business development and marketing and advertising.
For over 25 years Laurie has served on various non-profit boards such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties, PAL (Police Activities League), the Advertising Federation of America and Cox Cares Foundation. She has also served as the Publicity Chair for the Goleta Lemon Festival, Event Committee for the United Boys & Girls Club, Executive Leadership Team for Go Red for Women and is a member of the Circle of Red committee. She most recently served as the Development Director for Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County.
Laurie is a mother to two children, Brandon and Ally, who are her pride and joy.
Morgan Kastenek
Development & Marketing Manager
[email protected]
Morgan was born and raised in Chicago, IL. She moved to Santa Barbara in 2008 to attend UC Santa Barbara, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology. She has been working with different nonprofits in Santa Barbara since graduating from UCSB in 2012. Morgan grew up riding horses and is so happy to be joining the Hearts team as development and marketing coordinator, where she can be around horses every day and help support an amazing organization! She is passionate about social media marketing and fundraising. She and her husband live in Santa Barbara and have two dogs. They enjoy spending most of their time outdoors or doing yoga.
Kari Oslie
Program Coordinator
[email protected]
Kari was born and raised in Santa Barbara where she attended college at UCSB, earning a B.A. in psychology. She spent many years at Hearts as a volunteer and eventually went on to get her instructor certification in order to teach therapeutic riding. After taking a break to do some traveling in Europe, she is happy to be back on the Hearts team.
Amanda Dwyer
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Diana Ferrari, M.A.
MFT
Lily Garcia
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Haley Giz
PATH Intl. Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Amado Inda
Barn Assistant
Lauren Hayes
PATH Intl. Certified Equine Specialist
Mary Pat Paulson
PATH Intl. Certified Equine Specialist; PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Darcie Simpson
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor