Our Team

Jan started as a volunteer with Hearts & Horses in 1997, becoming Executive Director in 2013. She feels it is an honor to lead such an amazing organization that makes a difference in the lives of so many!

Tamara has been working in the field of therapeutic riding since 1990 and feels privileged to play a role in helping change so many lives! The power that the horse has to transform lives continues to amaze her daily.

Lauren started working with Hearts & Horses in 2009 as a Physical Therapist providing therapy services. She retired in 2019 from her position as Director of Physical Therapy at The Wheatridge Regional Center, where she worked with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities for nearly 30 years. She began her new career as Program Director in January 2020 and brings with her a wealth of experience both in the field of disabilities as well as horsemanship, being a lifelong equestrian. Her other hobbies include gardening, yoga, and reading.

Maria comes to us from Cincinnati, Ohio. She grew up riding horses and enjoyed competing in Three Day Eventing! Over the past 10 years, Maria gained experience at a variety of horse farms, spanning from Kentucky to Montana to California. She covered some ground searching for a job that would involve caring for animals and helping people as well. Maria started her Therapeutic Riding career in Indiana and there she found her passion! As a PATH Certified Instructor, Maria utilizes her diverse equine knowledge and her heart for serving others. She loves teaching, connecting with volunteers, and seeing the massive impact that horses have on the lives of our community.

Don has a strong technical background and a heart for the less fortunate that he also shares with several other local nonprofit organizations in the Loveland community.

Liv is a CSU graduate with a degree in equine science and psychology. She completed not one, but two internships here at Hearts & Horses during her undergrad. Her passion is mental health and helping at risk youth. She is a PATH Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. Her goals are to obtain a professional mental health license and move on to doing more equine assisted psychotherapy. Liv has her own horse, Dayton, who is her heart horse of 12 years. She loves reading, hiking with her pup Atticus, and coffee! Fun fact: Liv was a barista for 5 years, need a good latte give her a call!

Kathryn helps ensure Hearts & Horses’ fundraising efforts by connecting with current and potential supporters through storytelling, tours and special events. Her love for animals might only be surpassed by her desire to help others. When she’s not out making a new friend, Kathryn is exploring Colorado with her husband and two dogs or making a home cooked meal for her family.

Heather was born and raised on a farm in Indiana. She attended Purdue University, majoring in Hospitality and Tourism Management, and was a member of the Purdue Equestrian Team. She moved to Aiken, SC where she enjoyed raising, training and showing horses. Heather loves to travel and be outdoors, especially hiking. She is excited that her life has brought her to Colorado and cannot wait to explore this beautiful state!

Liz Ampe is an Occupational Therapist providing therapeutic services in the form of Hippotherapy. She loves being a part of the human-horse bond and seeing all global benefits this form of therapy delivers.

Hannah is a Loveland native and has lived on a cattle ranch for the majority of her life. She has 20 years of experience in management. She can’t wait to bring that knowledge and expertise to a new format. She looks forward to creating a welcoming, inclusive and well-organized experience for anyone who walks in the door. If she isn’t at work she is probably out hiking, camping, paddle boarding or simply enjoying all the wonderful things Colorado has to offer.

Christen Black has been a PATH Certified Riding Instructor since 2015, and has been involved with horses for the past 30 years. She grew up riding hunter-jumper, spent 7 years training horses and riders working as a wrangler on dude ranches, and has been active in equine assisted therapy since 2005. She earned a Masters in Art Education from the Ohio State University, where she focused in art therapy. Christen is passionate about helping people of all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels to engage and develop meaningful connections with horses and the world around them.

Laura has been riding and showing horses since she was four and training, coaching, and teaching professionally for over 30 years. She grew up showing hunter/jumper horses and then moved on to dressage and three-day eventing. In college, Laura interned for a trainer who competed mostly in Western events at the world show level, so she added Western events to her repertoire. She has competed and coached multiple horses and students to participate at the American Quarter Horse Association and American Paint Horse Association world shows over the years.

Mike is a USMC veteran who started volunteering at Hearts & Horses in December of 2019. He enjoys the outdoors and spending time with family. One day he hopes to have some property and horses of his own! He loves everything about Hearts & Horses and is excited to join the Equine team.

Leana grew up in San Diego, but moved to Colorado in 1997. She got her first horse at the age of 6. Her love for horses continued throughout her entire life including competing in hunter/jumper competitions and western riding as an adult. She enjoys spending time with her family and hanging out with her 3 horses, 3 dogs and 10 chickens. In her spare time she loves exploring Colorado on horseback with her friends and recently took up oil painting.

As an advanced instructor, Tina knows first hand the power of the special bond between people and horses, which she feels allows a sense of accomplishment and an increase of self-confidence.

Kiera was an intern at H&H in 2019 and enjoyed the experience so much she was elated to move back to CO from Upstate NY to join our team as a PATH Certified Instructor! She received her Bachelor of Technology in Therapeutic Horsemanship at SUNY Cobleskill in May of 2019 and in her time there obtained her Instructor Certification as well as her ESMHL. She enjoys being outdoors and taking hikes with her puppy Charlee. She loves horses and has been an equestrian since she was 12 when her mom got a horse.

Born and raised in Fort Collins, Lindsey has always had a passion for people and a love for horses. During her 4 years at CSU studying health and exercise science, she interned at King’s Revenue Ranch and volunteered with Cowboys for Kids. After getting married, Lindsey moved to the Roaring Fork Valley and started a family. Four years later she, her husband, daughter, and son were able to move back to the Front Range. Lindsey volunteered with Hearts and Horses for two years before beginning her dream job, helping people through

Martha Ann grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and discovered her love for horses at the age of eight, when she began taking lessons and showing in Hunter/Jumper circuits. She moved to Colorado to get her master’s degree in social work, with the dream of being able to use horses to help people heal. She stumbled upon Hearts & Horses when searching for internships, and the rest is history!

Marnelle moved to Fort Collins a couple of years ago after 30 years of teaching in CA. She says: “I love volunteering at Hearts & Horses because the people are amazing and the horses steal the show! When I am not at H & H, I spend time hiking, gardening, and watching sports. Fun fact… I used to show Dalmatians and had a litter of champion puppies all while living on Freckles Road.”

Emma March grew up on Cape Cod, MA where her love of horses started. She was introduced into the hunter/jumper world but when she moved to Colorado in 2006 she fell in love with the cowboy way of life. In her free time, she loves fly fishing in the mountains with her husband, trail riding, going to coffee shops and being a homebody with her cats and dog!

Sophia comes to us from Putnam County New York, and has been around horses most of her life. She started in the hunter/jumper world, then switched to dressage as she pursued a deeper understanding of training and connection. Dressage opened up her world of training and she never looked back! Sophia found the EAS field in 2015 and fell in love with it all. With years of experience training horses, managing barns, and teaching, Sophia feels privileged to spend every day helping horses thrive as they share their incredible abilities with humans. Sophia is a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor as well as an Equine Specialists in Mental Health and Learning. Sophia is fascinated by animal behavior and learning, and is also a certified dog trainer. She studied positive reinforcement training with the Karen Pryor Academy. In her spare time Sophia enjoys exploring nature and spending time with her partner and their 2 dogs and 1 cat.

Sam was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and moved to Colorado for her freshman year of high school. She is currently an undergraduate student at Colorado State University studying Human Development and Family Studies on the pre-occupational therapy track. She has been working and volunteering in equine-assisted services since she was 14, and she completed her internship with Hearts & Horses in the summer of 2024. She is passionate about helping others and plans to obtain her doctorate in occupational therapy and use hippotherapy as a treatment tool in her services. In her free time, Sam enjoys riding her horse, Kodiak, singing, playing acoustic guitar, weightlifting, and watching scary movies.

I’m so excited to be joining Hearts and Horses as the new Bookkeeper! It is an honor to be part of an organization that makes such a meaningful difference through the healing connection between humans and horses.

Most of my career has been in the finance world, and I also run two small businesses. One of my greatest joys is capturing the personality of animals through Erin Thames Photography, where I get animals to pose better than most people! I also own Balance Bookkeeping & Financial Services, where I get to put my love of numbers and organization to good use.

Outside of work, I’m obsessed with animals, love staying organized, and enjoy hunting for treasures while thrifting. I live with my partner Josh and two older dogs, Dez and Milla.

Growing up in California, Emma started riding and loving horses from a young age. She moved to Colorado to attend CU Boulder and received her degree in Psychology. Emma volunteered at H&H for a year before starting the instructor training program. Being a therapeutic riding instructor perfectly combines her admiration of horses and dedication to mental health.

Rose has been working as an occupational therapist at H&H since 2003 and loves the community, volunteers and families she works with along with ALL the four legged friends!

Amanda is a lifelong equestrian with a deep passion for equine-assisted services and the life-changing impact of therapeutic riding. With a background in nonprofit communications and a love for storytelling, she’s excited to bring her experience to Hearts & Horses to help share its incredible mission. Amanda is thrilled to blend her professional expertise with her personal connection to horses and looks forward to making a meaningful impact as part of the team!

Donna joined Hearts and Horses as a volunteer in October of 2009 and has been involved with the program ever since.  She’s a huge fan of small equines, currently working with the mini donkeys, Paco and Levi, and the pony, Princess Xellie.  Though she’s filled many roles through the years here, Donna has managed the Tack Shoppe since 2013.  Both a fundraising and friendraising enterprise, the shoppe converts donated tack into money for the program and community good will.

Patty was born with a love of horses and began riding as a teenager while working at a Thoroughbred breeding farm in exchange for saddle time. She says, “my mother would not let me go see the horses if the house wasn’t cleaned to her standards!” After moving to Colorado, she focused on dressage, which is where she truly learned to ride, and went on to compete in cross-country, eventing, dressage, and combined driving. She later operated a boarding and breeding stable, raising Thoroughbred, Warmblood, and Quarter Horse crosses, including managing stallions and artificial insemination. Patty is devoted to animal rescue, following German Shepherd rescues nationwide and shares her home with three rescued GSDs, four cats, and three parrots, along with a steady yoga practice to keep her grounded. She is so glad to be part of the H&H team surrounded by, and helping with, what she loves.

Jordan was raised in Loveland, Colorado and grew up at Hearts & Horses, volunteering in many capacities over the years. As an avid horse lover and equestrian, she has owned and shown horses since she was young, ultimately finding her passion competing in team penning with her horse Pepper. Professionally she has worked in the medical field for the last 9 years, most recently as a pediatric nurse. As a new mom, she is excited to step into a part-time instructor role at Hearts & Horses while taking a break from nursing to spend more time with her family.

Katye is a combat veteran who turned to the field of social work upon her return. She is passionate about equine-assisted therapy and has seen the power that horses have in assisting her through her own healing process. She loves working with seniors, veterans and children.

Owner of Toyota of Laramie and Trailer Works of Laramie. Joined June 2024.

Principal, Elizabeth Lamb Kearney, P.C. Joined February 2020.

VP- Relationship Manager of Commercial Lending at Independent Financial. Joined November 2022.

President, Front Range Fire Protection, Inc.

Owner, Saddle Ridge Farms, LLC. Joined July 2020.

Retired President, Biologicals and Pharmaceuticals at Heska Corp. and current owner of MJM Consulting Services, LLC; a provider of product development, regulatory affairs, and manufacturing consulting services to the animal health industry. Joined January 2019.

Owner, Martini’s Bistro. Joined January 2022.

Co-Founder/Owner – HighCraft Builders. Joined July 2021.