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Sharing Space with The HERD Conference 2023

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HERD MEMBERS: CHECK YOUR INBOX FOR YOUR DISCOUNT CODE.

Where & When?

September 15 - 17, 2023

The conference will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, Twinsburg, Ohio. This is easily accessible from Cleveland and Akron airports. The conference will run from 12pm Friday to 12pm Sunday to allow for ease of travel for attendees. There is free parking on site.
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If you've already registered for the conference, simply click the "Sign In" button on the top right of the page and log in with the account information you set up when you registered. (If you're already logged in, click on "My Dashboard" on the top right). You'll be taken to the "Dashboard" where you'll be able to click onto the Sharing Space with The HERD logo to access all the conference information.
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Who's Invited?

Whether you are already an equine facilitated practitioner, equine professional, or simply interested in working with horses, we invite you to join us for this unique experience. 

Join us in community to network, connect, and learn. With presenters and attendees from around the world, our focus is to provide accessible and affordable education in the field of equine facilitated psychotherapy & learning. 

A portion of the proceeds from this conference will go towards a HERD Institute® Scholarship Fund for individuals who are interested in entering this field. For more information about The HERD Institute, please visit our website at www.herdinstitute.com.

Your Conference Host


Dr. Veronica Lac, LPC, Founder & Executive Director of The HERD Institute®, has 25 years of experience as a corporate trainer and mental health professional, and is also a certified therapeutic riding instructor and equine specialist in mental health and learning. Building a sense of community and belonging is at the core of Veronica's philosophy of working with people. Veronica is delighted to welcome you to The HERD Institute's first in-person conference which is designed to offer everyone a space to share their skills, knowledge, and wisdom about human-equine relationship development. 

The HERD Institute® offers training and certifications in Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy & Learning that incorporate a cultural competence framework. Veronica is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and has worked on a range of racial and social justice initiatives, including being a Board member of The Humanitarian Alliance, and part of the American Psychological Association, Division 32 Diversity Committee and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for PATH International. Veronica offers DEI consultations and training to organizations both in the corporate sector and within the non-profit environment. She is passionate about research in the field of equine facilitated psychotherapy and has multiple publications internationally in peer-reviewed journals. Veronica is the author of two best-selling books in the field of equine facilitated work.

Keynote Presenters

Dr. Kelsey Dayle John

Assistant Professor, Gender and Women's Studies & American Indian Studies, University of Arizona


Dr. Kelsey Dayle John (Navajo) studies equine/human relationships with a focus on how these relationships impact Indigenous education and research. She is particularly interested in the social, cultural, and historical narratives of equine/human relations in tribal communities. She is currently a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and is working on a book project about equine/human relationships in Indigenous methodologies. Previously, Kelsey taught in the Diné Studies department at Navajo Technical University on the Navajo Nation. She completed her Ph.D. in Education at Syracuse University. For her dissertation research, she worked in partnership with the Navajo Nation to document horse knowledges and stories for the development of Navajo education, research, and a community horse conference. She has published in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Humananimalia, Edge Effects, and several edited volumes including: Decolonizing Animals, Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education, and Indigenous Religious Traditions in Five Minutes.  Kelsey is certified in Equine Facilitated Learning through The HERD Institute. She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and in her spare time, she runs with her dogs and trains horses.   


Dr. Gala Argent

Sacramento City College (Anthropology) & Eastern Kentucky University (Psychology/Animal Studies) Faculty

Dr. Gala Argent is an interdisciplinary scholar and lifelong equestrienne whose work concerns the relational ways humans and other animals come together. She holds a Ph.D. in archaeology, MA and BA degrees in (human) communication studies, and teaches in higher education departments of art, communication studies, anthropology and animal studies. Dr. Argent is an Adjunct Professor at Eastern Kentucky University and curates the annual Living with Horses Conference. Her current interests focus on theorizing human-horse interactions and relationships using models of nonverbal and interpersonal communication, and on the ways in which humans and other animals come together in relational, corporeal, temporal and spatial ways to co-create mutually interdependent selves and societies. She is co-editor of the book The Relational Horse which explores the possibilities of including the horse’s perspective into the study of human-horse relationships. Case studies from across a range of time periods, activities, and disciplines provide fresh ways to understand horses, themselves, in relationships with humans.


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Speakers & Panelists

JENNIFER BAKER, LCPC, TCYM-YT-RYT

THE HERD INSTITUTE®, EFP INSTRUCTOR

TRUE NATURE INTEGRATIVE HEALTH, FOUNDER


 ELIZABETH McCORVEY, LCSW

THE HERD INSTITUTE®, EFP ADMISSIONS & CLINICAL LEAD

UNC-ASHEVILLE, STUDENT COUNSELOR

SELINA PENNIE BROWN

THE STAND FOUNDATION, CEO & FOUNDER

FORMER CO-FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE COWGIRLS OF COLOR

LYMARIS GOMEZ-MARQUEZ, LMHC

FOUNDER, PASO A PASO

LEIF HALLBERG, MA, LPC, LCPC

AUTHOR, SPEAKER, TEACHER

LYNN THOMAS

FOUNDER, ARENAS FOR CHANGE (ARCH)
BETTINA SCHULTZ JOBE,

 CO-FOUNDER, NATURAL LIFEMANSHIP INSTITUTE
KATHY ALM,
 
CEO, PATH INTERNATIONAL

NINA EKHOLM FRY

HUMAN-ANIMAL CONNECTION, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

DIRECTOR OF EQUINE PROGRAMS

CHRIS GOODALL, LISW-S, CDWF

CLINICAL DIRECTOR, IN STEP WITH HORSES

ALISON McCABE, LPC

 EQUINE FACILITATED PSYCHOTHERAPIST AND CLINICAL LIAISON, MEDICINE HORSE

DR. CHERYL MEOLA

MANE SOURCE COUNSELING

& HORSES AND HEALTH INC.

SHANNON KNAPP, MA

FOUNDER/PRESIDENT, HORSE SENSE OF THE CAROLINAS

JAKE LaRUE

MAN WITH A HORSE PROJECT, INC.

ABRIANA JOHNSON

FOUNDER, BLACK UNICORN CREATIVE

DR. DERRICK SEBREE JR., 

LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST

MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY CORE FACULTY

DR. AVIVA VINCENT, LMSW

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM QUALITY, FIELDSTONE FARM
DR. MEGAN MCRAE, PSY.D.

RKA PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

DR. TERRY CHASE, ND, MA RN, CEIP-ED

COACH-SPEAKER-AUTHOR
DR. DAWN SHERWOOD

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
JUDE JENNISON

FOUNDER, LEADERS BY NATURE
KATIE FALLON

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRIDLE PATHS

RACHAEL LOUCKS, MAED

EFL SENIOR INSTRUCTOR & PROGRAM MANAGER

THE HERD INSTITUTE®

DR. LEANNE NIEFORTH

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

DR. KATY SCHROEDER

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

KATE FORD, LCISW, CTRI, ESMHL

EQUINE FACILITATED PSYCHOTHERAPIST, MOONLIGHT RANCH

LEE ANN HILBRICH

DARING DISCOVERIES

FOUNDER
ELISABETH CRABTREE

FOUNDER, A STABLE CONNECTION
DR. PRENTICE GEARY

CASCADE COUNSELING & CONSULTING

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
MEGAN GEARY

CASCADE COUNSELING & CONSULTING

CEO & CLINICAL DIRECTOR

DR. NAOMI CRABTREE

CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LARGE ANIMAL SURGERY AND EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE


UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

DR. AMY LACK

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LARGE ANIMAL INTERNAL MEDICINE


ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

HELEN PHILIP

IMPACT COACHING

FOUNDER


LAURA PETERSON, LICSW

FOUNDER, WILD IRISH FARM
JO ANNE MILLER, CTRI, ESMHL

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BROOKHILL FARMS

DR. ASHLEY PHELPS-DUNN

MEDICAL SCIENCE LIAISON

PETDX

ABBY MOSHER

FOUNDER & DIRECTOR

TOMORROW'S RAINBOW



WHAT'S INCLUDED AT THE CONFERENCE?


Over 35 sessions led by industry experts in the field of human-equine interactions, equine welfare, mental health practitioners, and business leaders. 

Visit a leading PATH International Premier Accredited Center, Fieldstone Farms, to learn about their diverse range of programs in the community.

Friday night HERD Gathering with Dessert Buffet

Saturday night HERD BANQUET


All included in your registration!



 

Need CEs?

For HERD graduates and PATH International certified members looking for CEs for membership renewal, you can count any of the sessions towards your required continued education hours. 

We are also in the process of applying for accreditation for NASW, NBCC & APA CEs for presentations that are specifically geared towards mental health practitioners. More information will be available soon!



WITH GRATITUDE TO OUR SPONSORS



Cancellation Policy

We understand that circumstances may arise which require attendees to cancel their registration for our conference. In order to provide fair and consistent treatment to all attendees, we have established the following cancellation policy:

  • Cancellation requests received more than 60 days prior to the conference start date will receive a full refund of the registration fee, minus a $50 administrative fee.

  • Cancellation requests received between 30 and 59 days prior to the conference start date will receive a 50% refund of the registration fee.

  • Cancellation requests received less than 29 days prior to the conference start date will not be eligible for a refund.

  • Payment plans cancellations: To initiate a refund, customers must submit a refund request within 30 days from the date of the final installment payment. The request should include the customer's name, contact information, and proof of payment and emailed to info@herdinstitute.com. If a customer has made partial payments for the three-month installment period but decides to cancel before completing the payments, a partial refund may be issued based on the amount already paid, minus a $100 administrative fee. Refund requests submitted after the 30-day window from the final installment payment will not be eligible for a refund.

  • All cancellation requests must be made in writing and sent via email to info@herdinstitute.com

  • Registrants who do not attend the conference and do not cancel their registration in writing will not be eligible for a refund.

  • This refund policy is subject to change at any time. Customers will be informed of any changes in advance.