ABOUT

Willa Rose – President and Chief Executive Officer

In 2003, Willa was gifted a free horse/pony.  "What am I going to do with this horse? I'm down to only one horse, and I kind of like that", she said. Looking up to the sky with that question, and ready to have the answer fall into her open hands, she had a vision of helping young victimized girls regain their self-esteem with some horse time. She closed her hands to capture that vision and went for it. She already had 2 years experience working with a charity for victimized women and children, and witnessed the hardships facing survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Believing that nature heals, and wanting to give back, she decided to give it a go.

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Students and Horses Excel (SHE, Inc.) received its non-profit status in 2003. In the beginning, she found it easy to acquire more horses, hay and safety gear. It was harder to acquire funds to give-away the therapy sessions. Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies hadn't quite caught on yet in Idaho. After 15 years and a few relocations, SHE is still serving the Treasure Valley in SW Idaho. With the medical associations finally acknowledging the benefits of EAAT, we are hopeful that funding will now be more readily available so more individuals and families can heal from their traumas.

 

Vice President

Open for volunteer.

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Joseph Morisette - Secretary and Treasurer

Joseph's experience as a financial officer spans 50 years. Along with his own businesses, he volunteered for 6 years as a Regional Financial Officer for a 35 year old (at the time) nationwide non-profit historical reenactment organization, the Society for Creative Anachronism. He also volunteers his time to SHE in this capacity. As well, he is a licensed mental health counselor and volunteers in our program.

 

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