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Staff
Becky Graham
Program Director
Denise Tomey
Executive Director
Heather Edwards
Event Planner
Gail Berke
Administrative Assistant
Valerie Whelan
Administrative Assistant
Katie Graham
Head Instructor
Katie is the Head Instructor at Carousel Ranch and has been teaching there for 9 years. She became an instructor at the early age of 15 and like many of the other staff was a volunteer even before that. Katie has grown up with horses and received a very special Quarter horse named Sweetie for her 9th birthday.
Katie just graduated from Cal State Northridge with a Bachelors in Communication Disorders and plans to pursue her Masters. Her current and future education all tie in with her goals of treating the whole child, while also providing the personalized horse therapy that Carousel Ranch is known for.
Katie exhibits so much enthusiam, energy and passion for what she does and treats each child as if they were her #1 student.
Eileen Johnstone
Instructor
Eileen has been with Carousel Ranch for over 7 years. She first read about the ranch in the Signal newspaper and like many others started out as a volunteer.
Eileen has been riding horses since the age of 12, but it isn't the horses that keep her coming to the ranch. No, it's the kids, the families and the parents. Its getting the opportunity to help a child's life for the better and seeing even those small changes. Seeing a first unaided step, hearing words for the first time.
To quote Eileen "Totally great!"
Taylor Weinstein
Instructor
Taylor is currently the youngest instructor at Carousel Ranch but she is certainly not the least experienced! She started volunteering when she was just 8 years old (picking up horse poop) while her sister Riley rode.
Taylor is currently a Junior in High School and would like to pursue Speech or Physical Therapy in College. Whatever major she picks, it will tie in with continuing to work with the children at Carousel Ranch, since she wants to do that as her career.
Taylor has so much enthusiasm for her work and she says that seeing how it makes a difference in the kids lives is important to her. She has seen how much Carousel Ranch has helped her sister.
Scott Douglas
Instructor
Scott has been with Carousel Ranch for 5 years, although he is only 19 years old! When he was 14 he was lucky enough to hook up with the ranch through the Youth Employment Service and after that...there was no turning back!
Prior to working at Carousel Ranch, Scott was afraid of horses. Now he can't imagine working anywhere else since he loves being outdoors. He has seen some real progress in many of the kids in the 5 years he's been at the ranch.
Scott has a neighbor who works as a juvenile probation officer and that is what Scott would ultimately like to do.
Allison Parker
Instructor
Allison is 21 years old and has been with Carousel Ranch for about 3 years. She started as a volunteer through her ROP Animal Care & Services Class and loved it.
Allison has been riding horses since the age of 9. She currently attends both COC and Pierce College where she is majoring in Animal Science. She is aiming towards a career of training horses.
Allison says that she wakes up in the morning and looks forward to coming to her job at Carousel Ranch.
Alex Douglas
Instructor
Alex is 20 years old and has been with the ranch for almost 3 years. She started as a volunteer through her ROP Animal Care & Service Class. She is currently attending COC and considering going into the field of Veterinarian Science.
Alex has been riding horses, on and off, since she was 5 years old. She loves being outdoors and working with the children. She says sometimes it brings tears to her eyes the wonderful progress that she sees.
Jolie Stroh
Instructor
Jolie has been with Carousel Ranch since 2005. She started as a volunteer when she was just 12 years old and joined the staff in 2009. Jolie has loved horses for as long as anyone can remember and has been riding since she was 7 years old. The love of her life is her horse Knight, a gift from her grandparents.
A junior at Valencia High School, Jolie plans to study animal science/ pre-veterinary medicine after graduation. She is passionate about horses and knows that her future career will definitely revolve around them.
Jolie loves working at Carousel Ranch because she feels like her time there is actually therapy for her. Jolie looks forward to being a part of the Carousel Ranch family for many years to come.
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