Executive Committee
Executive Committee 2015 – 2018
Sanna Mattila-Rautiainen
President
Post-Graduate in Bioscience, MSc in sports medicine, Physiotherapist specialized in Hippotherapy. Running her own practice since 1990. Specialized in Biomechanics and human equine movement analysis. Teacher in Equine college Hevosopisto Ypäjä and evaluator in Animal studies.
HETI President, 2015-present, FRDI Vice President 2006-2009 Board member 2003-2006.
FINLAND
Vera Horne
Vice President
Vera Maria Horne da Cruz is a graduate in Psychology and certified in Clinical, Scholar and Organizational professional performance areas (1979).After working as a clinical psychologist, she took part in the translation to Portuguese of the national methodology of Equotherapy, by the National Association of Equotherapy, 1989. Founded and directed the first Center of Equotherapy (ANDE-BRASIL) in the South Region of the Country, 1992 and has been teaching there ever since and currently serves as Vice President. She has presented at past HETI Congresses in 2009, 2012 and 2015.
BRAZIL
Jill Carey
Treasurer
Jill has worked with Festina Lente since 2001, having previously worked at Programme Manager with St. John of God Brothers. Jill has a strong commitment to achieving the correct balance between people’s interest in horses and horse’s welfare and management requirements. Jill is the course coordinator for the Festina Lente Therapeutic Riding Coaching Programme and the Equine Assisted Learning Facilitator Programme. In addition, she is the current chairperson of the Equine Facilitated Education and Therapy Association (Ireland).
IRELAND
Jeong-Yi Kwon
Board Member
Jeong-Yi Kwon, M.D.,Ph.D.is Professor in the Dept. of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. She is Board member of the Korean Society of Pediatric Rehabilitation and Developmental Medicine (2006-present). She has had a career in clinical research as a principal investigator in pediatric medicine and has published numerous articles in this field.
KOREA
Lorenzo Lucarelli
Board member
Lorenzo Lucarelli has a doctorate in philosophy specialising in ethics of animal-assisted interventions. He is a technical master in International cooperation as well as a pedagogic and therapeutic riding instructor. He is a teacher in the Animal Assisted Therapies master degree of ISEP Superior Institute of Psychologic Studies. He is on the boards of HETI, AIEJI, ACEB and president of AEDEQ. He has participated in over 30 congresses of equine mediated therapies and social education. He has extensive experience in managing volunteers and exchange students within the Erasmus+ framework.
SPAIN
Roswitha Zink
Board member
Roswitha studied biology and special needs education at the University of Vienna. In 2003 she founded a centre for therapy with animals in a psychiatric hospital at Vienna, Austria, where 500 children are treated per year. Her expertise in training is with horses, sheep, cats, dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs. She studied professional therapeutic methods and special training for animals, and her team has created a method based on biological knowledge combined with psychotherapeutically-based treatment with children. In 2016 she started a new scientific project with the co-operation of four universities, about backgrounds of breathing and heart rate (HRV) from humans and animals in therapeutic sessions.
AUSTRIA
Marie-Therese Kuypers
Public Officer (Belgian rep.)
Marie-Thérèse is a physiotherapist from Belgium involved in a neurological pediatrics hospital since 1978. In 1980, she introduced horse-therapy in the CHN William Lennox Hospital. She is a treasurer of “Handhippo”, the national non-profit association of Belgium, and has specialised in horse therapy and is a well-known expert in this field. She has been involved in FRDI-HETI as a board member, a vice-president and finally a “de jure” member for 20 years. She continues to help students in high school and university in completing scientific research relevant to this field.
BELGIUM
Gisela Heimsath-Rhodes
Executive Director
Gisela has a Masters Degree in Education from her native Germany. She has been the Executive Director of HETI from 2009 to the present. She is senior faculty for the HETI Level I Education Program. She also teaches for the Council for Education and Certification in Therapeutic Horsemanship and PATH Intl. She is the author of Hello Bob, and Co-Author of Fitting In – A Horse’s Tale.
USA