Benoit Dube | Executive Director

Benoit’s love of horses and a desire to give back lead him to join Hope Haven as a volunteer in the Spring of 2017. Seeing firsthand the benefits of Hope Haven’s Therapeutic Riding Program he was driven to contribute further by joining the Board of Directors in November 2017.

In May 2018, he was honoured to be named Executive Director where his abilities honed over 25 years in the corporate world leading initiatives through project management & strategic planning supported by solid financial acumen will help grow and sustain the success of Hope Haven.

Benoit lives with his wife Michelle, Indy their Great Dane and cat in the wonderful town of Meaford.

Barb Sheperd | Development Officer

Barb was delighted to join the Hope Haven Board in April 2016 and has now stepped into the role of Development Officer. After 16 years of leading the charge as Chief Marketing Officer for law firms, Barb now combines her decades of business, marketing and coaching experience with her lifelong passion for horses and equine therapy to help enrich the lives of people with challenges.

When she’s not building fund raising campaigns, Barb can be found riding the trails with her handsome Tennessee Walkers, Archer and Kit or hiking with her Great Dane Oliver.

Robyn Allen | Program Manager & Physiotherapist

Originally from London, Robyn grew up riding horses competitively in Hunter-Jumper until she attended McMaster University, obtaining degrees in both Kinesiology and Physiotherapy. Robyn currently resides in the Georgian Bay area with her husband and three boys and enjoys an active outdoor lifestyle with her 2 dogs Rosko and Ruby.

Robyn started at Hope Haven as a volunteer and consulting Physiotherapist. She went on to receive her certificate in Hippotherapy and then proceeded to come on board as our Program Manager. She is enjoying being able to wear both her Physiotherapist and Program Manager hats as she helps to Make Hope Happen! Outside of Hope Haven, Robyn is one of 6 National Para Equestrian Classifiers in the disciplines of Para Dressage and Para Driving.

Emma Houser | Program Administrator & Instructor (PATH Intl. CTRI)

Michelle Lemire | Volunteer Coordinator

Ann-Ida Beck | CanTRA Senior Instructor (CTRSI) & PATH Intl. CTRI

Ann-Ida Beck is a certified Canadian Therapeutic Riding Senior Instructor and brings her amazing experience and attention to detail to her role. Her love of horses and equine activity guided her to therapeutic riding in the early 90’s. Her commitment to the riders and nurturing their development and success is what keeps her coming back.

Ann-Ida also enjoys cross-country skiing and hiking the picturesque trails of our community, but she is best known for her amazing artistic abilities and a keen eye for colour. She and her husband Richard are an amazing team at Hope Haven on Saturdays, but when not grooming and navigating horses together, they can be found gliding gracefully in one another’s arms on the ballroom floor.

Gillian MacNeill | CanTRA Intermediate Instructor (CTRII) & PATH Intl. CTRI

Gillian an Intermediate Instructor, certified through the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association was raised in Scotland where she learned to ride and develop her skill. Following high school, she completed her British Horse Instructor /Masters Program and worked at an Eventing/Hunter facility in Scotland before moving to the London, Ontario area.

Gillian attributes her current riding style and ability to her long-time mentor and coach Rennie Zimmer, who passed on his skills from the well-known Spanish Riding School of Vienna. Under Rennie’s tutelage, Gillian learned to train and school horse to compete at a basic Dressage level.

After raising her three children with her husband, she started volunteering at a Therapeutic riding facility and in 2011 achieved her CTR Intermediate Instructor certificate.

Danielle Rose | Equine Manager, Horse Trainer, & Instructor (PATH Intl. CTRI & Equestrian Canada Licensed Competition Coach)

Danielle has been involved in the equine industry since 2010 and has enjoyed every minute of it! She started out at pony camp but quickly realized her passion for horses and that the barn was where she belonged. She has spent many years working as a stable hand, working student, and has even started her own equine grooming and exercising business. As a 2021 graduate of the BBRM Equine Management program at the University of Guelph, Danielle is now focusing on training horses and helping others enjoy them as much as she does through coaching. 

When she isn’t riding and teaching at Hope Haven, Danielle can be found riding her own horse, O’Malley, who she is currently training 3rd level dressage and hopes to take to the Grand Prix level!

Gretel Stanish | Property and Barn Manager & Instructor (PATH Intl. CTRI trainee)

In 2018 Gretel and family made the trip back to the Beaver Valley area after living in PEI for 5 years and moved directly into the caretakers home at Hope Haven. The entire Drake family including 3 mature, machine loving boys and numerous dogs, selflessly have volunteered a lot of extra time to keep the Hope Haven property looking amazing and the horses safe, clean and happy.

Gretel has now moved into a full time Property and Barn Manager position and if that hasn't kept her busy enough, she has started the process of instructor certification. In her spare time you may see her walking or skiing with her dogs in the back fields or hacking with her boy Otis.

Heidi Bramson | Instructor (PATH Intl. CTRI)

After volunteering at Hope Haven for 5 years Heidi joined the centre’s staff as a PATH International
Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI) in 2021. Heidi is a lifelong equestrian who developed her
love of all things horsey as a young girl, first getting on a horse at the age of 4. This passion led her to
pursue the CTRI certification which she completed in December 2021, having volunteered for well over
the required 100 hours.

She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of horses with the participants at Hope
Haven. When not at Hope Haven you can find Heidi along with her husband Howie (a weekly volunteer) and 2 dogs, Dakota and Churro exploring the endless trails on foot, snowshoes or skis.

Samantha Woodhouse | Instructor Assistant

Anita Moldovanyi | Barn & Property Assistant

Anita grew up in and around the GTA but has always known one day she’d be a country girl. Anita started volunteering at Hope Haven in 2014 which evolved into a part-time job as a Barn and Property Assistant.

Anita inherited her love for horses from her father who was a horse trainer in the Canadian Military. He encouraged and supported Anita in all her equine adventures. She started riding at a young age, stopped for a few years when life in general interrupted and now is getting back into the swing of things. She began studying wild horses in Nevada with equine biologist Craig Downer and continued her equine studies under Dr. Leonard Blach in New Mexico before returning to Canada.

When not at Hope Haven, Anita can be found on her own farm pampering her own horses including one of Hope Haven’s retired equine friend, Cutter. He is in good hands.

Our volunteers are the driving force of Hope Haven's many programs, we couldn't Make Hope Happen without you! 

Pam Kinzie | Chair

Pam answered a small ad in a local paper soliciting volunteers for Hope Haven about four years ago and has never looked back.  She joined the Board of Directors at Hope Haven in 2013.

Pam has extensive experience on volunteer boards, serving on the Collingwood General Marine Hospital where she chaired the Governance and Quality Committee and Georgian College, as Chair of the Board. She also served on the Boards of Georgian College Foundation, the Muskoka Lakes Golf and Country Club and the Bent River Road Land Corporation.

Currently, Pam is the Principal of Firstbrook Strategies; a consulting firm that specializes in organizational evaluation, project management and consumer service in community health and social service organizations. She resides in the Pretty River Valley, Grey Highlands with her husband, a black labrador and a barn cat.

Ann Jackson CFA, MBA | Director

Ann is a University of Western Ontario graduate and the Founding Partner of Jackson/Martin Reimagine Investments. She worked in the investment management business for 30 years as a financial analyst and sales professional and as a portfolio manager at Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management. As a portfolio manager, she specialized in providing a unique client service model to non-profit/charitable clients.

Ann has served on several Boards and advisory and investment committees. She is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Director’s Governance Essentials Program for Not-for-profit Organizations in Rotman.

In her spare time, Ann enjoys traveling and the odd round of golf.

Mary Thomas | Director

After having grown up on a farm and riding as a youth, Mary was thrilled to become a volunteer with Hope Haven.  Initially engaged with the riders and horses, and more recently as a member of the board.

After early success in the technology sector, she decided to follow her heart and employ her sales and management skills in the charitable sector. Now, with more than a decade of volunteering and work experience at some of Ontario’s largest public and non-profit organizations.  Mary enjoys traveling and spending as much time as possible in nature. 

Dawn McConnell | Director

Dawn has recently retired from her law practice in Toronto where she specialized in the fields of civil litigation and employment law for over 35 years.  She was a Partner with the law firm of Day, Wilson Campbell and later started her own law practice in association with other employment law specialists.

Riding has been a special pastime, as well as her involvement over the years with her daughter’s show jumping events and the family horses.  She also enjoyed competing

in the Adult Hunter class in Palgrave.  As a new Board member, Dawn looks forward to supporting the Centre’s inspiring work.

Peter Heinke | Director

Currently with Heinke Consulting Inc, Peter has served as a consultant, advisor and C-level executive for a myriad of businesses, in the start-up phase through to maturation in both the tech and non-tech sectors. With his diverse experience in industries ranging from finance, healthcare, aviation and technology, Peter is esteemed for his strategical approach to business development and leadership. He has successfully aided numerous companies in the transformation of raw entrepreneurial ideas into strategic business plans - all the way from inception to execution through project development, financing and finally successful implementation with his most recent initiative reaching unicorn status.

Peter holds an HBA from Wilfred Laurier University in Finance and Business and obtained his CA with KPMG. He just recently completed an online program in the Said Business School at the University of Oxford for Strategic Frameworks for the Blockchain.

Peter has a farm in the Blue Mountains and his daughter is an equestrian competing in the 1.3m jumper division.

Peter Fullerton | Director

Peter is a CPA/CA and a retired audit partner of Grant Thornton LLP. During his years of practice, he had a diverse range of clients that included public and private corporations and not-for-profit organizations.

Peter has had several volunteer Board roles, including with Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab, Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club, Huron University College Foundation, Anglican Foundation of Canada, and Georgian Triangle Lifelong Learning Institute.

He has lived in Collingwood for the past four years and enjoys go