Center for Nonprofit Leadership
Helping nonprofit leaders do better at doing good

Community Spotlight: Meet Pamme Mickelson, Susan Weber and equi-centered

1 The Basics

      Pamme Mickelson and Susan Weber

      Co-Founders of equi-centered

Can you please share more about yourself and the mission of equi-centered? 

equi-centered is a ground-based equine program that facilitates partnerships between people and horses to gain a better understanding of who we are and how we interact with others. Pamme Mickelson and I are the Co-Founders, and we met at Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center, where she was the new Executive Director and I was the new Program Director. Although we come from very different backgrounds (Pamme from Austin, TX and I’m from New York), we both realized that we shared a common interest in the greater good. Pamme has spent most of her adult life working for nonprofits, and I have spent the last 20+ years working with horses and special needs children and adults.

Who has made a strong impact on your life and has helped you to get you where you are today? 

I think both of us would say that our parents had a major impact on our overall outlook on life. Additionally, we’ve both been very lucky to have extraordinary mentors guiding our career paths. And, of course, having found each other 6 years ago, we each provide the other friendship, support and counsel.

What are some recent highlights at Equi-Centered? And what events, milestones and steps are in Equi-Centered’s near future? 

We officially became a nonprofit this spring, which allows us to offer a sliding scale of fees for fellow nonprofits as well as offering special sessions for veterans, first responders, women's empowerment, and others who can benefit from the power of our herd. We are excited to bring this inspirational and unique model to Santa Barbara and Ventura organizations

What about Equi-Centered is special to you, what would you like our readers to know?  

equi-centered is special to me because it originated from a place of compassion and commitment to make a difference in someone’s life. The lessons that can be learned from horses are hard to replicate in any other situation or environment. Watching participants learn more about themselves as well as their coworkers through the magic of horses is such a reward (we call it “chocolate”) and we are grateful to be able to offer this. 

Why did you think it was important to become an organizational member of the CNL? What do you value most about your membership? 

Being connected with peers and learning from each other, as well as the many classes and trainings offered. It’s the best value membership we have! 

How can the community support you? Where can they find you on social media? 

We have a website, www.equi-centered.org. Check out our website and schedule a visit to learn more. We are just starting to add content to our Facebook page as well as Instagram- but we’re not there yet!

Anything else you would like to add?

We look forward to working with nonprofits that really want to embrace, evolve or even redefine their culture. And since horses are non-judgmental, they offer an unbiased and safe environment within which those goals can be met.

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