Our Team
Christine Miller
Program Director
Christine Miller is an E.A. (Educational Assistant) who is also certified to teach Therapeutic Horsemanship & Riding, by the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (www.cantra.ca) and is dually certified as an Equine & Learning Wellness Practitioner through Pro-EFW (www.equinefacilitatedwellness.org)
Christine is a mother of three, and has worked with many children over the years in different school settings and with the Healthy Babies/Healthy Children program at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Tri-County Literacy, Brownies and Cubs. She is also trained in Standard First Aid, CPR, and has additional training through the Geneva Centre for Autism, in how to best help children with ASD.
She loves sharing her passion for horses with young people, and her horse passion combined with her educational training & experience, provides a unique opportunity to reach children in difficulty.
Left; Christine, with her best horse friend, ROMEO, 39 years old at time of photo. Photo courtesy of Darlene Lavallee
Anne Dufour
Instructor
S.S.W., (Social Service Worker) is also a Certified Instructor. She has been dedicated to Therapeutic Horsemanship for over twenty years, beginning her career in France. She has worked at several Canadian Therapeutic Riding Centres, and now, as a mother of two, enjoys teaching Horse Centered Learning, with the Brave-Hearts team. Anne has worked with identified children as an Infant Stimulation Worker and in Early Childhood Development, for a number of years at various schools and daycare centres. She also enjoys teaching cooking to children and adults with learning difficulties or developmental delays. Anne is trained in Standard First Aid and CPR and has taken numerous trainings as a Pro-EFW Learning Professional!
A longtime horse lover, Anne is enjoying helping others learn about the horse connection and living in harmony with nature.
Sonia Champagne (ECE)
Early Childhood Educator
Sonia has been working with children for many years as an ECE (Early Childhood Educator) and Educational Assistant.
She enjoys supporting students on the Autism spectrum in learning all about horses.
Inspired by the benefits she sees in children who struggle with sensory and social challenges, Sonia continues her studies in psychology, nature-based and animal-assisted therapies.
Sonia is fluently bilingual in English and French. She is also certified in American Sign Language, Level 2. She has current Standard First Aid training with CPR Level C.
We are delighted to have Sonia as a valuable member of our team.
Sonia and one of her horses, Eddie
Carol & Claude
Whether it's fixing fences or plumbing or repairing machinery, Claude and Carol have been coming through to keep the program going, for 20 years!
Diane
Chief fundraiser, Diane Mitchell, local talented artist, has been painting her heart out for Brave Hearts, for over 20 years now, raising much-needed funds at our annual Fall/Christmas sales.
Mimi & Jack
When Mimi donated her horse Ozzy to our program in 2003, little did we know that she would become a dedicated member of the team. But she did, and she still is! Pictured here with her husband Jack, who also gets roped into volunteering, and our little Bibit.
Brave-Hearts exists only because of the tremendous support from our team of volunteers. We will be updating this page with more of our friends, but this is just a start.
