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cathy strange

chairperson of board

Cathy was elected to the Board of Directors in June of 2013. She has been involved with Ride for Joy, having donated her horses to the program, since 2008. She worked on the First Annual Barn Party in Spring, 2013. Cathy has experience in Real Estate, banking and teaching. She received her BA from UC Davis and currently works in property management and other volunteer positions.

 
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lisa grover

treasurer

Lisa is an Idaho native who received her BS in Business with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of Idaho and received her CPA license in 1984.

She has held Financial and Internal Audit positions for Boise Cascade Corp., Micron Technology, Micron PC and taught English in a language school in Switzerland. She is currently the accountant for a local restaurant.

She and her husband Brad have been married for more than 30 years and have two sons.

 
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christi king

member at large

Christi grew up in Boise, Idaho and fell in love with horses at the age of four. As a Boise native, she was involved with the equine 4-H community for ten years. Christi graduated from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration at Boise State University in 2019. Christi became a PATH Intl. Certified Instructor in December 2014. 

Christi has served RFJ in a variety of capacities since 2015. She worked as a riding instructor and the Fundraising Coordinator from 2015 to 2016, adding Lead Instructor in 2016. From 2017 to 2019 she headed the organization as the Executive Director. She has been a board member since 2015.

This is the second program where she has worked as a board member, PATH Intl. Certified Instructor, and in fundraising and marketing.

Christi is dedicated to helping RFJ continue its trajectory into future success.

 
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Louis Miller

Member at large

Louis grew up with horses in a small town outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. With a desire to move out west, he went to Gonzaga University where he received a BA in Human Resources and a minor in Economics. He completed his MBA at Gonzaga while teaching undergraduate Economics.

Louis spent 30 years with Boise Cascade in a variety of positions living in various parts of the country including Portland, Oregon; Kansas City, Missouri; and Casper, Wyoming. He and his wife, Patti, moved to Boise in 1989.  Louis and Patti have been married for 38 years and have two daughters and one grandson. They currently live in Eagle and spend time hiking, camping and tending to their six horses. 

Louis started volunteering at Ride for Joy in 2014 and joined the Board in 2018.

 
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Cierra Dedeker, DVM

member at large

Dr. Cierra Dedeker is the owner of Peak Performance Equine, a mobile veterinary practice located primarily in Boise, Idaho. Her practice focuses on sport horse medicine with state of the art diagnostic imaging and treatment options. She also offers regenerative therapies such as PRP, ProStride and Stem Cell when necessary.

In 2018, Dr. Dedeker joined the RFJ board, because she loves the mission of the organization. She is aligned to assist with primary care of the horses in the program as well as biosecurity for herd health.

Dr. Dedeker makes regular wellness visits to Ride for Joy to ensure the health of the horses in the program.

Drcierra@gmail.com

Peak Performance Equine Website

 

brian white, PT, DPT

member at large

Dr. Brian White is an owner and Senior Vice President of Mountain Land Physical Therapy, a physical therapy provider in Idaho, Utah, and Montana. He graduated from Meridian High School (back when there was only one high school in Meridian), received his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Utah in 1988, and was awarded his Doctorate in Physical Therapy with an emphasis in administration from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in 2013.

Brian serves on the Board of Mountain Land Rehabilitation and was on the Idaho Physical Therapy Licensure Board for 10 years. Brian lives in Meridian on 9 acres with his wife Marcella where they have raised 6 active and independent children. They are enjoying their 12 grandchildren (6 boys and 6 girls!). They love the great outdoors of Idaho and can be found hiking, mountain biking, running and riding the green belt, boating, and toodling around on their little farm.

Brian joined the Ride for Joy Board in January 2020 and enjoys the interaction, collaboration, and decision making with a group of such passionate and caring board members. Helping direct a nonprofit organization with its unique challenges and rewards is a new experience and he is committed to making a positive contribution to RFJ.

www.mlrehab.com

Amanda Cooper

Member At Large

Veteran Advocate

Amanda grew up in Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University with a major in Animal Science, a minor in Business and an Equine Science Certificate. She is an Army sister and while in college, her brother was deployed to Afghanistan, which was the catalyst that got her involved with veteran horsemanship programs. Through her involvement in volunteering, she saw the impact that these programs could make on our veterans and active duty military members. 

She first volunteered with Ride for Joy's Veterans' Program in September 2021 and joined the board as a veteran advocate in February 2023. As a board member, she hopes to be able to promote veterans' interests within the organization and help to serve our veterans and active duty military members.