HorsePower! Staff
(Alahna) Lahni Allen, ED.M
Executive Director
Originally trained as an exercise physiologist, Lahni's career has spanned a broad range of experiences, from training Olympic class athletes to special needs kids. Graduate training in medical education and gerontology expanded that reach to include older adults and those facing end of life issues.
Her life long love of animals and belief in the healing power of the animal-human bond, were the stimulus for her to research and complete graduate training in the area of 'Animals in Human Health'. It was her work in this area that brought Lahni to HorsePower!
Jill Daniel
Program Director
Hippotherapy Specialist
M. Jill Daniel is a speech language pathologist who had a dream to combine her vocation with her avocation, horses. HorsePower! is a dream come true for Jill, one of the program's founders.
Jill has spent most of her 32 year career as a speech therapist working with children. She has also been a horse lover since her early childhood. At age 13 she acquired her first horse while living in Thailand where her father was stationed with the military. Her riding adventures include performing for the King of Thailand, and she continues riding and taking lessons to this day. Her own horse, "May," worked for two years as a therapy horse.
Jill says her greatest happiness is watching "smiles on the faces of our riders as they sit happily astride 'their' horses."
Jill earned her BA from Western Kentucky University and her MS from Vanderbilt University. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association and the American Hippotherapy Association.
Jessica Rector
Instructor/Volunteer Coordinator
Jessica is a recent graduate of The Evergreen State College where she received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. In college, she studied a variety of subjects including cultural studies, art therapy, sustainable agriculture, and community studies. Jessica has worked as an intern in community based non-profits, as a ranch hand, and as a teacher's assistant. She has spent the past two years studying and working in non-traditional education systems. She loves to spend her down time with children, animals and plants. Jessica comes to HorsePower! with a love for horses and a passion to serve her community. “I am excited to be a part of this amazing organization, and I look forward to a successful year at HorsePower!”