Katie Durio, LMSW
Executive Director
EAGALA Certified Level 2

Katie Durio is a retired Juvenile Probation Officer from Jefferson County Juvenile Probation Department in Beaumont, Texas, having served the community for 29 years in that capacity. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology, with a Minor in Social Welfare, from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas in 1976. She also attained her Master of Arts Degree in Criminology and Corrections from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas in 1985. She has been a Licensed Social Worker since 1984; currently holding the Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW). While working for the Jefferson County Juvenile Probation Department, Katie worked in many positions within the department; from being a Caseworker to her final position of Casework Manager. Through her work she was involved with many local and state agencies and organizations; such as Texas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA), Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS), Texas Youth Commission (TYC), Family Group Conferencing (FGC), Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and the Texas Probation Association (TPA).  Since retiring from the Jefferson County Juvenile Probation Department in May, 2006, Katie is a certified Equine Specialist (since October, 2005) through the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA).

Katie has been athletic throughout her lifetime, playing recreational soccer and softball in her adult years. She now enjoys playing with and riding her horses. She believes in volunteering and giving back to her community. Some of her current volunteer activities are being a Mediator and Trainer with the Jefferson County Dispute Resolution Center (since 1988), a regular Apheresis Blood Donor through Life Share Blood Center, the team leader for Mental Health Services with the Beaumont Chapter of the American Red Cross, Advisory Council member for the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Horse Project Leader for the Jefferson County 4-H.  Katie has a son, Michael, daughter-in-law, Danielle, and three grandsons – Korben, Dylan, & Rustin.

Fawn Blohm
President
EAGALA Certified Level 2

Fawn Blohm has been working with Stable-Spirit since the summer of 2007 and brings a unique blend of education, training and experience to our Equine Experiential Development and Assisted Psychotherapy sessions.  Out of her love for horses and a desire to help people, Fawn has developed insight into equine behavior and how it relates to human interaction.  She has been a certified Equine Specialist through the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) since 2001.  Fawn is also a certified Success Centered Riding/Training Instructor with emphasis on the adult beginner, a natural horsemanship Level 1 graduate currently working on her Level 2, a certified Faith-Based Counselor and holds a Bachelors degree in Biology and Secondary Education.

Eriic Harris
Treasurer

Eriic is the Regional Manager for AT&T in southeast Texas. His bio will be posted soon.

Claire Hooper
Secretary

A former juvenile probation/parole officer and adoption/custody investigator for Jefferson County, Texas, Claire Hooper has over twenty years’ experience working with at-risk children and their families in both professional and volunteer positions. She created and managed some of the first therapeutic arts programs for young offenders in Beaumont, Texas, and in Dublin, Ireland. While living in Ireland and working for the Irish Department of Justice, she served as a volunteer at the American Embassy and was also involved in cross-border programs with the Probation Board of Northern Ireland to further the peace process there. Claire was the manager of The Princeton Review’s School-Based Programs for the Beaumont Independent School District and she was the SAT/PSAT Instructor at Central Medical Magnet High School from 2004 – 2010. She is the founder of Hooper’s Heroes, which provides scholarships for socio-economically disadvantaged high school and college students who demonstrate both academic excellence and a commitment to community service.

Claire graduated with honors from Lamar University in 1989, with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in French. She did graduate work in art therapy at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She has done work towards a master’s degree in counseling at Lamar University.

Claire comes from a family of artists and eccentrics, and she especially enjoys photography, theatre, and creative writing.

Michea Ford
EAGALA Certified Level 2

Michea Ford has been an instructor for The American Red Cross for 30 years.  She is currently a Water Safety Instructor and a Corp. Instructor for CPR, First Aid, AED, Oxygen and Blood Borne Pathogens.  Her 30 plus years of experience as a swim instructor has brought her to work mostly with special needs children and children with Autism.  She has a Bachelors Degree in Education and taught for many years, Pre-K to Jr. High students.  Michea grew up in Colorado with and around horses all of her life.  She currently has five beautiful horses that are her therapy at home.  Working with Stable-Spirit is a great opportunity to work with horses and people and to be able to be part of the magic that happens between participants and horses. 

Karen Wynn

Bio will be posted soon.

Jean Butaud

Bio will be posted soon.

Kimberly Mendoza
Advisory Member

Kimberly is co-founder of Stable-Spirit and was the equine specialist in both equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP) and equine experiential development (EED) for the first 3.5 years of Stable-Spirit's existence. Kimberly has extensive experience with horses and developed a keen understanding of their nonverbal communication over the years, particularly during the process of gentling rescues. These horses have proven to be some of the most effective members of the Stable-Spirit team. Her prior work experience includes co-facilitating as an equine specialist with leaders in the field of EAP working with adolescents facing the challenges of eating disorders, addictions and other associated behaviors in individual, family and group therapy activities at the Cadwalder Behavioral Clinic inpatient facility where she was actively involved in the care of the facilities 39 horses and foals.

Kimberly has moved to Phoenix, Arizona to be near family. She is actively involved in the lives of her children and grandchildren and credits the success of her relationships to her work with horses.

Kathie Yates
Advisory Member

Kathie was co-founder and Executive Director of Stable-Spirit from its inception until the fall of 2005. Kathie was certified as an Associate of EAGALA in September of 2004, Innovative Horizons Equine Assisted Specialist Certification Program in 2005, and in 2006 completed the University Of Arkansas Horsemen Of Excellence Course. During her tenure with Stable-Spirit, Kathie most enjoyed facilitating EED sessions. Kathie was raised in Southeast Texas where she attended San Jacinto College in Houston and built a successful career in sales and marketing. She is an entrepreneur at heart and, with the exception of 7 years in the pharmaceutical industry, has been continually involved making a difference in start-up companies.

Kathie Yates and her husband, John, own and operate The Yates Group, LLC, a privately held family owned business established to provide turbine aircraft acquisitions, sales, and consultation services. After years of vacationing in the Ozarks, she and John fulfilled their dream and moved to a 46 acre ranch in north central Arkansas in 2005. Kathie continues to be gratified by non-profit involvement where she sits on the Board of Directors for South Shore Foundation, and is a member of the Advisory Council for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Youth Leadership Organization. Kathie is active in the local Fire Department Auxiliary and is politically invested on both local and national levels. Her hobbies include: horses, entertaining, gourmet cooking, gardening, and boating. Kathie and John have five daughters, six grandchildren, three horses, five cats, and six pet deer!!

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