Welcome to episode 38 of the Today is the Day Changemakers Podcast.
This week my guests are Laurie Landy, Founder, & Susie Rehr, Executive Director, Special Strides. Also, when watching this interview via the YouTube Channel you will get to meet Johnny, the horse who is part of the equine program that Special Strides offers. We did have some technical difficulties at one point during the interview, but that is what keeps our interviews real.
Laurie knew early on she wanted to be in the medical field. Laurie holds a degree in Occupational Therapy from SUNY Downstate and has focused much of her professional life in pediatrics. Laurie has worked for JFK Rehabilitation, a variety of school systems, Early Intervention and private practice. In addition she is NDT certified (neuro-developmental treatment), and has years of practice and study in the area of sensory integration and hippotherapy treatment strategies.
Susie, knew immediately after reading a book in high school about an individual who had a spinal cord injury that she wanted to be a physical therapist and specialize in helping individuals with spinal cord injuries. Susie received her bachelor degree in Physical Therapy from Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, in 1986. Initially specializing in adult rehabilitation with a focus on spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, she quickly fell in love with pediatrics and specialized in incorporating hippotherapy treatment strategies into her practice. She has been the co-director of Special Strides since 1999. Susie is also the Past President of HRH of New Jersey and the Vice President and Treasurer for the American Hippotherapy Association, Inc. She is the editor of Hippotherapy Magazine and presented three times at their International Conference.
Laurie believes in divine intervention. Listen in to hear about the first time she drove up to Congress Hill, why she was there, and how she knew it was going to be her new home.
Special Strides is a multi-disciplinary therapy clinic and adaptive riding center providing equine assisted activities and therapy. Their beautiful location is at Congress Hill Farm in Monroe, NJ.
Special Strides is a place where children and adults are inspired to discover their strengths through engagement with horses, therapy, and other farm activities. The therapeutic facility offers a variety of options including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, adaptive horseback riding, adaptive carriage driving, experiential learning, and equine facilitated learning. Susie shares a very special story about one of their clients.
As always, don't forget to listen in to the answer my guests give to the question of 'if I knew then, what I know now'.
Next week, my guest is Eileen Higgins, CEO, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore. Learn more about the woman leading the organization, where she grew up, what she thought her career path would be, her ongoing connection to not-for-profits, the 'boxes of love' program that was created during the pandemic, and the incredible ongoing programming that the Girls Scouts of the Jersey Shore provides to educate, connect, and lift girls up to do incredible things.
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