Name: Terra Schaad
Current Profession(s): Executive Director of Hunkapi Programs Inc.
Please describe your role(s) in your profession(s): I am the Founder and Executive Director of Hunkapi Programs Inc, a therapeutic farm in Scottsdale, Arizona that offers trauma healing through horses. In addition to my role as Executive Director, I am a licensed counselor and provide equine somatic trauma therapy to children and adults.
Please describe your pathway to your current profession(s): I have an undergraduate degree from Texas A & M in Animal Science. After completing my undergraduate degree, I trained horses professionally in Texas where I got to fine tune my horsemanship skills and began to truly understand and feel the connection between horse and human. Horses saved me as a child from my own trauma and as I grew and developed my skill I wanted to give that same gift to other children. I pursued a Masters of Counseling at Arizona State University, while simultaneously running Hunkapi at ASU. In 2008 Hunkapi was canceled at ASU and I pulled it out and created a 501 C 3.
What is your education/training background? I have an undergraduate in PreVeterinary Medicine, Animal Science from Texas A & M University and a Masters of Counseling from Arizona State University. I am PATH certified as a therapeutic riding instructor and have post graduate training as a Somatic Experience Practitioner (SEP).
Advice you'd give to your younger self: Every hardship you are having now is going to come in handy as an adult. Embrace it.
Who has influenced you? So many people but almost all women! Dr Debra J Crews and Dr Barbara Kerr had a tremendous influence on me when I first arrived in Arizona as a young college graduate. They were the first women in my life to tell me I could do ANYTHING I wanted and took away all the fear I was raised with that told me I would fail.
Tell us about anything you are passionate about outside of your profession(s): I am passionate about deep connections with horses and animals, saving dogs, working out and eating mindfully and ethically. I also deeply love travel and connecting to people of all cultures.
Please feel free to tell us anything else that you'd like to share: I am so honored!
