The Kids & Horses Team

Cat O’Brien

PATH-certified Instructor

Catherine “Cat” O’Brien is originally from Chicago but spent much of her life in Southern California. Cat had been in public education for 20 years, teaching ESL and Spanish at Carson Middle School, before coming on board the Kids & Horses team. Since then, Cat has worked faithfully to nurture and grow our program. Fun Fact: During ski season, it isn’t unusual to see Cat escaping to the mountains.

Alissa Burns

Equine Manager, PATH-certified Instructor 

After retiring from a career of over thirty years in public safety, Alissa was able to quickly fulfill her goal of becoming a PATH Certified Instructor in 2011. Though she became an instructor in 2011, Alissa has been involved in the arena of therapeutic/adaptive riding since the 1980’s. One of her greatest blessings in life has been the ability to share and teach the joy of horses and safe horsemanship with others, no matter what their level of involvement or ability might be. Fun Fact: Alissa’s career included active involvement in Mounted Patrol units. 

Vince Pirozzi

 Program Director & Facility/Safety Manager, PATH-certified Instructor

Vince was born and raised in New York City. He has 38 years of firefighter/paramedic experience, and was commander of Carson City mounted police for 10 years! Vince became an instructor in 2013. His favorite part of teaching is helping his students reach their goals. Fun Fact: Vince enjoys building detailed model boats!

Debbie Ballew

Debbie grew up in Reno, NV. After retiring from her career as an optician, she began searching for programs that offered equine therapy and discovered Kids & Horses. In March 2019, Debbie joined the program as a volunteer where she quickly fell in love with the ranch. Watching students progress and meet their goals as well as giving her the opportunity to spend time with and work with horses has been her favorite parts about coming on board. Fun Fact: Debbie was nominated as volunteer of the year in 2020. 

In Loving Memory of Ken Ballew. 

He poured his heart into keeping our ranch and operations in top shape, and we will forever miss his smile and spirit.  Thank you for being a part of Kids & Horses, and for showing us that there really are angels out there.

Amanda Lotter

Executive Director

Amanda has been working with children and adults with disabilities since 2010. She began her love of this field working in residential homes for at-risk foster youth, and as a one on one mentor with at-risk foster teens.  She graduated Magna Cum Lauda from Johnson State College in Vermont with a BA in Psychology, and received the Certificate of Academic Achievement from the Behavioral Sciences Department in recognition of exceptional academic achievement.

Since moving to the west coast, she has been working with adults one on one to provide independent living skill instruction and assistance in the community.  Amanda first came to Kids & Horses as a volunteer side walker with one of her clients in 2015.

After a two year period as an Executive Director for a nonprofit in South Lake Tahoe, she moved to the Carson Valley and has been working for Kids & Horses with a myriad of responsibilities including: marketing, design, community outreach, event coordination, fundraising, program building, and capacity building.

Ani Thompkins

 Ranch Hand 

Ani spent the majority of her life in the Bay area before moving to Gardnerville in the beginning of 2019. After volunteering for a couple of months, Ani was hired as a ranch hand. One of her favorite things about being a part of the Kids & Horses community is watching how the Kids & Horses team works together to create a great expereince for the clients. Fun Fact: Ani is an artist! She has done a lot of painting over the years and makes some beautiful pieces.