SpiritHorse Board of Directors

SpiritHorse has fifteen members serving on its Board of Directors panel.

Charles I. Fletcher, Board President CEO, has over 50 years experience in training and successfully showing horses. He retired as a VP of Rockwell International and during a 42-year career, he built telephone systems around the world. He was the Rockwell International Engineer of the Year for telecommunications in 1980. He also managed the construction of a $225M telephone system which produced $85M in profit. This was the most successful program in Rockwell history, an achievement that still stands today. He was President of AMTEL Corporation, a successful telecommunications business he started after retirement. Read more about Charles.

Trish Robinson, Vice President, has been involved with SpiritHorse since 2003 when her son started the program as a rider. The center provided an instant feeling of home for her two passions – those with special needs and horses. She has been involved with public relations and marketing primarily in the political industry for over 15 years. She currently serves as District Director for State Representative Tan Parker. She and her husband, Carl, manage a small farm in Denton County and also have one son who proudly rides Snowflake, a therapy horse, every week.

Nancy Anderson Cooper, Secretary, is a devoted mother of two and an avid supporter of SpiritHorse. Nancy is a Member of American Paint Horse Association, American Quarter Horse Association, National Reining Horse Association, Texas A&M Association of Former Students Century Club and Twelfth Man and currently serves on the board of the Texas Paint Horse Club. Aside from her commitment to SpiritHorse, she is also involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters and Hope Farms.

Virginia Scott, Treasurer, works in administration, clinical research and marketing in many capacities with Anodyne Headache and Pain Care practice located in Dallas. She keeps tracks of outside talks, conferences and many business aspects of the clinic activities. She also directs and participates in marketing for the practice and in helping take Anodyne Headache and PainCare to new directions in terms of providing services. She has been a wonderful advocate and SpiritHorse supporter over the last several years.

Kelly Waterman, Member, has been an integral part of SpiritHorse since 2004, as a SpiritHorse mom and volunteer instructor. Her daughter is faithfully taught by “Mr. Charles” every week. Kelly is very involved in the community as co-chair of the George Lopez-David Feherty Celebrity Pro-Am benefiting SpiritHorse. She is also Founder and Committee Chair of Special and Gifted Education (S.A.G.E.) of the Plano Council of PTA’s, Member of the PISD Special Academic Services Advisory Committee, Marketing Executive for LookLocally.com (a search engine internet marketing company), Member of the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas, Member of The ARC of Texas, and Member of PEO and Alpha Delta Pi organization.

Dr. Stewart Coffman, MD, Member, is the Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Medical Center of Lewisville. He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine and finished his residency training in emergency medicine at UC San Diego. He serves as the EMS medical director for the Lewisville and Highland Village Fire Departments. Most importantly he is husband to Donna and father of Cassidy and Caleb, an avid SpiritHorse rider.
 

Kristi Tuinei, Member, has been a part of SpiritHorse since its inception and was one of the first therapeutic riding instructors. Her mother drew the artwork for the original flying Pegasus logo. Kristi raises, green breaks, and trains horses primarily for Barrel racing. She believes in the magical benefits horses have to offer and continues to teach youth to barrel race and mentors their other endeavors. Managing a ranch with her husband and three children, Kristi personally competes one to three times a week at various barrel races and/or with associations such as BBR and WBRA. She also serves on the board for The National Barrel Horse Association, TX-15. She strongly believes the spirit of the horse flows into ones heart and heals from within.

Dr. Cole Sciba, DVM, Member, grew up in south Texas riding horses and participating in college and PRCA rodeos. Staying true to his love for horses, he graduated from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and is now partner at Weems and Stephens Equine Hospital in Aubrey, TX. He has been providing veterinary care for SpiritHorse since their inception in 2002. Cole divides his time between work, SpiritHorse, his wife and three boys.
 

Carl Buck, Member, has an Industrial Engineering degree from The University of Oklahoma where he was also a member of the 1956 National Championship Football team. He went on to receive an MBA from Oklahoma City University. Carl has been president of the Dallas and Lewisville Homebuilder’s Association, and was a recipient of the 1998 Hugh Prather Award for Community Involvement from the Dallas Homebuilder's Association. He was also a member of the Highland Village Planning and Zoning Commission, and Treasurer for the Center for Immigration Assistance. Since 1973, Carl has been a principal in Quivira Luxury Homes located in Lewisville, TX, and is currently a member of the Highland Village Library Foundation and Treasurer for Day Stay for Adults of Denton County.

Pat Flynn, Member, graduated from Florida State with a Degree in Business.
He retired in 2007 after 50 years in the commercial printing industry as Executive Vice President /General Manager. Following his business career, Pat has resided in New York, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Houston, Tulsa, but now currently lives in Lantana, Texas. Mr. Flynn served 12 years (1952 to1964) in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve as a First Sgt. in an Infantry Company.

Laura Ann Vincent, Member, has dedicated her time to SpiritHorse as a volunteer instructor for the past three years. Her son has achieved many milestones while being taught by ‘Mr. Charles’ on a weekly basis.

Tom Rachal, Member, was born in Port Arthur, TX and graduated with honors from The University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Science Degree. Tom had a brief baseball career while attending college. Currently, Tom is a Senior Vice President of Strategic Accounts with Riverside Manufacturing Company, which provides image apparel programs to many Fortune 500 companies around the world. Him and his wife of 22 years enjoying watching their son ride Gracie, a therapy horse, every week at SpiritHorse.

Dr. Nick Zenerosa, Member, is the System Medical Director of Emergency Services at Baylor, Regional Medical Director at EmCare in Dallas, Chairman of Emergency Medicine at Baylor, and Clinical Faculty of Emergency Medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Nick received his Bachelor and Masters in Science and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Illinois. He is actively involved in nine separate committees within Baylor Medical Center and the Texas College of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Zenerosa also currently serves on the board for the Texas College of Emergency Medicine. He is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine and in Emergency Ultrasound. Nick and his wife enjoy bringing their son to riding lessons at SpiritHorse on a weekly basis.

Margaret McKoin, Member, is a previous SpiritHorse volunteer instructor. She has over 18 years of marketing and sales experience in the telecommunications industry specializing in retail. Margaret has held executive positions at five major companies in her career including: CenturyTel, Palmer Wireless, AT&T, Excel Communications USA/Canada, and McCaw Communications. She assists executives in this field with strategic planning, developing marketing and business plans to succeed in competitive markets. Fluent in both French and Japanese, Margaret has been invited to speak at over 20 national and international conferences to share her expertise. She holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and graduate studies in international marketing. Ms. McKoin has served as a member of CTIA Public Relations Executive Committee and as the Vice Chairperson of the Cellular One Group Advisory Council. Margaret is currently the President and Chief Marketing Officer of The Time Group, located in Flower Mound.

SpiritHorse ADVISORY BOARD

John Claude Krusz, PhD, MD, received his Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center in 1975 and his Medical Degree from State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine in 1983. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry and also the American Board of Forensic Examiners. He’s board certified in Pain Management, EEG and Quantitative Electroencephalography. He is the Vice President of the American Board of Electroencephalography and Neurophysiology. Dr. Krusz currently serves on the Editorial Board of the American Academy of Pain Management. Dr. Krusz has been involved in extensive research in the area of headache and pain disorders. He is in private practice in Neurology/Headache and Pain Disorders in Dallas, and serves as the head of his multi-disciplinary clinic Anodyne Headache and PainCare. He has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Texas Pain Society and, most recently, obtained Subspecialty Certification in Headache Medicine, in the first group to do so.

Dr. Krusz’s primary areas of interest include evaluation and novel treatments of headaches, pain syndromes and neurobehavioral disorders. Neuropsychiatric interests include traumatic brain injury, Tourette’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorders and Deaf and Hard of hearing related problems. He helped found the National Deaf People’s Institute in Dallas.

Dr. Krusz is on the Speaker’s Bureau for Acorda, Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Ortho-McNeil, Sanofi-Aventis, Sepracor, Wyeth-Ayerst, and Valeant. He is also a consultant for Acorda, Allergan, Endo, GlaxoSmithKline and has received grants/research support from Abbott, Elan, Endo, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Solstice.

Dr. Carolyn Garver, Ph.D has developed an interest in research and is participating in a number of on-going projects currently focusing on Neurofeedback, assistive technology devices for adults, and sensory issues in autism. Dr. Garver was an Adjunct Professor teaching Epidemiology at Texas Woman’s University. She has written several articles and served as a contributing editor for materials published regarding the autism spectrum. Dr. Garver has provided diagnostics, treatment and care for people with autism for the past 30 years serving as the Director of the Autism Treatment Center since 1979. Dr. Garver recently presented at the Indo-US Science & technology Forum in New Delhi India.

Dr. Peter T. Walling, MD, has studied at the Chigwell School in Essex, London and received medical qualifications from the London Hospital Medical College. Dr. Walling is happily married with two children and is currently the Attending Physician in Anesthesia at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He is also senior partner in Physicians Anesthesia Practice, the largest group of private practice Anesthesiologists in Dallas. He is involved in the complex scheduling of cases for the thirteen location in which the group provides coverage. Dr. Walling’s medical research has been concerned mainly with applied pulmonary physiology. Peter has been instrumental in assisting Baylor University Medical Center set up an Obstetric Anaesthesia on an “in house” basis. He also helped Baylor set up the Liver Transplant Program. He is currently a member of the Anaesthetic Research Society and the North East Thames Society of Anaesthetists. Aside from riding and corresponding on numerous published publications, Peter runs a farm alongside his wife in Denton County.

Dr. Janet Kern has been a Principal Investigator (PI) in seven studies in autism, four of which evaluated treatments. All of the studies in which Dr. Kern is the PI are published in peer-reviewed journals, except three that are current. Dr. Kern has also been a Co-PI or research director in several other studies. She has written and published several publications in her field. Dr. Kern was involved with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) for seven years, starting as a Fellow in 1999, and was promoted to Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in 2002. She is currently with the Autism Treatment Center of Dallas. Her research in autism and pervasive developmental disorders has three main focuses: (1) sensory processing differences in children with autism, (2) the role of toxicity and oxidative stress in autism, and (3) evaluating various treatments.

Tom Cooper is currently the Vice President of World Wide Channels at JBoss, Inc. He is responsible for overall strategy and execution for the entire JBoss worldwide Channels Organization. Prior to joining JBoss in March 2005, Mr. Cooper was Group Vice President at Oracle Corporation managing field operations and sales for the eastern half of the United States, where he was accountable for the sale of all products lines accounting for over $1.5 billion in revenue and 1,400 employees. Mr. Cooper held the position President of the Americas for i2 Technologies, overseeing all sales, consulting, support, education, marketing and field operations in North and South America. Mr. Cooper’s helped EXE Technologies to a successful IPO as the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations. In the beginning of his career Mr. Cooper worked for Data General Corporation for 11 years in various sales positions and left as Vice President of Worldwide Alliances. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Minor in Marketing from Southwest Missouri State University.