Donna Hood is the owner of A Painted View Ranch in Westcliffe, Colorado, a world-class horse facility and event center. Prior to establishing this venue in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the late 1990s, Donna and her husband built a successful business in the biotech and immunology field,  Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc. Donna served for many years as Chief Financial Officer. Donna also has extensive community service experience dating back to the 1980s with her leadership role in Lions Club International. She has recently been named a regional governor of Rotary International. She and her husband, Ralph Hood, are also US ambassadors to the Island Nation of Aruba.

Donna is a preservation breeder of Nokota® horses. In her leisure, she enjoys painting, music, hunting, traveling, and preserving Western heritage and history.

 

Jerusha Rose Steinert is a professional horse trainer and artist. She explores the horse and human connection through training, lessons, and a variety of horse and art intertwined projects. She is a founder of 'Blue Horse Theatre' where she performs with her Nokota® horse partner 'Mesabi Warrior' in her bridleless and liberty performances in the upper midwest.  Jerusha learned about the Nokota® horse in 2010 and now has six Nokotas®. Her recent acquisition of three mares has led her on the path of preservation breeding, a goal she has long dreamed of. She has served on the board since 2013.

 

Judy Onufer is a science educator with 35 years experience, holding degrees in botany, physics, and science education. She has worked in the non-profit sector for most of her career, serving in program development, grant writing, event and project management and teaching in primary, secondary and university environments. She is currently employed as an education project and special events manager for a service learning non-profit, H2O for Life. She was  introduced to Nokota® horses in 2014 when she moved from New York to Minnesota. Curiosity about their history and origins, and personal experience with this remarkable breed led to dedication to support the Nokota® horses and the Conservancy. She owns two Nokota® geldings.

 

Carrie O'Neill has had a life-long love of horses that has continued throughout her career as a healthcare regulatory attorney, hospital association executive, and consultant. When she discovered the field of equine assisted learning, she became certified and brought her childhood dream to life. She created Possibilities Farm, LLC in 2016 where she partners with her small herd to offer leadership, personal development, and well-being programs rooted in horse wisdom. On her first trip to the NHC in 2019, Carrie unexpectedly bonded with Jackpot, who joined her herd in 2021.  As an animal communicator, Carrie has been fascinated by Jackpot’s unique perspectives growing up on the prairie. 

Carrie regularly writes about horse wisdom and Jackpot is featured on the

cover of her award-winning 2023 book HorsePower Your Hospital: A Guide for Leaders to Improve the Healthcare Experience.  

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Jessica Lecour has a passion for nature in general and horses in particular since her childhood. She discovered the Nokotas® in 2008 through an article in a French magazine. In 2015 a career change gave her the opportunity to meet Leo and Frank Kuntz. The journey changed her life and she became later that year a preservation breeder in France where she resides (Nokota Breeze). She believes that promoting the Nokotas® in Europe is important for the perpetuation of the breed and she aims for that in collaboration with the other European breeders.

 

Seth Zeigler spent his early life with various animals convinced him that nature is the best engineer, so upon high school graduation he traveled to North Dakota to volunteer for the NHC. It became his home for the next decade, although he also studied at DSU and later the U of MN to earn a BS in Ag Ed with an emphasis on sustained and natural systems. He met his future wife on the Kuntz ranch, where they later married; parenthood motivated them to relocate to Sweden with Nokota® horses. His son and daughter are also very interested in the breed, and they strive to further the breed’s expansion in Europe.

 

Dr. Shawna Lichtenwalner is an Associate Professor of English at East Tennessee State University. She has been involved with the NHC since 2012, when she started spending part of her summer working with the horses in Linton, North Dakota, photographing and training the herd. In addition to serving as a past president of the organization, Shawna serves as the registrar for the breed registry. She lives in Bluff City TN with her husband Todd and her herd of

four Nokotas®. 

 

Andrea Fox Jensen is a Strategic Planning Facilitator who brings decades of experience

with mission-driven planning teams. In recent years she has focused on rural Minnesota non-profits, from philanthropic to environmental to cultural to community-building, and a few variations in between. Those who work with Andrea appreciate her ability to deepen understanding of their distinctive purpose and how to reflect it in on-the-ground work, enabling them to push their thinking beyond the status quo. In addition to the Nokota® herd, Andrea loves books, cats, plants, her home in Litchfield MN, and the sailboat she and husband Steve have stashed in Denmark.