Stories
Stories
Horse-Powered Healing
Topics: Health-Health Care and TreatmentSociety-Welfare or WellbeingEducation-TeachingFinance strategist Elizabeth Coit (MBA 1991) took her career in an unexpected direction six years ago, when she became executive director of the Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding Center in Zionsville, Indiana.
“At some point, I decided I wanted helping people to be my job,” says Coit, whose résumé includes experience at Citicorp, Conseco, and the Boston Consulting Group, and, more recently, leadership of an academic research institute. She first became involved in the center as a volunteer strategic consultant, but soon found herself training horses at the barn on weekends. A lifelong rider, and now a certified therapeutic horsemanship instructor, Coit teaches five days a week in addition to overseeing the nonprofit’s fundraising, programming, budget, payroll, and staffing.
Morning Dove’s Indianapolis-area clients include those with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, paraplegics, Down syndrome, autism, depression, and eating disorders. Riders range in age from preschoolers to military veterans to seniors. “Nothing in my previous jobs compares with helping people to get stronger and extend their capabilities through equine-assisted activities,” says Coit, who believes deeply in the healing power of the animal-human bond.
“After HBS, you think you owe the world something big because of all the opportunities that are opened for you,” she observes. “I’ve realized I can do something big in my own small corner of the world.”
(Published September 2016)
Support the next generation of leaders Make a gift nowPost a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 01 Mar 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Vital Signs
Re: Lorin Gresser (MBA 1998); By: Jen McFarland Flint -
- 01 Mar 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
INK: Taking Care
Re: Kathy Giusti (MBA 1985) -
- 22 Feb 2024
- Skydeck
Combat-Tested Cancer Coaching
Re: Kathy Giusti (MBA 1985) -
- 07 Feb 2024
- New York Times
The Sound of Success
Re: Manny Simons (MBA 2012)