Tayo Kaufman has been involved with Blue Rider for over 15 years. He grew up in the Southern Berkshires / Northwest Connecticut in the 1980s and has since settled back in the area in the early 2000’s to raise his family. He went to school at the University of Connecticut majoring in Business and Management Information Systems, and has been working in the software industry since.
He became involved with Blue Rider through his niece and nephew, who both grew up at the barn. Tayo became directly involved by volunteering at events and helping with sound and music over the years – and thus forming friendships and connections with so many people involved with Blue Rider.
Tayo joined the board to help support the mission and because of the haven and special place the Blue Rider represents in the world for so many people and animals. Tayo brings particular logistical and financial background which can help Blue Rider moving forward.
Anna-Christine Stanton is a licensed Massage Therapist. She graduated from the Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy in New York in 1985. She passed her Board certification for the State of New York and received her License in 1986. She began her career working for a Chiropractor. She worked in his office alongside him for four years, doing mainly medically oriented work. During this time she also spent time in Germany studying Rhythmical Massage. In 1990 she moved to Great Barrington, MA, and began building a small practice in the Berkshires. Since then, along with keeping her praxis going and raising a family, she has studied Myofascial Release, Orthopedic Massage Techniques for Cervical pain and dysfunction, Cranial Sacral Treatment, LaStone Basalt Stone Treatment, and Aromatherapy Treatments with the Aromatherapy Associates from England.
She has been on the Board of Blue Rider Stables in different capacities since 1994, as well as taking a hands-on approach to therapy on horseback. Her passion for working with massage and its relationship to movement has been very beneficial for Blue Rider clients over the years. In the future she will be continuing to devote herself to her practice and to Blue Rider; as well as continue to build on therapeutic modalities as they change and grow.
Anne Fribourg graduated from Pembroke College (Brown University) in 1965 and joined the staff of the NYC Planning Department where she worked on economic development and manpower issues. In 1972 she enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology and completed her doctorate in 1979.
As a clinical psychologist she has worked with children and their families both in private practice and in the child welfare system. She also worked as the lower school psychologist at private boy’s school in New York City and served on the faculty of the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Training Program at the William Alanson White Institute. From 1984-2000, she was Supervisor of Mental Health Services at Little Flower Children’s Services, a voluntary foster care and adoption agency in Brooklyn. Additionally she supervised and taught child therapy in the doctoral programs at Teacher College, Columbia University, and Ferkhauf Graduate School, Yeshiva University and at the Center for Attention and Learning Disorders at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Anne owns her own horse, Max, and regularly takes lessons at Blue Rider to fine-tune her communication with him.
John Greene was born in the United Kingdom where he completed his Curative Training. For the past 35 years he has been a resident of the United States. He lived in Beaver Run for many years where he was a class teacher, house parent and gardener. After completing the Waldorf teacher education training at Sunbridge, he helped start the River Valley Waldorf School in Pennsylvania. He then spent six years at Sunbridge College as the Registrar and Administrator. He was the council chair for many years and also served on the board. John was also the Executive Director of the Rudolf Steiner Institute and the administrator at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School.
He currently runs a life-sharing endeavor for special needs adults in Stockbridge. John brings the three men in his home to Blue Rider because he believes it offers the best program in the area.
John joined the Board of Blue Rider because of his enthusiasm for the programs it offers. He appreciates that BRS is individualized for each rider and holds high expectations on what each individual can achieve and accomplish. He is excited to help Blue Rider not only maintains that goal, but develop and deepen its core mission long into the future. John is also a proud father of 5 children.
Don has been involved with Blue Rider Stables, either directly or indirectly, since 1993. That was the year that he and his wife moved to Jug End, next door to what would become the site of the current barn. When the stable moved their operations from Sunway Farm in Housatonic to its present location in 1995, we became involved with both the entity and the facility. Whether mucking out the barn on a Sunday afternoon, rounding up escaped herd members in the middle of the night, performing traffic control for events held at Jug End, or running the food concession for several years at the annual fund-raiser at French Park, we have always had some level of involvement with Blue Rider. Since May 2021, Don serves on the Board of Directors.
Don is a registered Professional Civil Engineer in Massachusetts and New York, and has retired from a career in construction supervision, construction management, and public works administration. The last ten years of his career were spent with the State University Construction Fund, building and renovating academic buildings, athletic facilities, and underground utilities on various SUNY campuses.
Don is very familiar with both the mission and the operations of Blue Rider Stables. With his public works experience, Don has direct knowledge of operating budgets and capital budgets necessary for Blue Rider Stables’ current operations and future expansion. The vision of a capital improvement program and corresponding funding mechanisms are essential for the survival and future growth of Blue Rider Stables.
Julia Kadison always thought she loved horses, but never really got a chance to test that assumption until recently. For many years, her to-do list was topped with ‘take horseback riding lessons,’ and she finally got the opportunity to do just that in 2021. Wanting to learn more about horses and having some free time on her hands, she signed up to volunteer at Blue Rider Stables. Julia loves being around and taking care of the horses and she truly believes in the stables’ mission and the amazing work done there. With the desire to help out even more to ensure the long-term prosperity of the stables, she joined the Board in the Spring of 2022.
In 2019, Julia left the ‘corporate world’ after 36 years in business, communications and marketing. Her career included roles in market analysis, leading a consulting practice, running advertising and promotions for the national Got Milk? program, and serving as CEO of the National Milk Promotion Board for 5 years.
Julia has Board experience from both the inside and outside, having sat on 2 corporate and an NFP Board, as well as running the Board of the National Milk Promotion Program, with oversight of a $100MM+ national program. She also sat on the Board of Directors of the Innovation Center for Dairy, a 25-member Board comprising CEOs that represented more than 80% of the combined dairy industry. Julia earned a BS in Psychology from Emory University and an MBA in Marketing from the NYU Stern School of Business.
After 20 years of being a “weekender” in Canaan, NY, Julia now lives there full time, with her husband Steve and their 3 labs.
