Terra Schaad
Founder & Executive Director
Terra Schaad, is the Executive Director and founder of Hunkapi Programs, Inc. and Hunkapi Farms, in Scottsdale, Arizona where the focus is “teaching the world to fear less and love more” through equine assisted psychotherapy and somatic healing. Terra holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University, a Master of Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University and holds specialty training in Somatic Experience.
In the years 2010-2012, Terra had the extraordinary opportunity to live in Italy and work at the University of Iowa’s CIMBA, and international MBA Business program. Her time there allowed her to lead and coach international students and executives through a rigorous leadership development program while researching the effect of applying neurobiofeedback, psychological assessments, and mindfulness on emotional regulation in leadership and the workplace.
For the past 23 years, Terra has combined her love of horses and her passion to help people live optimally. Terra has been honored by the Arizona Capitol Times with the “Women Achievers of Arizona in 2019”, recognized by Governor Douglas A. Ducey when given the State of Arizona Commendation in 2020, and was honored with the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2023 Outstanding Women in Bussiness Award and “20 Names to Know in Valley” for Nonprofits. She is a three-time Ironman Finisher and recently fulfilled a long-time goal of running the Boston Marathon. Terra combines her education, intuition, and experience to observe and interpret individual and group behavior while giving immediate, tangible feedback that will challenge you to move mindfully and live optimally.
*If you are seeing Terra for equine assisted psychotherapy services, this is a supervised private practice. It is owned and/or managed by a masters level, non-independent licensee under board approved clinical supervision pursuant to AACR4-6-211. The Board approved clinical supervisor of this practice is: David Seth Jenkins, 480-318-9707, email DavidSethJenkins@gmail.com
Seth Jenkins
Clinical Supervisor
Seth has been working in the behavioral health field since 2005 when he began as a Behavioral Health Technician while putting himself through graduate school. Seth has had a broad range of experience and titles. Seth has enjoyed being a leader of groups as a facilitator, as well as a leader of clinical teams through program direction, development and clinical supervision. Seth was employed by Calvary Healing Center until June 2016 and served numerous roles from primary therapist to Director of Outpatient services.
Jennifer Benacci
Behavioral Health Practitioner
Jen grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania where her journey and passion for horses began at the age of 5 when a neighbor gave her and her siblings a Shetland pony. Having the opportunity to care for, ride, and show horses led to an awareness and appreciation of horses’ innate ability to help us see our strengths, heal and work through our challenges. Jen graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor’s degree in General Studies and a Master degree in Education. Jen is grateful to support a diverse client population working to increase personal awareness, access strength, and heal from emotional trauma by utilizing the power and grace of our herd.
Sandra Dantes
Licensed Master Social Worker
Sandra describes her role as a therapist as her life’s calling. She is passionate about helping children and adults to overcome barriers that prevent them from living the best versions of themselves. Sandra’s clinical focus is trauma informed care, equine assisted psychotherapy, addiction & recovery, somatic therapies, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and chronic disease/terminal illness. Her approach to therapy is strength based and layered with compassion providing individual, group, and family therapies tailored to meet the needs of her clients.
Diana Unaitis
PATH-CTRI, BHT
Born in Portland, Oregon, Diana was raised on a farm with six brothers and sisters. At an early age she became involved in the local 4-H program where she showed sheep and horses. Specializing in horses, she competed in long distance trail rides, county fairs, and open shows. As her passion for horses grew, she began training and showing many different breeds of domesticated horses, as well as wild mustangs. At the age of 16 she began volunteering at a therapeutic riding stable, where the Executive Director introduced her to dressage eventing horses. Diana has been with Hunkapi Programs for 22 years and has seen the ever growing love of the farm each and every day.
Kailey Bryant
BHT
Kailey was born and raised in southern California and moved to Arizona in 2015. As a child, her first "job" was cleaning stables and caring for horses in exchange for horseback riding lessons, which fueled her love of animals and hard work ethic. From a young age, Kailey had a passion for helping those in need and working with children. She later turned that passion into a career by completing her master’s of science in clinical psychology, specializing in childhood trauma and the effect it has on the brain. Her background includes working with teenagers and adults with psychosis, children with special physical and emotional needs, conducting family counseling and trauma therapy sessions, and working with the Department of Child Safety and those in foster care. As a place of healing for both people and animals, Hunkapi is the perfect fit for Kailey and her passions.
Gabbie Krause
BHT
Gabbie is a California native who fell in love with Arizona while attending Northern Arizona University. After completing her undergraduate degree at NAU in Learning and Pedagogy, Gabbie went on to pursue her Master’s in Elementary Education from ASU. At Hunkapi, she combines her passions of teaching, riding horses, and farm life at large. As a young girl, Gabbie rode as a show-jumper and still holds many memories of how peaceful and free horses made her feel. As an adult, she enjoys sharing that passion with clients at Hunkapi. Her favorite part of working at the farm is matching clients with horses that will brighten their smile and open their heart. When she isn’t in session, Gabbie enjoys grooming and connecting with horses Jimmy, Gorgeous, and Ari.
Amy Schecterson
BHT
Amy believes that by bringing more humans-to-horses and horses-to-humans, the lives of both can be saved. She is the proud horse-mom to two Arabian geldings and has volunteered many hours with the Amateur Committee of the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona. As an Equine Behavioral Health Technician at Hunkapi, Amy is embracing her passion for horses and helping others; she has seen first-hand the dynamic shifts that take place in partnership with horses and the best part is that one does not need to be a horsey person to get amazing results with equine facilitated interventions. Amy is in the process of earning her certification as an Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning through PATH Int’l while remaining involved in clinical research as a consultant working on clinical trials focused on behavioral health.
Luz & Mario
Farm Caretakers
Luz & Mario have been taking care of the farm for the past 24 years. They are a huge asset to Hunkapi Farms as they care for every single individual animal from feeding them to building items needed on the farm. We appreciate everything they do for the farm!
Stephanie Blanc
Horse Care Assistant
Stephanie's more detailed bio will be added soon.
Ray Wood
Business Operations Manager
Ray was born in Michigan but raised in Michigan and Ohio. He first got into the mental and behavioral health world in 2009 when he lived in Bullhead City AZ. Since then, Ray has worked at several companies and earned his bachelor’s in behavioral science, and his master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis with courses in Organizational Behavior Management. Doing this work, he found a real calling and love for helping people and companies. His belief is, “If you change people, you change the world; and when you help the youth of the world, you make the future a better place."
Melissa Garner
HR Manager
Melissa's more detailed bio will be available soon.
Toni Keberlein
Volunteer Coordinator
Toni Keberlein recently moved to Scottsdale from Flagstaff. She joined Hunkapi as a volunteer in September 2020 after retiring from a 20+ year career in education as both a teacher and most recently, a school administrator. Having worked with many different populations of students over the years, Hunkapi seemed like the perfect place to volunteer especially since she always loved being around horses. She became a member of the staff in January of 2021.
Anne Keller
Accounts Manager
Anne has been involved with horses since the age of 8. She enjoys sharing her love of horses with others and volunteered at PATH-certified equine therapy programs in high school and college. After graduating, Anne pursued a career in alternative asset management working for global private equity firms. Most recently, she was a VP of Operations for a land asset management and global real estate investment company where she built out and lead the firm’s North American Operations team. Throughout her career, she has continued to ride, show and breed Arabian horses at the National level with her family.
Kristi Shambaugh
Team Building Facilitator
Kristi Shambaugh began volunteering at Hunkapi Programs in February 2019 and joined the staff later that year as a part-time HR Representative. Kristi leverages her years of experience in HR and training environments in large corporations to help build and guide practices at Hunkapi. Her love for the mission and work of the organization, as well as admiration for the two and four-legged staff, inspires her desire to make a difference with her contributions.
Roxanne Holcomb
Compliance & Quality Improvement Specialist
The beautiful state of Arizona and all it has to offer brought Roxanne here in 1979. She started out her career in the medical industry. This gave a path to many different opportunities, most of which consisted of practice management for family care as well as surgical specialties. Roxanne also attended a surgical technology program and graduated with honors. While managing practices, her love of horses never went unnoticed and eventually brought her to running a very large equine facility for boarding and training in the Cave Creek area.
Jill Rivera
Sales & Marketing Associate
Jill Rivera joined Hunkapi Programs in the beginning of June 2021. Jill is a native of Phoenix, Arizona and grew up around many different animals. Jill has a demonstrated history of working in multiple industries with a diverse client base. She previously worked for a local magazine publication and PR marketing firm where she gained experience in client service, sales, project management, marketing, and social media. She went to Phoenix College and graduated in 2016 with an Associate's Degree in digital photography. She is currently working on her Nonprofit Marketing and Strategic Communications Certificate through ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation. Alongside these skillsets, she is a professional portrait photographer who has won awards at Phoenix College for her work as well as shown at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Bryana Peters
Community Outreach Specialist
Bryana is a Midwestern native who came to Arizona 5 years ago after graduating with her pre-vet degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She specialized in animal behavior, working with a variety of species, with a focus on equines and canines. Bryana recently graduated with a master’s degree in human canine life sciences, with an emphasis on human psychology paired with canine veterinary sciences. Bryana also has her own rescue quarter horse. She has been involved with non for profits since high school and is excited to pair both her love for animals and volunteers together as our new Community Experience Coordinator.
Isabella Wells
Executive Assistant
Born in upstate New York, Issy received her BS in Animal Sciences with a minor in Criminology from Colorado State University. Last year she completed her MS in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her dissertation was on horse behavior and equine assisted therapy. In December 2022, Issy volunteered with Asian Elephants in the mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand where she promoted ethical ecotourism and researched the health of elephants. When she isn’t at the farm, Issy loves competing in 3-day eventing, playing instruments, and reading. Issy is also a local fantasy indie author.
Jessica Flagg
Admin & Horse Assistant
Jessica's more detailed bio will be added soon.
Mitzy Castro
Receptionist
Mitzy's more detailed bio will be added soon.
Isabella Stenzell
Admin Assistant
Isabella's more detailed bio will be added soon.
Want to Join Our Staff?
Thank you for your interest in Hunkapi Programs! We are always looking for dedicated professionals to join our team. Below are the listings of jobs we are looking to fill.
If you would like to be considered for a position not listed below, please send your resume and cover sheet to love@hunkapi.org so we can keep you in mind if a position becomes available!