Our New Heights Team
Vicki Eiland
Program Director
PATH Certified Instructor
Vicki joined the staff of New Heights in spring of 2016. Before joining the staff, Vicki was a volunteer at New Heights for almost 5 years. She has a Bachelor's Degree from Florida State University in Early Childhood Education and spent almost 20 years teaching elementary school. Vicki is a PATH International certified instructor and is certified in CPR, first aid, and mental health first aid. Vicki is also a PATH certified mentor.
Kim Clinard
Operations Manager
Kim joined New Heights in 2009 as the Operations Manager. She spent 25 years in the auto industry in the accounting field. Kim lives in Slidell with her husband, Dean, and is the mother of four children, four dogs, three turtles and a kitten. Needless to say, Kim is an animal lover and is thrilled to work just steps away from our herd of heroes.
Jess Casnova
Barn and Herd Manager and PATH Certified Instructor
Jess joined the New Heights team in December 2020—just a few days after her birthday. She grew up on her family’s cattle farm in Amite, Louisiana where her love for horses began. She competed in 4-H horse shows from grade school through high school but gave up riding horses when it was time to go to college. She’s so grateful for New Heights giving her the opportunity to work with horses and a stellar group of volunteers, clients & staff each and every day!
Mareike Budo
PATH Certified Instructor
Mareike is a certified PATH International therapeutic riding instructor and mentor. A certification as Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning has inspired the need for her to grow intellectually, she currently pursues a master’s in clinical mental health care counseling and will sit for her state exam and licensure (LPC) in fall 2020. Mareike is eager to share her passion and love for equine assisted therapies and activities not only with riders & their horses, but also with the entire New Heights team. Mareike has six horses, five of which are rescues who aspire their dream job as therapeutic riding horses. She also has 3 dogs, who have all German names: Anton, Gustav & Klaus.
Board Members
Kristen O'Keefe
President
Mortgage Lender, Crescent City Home Mortgage
Sandra DiPietro
Secretary/Treasure
Senior Vice President/CFO, St.Tammany Health Systems
Louise Brady
Realtor, Latter & Blum, Inc.
Kristin Castro
President, The Ad House
Ruel Gober
Dreamco Arabians
Darron Goodgion
President and Cofounder, Not Rocket Science, Inc.
Frank Richerand
President, Evirotech Systems
Barry Strickland, DVM
Greene Lewis Veterinary
Vicki Eiland
Program Director
PATH Certified Instructor
Vicki joined the staff of New Heights in spring of 2016. Before joining the staff, Vicki was a volunteer at New Heights for almost 5 years. She has a Bachelor's Degree from Florida State University in Early Childhood Education and spent almost 20 years teaching elementary school. Vicki is a PATH International certified instructor and is certified in CPR, first aid, and mental health first aid. Vicki is also a PATH certified mentor.
Mareike Budo
Operations Manager
Kim joined New Heights in 2009 as the Operations Manager. She spent 25 years in the auto industry in the accounting field. Kim lives in Slidell with her husband, Dean, and is the mother of four children, four dogs, three turtles and a kitten. Needless to say, Kim is an animal lover and is thrilled to work just steps away from our herd of heroes.
Caroline Krieger
Volunteer Coordinator
Caroline began as a New Heights volunteer in July of 2021 before becoming Volunteer Coordinator in September of 2022. She still volunteers every week, as she has a passion for serving. She has always loved horses, dogs and all animals. Caroline began riding as a kid but quit before graduating high school. Once at New Heights, per passion for riding was rekindled and was able to get back in the saddle in 2021. She loves spending time at the barn, working with her fellow volunteers and staff members, and feels blessed to be a part of the New Heights family. She believes you can’t find better than those who have a heart for serving others.