Staff

Rose Mary is the founder of Equine Therapy Malibu and the owner of Shakti Ranch. She began her career working with military veterans and first responders, including launching and running the equine-assisted therapy program at the nonprofit Save a Warrior™ for several years before starting her private practice.

With nearly two decades of experience working with thousands of people and a wide range of communities, Rose Mary has witnessed firsthand the therapeutic effects of partnering with horses. As an Equine-Assisted Therapist, she works as the bridge between participants and the herd, facilitating interactions and interpreting the herd’s responses in ways that translate directly to how people lead, communicate, and respond under pressure.

The success of her approach led Rose Mary to develop a rigorous certification program, training the next generation of equine-assisted facilitators in the methodology she has spent years refining. She has woven this work together with her practice with clients, moving easily between educator, businesswoman, horsewoman, and deeply attuned facilitator.

Rose Mary’s approach is grounded in both organizational experience as well as a deep understanding of horses. Prior to founding Shakti Ranch, she spent years as a change management analyst at Accenture, advising Fortune 500 companies. That corporate background, paired with her experience working with diverse private clients and her lifelong experience as an equestrian, shapes Shakti Ranch’s unique approach to learning, leadership, and connection.

Emma is the Lead Staff Equine-Assisted Learning Facilitator and Trainer at Equine Therapy Malibu. Her work spans program development, facilitator training, and education for therapists, coaches, executive teams, and organizations. As an Equine-Assisted Learning Facilitator, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, and PhD from UCLA, she brings clinical expertise, experience with hundreds of clients, and a lifetime of horse(wo)manship to her work with groups and individuals.

Her research and expertise centers on what happens when stress, trauma, and life experience begin to shape the way we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us. Her approach is grounded in the understanding that humans, like horses, are deeply social and relational beings, with nervous systems continually responding to cues of safety, threat, and connection. Through experiential work with horses, she helps groups and individuals notice these patterns in real-time and develop greater self-awareness, relational skill, and capacity for connection.

Emma’s academic and professional background gives her an uncanny ability to notice what’s happening beneath the surface, both within individuals and the larger systems they inhabit. Her PhD research at UCLA explored how individuals and communities navigate the traumatic impacts of wildfire and its aftermath, while her prior experience in technology and experience-based philanthropy brought her into collaboration with corporate, studio, nonprofit, and celebrity partners on complex projects. These experiences taught her to hold the larger system in view while staying closely attuned to what is happening in the moment.

At Shakti Ranch, Emma brings these perspectives together through a deeply experiential approach, meeting people where they are, listening closely to what emerges in the herd and in the room, and creating space for new ways of relating, leading, and healing to take shape.

Angela is a certified Equine-Assisted Learning Facilitator, licensed psychotherapist, and trauma educator who specializes in grief, PTSD, early loss, and complex trauma. She leads the level one Equine Assisted Learning Facilitator certification with Rose Mary, and co-leads transformative grief retreats with New York Times bestselling authors and grief experts Claire Bidwell Smith (The Rules of Inheritance) and Hope Edelman (Motherless Daughters). Her Healing With Horses retreat at Shakti Ranch has been recognized by National Geographic.

Angela brings both therapeutic expertise and personal lived experience to her work. She lost both of her parents by the age of twenty-two—her father to gun violence when she was sixteen, and her mother to mental illness and eventual death during her college years. Her healing journey now guides others through sudden loss, trauma, and attachment wounds with compassion and clarity.

She holds a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Saybrook University and advanced certifications in EMDR, Complex Trauma (CCTP-I & II), Mother Hunger®, EFT Tapping, Matrix Reimprinting, and grief support. Angela has lived and worked internationally in China, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia, training nonprofit leaders in identity development, self-esteem, and trauma-informed care.

Angela currently lives between Tucson, Arizona and Santa Monica, California, and offers both virtual and in-person sessions. She is working on her memoir and continues to support clients through her integrative trauma therapy and equine-assisted healing work.