Board of Directors

Nancy Cook, Board President. Nancy is currently the president of Touchstone Farm.  She has been affiliated with both Pony Farm and Horsepower for the last 35 years, helping Boo establish Horsepower in 1989.  Nancy is a lifelong rider having competed in both three-day events and dressage.

Nancy has her master’s degree in Special Education and is a New Hampshire certified School Psychologist working in a local school district in grades 7-12.  She is currently enrolled at Plymouth State University pursuing her certificate of advanced graduate studies in psychology.  She also teaches in the Horsepower Instructor Training School, specializing in the areas of learning disabilities, autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and attention deficit disorder. Nancy is member of the National Association of School Psychologists, Learning Disabilities of America, CHADD (Children and Adults with learning Disabilities), and the Association of Specialists in the Assessment of Intellectual Functioning, She has coached and volunteered for Special Olympics for 15 years.

Sara Firmin, Juris Doctor, University of New Hampshire School of Law, Psychology Bachelor of Arts, Pennsylvania State University. Sara's relationship with Touchstone Farm began as a Pony Farm camper twenty years ago, and she has since acted as a summer camp staff member, completed the Instructor Training school, and was employed as the Pony Farm Program Director. She currently volunteers with Horse Power and joined the Touchstone Farm board as an interim member in May 2011. She lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, with her husband and two dogs.

Neal Goldman: Neal's background encompasses 25 years of marketing, product management and business development experience at a variety of technology vendors. He is currently a Principle Product Manager at EMC. Previously, he was Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Gryphon Networks and was director of an industry analyst group covering application infrastructure at the Yankee Group. Prior to being an analyst, he was vice president of business development for both Smarterkids.com and Dr. Solomon’s Software, where he managed strategic alliances, technology licensing, and mergers and acquisitions. Neal held a variety of senior marketing and product management positions at such companies as Akamai, FTP Software, Liant Software, and Symantec. He is the author of "The Complete Idiot's Pocket Reference to the Internet."

Mr. Goldman holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Alan Greene is the Executive of Monadnock Developmental Services in Keene, NH.  He has held this position for the past 15 plus years.   Previous to this he held several other positions in this agency which serves people with developmental and related disabilities. These included Director of Finance and being privileged to be of the first ten case mangers in the state to transitions individuals out of the state institution for the mentally retarded and back into their home communities.  He has a B.A. in Psychology from Drew University in Madison, NJ and an ABD in Educational Psychology from Temple University in Philadephia, PA where he also earned a Special Education Teaching Certificate.  He has worked in both the public and private sectors and volunteered his time in a variety of activities in his community and region.  He lives in Dublin, NH with his wife and enjoys the company of his two adult children.

Christy Greene, BA double major in Sociology and Psychology at Drew University, Master of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently Clinical director of Antrim Girls’ Shelter, a state run facility for troubled adolescent girls which attend Horse Power classes. Christy is a presenter for the Horse Power Instructor Training School. Co-wrote and published article in Journal of School Social Work on “Grief and Therapeutic Horseback Riding.” Worked in the field of Child and Family services for the last 30 years. She is a member of Mariposa Museum. Past member of Con val School Board for 8 years, Peterborough Youth Soccer League, Living Network, Inc., Youth Services of the Monadnock Region for 10 plus years, Dublin Board of Adjustment.

Shilo Porter: Shilo leads Worldwide Strategic Communications for HP’s Enterprise Services Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing organization. In this role Shilo manages a diverse team of professionals who deliver specialized communications to 54,000 employees. A highly experienced leader, Shilo has expertise in developing and executing international communication strategies, mentoring and developing senior leader’s presentation skills, and delivering a wide variety of leading edge, multi-media communications.  Shilo began her career with Digital Equipment in 1981 as a film and video producer. In 1995 she became a full time speech writer for c-suite executives. In 2001, she took on the role of Worldwide Communication Manager. Shilo has been a life-long equestrian.  She has held riding instruction positions in Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire and has competed successfully through the Preliminary level at Horse Trails throughout New England.  She was a founding member of Horse Power, where she served both as instructor and the first Program Director. Shilo earned a bachelor of arts degree in social psychology from Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri.  She is currently the New Hampshire Volunteer Representative for Heifer International.

Board Member Emeritus:

Harry Healer :  Harry Healer has a distinguished career in the financial industry focusing on venture capital. Educated at Harvard and Babson Colleges, he worked at First National Bank of Boston both as an Investment Analyst and as Vice President of the Bank’s Venture Capital subsidiary. Harry was Co-founder of The Venture Capital Fund of New England, from which he is “mostly retired.” In conjuction with his professional activities, Harry made investments in over 60 small start-up businesses and sat on the Boards of 39 private and 12 public companies. He currently serves as Trustee for 3 Non-profit organizations.

Howard H. Russell, Ed.D, BA from University of Denver, BD University of Chicago, MS Communication Research of Boston, MA, Minister of the First Congregational Church, Instructional Designer and Developer for the Northeastern Division for the Congregational Church. Howard has served as a management consultant for Insurance Companies, designing staff training and development materials. Currently, he is Chairman of the board for the Littleton Council for the Aging, and on the Board of Fleur De Lis, a not-for-profit girls’ camp in Fitzwilliam, NH. Howard presents for Horse Power Instructor Training School and a variety of Horse Power Business workshops. Howard is an avid carriage driver, often helping with the Horse Power Therapeutic Driving Program.