Board & Staff

Alicia is a visionary, big-picture thinker with a contagious passion for problem-solving and helping people. She is sincere, caring, purposeful and has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur who has founded, operated, and sold businesses.

Alicia has loved horses since she was a child and knows firsthand the healing that can take place during the quiet moments between horse and human. She is committed to working with individuals and small groups to provide a platform for transformation.

Larry Matejka, Alicia's husband, is known as the “turn-around guy” or “change agent,” and is a force of nature with over 30 years of experience working with people to optimize and find meaning not only in their personal lives, but business lives as well.

He has turned around departments, branches, companies, and ministries. He is passionate about helping people reach their full potential.

Joan has been around horses her entire life. She is a Certified Equine Trainer who has experience working with many different breeds and all types of riders. Joan became certified in 2009 at the Lyons Legacy school in Colorado. Once she returned she formed JS Horsemanship LLC and started her career at Hour Glass Farms in North East Ohio. Her work consisted of starting colts going to the track and training ones coming off to be used as riding horses. During this time she quickly developed into a proven and sought-after instructor. She continued to successfully educate equestrians from both English and Western backgrounds on how to form a better relationship with her horse and achieve success in there riding goals. Joan is passionate about helping horses, their owners, and others to communicate effectively and develop a good working relationship. She believes strongly in the diverse benefits, self-healing, and personal growth that is taught through Equine Assisted Learning. In 2017 Joan and Diane Wildman founded Silver Lining E.A.L. LLC. She continued her education by attending and successfully completing the O.K. Corral. series in 2019. Greg Kersten is the founder of Equine Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning.

Diane is a licensed professional counselor with over twenty years of experience counseling children, adolescents, and adults in diverse settings including agencies, schools, community settings, and private practice. She was introduced to Equine Assisted Learning in 2016 when she attended a comprehensive training and certification in the EAGALA model. Diane discovered the power of the horses to positively impact change and healing. She learned that horses are sensitive to nonverbal communication and respond in the moment. This gives clients valuable insight and feedback that can be applied in other areas of their lives. Diane is enthusiastic about horse’s abilities to heal and transform people’s lives. In 2017 Diane and Joan Sladek founded Silver Lining E.A.L LLC . Diane continued her education by attending and successfully completing the O.K. Corral. series in 2019. Greg Kersten is the founder of Equine Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning.

Katie has always loved animals, and began horseback riding when she was 11 years old. Within a couple of years she was working at the barn and taking care of the horses. After high school she attended Case Western Reserve University and obtained a degree in biology. Hoping to gain more experience in the animal field, she moved to Arkansas and interned at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge where she worked with rescued lions, tigers, and bears. After falling in love with the resident grizzly bear, Katie then moved to Northwest Canada to complete an internship at a rehab center caring for orphaned bears and moose. Upon returning to Cleveland she began working at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's Wildlife Center, caring for Ohio native animals unable to be released back to the wild due to illness or injury. Here she made many special relationships with the animals, especially the coyotes and porcupine. Katie has also worked at two local veterinary hospitals in order to gain additional animal care knowledge. After volunteering for over a year at the Draft Horse Project, she was so excited to officially become the staff Equine Specialist/Enrichment Coordinator at the end of 2023, and recently obtained her EAL certification. Working here has been a dream come true for her since the job combines her passions for rescuing horses, cuddling pigs, and providing fun things for the animals!

From fixing things to animal care, you can find Matt involved with almost everything around the Farm.  He brings a unique skill set as a former outdoor guide/educator, and received his Wilderness EMT(b) with NOLS.  After working as a hardware store manager and in fitness when moving to Cleveland, he has Re-Circled using his life experiences to serve the Farm.

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Recently earning his CDCA and EAL certifications; Matt thrives on meeting and working with people from all walks of life.  His hobbies include playing music, fixing things, cats and it's no secret he has a soft spot for the chickens and Jeeps.

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