Staff

Eva Finnan

CEO and PATH Instructor

As a therapeutic riding instructor, Eva feels privileged to work with children and adults with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. As a young girl, she realized how incredibly special they are and admired their ability to mirror what humans were experiencing and feeling. Additionally, the physical benefit of the sport of riding. Years later, after a successful retail management career, she took the opportunity to volunteer at a therapeutic riding school, Giant Steps in Sonoma County, California. It was there that she realized that working and qualifying as a PATH International therapeutic riding instructor was how she could attend to her own spirit and share experience. She knew how horses can be the catalyst for positive change and personal growth. Powerful equine assisted activities are an effective way to reach people who may be struggling to fully express themselves. Eva lives and works with her husband and two daughters on Sparkleberry Farm in Aiken, South Carolina.

Grace Jackson

Manager of Volunteer Services and PATH Instructor

Grace is a lifelong North Augusta resident who has grown up around horses most of her life. She rode on the Lander University Equestrian Team and earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a minor in Therapeutic Horsemanship. With nearly 6 years of experience teaching therapeutic riding lessons, Grace is passionate about using equine-assisted services to build confidence, independence, and life skills in her riders and volunteers. In 2023, she was honored as the PATH Intl. Region 3 Credential Professional of the Year in recognition of her dedication and impact in the field. Grace finds her greatest joy in seeing the smiles, confidence, and personal growth of every rider she serves.

Deborah McWhirter

Manager of Equine Services

Deborah has been an equestrian for most of her life, but for the last 15 years she has focused on the discipline of eventing. She has competed at the upper levels of the sport with her two horses, Mr. Bounce and Nero. She trains with 5* Event rider Caitlin Silliman here in Aiken and in Pennsylvania during the summers. Her passion for horses brought her to Great Oak in August of 2020 when she started as a volunteer. As the Manager of Equine Services her knowledge and passion is now translated to oversee the proper care of our Great Oak horses.

Alea Atkinson

Business Manager

Alea relocated from Nebraska to Aiken in 2016, bringing with her a lifelong background with horses and experience in the western riding world. After relocating, Aiken introduced her to English riding, further shaping her equestrian journey. Horses have been a constant presence throughout her life and continue to influence both her personal and professional path.

She graduated from the University of South Carolina Aiken in 2023 with a degree in Biology and a minor in Music. Outside of her work at Great Oak, she works as a private horse groom and animal caretaker and is also a professional violinist. She is currently in the process of earning her PATH CTRI certification and looks forward to continuing her work with an organization as impactful and meaningful as Great Oak.

Kathie Boyd

Kathie brings a lifelong love of horses and a deep passion for teaching to her work at Great Oak. She grew up in Hawaiʻi caring for her neighbors’ horses, where she learned early the responsibility, patience, and quiet communication horses require. Those experiences led her to study equestrian science in college, before a serious back injury redirected her path into elementary education.

Her connection to horses deepened as her daughters convinced their father to enter into horse ownership. Watching her girls and their horses strengthened Kathie’s understanding of how intuitively horses respond to emotion, presence, and trust, and how powerful the human–horse relationship can be. She began at Great Oak as a volunteer and is grateful to now work part time with an organization that creates meaningful, life-changing experiences.

Board of Directors

Founder
Wendy O’Brien

President
Mit Carothers

Vice President
Tony Rickard

Secretary
Judy Mcconnell

Treasurer
Andrew Aquino

Kate Hawks

Michael Sullivan

Jesse Waters

Shawna Dietrich

Caroline Herlong-Turner