Meet Our Staff!
Julie Casso
Danielle Fortunato
Jackie Collins
Executive Director
Julie was a Lift Me Up! donor and long-time community non-profit executive before joining the Board in 2020. When the need arose, she stepped in as Financial Manager and then became Executive Director in January 2022, after Goergia Bay retired in December 2021.
Jackie Collins
Danielle Fortunato
Jackie Collins
Program Director and
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Jackie’s love of horses began as a small child and her formal lessons began at the age of 10 on a Welsh Mountain pony named Candy. Riding for most of her life, Jackie eventually bought the horse of her dreams – Wisteria. Jackie and Wisteria trained with a well-respected FEI (Fédération Éq
Program Director and
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Jackie’s love of horses began as a small child and her formal lessons began at the age of 10 on a Welsh Mountain pony named Candy. Riding for most of her life, Jackie eventually bought the horse of her dreams – Wisteria. Jackie and Wisteria trained with a well-respected FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale) dressage rider in Maryland. Although Wisteria had the potential to become a competitive dressage horse, Jackie preferred to use dressage as a tool to foster and build a partnership with her beautiful mare.
Jackie began volunteering with LiftMeUp! in 2015 and became a PATH-certified instructor in 2016. Her dressage background and her additional training as a yoga instructor allow Jackie to teach with a holistic approach, providing her students with physical riding instruction, mindfulness, and relationship building skills.
Danielle Fortunato
Danielle Fortunato
Danielle Fortunato
Barn Manager
Danielle returned to Lift Me Up! after graduating from Mary Baldwin University with a degree in International Affairs and a minor in Leadership Studies. Danielle had volunteered and gotten to know the horses when she was in high school making her well qualified for the barn manager position as she looks forward to the start of a career in the Army.
Velvie Cunningham
Patti Jennings Dreyer
Patti Jennings Dreyer
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Velvie has always had a love of horses and helping people. In 2016, Velvie found LiftMeUp! Therapeutic
Riding and started volunteering. Being at LiftMeUp! has enabled her to fulfill her desire to help people
and work closely with horses.
In 2022, she completed the Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor certifi
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Velvie has always had a love of horses and helping people. In 2016, Velvie found LiftMeUp! Therapeutic
Riding and started volunteering. Being at LiftMeUp! has enabled her to fulfill her desire to help people
and work closely with horses.
In 2022, she completed the Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor certification process through PATH
International. She felt getting this certification to be able to teach therapeutic riding was the next
logical step in improving her ability to provide support/assistance to people.
Patti Jennings Dreyer
Patti Jennings Dreyer
Patti Jennings Dreyer
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Patti started riding at the early age of 6 in Warwick, NY, where she participated in various Hunter jumper shows and worked as a stable hand.
After college, she worked at a local horse farm and found her "April," a Morab cross who later became a therapeutic horse for Winslow Therapeutic Center in Warwick, NY.
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Patti started riding at the early age of 6 in Warwick, NY, where she participated in various Hunter jumper shows and worked as a stable hand.
After college, she worked at a local horse farm and found her "April," a Morab cross who later became a therapeutic horse for Winslow Therapeutic Center in Warwick, NY.
In 2003 she decided to pursue the therapeutic riding instructor certification through PATH International. In 2004 she worked for Gallop NYC in the Bronx, helping Veterans and school children with disabilities.
In 2016 she moved to Virginia and joined the LiftMeUp! family where her love for horses and helping people became fulfilled.
Atalanta Grant-Suttie
Patti Jennings Dreyer
Atalanta Grant-Suttie
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Atalanta started volunteering at LiftMeUp! Therapeutic Riding in 2012. She attained her certification as a PATH Therapeutic Riding Instructor in 2017 and since then she continues to teach therapeutic riding regularly.
Atalanta enjoys working with children, teenagers, and adults. The therapeutic riding field
PATH-Certified Instructor, CTRI
Atalanta started volunteering at LiftMeUp! Therapeutic Riding in 2012. She attained her certification as a PATH Therapeutic Riding Instructor in 2017 and since then she continues to teach therapeutic riding regularly.
Atalanta enjoys working with children, teenagers, and adults. The therapeutic riding field was a huge discovery for Atalanta as she could combine her teaching interests with her love of horses and riding.
Atalanta began riding as a child and rode consistently until her parents moved when she was ten. After that she rode horses whenever the opportunity came along.
Atalanta worked as a preservation librarian at several academic libraries and research institutions in the Washington Metropolitan Area until her retirement from the library field in August 2018.
Georgia Bay
Georgia Bay
Georgia Bay
Senior Equine and
Mental Health Specialist
Georgia began volunteering with LiftMeUp! in 1995. Since then she has held many jobs including Volunteer Coordinator, Board President, Program Director, Executive Director and currently Senior Equine and Mental Health Specialist. In 2004, Georgia became a PATH-certified instructor and received her
Senior Equine and
Mental Health Specialist
Georgia began volunteering with LiftMeUp! in 1995. Since then she has held many jobs including Volunteer Coordinator, Board President, Program Director, Executive Director and currently Senior Equine and Mental Health Specialist. In 2004, Georgia became a PATH-certified instructor and received her Advanced Instructor certification in 2005. Having done post-graduate work in education, Georgia enjoys combining a love of horses with teaching therapeutic riding.
Georgia has owned saddlebred horses for over 30 years. Growing up riding western, Georgia now focuses on eventing and trail riding. She loves to share the horse show experience with LiftMeUp! riders so they too can win ribbons.
Elle & Mew
Georgia Bay
Georgia Bay
Pest-Control Engineers
When you say their names together quickly, it sounds like "LMU." These two sisters take their job very seriously and though at times it seems they do nothing but lie around the barn and ask for attention all day, they are quite accomplished at their jobs as the barn's pest-control engineers. Many mornings we will com
Pest-Control Engineers
When you say their names together quickly, it sounds like "LMU." These two sisters take their job very seriously and though at times it seems they do nothing but lie around the barn and ask for attention all day, they are quite accomplished at their jobs as the barn's pest-control engineers. Many mornings we will come in to find little "gifts" at the door - telling signs that they were on the job!
Mew is the domestic short-hair tabby, and Elle is the domestic long-hair tabby.