Our Board
Robin LaFrankie Founder/President
Robin grew up on Long Island, NY where at a very young age she became hooked on horses. Her parents purchased her first horse at age 11 and Robin dedicated herself to training and competing in the NY/NJ/PA circuits in hunter and equitation classes. Her family then moved to Bucks County, PA where Robin continued her equitation and hunter career and competed successfully in Medal/ASPCA Maclay & Junior Hunter.
Robin also developed a love for teaching at a young age, instructing many beginner and intermediate riders, along with Girl Scout summer programs. Over the years, Robin helped many young riders develop the same love for horses and learning that she developed at a young age.
In college, Robin was a business and marketing major at Delaware Valley College and competed in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. In her senior year, Robin and the DelVal team became regional champions.
Upon graduation Robin married Ken and worked for a marketing company for many years as director for multiple departments. It was during this time that Robin realized that she loved motivating people and seeing employees and coworkers work together toward a common goal. Robin and Ken have two wonderful kids, Nick and Marin. Robin decided to stay home with her kids, she continued to pursue her love of learning and attended night school at Marymount University earning her Master’s degree in Education.
When Nick and Marin started school, Robin returned to the work world and taught for Loudoun County Public Schools in Ashburn, VA for 10 years. She loved the excitement that her students brought to learning, and seeing the sparkle in their eyes when they discovered something new. Robin also encouraged her students to achieve to their highest potential, often times tutoring after school in the classroom.
Robin has combined her talents of horsemanship, motivating people, and teaching into a unique experience for all who participate in the programs at Equus CAN Educate. The programs have evolved over the years however they all have one theme in common - "Discover what you CAN do!" Every person that experiences our horses and their "teaching" skills comes away with a renewed sense of purpose, better communication skills, and confidence in themselves. That is exactly what Equus CAN Educate is all about!
Jean Rizzo
Treasurer
Jean Teresa Corrigan Rizzo was born and raised in the Canal Zone Republic of Panama. The daughter of an educator and a naturalist she grew up in an environment where animals, insects and plants could impart wisdom, if you knew how to listen. Lessons learned as a child exploring rainforests and jungles offers proof to Jean that nature can nurture, as well as expand and breakdown conventional constructs in learning. Jean moved to the United States to pursue her education and holds a Masters in Education from Marymount University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from Old Dominion University. Jean is a second career educator having worked as an award-winning broadcaster for the Voice of America for nearly a decade. Since 2005 Jean has been an English Language Teacher for Loudoun County Public Schools. Jean is highly regarded throughout the district and the state for leveraging programs, methods and technology to teach English as a Second Language. Jean is a passionate multilingual educator and energetically embraces new methods to help students reach their full potential and enjoy learning.
Dr. Grace Tsai Tsuyuki
Dr. Tsai is a holistic meditative arts practitioner who tries to teach her students what they yearn to learn. She is the owner of WabiSabi Wellness and has her doctorate in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health.
She also has her Master’s in Health Management and experience teaching graduate and undergraduate Kinesiology and Health Education courses at local universities. She was a Master’s Trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins. She has taught Fortune 500 Corporate Leaders, Coaches of an NFL Team, Teens, Seniors and Stay-at-Home Moms.
Dr. Tsai is a certified equine assisted learning facilitator through Equine Connection - The Academy of Equine Assisted Learning.
