Meet the Staff
Instructors & Administrators Board of Directors

Georgia Corey, Program Director and Advanced Instructor

Georgia Corey has been involved with Lift Me Up! since 1995. Starting as a sidewalker, Georgia became more involved, serving as volunteer coordinator, then as board member, one term as board secretary and two terms as board president. But Georgia missed working with the riders, volunteers and horses. Georgia attended Equest Therapeutic Riding Instructor Course in 2004 and received her certification at the Registered Instructor level. She returned in the spring of 2005 and received her Advanced Instructor certification.

Georgia has done many hours of post-graduate work in education and has spent a great deal of time teaching and working with children as a Sunday school and Vacation Church School teacher, Girl Scout leader, Cheer Mom, Team Mom, Room Mother and classroom volunteer. Now that her two children are grown, Georgia has directed her attention to Lift Me Up!

Riding since she was six, Georgia currently owns two horses. While she primarily rides Saddleseat (one of her horses is an American Saddlebred), she has also taken lessons in Hunt Seat, Dressage and Western riding.

Veronica Laughman, Instructor

Veronica has been with Lift Me Up! for nearly 3 years, beginning as an intern and receiving her certification as a NARHA Registered Instructor in October 2005. Veronica has been working around and riding horses since she was 12 years old. She started taking hunter/jumper lessons in exchange for barn work, where she officially became a “barn rat,” hanging out at the barn all day, every day, riding, grooming, mucking, and assisting with vet and farrier visits. Veronica was first exposed to therapeutic riding at the age of 13 when she volunteered at Sebastian Riding Associates in Collegeville, PA. When she moved to Northern Virginia in 1993, she continued her affinity for all things equestrian, dabbling in dressage and even polo. Finally, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation and certification as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, she has found time to pursue and achieve her wish to be a Therapeutic Riding Instructor. Veronica also works full time as a recreation therapist at the Northern Virginia Training Center for adults with special needs.

Kristin Catanzaro, Instructor & Office Manager

Kristin joined the Lift Me Up! staff in April of 2007, and now teaches therapeutic riding lessons five days a week to over 30 riders. Before joining Lift Me Up!, she taught dressage and jumping for several years at a riding stable in Connecticut. She also worked as a volunteer at High Hopes therapeutic riding, which sparked her desire to become a certified instructor. Kristin has worked around horses her entire life, from cleaning stalls and assisting veterinarians, to being a trail guide with the cowboys in the Utah mountains. She competed in hunter/jumper shows throughout high school, and continued to compete as an event rider in college. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences.

Erica Wheatley, Instructor

Erica first became involved with Lift Me Up! as a volunteer and served in that capacity for two years. In 2003, she qualified as an instructor in Hong Kong with the Riding For Disabled qualification, which is the English equivalent of the NARHA Instructor's Certificate. Erica received her NARHA Registered Instructor Certificate through reciprocity, in November 2007. Erica started riding in New Zealand at age 10, got involved in pony club, fox hunting and horse shows, until her travels took her overseas in her early 20's. Erica taught kindergarten, got involved in school activities, Sunday school teaching and ran her own small preschool. She has also trained as a Stephens Minister, a form of Christian mentoring for crisis situations. She enjoys working with the riders at Lift Me Up! and seeing the wonderful progress they have achieved.

Facilities Staff

In 2007, Maria Navarro joined our facilities maintenance team.

Instructors in Training

Lift Me Up! welcomes instructors in training to complete their teaching hours with our NARHA accredited program. We have hosted a number of up and coming instructors from around the country over the years. For more information on training at our facility, please contact us by email or phone.

Fred - Pest Control Engineer

Fred focuses more on pest control than his brother, Ricky. Fred can frequently be found in the hay room watching for unwanted intruders. He has even been known to bring in a snake, just to show that he is on the job. Very neat, Fred can polish off his prey without leaving a single thing behind. Except for the time he forgot a pin feather. But while Fred is often out hunting, he never misses a staff meeting. He always shows up in time to join the instructors and share in the concerns of the program. Fred enjoys the attention of volunteers and riders for short periodsof time but then becomes impatient to get back to his work. So off he runs to the hay room. However, Fred will always take time out to share in Ricky's kitty treats.