About Us

FOUNDER /EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kathy Friedrich served five-years active duty as an army nurse including serving in the Gulf War. She also spent two years as the Director of Continuous Improvement at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. In addition, her experience includes serving as the Director of Neuroscience Clinical Programs at Allina Health System in Minneapolis and as a Performance Improvement Consultant and homecare manager. Kathy volunteered for many years as an evaluator for the Performance Excellence Network (PEN).

Kathy is a Nurse Coach - Board Certified (NC-BC) by the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation and facilitates Equine-Assisted Learning sessions for individuals, groups, and organizations. She is a member of PATH International and has volunteered at other Equine-Assisted Services organizations. Kathy holds a B.S. in Nursing from Creighton, a M.S. in Nursing from Vanderbilt, and a M.B.A and M.H.A. from the University of Colorado in Denver.

Kathy is driven by her faith in God and the belief that we are all here to serve each other. She is thankful for the support of the Gateway Meadows board, volunteers, extended family, and the generous donors.

BOARD CHAIR

Steve Ubl, Building Official for City of Saint Paul, has spent many years developing subdivisions, community neighborhoods, working with city councils, legislatures, and nonprofits. He currently chairs multiple trade boards in Saint Paul and focuses on policies and procedures to develop high-level customer service, and is also a board member of a nonprofit heritage society.

The skills and experience working with local and state agencies are assets when working with various Veteran’s organizations. Steve has volunteered and participated in trainings at other equine-therapy organizations assessing practices that will fit well at Gateway Meadows to maximize the development of our clients. His leadership skills, focus on customer service, and experience with many levels of government, provides a foundation to build Gateway Meadow’s future success.

Steve received his B.S. in Business Administration from Mankato State University. He has donated a significant amount of time to create the organization’s operational structures including land preparation and building upgrades such as the new handicap restroom and equine stalls.

BOARD MEMBER/SECRETARY

Christine Leavitt shares Kathy’s passion for performance excellence and service. She has worked with 20 public sector organizations over the past 35 years and served on the boards of a charter school and nonprofit daycare organization prior to joining the Gateway Meadow’s board.

Christine owns Gazelle Strategies which helps individuals, teams, and organizations define and achieve success. She has a background in organizational development and economics, received her Six Sigma Black Belt certification in 2014, and served on the Performance Excellence Network’s Board of Evaluators (Malcolm Baldrige National Quality).

BOARD MEMBER/VETERAN OUTREACH

Doug Oswald is a 24-year retired military veteran with combined service in the United States Air Force, Minnesota Air National Guard and Minnesota National Guard Counterdrug Taskforce serving two tours of duty in Southwest Asia in 2001 and 2002. Doug is a graduate of The Community College of the Air Force, The USAF First Sergeant Academy, The USAF Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, The Defense Information School, Hamline University and Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Doug spent the last 10 years working for a local provider of housing and services for people with disabilities improving their quality of life. Prior to that, Doug spent 11 years with the Counterdrug Taskforce providing team building skills to thousands of youth throughout Minnesota.

In his free time, Doug writes book and movie reviews for an online magazine, watches movies, fosters dogs and spends time with family, friends and his dogs.

BOARD MEMBER/TREASURER

Mary Heilman worked in the Finance departments for two public companies for 26 years before retiring recently. She received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Minnesota and her Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas.

She volunteered her time the past nine years with a therapeutic riding program for people with special needs and more recently began volunteering as a horse resource for Gateway Meadows. Sharing the power of horses with others who can benefit from it has been a fulfilling piece of her life.

Mary has loved horses all her life and finally realized the joy of acquiring her own horse 10 years ago once her three kids were grown. Since owning her horse partner, she has been a continual learner following several different trainers and taking lessons along the way. She enjoys trail riding regularly at multiple parks during the months our weather cooperates.

LEAD EQUINE SPECIALIST/VOLUNTEER

Gail Olsen is a PATH International Certified Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. She volunteers her time and expertise as the lead working with our equine partners. Gail is a life-long horse owner.

She is retired, but worked as a Veterinary Technician and later was an IT Administrator in an 8000-member church. Gail has a degree in Community Development, 25 years of experience in Equine-Assisted Services programs, and served on two Boards of Directors for such organizations. She also volunteered with her horses for therapeutic riding lessons for people with special needs. For the past 18 years, she has worked with several trainers in Natural Horsemanship. Gail enjoys trail riding, competitive obstacle trail events and exploring new places to ride.