Suzanne is a TEDxScranton Speaker, Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children (CASA), Fundraising Counsel, and Author. A valued advisor for farm-based interventions, Suzanne provides expert guidance and support to organizations and individuals throughout the United States with developing, funding, and sustaining farm-based therapy programs. Her goal is to help service providers launch responsible farm-based programs with clarity and confidence.
At The Lands at Hillside Farms (Hillside Farms), Suzanne was instrumental with creating and spearheading Hillside Farms' Green Care program, which provides farm-based trauma services for children, including children on the spectrum. Since 2013, Hillside Farms has provided farm-based, animal assisted activities and therapies to nearly 1,000 children who have lost a loved one through illness, accident, murder, or suicide. The program also welcomes children who are in foster care as well as those who are experiencing life-changing circumstances due to family addiction.
For over a decade Suzanne dedicated time and talent at PBS/NPR affiliate, WVIA TV/FM, serving as current events show producer, host, and on-air fundraiser. In 2010 she was offered the opportunity to head the development and marketing team at The Lands at Hillside Farms, a historic, non-profit, educational dairy farm located in Trucksville, Pennsylvania. The farm's mission is to teach life choices that are healthy, logical, and sustainable. Life came full circle, as this same 428-acre farm was Suzanne's childhood "safe place," where she escaped her surroundings of family addiction. Without hesitation, she chose the farm - to give up cameras for cows. Suzanne explains, "Drawing on my personal experiences growing up I wanted to create a way where Hillside Farms - my childhood haven - could help other children who were hurting, so they too could feel comforted and safe."
Suzanne also serves on the Green Care Advisory Board for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Youth and Young Adult Services Bureau of Substance Addiction, Animal Welfare Auditor for A Greener World, and Mentor for Food Animal Concerns Trust. Suzanne's TEDX Talk, “How Cows and a Cornfield Helped Heal Childhood Trauma” shares how her personal journey through childhood abuse and trauma was the catalyst for Hillside Farms Green Care program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWzqHTmPBY8&t=4s.
She earned a Master of Science in Animal Behavior/Animal Welfare from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and a Master of Science in Organizational Management from Misericordia University.
To learn more about planning, launching, and sustaining your farm-based therapy program, please send an email to suzanne@harvestinghealing.com. You will receive a response within one business day.