Paula Hertel, MSW

Co-founder, President

Paula Hertel is a co-founder and President of Connected Horse, a nonprofit offering equine-guided workshops and training for people living with dementia and their care partners. A lifelong horsewoman, Paula drew on her firsthand experience with horses and her deep roots in elder care services to envision a program where the barn becomes a place of reconnection and hope. In 2015, she and co-founder Nancy Schier Anzelmo launched Connected Horse as a research collaboration with Stanford University and UC Davis, pioneering what has become a nationally recognized model of equine-assisted services for people impacted by dementia.

Paula leads the design and delivery of Connected Horse programs in Pleasanton, CA, including workshops, barn experience programs, Care Partner Meeting Groups, and Sensory Engagement Kits. Through facilitated, ground-based interactions with horses, meditation, sensory walks, and group support, the programs are designed to cultivate unconditional acceptance and calm the mind and nervous system through psychosocial and lifestyle activities. She has help guide Connected Horse’s growth from a small pilot study to a network of barns across Northern California, Nevada, and West Virginia, Her background in social work, senior living and elder care services informs her deeply person-centered approach to the work.