Jillian Masciantonio
Chief Executive Officer and Occupational Therapist, The Making Strides Foundation
I grew up the oldest of three on an eighty-acre farm and equine facility in Southwest, PA. I learned at an early age that being involved in the Western industry isn’t always glamorous; sometimes it’s wearing Carhart coveralls while breaking ice buckets in the dead of winter, but I loved it anyway. In 2020 I founded Making Strides, an equine assisted therapy program. Since then, Making Strides has transformed into a certified 501c3 non-profit corporation. We offer three different therapy services and adaptive horseback riding lessons and are on track to complete over 850 therapy sessions this season. Sharing my passion for horses with others has been the greatest joy and blessing of my life, thus far.