Dear Members,

These last few months have been an unprecedented time, to be sure! We acknowledge that members may feel out of the loop with the new goings-on in Pro-EFW, and apologize for the gap in communication. Though silent, we have been busy! We’d like to take this opportunity to share some of the fruits of our labour with you, and give you a chance to get involved if you would like.

Here is some of what we have been up to.

Streamlining the certification process

The Certification Committee has been hard at work creating a more easeful and concise process for certification. Consistency of forms, updating terms, and creating streamlined certification process handbooks has been the focus of this endeavour. We are pleased to say it is in the final stages and will be ready very soon! For those of you in the midst of certification you will receive more information on how to continue your process in this transition phase from your trainers and mentors.

New website and member portal

As part of the streamlining process, a new website with a member portal is in the works. There may be some bumps along the way, however this new system will ultimately create a user-friendly system with databases for each member to upload and store certification documents. We are excited to be offering this as each certified professional member will also have a landing page that can be shared for their own marketing purposes.

New logo and certificates

The Pro-EFW name and logo were updated in 2019, and capture the organization’s values of the healthy human-equine bond, as well as the mandate to provide education and certification in the field of Equine Facilitated Wellness that is accessible globally. These updates have meant changes to all membership cards and completion certificates for certified professionals. These changes, along with updating corresponding communication, have caused a delay in some of our more recently certified professionals receiving theirs. We are hard at work to complete these updates!

New marketing initiatives

The Marketing Committee has been designing and implementing new marketing initiatives, including Facebook posts and newsletter design and release. The Marketing Committee continues to meet and discuss future initiatives and loves to hear from our members on this. 

As our three committees – Training, Certification and Marketing – continue working for the healthy development and growth of Pro-EFW, we will continue to update you our members through this very newsletter, and thank you for your patience as we move through some big transitions!

In light of the times, the Board of Directors would also like to thank and support Kate Burns and her thoughtful letter included in this newsletter. Pro-EFW supports diversity and acknowledges the existence of systemic racism and the need for action. Our organization is interested in looking at how to increase diversity in our membership and invite members to participate in this initiative. Please see Kate’s letter for more information on how to get involved.

Last but not least, we feel it important to speak to the challenges that have been presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, in both the personal and professional lives of our members. Many of our members are finding financial and logistical challenges, and also finding creative ways to work with and around the difficulties. Some of the core values of Pro-EFW are proving to be fundamental to the pandemic response both in our work and generally: to respond to what is needed in the moment; to work incrementally, with pause; to step out of the task-oriented and often rushed way of our contemporary world to work mindfully, relationally and safely. We are called now to listen to our inner wisdom and our collective herd wisdom about how to respond, to take our time, and to let the Pro-EFW principles act as a guide. We are here for just that and invite you to participate in your membership to the fullest degree. As we continue down this road together, we wish each one of you, your families, and your communities good health.

Written by Johanna Kalkreuth on behalf of the Pro-EFW Board of Directors:

Susan Cressy
Deborah Marshall
Meagan Saum
Johanna Kalkreuth
Sue Ratcliffe
Janet Tomlinson