board of directors and special advisors

kristina flanagan, M.S.W.

board president

I have committed my heart and energies to COLT because of my direct experience of the transformational  work offered by Erica, Joost, their horses and mine. COLT’s vision of healing equine and human hearts is alive for me and I cherish the opportunity to support that vision in the lives of others. My experience with nonprofit Board work is in arts, visual and performing as well as contemplative practice around wealth and our current ecological/ social challenges. My professional degree in social work lends a particularly focused eye towards honoring many forms of personal and organizational growth. I can think of no greater extension of this history than to bring forward the art of partnered-healing-horsemanship, available to all, in a time of necessary universal compassion. 

Together with my two daughters, their husbands and my three grandchildren, in New Mexico and Maine, the 5 dogs and 8 equines here at my home, I am so grateful for the opportunity to join the gift economy flowing through and with COLT.

Jonathan Smolowe

Vice president & secretary

Following a 12-year career at IBM in a variety of sales and management positions (1978-1990), Jonathan joined Bottomline Technologies in 1990 as its original sales executive and the 7th employee.  In his 18 years at Bottomline, Jonathan delivered an unparalleled record of accomplishment in field sales, sales management and general management.  His success enabled the Company to achieve recognition and industry dominance in numerous domestic and international markets. With his leadership, the company grew from no revenue to a public company with over $130 million in annual sales when he left. Jonathan joined White Pine Systems, LLC in 2008 as their EVP, Sales & Marketing. White Pine is the HIT market leader in patient engagement solutions for the healthcare industry.

In 2018, Jonathan bought one of the first Spaulding Decon franchises. Within 3 months, his new venture hit neutral cash flow, and by the 8th month, there was positive cash flow. He sold the business 4 years later. Today, Jonathan consults to small and mid-sized business owners about cash flow, credit and capital access.

Chris Wendel,

Treasurer

Chris Wendel, a 2020 winner of the Santa Fe Make a Difference Award, is a person who gives life to every path she walks. Her experience as an advocate on behalf of those struggling with addiction is broad, committed and effective not only locally but also at the state and federal levels. Chris seeks to increase awareness of recovery thereby reducing stigma / discrimination of this disease.

Chris has served on:
-the Santa Fe County DWI Planning Council,
-the Mayor’s Drug Strategy Task Force,
-the Santa Fe Recovery Center Board of Directors,
-Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year, 2016-17
-NM Critical Incident Management Team,
-Recovery Communities of NM.

In 2014, Chris co-founded Recovery Santa Fe where their efforts culminated with the annual Santa Fe Rally for Recovery celebration held in September. Beginning in 2007, Chris was appointed a member of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Planning Council, serving as its Chair between 2008 and 2012. This body advises the Governor, Legislature, and Behavioral Health Collaborative. Chris served as a member of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment National Advisory Council with SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) for the Obama administration. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science cum laude from the State University of NY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University. Chris has been in continuous recovery since 1985.

Barbara Groth, Special advisor

Barbara Groth is founder and creative director of the Nomadic School of Wonder and former SVP, Creative for Meow Wolf, an immersive art experience company in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Barbara has spent thirty years at the intersection of creativity, emerging technologies and human centered design for the likes of Walt Disney Imagineering, Pixar, Google, X, LACMA, LEGO, Vulcan, Bruce Mau Design, the Museum of Science & Industry and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Since founding the Nomadic School of Wonder in 2015, Barbara leads a traveling troupe of artists, teachers and adventurers who create “adventures in awe” in small towns throughout the world. Each site specific sensory driven adventure is a unique, joyous and spontaneous experience into the unknown. By weaving together nature, art, community and play, the Nomadic School of Wonder aims to restore our limitless imagination, expand our creative potential and deepen our connection to ourselves, each other and to the natural world. 

Beth Shapiro

Beth’s artistic journey has brought her a myriad of experiences. Sharing her creativity has been her lifelong pursuit. From a muralist, to a teaching artist to a museum educator, Director of Fine Art and Director of Strategic Initiatives, her love of thinking broadly and serving others has been at the root of everything she’s done. Beth’s studies in the fine arts and around positive psychology, mindfulness and wellness, infuses her outlook and spearheads her efforts to grow and strengthen connections among the groups she engages with personally and professionally.

Beth sits on the board of Greater Philadelphia Hillel and has been involved with various artistic not-for-profits in and around Philadelphia, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, The Barnes Foundation, and The Arden Theatre. Beth enjoys sharing each day with her husband, Jonathan. Between them they’ve raised eight children! They live in Pennsylvania with their two dogs Zoe and Zuko!

Maria Gale,

advisory member

Maria Gale is a retired medical social worker and psychotherapist who relocated to New Mexico from the Cleveland, Ohio area in 1995.  She became active as a community volunteer in 2012, and has been engaged in both arts/culture and human service organizations. She is the current Vice Chair of the Museums of New Mexico Foundation, and also serves as a Trustee for the Minneapolis Museum of Art, the Melville Hankins Family Foundation, and the Lensic Performing Arts Center. Maria is a Director of the Gale Family Foundation and an incoming member of the Project Perfect World Foundation, a pediatric surgical mission organization.  She is the former Board Chair of the Center for Contemporary Arts – Santa Fe, and past member of the International Folk Art Market Board. 

Maria holds an A.B. degree from Princeton University where she majored in Comparative Religions and a Master’s Degree in Social Service Administration from Case Western Reserve University.  She and her husband, Edward, have 2 college-age children and a son in his 30s who will be welcoming the family’s second granddaughter by the end of August.