The intersection of horsemanship and communication/leadership is where Jim finds his passion for both learning and teaching. Jim has spent the last thirty-plus years working as an educator and guide, including stints with the Nature Conservancy and NOLS. He began his horse journey when he was 7, and has since gained experience in many different aspects of horsemanship - Western and English riding, horse shoeing, colt starting, horse packing, driving teams, and equine bodywork. He feels fortunate to have learned from renowned horse people such as Martin Black, Jim Masterson, Buck Brannaman, Jim Hicks, and Micaela Love. In 2018, Jim was invited to give a TedX talk on what he had learned from horses about communication (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayNSk9hQE2o). He has also assisted in facilitating leadership and communication seminars with teams from NASA, the US Naval Academy, GOOGLE, and the Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program. Jim was born in Charlottesville, VA, but fell in love with the West at an early age ‘from watching too many John Wayne movies and Gunsmoke episodes.’