Christa Mayer

Christa (she/her) has always had a great love of all animals large and small.  She began riding horses at 7 years old and competed on the east coast on the hunter jumper circuit during her teen years.  During the fall of ‘93 after Christa graduated college, she participated in a year long volunteer program, The Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Bend, OR.  Her role during her time with JVC was parent/child educator for a family program, Together for Children.

In 1996, Christa was awarded a Donovan Scholarship with a focus on cultural diversity at Boston College.  She graduated from Boston College with an M.A. degree in Early Childhood Education and worked in Early Intervention programs as a Developmental Educator in MA and CA for the next following 6 years.  These Early Intervervention programs supported parents and children from 0-3 years of age whose children were at-risk for development due to developmental disabilities and/or environmental factors.

Christa is a board member of her family foundation,  the Mayer/Phillips Foundation whose mission is investing in innovative programs and initiatives that help Americans take ownership of their futures and prepare them to succeed in the world of tomorrow.  Some of the programs the foundation has funded in the past several years include Up Together, 5280 High School, Careerwise and Activate IT. 

While using her passion to help others and her experience with horses she volunteered at various equine therapy programs in Portola Valley and Woodside, California where she participated in groups with Veterans and children with Autism.  When she and her family relocated to Boulder, she continued volunteering in a similar capacity and volunteered at CTRC - Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center from 2014-2018 as a horse handler.  From 2017-2021 she became a member of National Charity League, the Boulder Chapter, a national mother/daughter philanthropic program while participating in local philanthropies alongside her teenage daughter.

Christa joined the team at Medicine Horse program in the spring of 2020 and has horse handled in a variety of their groups.  She joined the Medicine Horse Board in April of 2022 and is excited to continue supporting a program that aligns with her passion in working with horses  and promoting mental health for those in need in an environment where horses help humans heal.  Besides riding horses, Christa enjoys spending time in nature, skiing and hiking with her husband, teenage son and daughter and her 2 dogs.