David Lafreniere
Lieutenant-Colonel David Lafreniere is a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI) and an Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL). He is passionate about equine-assisted learning and blending it with his prior experience & training as a facilitator. During his 25 years of military service, he held a variety of command & staff appointments where he was responsible for facilitating & training leaders to lead, organizational development, military training & education, and mentoring both personal & professional growth.
David is a retired Canadian Army Afghanistan war veteran. During his service, he was a specialist in ISTAR and a subject matter expert in ground maneuver reconnaissance (light cavalry). After returning from Afghanistan, he was the president of several boards of inquiry investigating military suicides where he made significant recommendations to improve processes to better serve soldiers with operational stress injuries. His last appointment before retirement was as Commanding Officer of a reconnaissance battalion. In this capacity, he grew the strength & morale of his unit. He trained & mentored leaders to move into senior positions utilizing new methods that became the standard throughout the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. He has experience facilitating joint military, inter-agency, multinational, and public operations.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science, a business studies certificate, a post-graduate degree in casino management, a journalism degree, and attended seminary. Some of the several pursuits in addition to his military service include nearly 10 years in casino management. He also worked in emergency management & disaster assistance for both the military & the Red Cross, including facilitating & leading emergency management training and was a Certified Emergency Management Instructor. David has managed volunteers and been a youth pastor for the United Methodist Church. He has worked with the homeless running soup kitchens & rotating shelters. David has been married for more decades than his wife, Leeanne, allows him to admit to. He has two daughters who are now flourishing as strong & successful young women. He considers himself a secular Buddhist and enjoys time with friends, collecting watches, wildlife photography, reading spy novels and watching spy movies.