Board of Directors
Janelle McCollum
President of the BoardJanelle joined the board in October 2025. She was elected President of the Board in January 2026. She works with all of the committees and officers on the board as well as daily with our CEO, Kassi. She feels that Freedom Reins is a family and is excited to be a part of the family.
Freedom Reins is a family affair for Janelle. Her husband, Jeff is involved in several projects at the barn and always by her side. Her two children, Micah and Marissa have both volunteered as well. Marissa is also teaching lessons part time at Freedom Reins.
When she is not at the barn or working on things for Freedom Reins, Janelle spends her days teaching high school special education, near Decatur. This is her 27th year of teaching. She is also involved in leading worship at her church.
Her favorite part of working at Freedom Reins is seeing children and adults' lives changed by interaction with a horse and our Freedom Reins family.
Kim Butler
Board MemberKim has been a volunteer at Freedom Reins since 2023. She joined the board in 2024. She served as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors for two years. She is currently part of the fundraising committee and volunteers frequently.
In May, Kim married her husband Eddie. She has two adult children,(including Kassi - our CEO). She loves being Mema to 3 boys.
Kim's favorite part of volunteering is seeing the kids' smiles and hearing them yell, yeehaw! She loves that they're having so much fun while learning, growing, and developing new skills. Kim's prayer is for the program to continue to grow so that more can benefit from these experiences.
Kaitlin Julian
Board MemberKaitlin became part of the board of directors in 2024. She is part of our fundraising committee and the marketing committee.
She is a mother of 2. She has been riding, competing and working around horses since she was 5 years old!
Kaitlin has been volunteering with Freedom Reins since 2022, Her favorite part of Freedom Reins is teaching children how to ride and care for horses.
Toma Romero
Board MemberToma became part of the board of directors in 2025. She is part of our fundraising committee and marketing committee.
Toma and her family have been volunteers since 2024. Toma's favorite thing is feeding the horses and assisting in the equine therapy sessions, especially seeing the connection between horses and children.
She started a community garden at the ranch in memory of Frankie, a horse that used to be part of our program. Toma's vision is to introduce equine care and riding to children in underserved communities while inspiring interest in equine care as a future profession through hands-on experiences with horses.
Tom Kopeika
Board MemberAfter living and working in downtown Chicago for years, volunteering for Freedom Reins gives Tom a chance to experience the fresh, country air he always dreamed about sitting in his cubicle.
Freedom Reins is a family affair as his wife Chris and daughter Hazel also volunteer often for Freedom Reins.
Tom joined the board of directors in August 2026. He is part of our marketing committee and volunteers several tasks around the barn. Besides serving on the Board of Freedom Reins, he has been a Mentor since 2019 and now serves on the Board of "Central Illinois CEO", a local high school Business Entrepreneurship program that helps students gain important, real world skills.