Emily Kieson serves as Director at Equine International, a nonprofit focused on education and research in equine-human interactions and horse welfare. Her research focuses on equine behavioral psychology, equine welfare, and horse-human interactions as they apply to both horse owners and equine-assisted activities and learning programs. She holds a PhD in Comparative Psychology, a MS in Psychology, and a graduate degree in Equine Science. Emily also holds multiple certifications in various models of equine-assisted activities and currently serves as Chair of the Equine Welfare Committee with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH). Her current research focuses involve looking at equine affiliative behaviors to study how horses create and maintain social bonds and how those can overlap with human affiliative behaviors to create authentic lasting friendships between horses and humans. She also has a passion for supporting sustainable systems of horse management and husbandry that promote physical and psychological welfare of the horse while simultaneously supporting sustainable ecosystem practices on small and large scales (for both feral and domestic equids).