Chair Education Committee

Dr. Octavia Brown

Octavia J. Brown, Ed.M., D.H.L. Emeritus Professor of Equine Studies, Centenary University

Born in England, Octavia emigrated to the USA in 1964.  She earned her Master of Education degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1971 and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2008 by Centenary University.   A founder of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (now PATH International) in 1969, she served four terms on the board of directors. She is a PATH Master Instructor and has chaired numerous committees for PATH, including Standards & Education and Certification.   Now retired from Centenary University, she directed Therapeutic Riding At Centenary for 23 years as both a PATH Accredited program and training site for future TR instructors.

 Dr. Brown is past president of the Federation Riding for the Disabled International, having served six years on the board of trustees.   She was honored in 1982 as NJ Horse Person of the Year by the NJ Horse Council.  In 1990, she received the PATH Directors’ Award and the President’s Award.  In 1998, she was awarded PATH’s highest honor, the James Brady Award for Lifetime Achievement in Therapeutic Riding.  In 2008, with Karen T. Bocksel, she was honored with the PATH President’s Award for their work on producing a training video for instructors seeking PATH certification, as well as a volunteer training video currently in use nation-wide.