Meet Our Staff

Lauren joined the Starbrite Board of Directors in Summer 2020 and assumed the role of CEO in Spring 2022. Leading an organization like Starbrite comes naturally to her, as she is able to serve the local non-profit community by combining her love for the Lord with horses. As a Tyler native, she is honored to be able to continue the family legacy of giving back to the community she loves. Lauren has spent a lifetime in the performance horse industry as a competitive barrel racer, showing hunter/jumpers, and serving as an expert in equine health and fitness. In addition, she is a certified ESMHL – Equine Specialist in Mental Health & Learning through PATH International, and current member of the WPRA.

April's journey back to her hometown of Tyler, following her retirement from the aviation field, recruiting, and career planning, has been a full-circle moment of service and passion. A Marine family, her husband, also a retired Marine, and their son who is actively serving in the Marine Corps, the Scarbrough family legacy of military service runs deep. Hoorah!

With profound insights gleaned from her roles in other veteran nonprofits, April is no stranger to the healing power of equine therapy. Since being one of the first veteran riders at Starbrite, she has witnessed firsthand how horses can mend the invisible “soul” wounds so many veterans endure. Her lifelong love for equestrianism, combined with her dedication to Christ and our veterans, shines brightly as she serves on the staff at Starbrite.

Melissa “Mo” O’Reilly started as the Equine Manager and CTRI-in training at Starbrite in 2023. After graduating from LSU with a veterinary degree in 2015, she came to us after practicing general veterinary medicine for eight years. With a background in equine medicine and physiology and a passion for teaching and training, “Dr. Mo” brings a unique perspective to Starbrite. She can generally be found schooling horses, helping teach our volunteers about the horses in their care, and assisting in lessons. Her favorite breed of horse is the Mustang, and she loves sharing her knowledge and passion for the language of the horse with others. One of her favorite accomplishments has been her training journey with her youngest Mustang, Susannah, who performs many tricks including “the bow” and “the lay-down” on command.

Samantha recently moved to Texas from Flagstaff, AZ. She has an extensive background managing volunteers within animal shelters across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. She joined the Starbrite team in March 2022 as the Volunteer Coordinator. She is passionate about working with animals, volunteers, and being outdoors. Sam has volunteer experience, not only in her previous work, but in working with US Fish and Wildlife Service and AmeriCorps. Sam is excited to use her passion for animals and people to help individuals in need.

Kelly Yarbrough, a United States Marine Corps veteran and Hallsville, Texas native, brings a deep commitment and rich experience to her role as staff accountant at Starbrite Therapeutic Riding Center. Kelly joined Starbrite first as a volunteer in October 2023 and then moved into a part-time role in February 2024.  She holds an accounting degree from Ashford University. Her expertise significantly boosts our financial operations. Beyond balancing the books, Kelly owns a local business, linking her closely with community dynamics. This involvement enhances her role at Starbrite, where she passionately supports individuals with disabilities. Outside the office, Kelly enjoys baking and cooking, sharing these moments with husband and two children. Her dedication to her work and family makes her an indispensable part of the Starbrite team, continually striving to make a positive impact in every aspect of her life.

Melissa Lee works with volunteers, staff, clients, and horses to maintain the daily operations at our facility. Melissa believes that this job enables her to use her strengths of serving challenged individuals as well as satisfies the desire to work with horses. Melissa has recently retired from Tyler ISD after thirty years of coaching and teaching and applies that experience to her everyday duties at Starbrite Therapeutic Equestrian Center. Melissa graduated from Ouachita Baptist University where she played volleyball and received her Bachelor of Arts in Education degree.

A lifelong East Texas resident, Joseph has devoted his career to nonprofit work. He joined the Starbrite team as a grant writer in 2024. Inspired by his father’s service as a Vietnam combat veteran, he is passionate about mental health support for those who have served. Outside of work, Joseph enjoys spending time with his wife and their two small dogs.

Megan has officially joined the team as our Grant Writer and newest staff member! She has been a part of the Starbrite family since June 2022, volunteering in several lessons weekly and developing a passion for the purpose. She has a knack for shining a light through words and has long felt called to contribute to Starbrite on a grander scale. Megan was born and raised in Dallas, TX and grew up with a love for animals, especially horses and dogs. She relocated to Tyler to attend college, fell in love with the nature and simplicity, and decided to call East Texas home. She is the proud mom of a a spirited 5 year old son, named Cohen, and a lovable yellow lab, named Tex. 

Helen was born in the UK and trained as a nurse. She met her husband while he was stationed in England as a USAF officer. They moved to Texas in 1992 where Helen later trained as a Physical Therapist Assistant and has worked in that capacity in hospital and Home Health care. She has worked at Starbrite since April of 2020, initially as a volunteer and later on as staff. She loves her job teaching our wonderful volunteers horse care, side walking, horse handling and day-to-day care of the facility. She is passionate about maintaining standards and providing the best possible experience for our riders.

Elizabeth began as a volunteer at Starbrite in 2019.  At that time, she was working at Pine Cove Christian Camps as a wrangler. After nearly two decades staying at home to care for her family, she was starting to re-enter the workforce and loved getting to serve at Starbrite! She was astonished with how quickly the riders progressed, including her own son. After a year she began training as an instructor. She is passionate about education and loves teaching anyone who wants to learn about the benefits of Equine-Assisted Services. She holds a Bachelors of Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University, is certified by the Board of Equine Interaction Professionals (specialty in education), and is a certified PATH CTRI and ESMHL (Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning).  She is overjoyed to be able to use her skills to help those with special needs reach their full potential.

After graduating with a Bachelors in Business Administration from Sam Houston State University in 2017, Sterling returned to her hometown of Tyler, Texas. Since then, she has worked with children residentially in foster care and in the special needs classroom. During that time, Sterling began using her family ranch to give riding lessons and trail rides. 

Tara joined Starbrite in September of 2022! She brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to the team. Besides the fact that she started riding before she could walk(!), she showed horses at age 2, and started teaching riding lessons at 14. In addition, she spent 6 years providing horsemanship education and riding lessons to special education students at El Camino Ranch. Tara was certified in Equine Reproduction Management at Colorado State University. She has experience in all disciplines, spent 3 years training Arabian horses, participated in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race, and was even featured on Dr. Oz!

We welcomed Caysi as a part-time instructor at the beginning of 2023, but we’ve known her as a friend for years! As a rider parent and volunteer, Caysi brings unique perspective and experience to the role, not to mention passion and love.

When Mama wandered onto the property, she immediately felt at home. Her employment agreement includes food and housing, of which she is grateful. In her spare time, when she’s not hunting rodents, she enjoys socializing with staff, riders, volunteers, and greeting visitors. Her name “Mama” is reminiscent of a time when we thought she was pregnant, but realized she was just “fluffy”. At Starbrite, we don’t believe in Cat Shaming and absolutely love Mama for who she is (inside and out!)

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SPONSORED BY MELISSA LEE & HELEN CLARK

SPONSOR MAMA CAT