The Freedom Woods Team
At Freedom Woods, our team is the heart of everything we do. From nationally recognized trainers to compassionate therapeutic riding instructors and dedicated barn staff, each member brings expertise, passion, and care. Together, we create a safe, supportive environment where riders and horses can thrive.
Dr. Jeffrey Lee, MD
OWNER AND BUILDER
Dr. Jeffrey Lee has been the heart of Freedom Woods since 1995, guiding and sustaining the stable for nearly three decades. A lifelong horseman with more than 30 years of riding experience, Jeff balances his passion for equestrian life with a distinguished career in emergency medicine spanning over 43 years.
An active member of the Michigan Trail Riders Association for the past 15 years, he has enjoyed trail adventures with his Andalusian horse across southern Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky. His commitment to accessibility and inclusion has always been central to Freedom Woods from supporting therapeutic riding and hippotherapy to personally designing a modified wagon that allows non-ambulatory riders to learn horse driving.
Known for his hands-on approach, Jeff can often be found helping with therapy sessions, pitching in around the barn, or building new improvements himself. A graduate of the University of Maryland and Northwestern University Medical School, he completed his residency in emergency medicine and continues to practice today.
For Jeff, Freedom Woods is more than a stable it’s a community built on kindness, respect, and the belief that horses can help us discover the best version of ourselves.
Why Horses Help
Steve Rebarchak
RIDING SCHOOL MANAGER AND TRAINER
Steve joined the Freedom Woods team in 2019, though he has been boarding his horses at the facility since 2017. His expertise lies in welcoming newcomers to equestrian sports, working with riders of all ages to establish fundamental skills and guide them toward their next level of development.
A Davidson College graduate, Steve has maintained a lifelong connection to athletics. His extensive coaching experience spans baseball and football before he returned to his passion for the equestrian world. For nearly two decades, he has dedicated himself to helping riders and their families achieve their personal goals and realize their equestrian dreams.
Paula Miller Lundell, MBA,OTR/L
THERAPIST TRAINER
As an occupational therapist, Paula has a prior background in Ortho-Neuro and cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation with adult inpatient populations. Most recently, Paula spent 20 years in Wilmette public schools serving as department head for physical and occupational therapy. She also worked at private therapeutic day schools for an additional five years. Concurrently, she spent 10 years at Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding NFP as therapy director, grant writer and board member. Upon joining Freedom Woods during Covid, she began to see clients again, and build up an occupational therapy practice at the stable for individuals with special needs. Currently she is working to expand programs for community and school involvement in the natural environment of the Freedom Woods horse stable and farm.
Paula is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. She has further training in principles related to the practice of Hippotherapy through the American hippotherapy Association. Paula has been a fieldwork educator for dozens of graduate level OT students from the University of Illinois, Rush University and Midwestern University.
Julie Rebarchak
TRAINER
Julie began working at Freedom Woods in 2019. She has extensive experience teaching students of all levels. From nervous first timers to students showing competitively, she is focused on building rider’s confidence and helping them set and reach their goals.
Julie began riding at the age of 9 when she attended summer camp, coincidentally the same barn that is now Freedom Woods. She rode competitively in the Junior Hunters, Equitation, and the Amateur Owner divisions. Julie enjoys sharing her passion with students and makes sure that the rider’s time in the saddle is rewarding, exciting, and enriching.
Julie brings with her decades of experience. She has started, managed, and operated, both lesson and showing programs at the former Shadowbrook Farm and Liberty Farm alongside her family. We are excited that she can continue her legacy here, to continue to share her knowledge and build our team.
In her time here, she has already developed a strong group of riders. Her passion for both the horses and students is evident in every lesson. We are thrilled to have her on our team.