About

Established in 2021, At Ease Acres is located in Tuckerton, NJ, and home to Brian & Alissa and our family. Together our skills, expertise, and love for all things outdoors has blossomed into At Ease Acres; where not much has been easy, but precious moments of ease abound. After working professionally in the equine industry while simultaneously working full time careers, and with the birth of our first child, Brian and Alissa decided it was time for dreams to come true, at home. Brian named it, Alissa created it, our family built it, and here we are, home at ease.

Alissa is the facilitator and owner of At Ease Acres, LLC. She has an MA in Counseling and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Business Management. Alissa is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, Licensed School Counselor, and Licensed Substance Awareness Coordinator. She is certified through both the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International, as well as the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association as both a Mental Health Professional and Equine Specialist.  Alissa grew up riding and owning horses, started instructing lessons in high school, began training horses in college, lived with Amish horse trainers learning natural horsemanship as part of a cross-cultural experience, and has spent time in Colorado volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Regional Specialty Pack String (a division of the US Forest Fire Service). She has spent the past ten years as a full time School Counselor, while also instructing therapeutic and traditional riding lessons and serving as the Executive Director of a 501(c)3 nonprofit therapeutic riding program. 

Brian (World's Best Husband, Daddy, and resident volunteer) started his military career after high school when he joined the Marines in an Infantry unit, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.  During 5 years with the Marines Brian traveled to many countries including various parts of South America, Asia, Korea, Africa, Japan, and Iraq. Once home from Iraq, he went back to Lifeguarding and continued to serve every summer for a total of 21 years.  After his time in the Marines, Brian transferred to the Army National Guard. He went to college, later receiving his PE Teaching certification and becoming a full time teacher. During his teaching career he has been simultaneously called to serve both in the Guard and Active Duty. Fun fact about Brian- he rode horses a few times in college as part of an Equestrian elective (So, technically I guess we can say Brian was on the Equestrian Team?!). Brian's shining moment as a "professional" rider occurred when he traveled with Alissa one Spring to volunteer with the Pack String in Colorado. Alissa was asked to assist in facilitating a Trail Clinic and since Brian was with her, by default he was part of the facilitation team. One of the participants commented on how nice Brian's horse was and how great his riding was (Brian was riding a truly phenomenal horse). The participant asked how long Brian had been riding. Brian said, "About 10." "Oh wow, 10 years, that's great!." ..."Well, about 10 times." We all had a good laugh. Moral of the story, a good horse and a confident rider are worth their weight in gold.

Fast forward to the present, Alissa's diverse background personally and professionally in the world of horses, and as a Counselor, complete with Brian’s 20 years (and counting) military service, time lifeguarding, and as a Physical Education Teacher, bring together the unique and dedicated experience we offer through At Ease Acres.