Born and raised in Demopolis, Alabama, Lashanda has known since childhood that her purpose was to help others.   LaShanda’s family and faith instilled in her that helping our neighbors and those in need is the responsibility of those who have the ability to help. She became a youth Sunday School teacher at the age of 10 due to her love for children and her desire to share knowledge with others.  As an adult, much of her professional and personal life reflect her values of supporting and advocating for the vulnerable, those facing challenges, and those in need.

Lashanda started her career with Marengo County Emergency Management Services (EMS) as a Senior Dispatcher.  After 11 years of EMS service, her deep desire for greater involvement with the community prompted her to transition to become a Social Service Caseworker with the Marengo County Department of Human Resources.  After two years working in the Children and Family Services Unit, she was promoted to Service Supervisor.  As Supervisor, she wore multiple hats including supervising and leading a team of caseworkers, investigating adult abuse and neglect, and overseeing the recruitment, training, and licensure of foster parents.  She also helped collaborate across agencies, worked with child advocacy centers, and recruited, trained and licensed foster parents.  

After learning about Horseshoe Farm, LaShanda instantly felt a deep sense of connection with Horseshoe Farm’s mission and values and was drawn to the sense of community and belonging the organization tries to foster. In joining Horseshoe Farm, LaShanda hopes to deepen and build upon her past community service work and to make a positive impact on the lives of children, adults, the Fellows, and the broader Hale County community.

Outside of work, LaShanda has been active in devoting her time to volunteer in community-based initiatives.  For multiple years she has headed the Local Christmas Program for Marengo County Department of Human Resources which provided assistance with Christmas gifts for children of Marengo County.  She has also spent the previous five years helping lead and organize an annual picknick that successfully brought together foster parents for fellowship and support.

In her personal life LaShanda enjoys spending time and making memories with her 2 children, Zamaria and Carter, and her husband Bryan. LaShanda holds a bachelors of science degree in Criminal Justice from Columbia Southern University. 

LaShanda Richardson

Greensboro, Site Director

Jennifer McMillan is Horseshoe Farm’s Perry County (Marion and Uniontown, Alabama) Site Director. Jennifer is proud to call Perry County home. She was born and raised in Uniontown and attended high school at Marion Military Institute.  She left Perry County to pursue her studies at Auburn University and later Troy University.  Shortly after completing her studies, she returned home to Marion where she has now lived for more than twenty years.

Jennifer has always had a love of service.  As an undergraduate student she served as a summer counselor with Camp ASCCA.  Providing camping experiences for children and adults living with disabilities through this Easter Seals organization helped shape her lifelong commitment to service to others and her community.  She currently serves on the Perry County Children’s Policy Council, the Board of Main Street Marion and was instrumental in helping Horseshoe Farm to establish and successfully launch its site in Perry County in 2017.  She continues to be actively involved with many community initiatives throughout the region.

Jennifer earned her B.A. in Accounting from Troy University and had a successful career as an accountant for more than 25 years.  Her private practice served individuals, businesses, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. Feeling called to deepen her commitment to service to others and to her community, Jennifer courageously made the transition from her successful accounting career to join Horseshoe Farm as Perry County Site Director.

Jennifer lives in Marion, Alabama with her husband Don and sons Knox and Hardy. They attend St. Wilfrid’s Episcopal Church in Marion, where she serves on the Vestry.

Jennifer McMillan

Perry County, AL Site Director

Nicole Zermeno

Pomona, CA Site Director

Nicole Zermeno is a Southern California native, she was born in Orange County and moved to Riverside at a young age. As a child, she was actively immersed in and engaged with the local community center where she spent most of her days. By participating in different events, she developed strong relationships with the staff members who have been key role models in her life. This orientation towards service and community building led Nicole to continue finding ways to make a difference in the spaces around her, including volunteering at a senior center, lending a helping hand at different soup kitchens in Riverside, and serving as a member of a grantmakers committee. 

Nicole comes to Project Horseshoe Farm with a wealth of experience, having worked with elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the Corona-Norco Unified School District as a peer educator and behavioral therapist over the past five years. She also continued to work in behavioral therapy with a private agency during this time and holds a degree in Early Childhood Studies from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Her interest in Project Horseshoe Farm stemmed from its comprehensive community health mission and various levels of support offered. The organization’s purpose felt very personal as it drew on many of her own experiences and strengths as a therapist in helping people move forward when they may be struggling. “It has always been my calling to be in this kind of position because working closely with people is what I would like to do forever,” she says. “If a younger me were to imagine where I would be now, I would have said a place like Project Horseshoe Farm.”

When thinking about her goals as Site Director, Nicole says she hopes to become a stronger leader in the community and is excited by the opportunity to learn alongside all the Fellows. She is interested in gaining more experience in non-profit capacity building, with the intention of pursuing a master’s degree and maybe even starting her own community-based non-profit one day. “Even though the Pomona site was started in 2020, it has already made an impact on so many people. Despite the challenges of launching during COVID-19, we are thankful that the site has thrived and we have built so many relationships throughout the community. Everyone in Pomona is so friendly and so united in their commitment to helping others out and contributing to the strength of the community. It has been wonderful and motivating to see and be a part of.”