Meet Our Directors
Kathleen Prasad
SARA President – San Rafael, California
Kathleen Prasad is founder of Animal Reiki Source and president/co-founder of the Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA). A Reiki practitioner for over 22 years, Kathleen Prasad teaches and shares the healing benefits of Reiki meditation for animals and their caregivers. Kathleen has created the Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki, based on traditional Japanese Reiki meditations and specific techniques to build trusting, respectful relationships with animals. This method represents the world’s first specialized, extensive and professional curriculum in Animal Reiki and meditating with animals for healing.
Leah D’Ambrosio
SARA Vice President – Portland, Oregon
Leah D’Ambrosio is a meditation teacher, animal advocate, and co-founder of the Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA), a global nonprofit dedicated to supporting animals and their caregivers through the Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki. Since launching in 2008 with just 28 members, SARA has grown into a worldwide community of over 400 practitioners who have helped thousands of animals through meditation, volunteer hours, and charitable giving—contributing nearly $1 million to shelters and sanctuaries.
Leah has been teaching Animal Reiki for over 17 years and is a Let Animals Lead® Teacher of Excellence and certified Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher. She has taught at organizations such as the Humane Society Silicon Valley, The CARE Foundation, Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary, Keepers of the Wild, and Pregnant Mare Rescue. Her approach empowers people to build peaceful, healing relationships with animals, both domestic and wild. Leah donates 25% of her class fees to animal welfare organizations and lives in Portland, Oregon with her two dogs, Nica and Shrek.
Kelly McDermott-Burns
SARA East Coast Operations Director – Vermont
Since 2004, Kelly McDermott-Burns of HeartSong Reiki and HeartSong for Animals has been bringing heart-centered healing to people and animals in central Vermont and around the northeast. Kelly has trained in the Let Animals Lead® Method of Animal Reiki with Kathleen Prasad and is a Certified Online Teacher and a Teacher of Excellence. Kelly has also trained with Frans Stiene of the International House of Reiki and Hyakuten Inamoto of Komyo Reiki do. She is a certified End of Life Care for Companion Animals Doula and a certified Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher. In addition to volunteering Reiki at Rutland County Humane Society, Kelly has taught the Let Animals Lead® Method at many shelters in the Northeast.
Alison McKinnon
SARA International Operations Director – Glasgow, Scotland
Alison McKinnon is the SARA International Operations Director and member of the Board. She has studied animal Reiki for the past few years with Kathleen Prasad. Alison had practiced Reiki before studying with Kathleen but found the results with Kathleen’s techniques were instant. She is very proud to be able to pass those techniques on to her students. Alison has many years experience in the field of complementary healthcare and natural therapy including aromatherapy. Her experiences working with essential oils led her to explore other subtle healing systems and energy work including Reiki. Her own animal family always benefited from her therapies, but in 2002, she decided to begin offering therapies for animals on a wider scale and set up a business to offer holistic healing to pets which led her to become involved with The Tree of Life for Animals (Tolfa) in India several years ago. Alison has taught the Tolfa staff and volunteers Animal Reiki. We are proud to say Tolfa as an official SARA shelter. Alison offers classes and retreats in the UK, India and Egypt. Alison lives in College Milto, East Kilbride, Scotland where she offers in person and distant Animal Reiki.