Meet the Founders

Dr. Lawrence & Coach QueenKelli Droughn
Licensee/Owners • State Administrators • Direct Support Professionals

We are an ordinary couple with an extraordinary love for people, animals, and the transformative power of connection. For nearly 20 years, we have served individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through hands-on care, leadership, advocacy, and support.

Hope At The Ranch Life Enhancement Center grew naturally from that experience—and from our own family.

Over the years, we witnessed firsthand how animals can create opportunities for connection, confidence, responsibility, and growth. What began with something as simple as introducing a dog into our residential program opened our eyes to something much bigger. We watched individuals become more engaged, connected, and confident.

That understanding became even more personal through experiences within our own family. When our granddaughter began interacting with horses, we watched her confidence grow—and then saw that same courage begin showing up in other areas of her life.

That was confirmation for us: there was something powerful happening at the intersection of people, animals, purpose, and environment.

And Hope At The Ranch was created to make room for more of those moments.

Today, we use our years of experience in developmental services, coaching, mentorship, caregiving, and ranch life to create person-centered, community-based experiences where individuals can learn, grow, connect, and actively participate in life.

Through animals, horses, nature, mentorship, ranch responsibilities, life-skills development, vocational exploration, and community integration, participants have opportunities to strengthen communication, confidence, responsibility, emotional regulation, independence, social connection, and vocational readiness.

Our heart extends beyond any one population. We welcome individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism, children and youth, caregivers and families, foster/resource families, couples, veterans and active-duty military, ministry groups, schools, and community organizations.

For individuals receiving developmental-disability services, our programs are designed around person-centered principles that promote choice, autonomy, community participation, meaningful relationships, and purposeful daily living.

For us, this isn't simply a program or a place to visit. It's personal.

Hope At The Ranch represents years of caring for people, raising a family, overcoming challenges, serving our community, and seeing what can happen when someone is given the right environment, encouragement, experiences, and opportunity to grow.

Our desire is simple:

To bring Help, Hope & Healing to hurting people—and create a place where people can discover that there is still more possible for their lives.

People. Animals. Purpose. Hope.

Serving with experience. Leading with heart. Creating opportunities for lives to be transformed.

Dr. Lawrence & Coach QueenKelli Droughn
Hope At The Ranch Life Enhancement Center
[email protected] | (951) 394-3434