December 31, 2018 Solvang, California: Angela Tanner was born and raised in southern California. She attended UCLA, studying Psychology and Business, graduating with College Honors, magna cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. Before returning to graduate school, she interned at the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawai’i, conducting behavioral research studying cognition and communication in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. She returned to UCLA for her doctorate to explore the use of brain mapping techniques (specifically functional MRI) to examine the functional and structural topography of the cognitive processes of learning & memory. Her research focused on using fMRI to study the processes and brain areas involved in forgetting.
After earning her doctorate, Angela spent time volunteering and working at Flag Is Up Farms in Solvang, California, taking courses in Join-Up and living on the farm in order to volunteer. Her love of horses and her dedication in supporting nonviolence with animals drew her to a greater involvement by assisting Monty Roberts on a US tour, Equitana in Germany, and a European tour as merchandise manager.
Angela’s work and experiences in the field of neuroscience and across the species she has studied have fueled in her an enduring passion for creating educational experiences that prioritize respect for the individual to optimize learning. In 2013, she opened The Knox School of Santa Barbara, a school dedicated to gifted and talented children, grades K-8. The Knox School’s guiding philosophy comes from the idea that learning is optimized when (1) the individual feels safe, appreciated, and supported, (2) when the environment recognizes and respects both gifts and differences, and (3) when the curriculum is relevant and meaningful.
She continues as Executive Director of the School, working both to ensure adherence to the mission of The Knox School, as well as communicating approaches and strategies nationally at conferences. In 2018, she co-authored a chapter in “Specialized Schools for High-Ability Learners”.
She joins the Join-Up International Board of Directors after attending a program to benefit the non-profit Join-Up International. The Monty Roberts’ Horse Sense & Healing program is a resilience-building workshop for veterans, police, fire, first responders and their families. The three-day program involves working closely with horses. The individuals and horses develop a special bond built upon mutual trust and respect. Join-Up offers everyone an effective tool to rediscover themselves through the eyes of the horse. This self-awareness exercise deals effectively with emotional trauma, anti-social behavior and withdrawal, anger, stress, combat stress and even Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI).
Join-Up International, Inc is dedicated to promoting gentle, more effective alternatives to violence and force through educational courses and programs that impart Monty Roberts’ concepts of non-violent, trust-building communication. Horses are used as examples and vehicles for this learning process. It is Join-Up International’s intention to leave this world a better place for both horses and humans.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Debbie Loucks
Monty and Pat Roberts, Inc./Join-Up® International
(949) 632-1856
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MONTY ROBERTS AVAILABLE FOR SELECT INTERVIEWS:
The New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned horse trainer Monty Roberts is available for interviews.
MONTY ROBERTS first gained widespread fame with the release of his New York Times Best Selling book, The Man Who Listens To Horses; a chronicle of his life and development of his non-violent horse training methods called Join-Up®. Monty grew up on a working horse farm as a firsthand witness to traditional, often violent methods of horse training and breaking the spirit with an abusive hand. Rejecting that, he went on to win nine world’s championships in the show ring. Today, Monty’s goal is to share his message that “Violence is never the answer.” Roberts has been encouraged by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the award of the Membership in The Royal Victorian Order, as well as becoming Patron of Join-Up International. Other honors received were the ASPCA “Founders” award and the MSPCA George T. Angell Humanitarian Award and FEI’s Man of the Year. Monty was recently included as Horse and Hound Magazine’s Top 50 Horsemen of All Time. Monty is credited with launching the first of its kind Equus Online University; an interactive online lesson site that is the definitive learning tool for violence-free training.
JOIN-UP philosophies can be seen at work with both humans and horses across the world, from farms to major corporations. To learn more about Monty Roberts or the many applications of his Join-Up training methods, visit www.montyroberts.com . Horse Sense and Soldiers aired on Discovery Military highlighting the therapeutic effect that horses and Monty Roberts’ Join-Up® have on PTSD.
Photos and Infographic available upon request.
