Non-Profit Founded by Monty Roberts, Famed Man Who Listens to Horses, Gets Underway

Santa Ynez, CA (May 23), 2005 – Join-Up International, a non-profit organization founded by world-renowned horseman Monty Roberts and dedicated to promoting gentle, more effective alternatives to violence and force in both equine and human relationships, announced today the appointment of its new nine member Board of Directors. The Board, comprised of local and national leaders, includes; Marsha St. Clair (Chair), Pat Roberts, (Vice Chair), Lee Rosenberg (Treasurer), Ken Johnson (Secretary), and Board Members Barbara Allen, Wayne Coffey, Cecily Considine, Suzi Trubitz, and Kathleen Wigle.

“What an outstanding team of people we have put together!” Monty Roberts said. “The cumulative experience of this exceptional group provides us with the foundation we’ve been seeking to achieve our vision; to share methods of violence-free horsemanship with students worldwide, and to show that these same principles apply to people too. These students will learn that violence and coercion are never the answer, whether with children, spouses, friends, co-workers, or employees. I foresee great things are on the horizon!”

Located in Solvang, California, Join-Up International underwrites and operates the Monty Roberts Equestrian Academy providing education in equine behavior, training, and communication to approximately 400 students per year. To date, Join-Up International has raised over $54,000 in donations towards their $200,000 goal. The financing will be used toward student stipends, financial aid for Certified Instructors in training, and underwriting various programs for Girl Scouts, national riding clubs, at-risk youth and children with learning disabilities, to name a few.

What began as a center for making the world a better place for horses has evolved to a place where people benefit every bit as much as the horses. “The board’s challenge is to act as a guide for the Academy and to continue to obtain funding for the promotion of the Join-Up principles of cooperation through non-violent, trust building communication for the education not only of equine students, but troubled children and all people in need,” said Board Chair Marsha St. Clair. “The concepts and techniques utilized by Join-Up practitioners can reach and help abused women and children (and their abusers), autistic children, foster families, prison inmates and other people in need of trust-building, non-violent tools for daily life.”

Board of Directors’ Biographies:

Chair: Marsha St. Clair of Santa Barbara California
Ms. St. Clair is the former President and Portfolio Manager of the Southgate Trust Company, and Chairman of the Board of the Southgate Banking Corporation. Ms. St. Clair’s civic activities include having been a member of the Kansas City Crime Commission, the Kansas City Symphony, the ALS Society, the Arthritis Foundation, a Board Member of Girls, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Chair of the 100 Committee (Girl’s Inc.) luncheon, and Chair of the President’s Ball for the International World Polo Championships. She is currently a Board Member of the Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and Committee member for the Amethyst Ball. She was also Chair of the original Steering Committee for the creation of the Monty Roberts International Learning Center.

Vice Chair: Pat Roberts of Solvang, California
Mrs. Roberts is an accomplished horsewoman, renowned equine sculptress, and wife to internationally renowned equine behaviorist Monty Roberts. She has traveled around the globe supporting Mr. Roberts’ work and assertion that violence is never the answer. In addition to raising three biological children and countless horses, Mrs. Roberts with her husband Monty, have also served as foster parents to 47 children.

Treasurer: Lee Rosenberg of Los Olivos, California
Mr. Rosenberg is a founding partner with Adams, Ray & Rosenberg, the largest and most successful literary agency in Hollywood. He is currently President of Telerex Partners. Mr. Rosenberg is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is a founding board member of Steven Speilberg’s Starlight/Starbright Foundation and Chief Executive of Starbright World International Network. Mr. Rosenberg is a co-founder of the Rockridge Institute for Progressive Policy Research, a member of The United States Air Force Public Affairs Liaison Board and a board member of g-NET Corporation. He was recently elected to the boards of the Santa Ynez Valley Equestrian Association, Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, and TheatreFest. Mr. Rosenberg served on the State Strategic Committee On Terrorism.

Secretary: Ken Johnson of Santa Ynez, California
Mr. Johnson is a career newspaperman who has owned and edited 19 newspapers including the Santa Ynez Valley News and the Cleveland Press. He currently owns the Grand Junction Colorado Free Press and Redstone Press, a book publishing company. Mr. Johnson has been a member of the Colorado Environmental Commission, chairman of the Colorado Rural Development Commission, a volunteer in civic betterment organizations, and is active in newspaper industry organizations. He has been active with Arabian horses for over 30 years and developed two magazines, Arabian Horse Journal, and Horse Illustrated. Mr. Johnson has pledged matching grants to Join-Up International.

Board Member: Barbara J. Allen, DVM, MBA, PharmD of Thousand Oaks, California
Ms. Allen is a Senior Manager in the Oncology Medical Research group in Medical Affairs at Amgen Inc. She earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University, and a Masters of Business Administration from California State University Dominguez Hills. She also earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Southern California and completed a pharmacy residency at Kaiser Permanente, West Los Angeles California. Dr. Allen worked for many years as a small animal veterinarian in southern California. After completing her doctor of pharmacy degree and pharmacy residency, Dr. Allen joined Amgen, a biotech pharmaceutical company working on Amgen oncology clinical trials. Currently, Dr. Allen is coordinating Amgen clinical trials with the National Cancer Institute oncology cooperative groups. Together, Dr. Allen and Amgen have provided financial assistance to one veterinary student to attend Monty Roberts Equestrian Academy and additional assistance is planned for the future.

Board Member: Wayne Coffey of Baltimore, Maryland
Mr. Coffey is President of Coffey & Company, Inc., an insurance business. He has nearly twenty years of professional experience in the insurance industry, but began his working life as the manager of a farm focused on breeding shorthorn beef cattle in order to enhance the breed in the United States. Wayne was the President of the Maryland Shorthorn Association and served as a Director for the Eastern National Livestock Association. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for Bay National Bank and Casey Cares Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of critically ill children and their families.

Board Member: Cecily Considine of Waleska, Georgia
Ms. Considine is the CEO of Model Master, preeminent innovator of CAD/CAM systems for the jewelry industry, supplying a network of distributors in Europe, Asia, Hong Kong, and South America. Cecily is a horse owner, an avid horsewoman, and a student of Monty Roberts’ Join-Up method.

Board Member: Suzi Trubitz of Santa Ynez, California
Mrs. Trubitz was born in New York. She attended Parsons School of Design and worked as a Madison Avenue art director before moving to Virginia, the west coast of Florida, and finally to California, where she is an accomplished sculptor. Suzi Trubitz’s Serendipity Studio is in Santa Ynez, California. In addition to numerous corporate and private collections in the United States, Europe, and Israel, her works have been seen in movies and TV. They are on display at her studio and at the Sylvia White Gallery in Los Angeles.

Board Member: Kathleen Wigle of Carpinteria, California
As a teacher, mother and lifelong horsewoman, Mrs. Wigle, has always maintained a love of learning, the art of teaching and trying to find better ways to communicate with animals and people of all ages. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, and a Master’s Degree in Special Education, specializing in Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities, the Emotionally Disturbed, A.D.D. and Autism. Kathleen has been co-owner of a photography studio, a Real Estate agent and owner of Santa Barbara Gift Baskets. She also created and opened a non-profit school, called Countryside, for families who were interested in home schooling.

ABOUT JOIN-UP INTERNATIONAL
Join-Up International is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting gentle, more effective alternatives to violence and force in both equine and human relationships. Inspired by the concepts of world-renowned horse gentler and best-selling author Monty Roberts, the organization seeks to educate and train people throughout the world on Join-Up® principles. The foundation also provides support to those in need of trust-building, non-violent tools for daily living. To learn more about Join-Up International or Join-Up principles, visit www.join-up.org

ABOUT MONTY ROBERTS
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. Today, Monty’s goal is to share his message that “Violence is never the answer.” 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, call (805) 688 – 6288.

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Press Contact: Allison Mahan
(858) 603 – 1681