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HOME >> ABOUT US >> BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Robbie Thomas
Founder and President
“We cannot control what
happens to us or which circumstances come our way, but we can
control how we respond and what we do with the experience.”
I never thought it
would happen to me. The words, “I’m sorry. Its cancer.” spoken by
my doctor cut to the core of my being. Friends and family rushed to
my side and carried me along emotionally, financially and
spiritually.
During the many months
to come after my diagnosis and surgery and all that accompanies the
healing process, I learned my biggest lesson…TO LET GO. Due to the
cancer, I would no longer be able to have children but I learned TO
LET GO of the pain which accompanied this realization and to allow
God to replace the pain with His new dream for me and His love.
There is Freedom
in letting go. You become more alive, more attuned to life and more
grateful for each and every moment given. I am working alongside a
group of women who are not just Board Members, but are women who
have stood beside family and friends as they battled through their
personal fight with this disease. Each one of us knows intimately
the challenges involved with this diagnosis and together we are
committed to making a difference in the lives of the women, men and
children we serve.
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Lisa Agbalaya
Born and raised in
Southern California, the entertainment capital of the world,
Lisa was no stranger to this industry. She enjoyed a
successful modeling career which placed her on runways for
top designers around the world. In addition she worked with
top celebrities managing and promoting their West Coast
offices. It was during this time she met and married the man
of her dreams and had four children.
In each person
life joy and tragedy co-exit. Suddenly, without warning, her
best friend was struck with cancer. It was one of the most
horrifying experiences of her life.
"I had to watch
while my best friend lost many of her dreams, her health and
the ability to have children, her livelihood and almost her
life".
This experience
left her with a strong desire to help other women maintain
their dignity and their home while fighting for their lives.
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Michelle Hines
As a child, this
San Diego native longed to become the next Joan Embry and
work at the world famous San Diego Zoo. After earning her
degree in Liberal Arts, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue
another one of her passions, the entertainment industry.
Michelle combined her love for show biz with her natural
affinity for children. She began working as a Talent
Representative helping families with show biz aspirations.
Michelle's love
for animals grew stronger over the years. She wanted to get
her 30-pound Tabby Cat named Ross into a movie. What she
found out was that the average household pet is rarely given
an opportunity to be in the movies. Michelle combined her
entertainment experience with her passion for pets and
expanded her business. She ultimately wants to have a path
pet dogs to become actors, and is on the crusade to open up
the entertainment business to family pets. Michelle and her
business partner Stuart have built Le PAWS into Hollywood's
most recognizable talent agency for dogs.
After watching
many of her female friends struggle with life threatening
illnesses and almost lose everything, she felt drawn to
their cause. Michelle believes strongly in women's charities
and her close friendship with Maiden Flight's President/CEO
has presented an opportunity for her to channel her time,
energy and talent.
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Nathalie Dufresne-Smith
Nathalie Dufresne-Smith
has spent much of the past decade organizing charity events
that bring in stars from the world of music, sports and
film. He passion to improve the lives of the underprivileged
is but one facet of her life.
Born in
Montreal, Canada, Nathalie met and married her husband of
20+ years, Adrian Smith, lead guitarist in the world's
largest heavy rock metal outfit, Iron Maiden. Due to
Nathalie' academic knowledge and expertise in the field of
Entertainment Law, coupled with her music industry
experience, she became Adrian's A&R Representative and
c-managed his career with Sanctuary Management. In addition,
she provided counsel on recording and publishing deals,
booked personal appearances and live performances, which she
then turned into lucrative tour opportunities throughout
Europe.
Nathalie's
workaholic attitude also led her to finding her calling -
charity fundraising - a vocation which beautifully
integrates her social skills and professional drive to
create and implement events that raise hundreds of thousand
s of dollars for needy causes. Her heart lies with the
undeserved and uninsured single women and single parents who
are battling this disease alone. She is committed to
standing alongside the other Maiden Flight board members and
staff to see the organization grow into a true safe haven
for all.
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Sonji Arrington-Shepherd
Journalist major
from Ohio State University, Mrs. Shepherd went on to become
a freelance writer for community-based newspapers up until
she decided to relocate to the West Coast. The mid-west
transplant firmly planted her roots in the Mecca of the
West, "the entertainment industry". She worked for many
years with such companies as DeMann Entertainment and
Maverick Music Group.
Alongside her
writer-director husband, she has served as executive
producer on many independent film projects. Her most
prestigious title to date remains that of wife and mother of
three. Outside of her dedication to her family, her most
rewarding work thus far has been coordinating a youth
program that allows her to nurture not only the individual
growth of the children involved but she is able to help
strengthen the bond between parent and child. It is
primarily this experience that led her to Maiden Flight.
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ADVISORY
BOARD MEMBERS |
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Ayke Agus
www.aykeagus.com
An internationally acclaimed concert violinist and pianist,
Ayke Agus was born in Indonesia of Chinese, Dutch and Javanese descent, began her concert career at the age of 7
on the violin and piano.
She has been known as the last collaborator / accompanist / assistant of 17
years standing for the most world renowned violinist of the
20th century, Jascha Heifetz.
Ayke graduated from USC with a Master’s Degree in Music Performance. She
has performed in concerts with Jascha Heifetz and Gregor
Piatigorsky, the famed Russian Cellist. She served on the
Piano Faculty for 10 years at USC.
Ms. Agus regularly participates in chamber music festivals in the States and
Europe, and her annual concert tours in Europe and Asia
always bring high praise for her recital performances as
both violinist and pianist.
Most recently she was a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane
Letters from Daemen College, in Buffalo New York, after her
commencement address in May of 2007.
A member of the Pasadena Symphony, and the California Philharmonic, she
holds master classes in the States and Europe, in the “Art
of Chamber Music and Collaboration”.
Her book “Heifetz,
As I Knew Him”, published in 2002 by Amadeus Press, is now
in its 4th printing and has been acclaimed as the
most haunting memoirs of a musical legend (according to a
New York Times Journalist).
Ayke teaches at the Pasadena Public High Schools violin as a
mentor volunteer.
Ms. Agus is a recent cancer survivor and since 2006 she has served as a
Music For Healing Volunteer at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los
Angeles, where each patient in their hospital rooms and the
nurses at their stations have access to her music. Upon
meeting Ms Thomas and discussing the challenges single
women/men and single parents have during this battle, Ms. Agus decided to join forces with Maiden Flight and is now an
active member of the Advisory Board of Directors. She
believes that there is strength in numbers and together they
can make a difference.
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Judy Lewis
Founder of the Make-a-Wish
Foundation of Greater Los Angeles
Judy Lewis
enjoyed careers in education, marketing and real estate in
California's San Gabriel Valley before a unique opportunity
[resented itself for her to pursue, a two decade experience
in the non-profit arena.
In 1983 Judy
and her husband learned of fledging organization in Phoenix,
Arizona, called the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The couple was
taken by its mission to fulfilling the wishes of children
with life-threatening illnesses; thee established a chapter
of the organization to serve the children of Los Angeles
County.
Judy served as
President/CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los
Angeles for over 23 years during which time 5000 thousand
wishes were fulfilled to children with life-threatening
illnesses. And hearing of the creation of Maiden Flight her
heart was immediately moved to action by sharing her
knowledge and supporting the Board of Directors, staff and
volunteers as they take on the responsibility of serving the
community in this way.
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Kathy Nosek
Kathy Nosek has been in the
wedding, catering and event planning business for more than
16 years. While at Washington State University studying
Hotel Restaurant Management, Kathy was the University’s
Student Catering Manager before graduating and continuing
her education at the Western Culinary Institute in Portland,
Oregon.
After completing her studies, she was hired as Executive
Chef for An International World of Weddings in Oregon, then
purchased the wedding part of the business a year later,
thus becoming the owner and operator of Carousel Catering.
A family move brought her to Utah in 1998 and she sold the
business in Portland. Immediately Kathy joined Deer Valley
Ski Resort in beautiful Park City, Utah, which has rated as
a top three ski resort in North America for 15 consecutive
years by Ski Magazine - and consistently #1 for Food and
Beverage and Service!
Over the next 6
years she helped plan major events such as The World Cup of
Skiing, The 2002 Winter Olympics, The Sundance Film Festival
and more. Additionally, she contracts coordinates corporate
hospitality for SportsMark Management, and has helped
welcome America’s business leaders to The 2002 Winter
Olympics in Park City, The 2004 Summer Games in Athens and,
most recently, The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, 2006
World Cup Soccer Finals in Germany, 2007 Super Bowl in Miami
and 2007 NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas. Kathy will be
working with SportsMark Management throughout the year as
well as at the Bejing Olympics, in addition to planning
weddings for
a Divine-Occasion.
As fate would
have it, Kathy met Maiden Flight Founder, Robbie Thomas and
her heart was moved to assist the patients and their
children whose lives have been drastically altered due to
this disease. Becoming an Advisory Board Member now holds a
very special place in her heart. She brings her expertise
in the event planning arena to aid Maiden Flight and its
board members as they raise much needed funding and
awareness to this worthy cause. |
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