CIRCLE OF DISCIPLINE, INC. BOARD MEMBERS

Jeanne Montrese

Ms. Montrese worked for the Department of Justice (FBI, USAO and EOUSA) in Minneapolis, MN and Washington DC for over 20 years. She is currently employed by the Department of Defense, Special IG for Iraq Reconstruction. Ms. Montrese has a lifelong commitment of working with youth at Bernadette’s Teen Club, St. Joseph’s Home for Children, Hennepin County Foster Care and as well as the Circle of Discipline, Inc. and the Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School in Washington, DC.

Elba Arroyo

Ms. Arroyo has worked as a special education teacher for five years with experience in the New York Public Schools and Osseo Area Schools. She currently teaches students with emotional and behavioral disorders in Brooklyn Park. Prior to teaching Ms. Arroyo worked in the non-profit sector as a program assistant and advocate for agencies like the International Longevity Center in New York City and ARC Greater Twin Cities in St. Paul. She has valuable experience working with youth and has been a volunteer for the Circle of Discipline for three years.

David Grant

Mr. Grant is a professional screenwriter and playwright who also writes short fiction, non-fiction, and occasionally teaches screenwriting. His work has graced a number of Twin Cities stages, and as a screenwriter, he has written for Twin Cities Public Television, Russell Simmon's Def Pictures, the Showtime Network, and HBO, among others. Mr. Grant has also made a lifetime avocation of activism on behalf of young people: as a student activist and teacher in Philadelphia, PA; as a pre-school founder and teacher/director; as an advocate for childcare workers at Greater Minneapolis Daycare Association; as a coordinator of drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs at African American Family Services in Minneapolis, and as a longtime volunteer with the Circle of Discipline.

Eugene Rich

Mr. Rich has been an active supporter of the Circle of Discipline since shortly after its inception in 1993. He has been one of our faithful and trusted volunteers, involving himself as coach/trainer, mentor, and now as a board member. He continues to volunteer at many of our tournaments and events. Mr. Rich recently retired from The Star & Tribune after 31 years of service.

Maureeka Mason

Ms. Mason was selected as the Youth Representative for the Board of Directors. She is a recent graduate of Southwest High School and plans to attend Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Initially she came to the Circle to work-out and get into shape but later decided she wanted to join the boxing program.

Gordon Marino

Dr. Marino is professor of philosophy and Director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Professor Marino took his doctorate from the Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago. Before coming to St. Olaf in 1995, he taught at Harvard, Yale, and Virginia Military Institute.

A recipient of the Richard J. Davis Ethics Awards for excellence in writing on ethics and the law, Marino is the author of Kierkegaard in the Present Age, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard, and editor of Modern Library’s Basic Writings of Existentialism and Ethics: The Essential Writings. In addition to his scholarly publications, Marino’s essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, and many other national publications.

A former boxer, Dr. Marino has been a USA Boxing coach since 1995. He was head coach of boxing at Virginia Military Institute and currently trains both amateurs and professionals. He is also the boxing writer for the Wall Street Journal.

Donna “ DeDe” Sandberg

Ms. Sandberg, a single mother of two teenagers is a native of Minneapolis, MN. She has over twenty years of experience working with children with disabilities and was a past participant of the Circle of Discipline programs. She has always been committed to helping inner city youth with their needs, whether it is physical, mental or spiritual.

De De works fulltime at Regions Hospital as a Laboratory Service Technician while pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Minnesota, with plans to seek a career in Health and Human Services upon graduation.

Vicki L. Rich

Ms. Rich was a fan of the Circle of Discipline’s boxing program before she joined the board of directors in October 2010. She is employed at Eaton Corporation since 2005 as the north central district administrator in their electrical sales sector. She also works at a local group home for mentally ill and/or developmentally disabled adults. Prior to Eaton , Ms. Rich worked in business management and for-profit and non-profit accounting in Minnesota , Iowa , and Indiana. She has also served on various boards and committees over the years for substance abuse programs, ex-offender programs, and battered women’s shelters.