Francess “Myrph” McMahon – Founder and Director, since September 28, 2016. Francess had been the owner/operator of Myrph’s Dog Training since 2007. She has been a professional dog trainer for 40+ years. She has 10+ years of experience as a direct service provider, working with people who struggle with a mental health disability as a service coordinator and family support services counselor. Francess is a professional member of International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), and the Southern Tier Regional Tester/Observer for Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD), a respected national therapy dog registration agency. The dovetailing of her two professional backgrounds makes her uniquely qualified to navigate the process of teaching veterans who have a service-related mental health disability to train their own service dogs. Francess’s father was a decorated WWII Combat Veteran, and her late husband was also a veteran.
For the past several years I’ve been receiving inquiries from veterans who are reaching out for help in training their own dogs to become their service dogs. They’re discouraged by the wait times, often many years, to obtain a trained service dog. Some of them already have a dog who might become an excellent service dog. Most of them do not have the financial resources to enroll in a training program. The need is great. The goal is admirable. Moving toward this goal will be uplifting.
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Meghan Jensen, Ph.D. - Director
of Operations since February 2023. Fundraising Director, Grant Writer, and
Scientific Advisory since March 2018. Meghan holds
multiple degrees in biology and wildlife/animal sciences. She is experienced in
writing grant proposals and has successfully secured funding in both the
non-profit and academic sectors. She has volunteered for 15+
years at various animal-focused non-profit organizations and assisted with
coordinating and organizing outreach and fundraising events for these
organizations. She has extensive training in applying the
scientific method and analyzing large datasets, and this experience comes with
proficiency in computer/tech skills. These skills are valuable as we monitor
and evaluate the Stand With Me program to improve over time, and as we work to
increase technical and process-related efficiency across the organization to
optimize our service to veterans and their families. Meghan also
has extensive knowledge of canine health and genetics, a field in which
she did research for 5 years. She's also a skilled hobbyist animal
trainer; she and her black Labrador, Zuko, became a registered therapy dog team
through ATD in 2017. Her brother is currently serving in the United States Air
Force.
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Chris Root, Esq - Board Member since 28 September 2016; President as of September 2017.
*All board member terms are currently for 3 years and board members are eligible for re-election at the end of each term.Chris joined the Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York as an attorney in August 2022. Prior to this, he was a partner at Tully Rinckey Law Firm from 2019 – 2022. He served as the First Assistant County Attorney for Tioga County for 20 years, from 1999 until spring of 2019. Prior to his work with Tioga County, Chris was DSS Counsel for Tompkins County and he started his career with Broome County Legal Aid in 1991. He was the incorporator and served on the first board of directors for the Front Street Dog Shelter Alliance, the fundraising arm of the Broome County Dog Shelter. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Tier Hockey Association and held various administrative positions. He has served on the Board of Directors for Legal Aid and held officer positions, served on the board of directors and served as volunteer legal counsel for the Tioga County Boy's and Girl's Club. Chris is also a founder and board member of Ren’s Therapy Great Danes, Inc.
Charles Fish, SFC, E7, Retired, Army & National Guard - Board Member, Veteran Advisor since April 2017, Vice President since September 2018. Charlie has over 20 years’ service combined in the Regular Army and National Guard. He served in Iraq for one year as a member of the National Guard and served as a First Responder to the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan as a member of the National Guard. He responded to multiple emergencies across the state including Hurricane Sandy, and many ice storms and floods as a member of the National Guard. His role on the Stand With Me Board is to offer guidance on matters of military and veteran perspective for the organization’s leaders in their decision making process in regards to serving the veterans in our program. Charlie is currently employed as a tractor trailer drive at UPS.
Anna Addonisio, MBA, CPA - Board Member since April 6, 2023. Treasurer as of June 2023.
Anna has over 30 years’ experience in the fields of finance, higher education administration, and corporate leadership. She is currently the Chief Financial Officer for the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to her current role, she served for over 20 years in leadership roles within the State University of New York (SUNY) system. She was most recently the Vice President of Finance and Administration at SUNY Cortland. She also worked as Associate Vice Provost at SUNY Binghamton. Anna earned her bachelor's degree in accounting and her MBA from Binghamton University and has been a certified public accountant since 1993. Before joining the Stand With Me board, Anna volunteered for 3 years as the Stand With Me bookkeeper and helped implement processes to improve the organization's financial tracking and health. Anna’s extensive experience in finance and leadership is an invaluable asset to the Stand With Me organization and helps ensure that we are compliant and transparent regarding all financial matters at the state and federal level. Anna is a rescue animal lover and proud supporter of veterans and the military.
Kathryn Motsko OTR/L - Board Member since December 5, 2019, Secretary & Social Media Coordinator as of February 2020. Katie is a pediatric occupational therapist in the Broome County area servicing children ages 0-5 years. Prior to coming back to Broome County, Katie worked as a travel OT in different locations working with primarily adults. Many of these adults were veterans and Katie witnessed some of their struggles with PTSD alongside physical ailments. Katie has a deeply personal connection to the military as her significant other, Capt Samuel Phillips, passed away on 3 April 2018 due to a military helicopter training accident. Katie is also a dog trainer in the area, who volunteers dog training time for Stand With Me as needed, as well as managing Stand With Me’s social media presence. Katie currently has two dogs of her own, both rescue mutts named Maya and Rustie.
Constance Studgeon, LCSW-R; BCD - Board Member, Mental Health Advisor since November 2018. Connie is employed as a readjustment Counselor at the Binghamton Vet Center. She received her undergraduate education at Syracuse University with dual degrees in social work and psychology and obtained her MSW through Howard University. She has been a licensed practicing social worker for over 43 years. She holds the prestigious title of BCD (Board Certified Diplomat, the highest social work credential). Connie’s career in mental health services is long and varied including extensive experience working with families, bereavement counseling, and crisis intervention. For the past 20 years, she has been treating veterans who struggle with chronic and multifaceted PTSD symptoms. Connie was inspired to join our Stand With Me board after witnessing the positive impact that our service-dog team training program has had with some of her current veteran clients.
COL Benjamin W. Margolius, USA-Retired - Board Member, Colonel Margolius was born in Norfolk, VA and earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC and Masters Degree in Management from Webster University, St. Louis, MO. After completion of his ROTC training, he was commissioned an Army Second Lieutenant and entered active duty in the Transportation Corps in 1963. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College Extension Course, and the Marine Corps Instructor Technology School. In addition to serving as the Chief of Joint Operations for the U.S. Transportation Command, he held important staff, leadership, and command positions in the fields of transportation management, operations, logistics, and war planning in Korea, Germany, Okinawa, Vietnam, The Netherlands, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Kansas, and Illinois. He served in three unified commands (USCENTCOM, USEUCOM, and USTRANSCOM). Following his military retirement in 1991, he was at different times a senior logistics engineer, senior systems analyst, deputy program manager, and trained Six Sigma Black Belt for CEXEC, IBM Federal Systems, and Loral Corporations, and he retired from Lockheed Martin in 2004. A former resident of Brackney PA, he currently lives in Vestal NY with his wife Sue. They have two sons, one in Vestal and one in Kansas. Colonel Margolius’ awards include medals for Defense Superior Service (w/1-Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star (w/1-OLC), Defense Meritorious Service, Army Meritorious Service (w/1-OLC), Joint Service Commendation (w/1-OLC), Army Commendation (w/3-OLC), Navy Achievement, National Defense Service (w/1-OLC), Vietnam Service (w/4 campaign stars), Korea Defense Service, and Army Overseas Service (w/5 tours). He is a Past President of the New York Council, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) with eight chapters in New York, Vice President of MOAA’s Southern Tier Chapter, President of the Southern Tier Veterans Support Group (STVSG), President of the Macintosh Southern Tier Apple Club (MacSTAC), and Deacon Moderator for the Silver Lake Christian Community Church (Brackney PA). He is a life member of MOAA, the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and the Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW). He is also a member of the American Legion Post 1645 (Binghamton NY).
Rebecca Roden - Board Member, Advisor on Veteran Perspective since 3 December 2020. Rebecca and her service dog, Ruger, a German Shepherd Dog, graduated the Stand with Me program, after 19 months of training in August of 2019. She will give a unique perspective of not only a veteran, but also a graduate of the program. Rebecca served in the United State Navy from August of 1994 through October of 1997. Rebecca has an associate’s degree in human services, from Broome Community College. She has been a volunteer firefighter for 20+ years and is currently a member of the Southside Fire Company and a NYS Emergency Medical Technician with the Owego Volunteer Emergency Squad. Rebecca was also the past EMS Coordinator for the Tioga County Office of Emergency Services. She has been a dog owner since childhood, but never knew a stronger bond than the one she has achieved with her service dog, Ruger. Her hope is to help other veterans achieve this with their own service dogs.
Carol Motsko, RN, BSN - Board Member since 5th December 2019, Fundraising assistant and event volunteer.
Carol is a graduate of Duke University School of Nursing where she was awarded her BSN degree. Carol is now retired after working 40 years as an RN for United Health Services. Her years in the Emergency Department at UHS provided her with much experience working with people who struggle with mental health related episodes, and experience dealing with crisis of all types. Her last years at UHS were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Carol has engaged in competitive dog training as a hobby and has owned exceptionally well-behaved pet dogs for almost 40 years. She currently has 3 dogs, two of which are Golden Retrievers, both Certified Therapy Dogs with ATD. Caring for those in need has been Carol's life’s work. She firmly believes in the ability of dogs to provide a valuable support to veterans suffering from mental health disorders who have given so much for our country.
Jaime Root, BS - Board Member since January 2017. Jaime previously worked in several capacities for the Crime Victims Assistance Center including Family Court Liaison, Social Work Assistant, and Crisis Counselor/Advocate. Jaime has a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from Excelsior College in Albany, NY. Jaime and her Great Danes Ollie and Poppy are registered therapy dog through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD). She also operates a dog-breeding business, Ren's Danes, and is one of Stand With Me’s volunteer service dog testers.
Barbara Westbrook Scarlett, Esq. – Board Member since April 2023. Barbara has been practicing law in New York State since 1987 with a primary focus in education and law. She is a graduate of SUNY Albany (B.A. 1983) and Western New England College School of Law (J.D. 1986). She retired as Counsel for SUNY Binghamton in 2021. Prior to her 22 years at Binghamton, she was Acting Corporation Counsel for the City of Binghamton and a Senior Assistant County Attorney for Broome County. She serves on the Broome County Nursing Home Advisory Board and is a Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension Broome County.
Susan M BeGasse RN, MSN, FNP-BC, Retired – Board member since August 2023. Susan spent over 45 years working in the health care field. She started her career as a critical care RN in 1972 and became a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2001. She was a primary care provider for 20 years, worked as a clinical Associate for Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, was the coordinator of the Lourdes Breast Care Center and the coordinator of the Breast Care Center of Delta Medix. She has extensive experience serving on non-profit boards including the American Cancer Society (both in Broome County and Lackawanna County) and Planned Parenthood. She is a proud member of a military family. Both her father and brother are retired colonels of the U.S. Army. Susan also does volunteer therapy dog work in our community. As a lifelong dog partner, Susan believes Stand With Me provides a powerful tool to assist our service veterans and is honored to support our organization.
Board meeting notice
The Stand With Me Board of Directors meets virtually
every other month on the first Thursday, typically at 6:30pm. Our board
meetings are open to the public and interested members of the community are
welcome to attend. If you'd like to attend one or more of our board meetings
please send us an email at info@standwithmeorg.com
and we will include you on the invite list.
STAND WITH ME, a 501(c)3 not for profit organization, has been formed to provide veterans with the schooling and assistance they need to train their own service dogs. STAND WITH ME does not discriminate regarding race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or diagnosis.