About Us

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Gary Adler, Director, President & CEO

Gary Adler graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Wharton School of Business in 1981 with a B.S. in Economics. He subsequently obtained his J.D. from the U.S.C. Gould School of Law in 1984 and was a private practice attorney for approximately twenty years in Los Angeles specializing in real estate transactional matters as well as employment litigation matters. Mr. Adler maintains an active status in good standing with the State Bar of California.

Mr. Adler formally joined Pegasus effective as of June 1, 2009 and he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of The Pegasus Rising Project. He firmly believes that, as President & CEO of Pegasus, he must lead by example and have a direct, hands on understanding of all facets of The Pegasus Rising Project — especially the equine based aspects. In this regard, Mr. Adler began riding horses around the age of seven and his family owned and cared for their own horses for many years of his life. Mr. Adler is a Volunteer Horse Caregiver, helping feed and care for the herd on a weekly basis, and he is also active in the Horse Interaction Program (HIP).

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Mr. Adler is charged with the primary responsibility of recruiting new board members, officers and business advisors with expertise in the disciplines of accounting, finance, clinical psychology, marketing, fundraising, website design and search engine optimization (SEO), graphic design and grant writing. In addition, he is charged with the duty of assembling a team of qualified equine and mental health professionals in order to provide for the well being of the herd and to develop and implement Pegasus’ Equine Assisted Experiential Health Therapy (EAT) programs so that Pegasus can successfully complete its mission to partner horses and humans for healing.

Mr. Adler also acts as the lead person in establishing and maintaining business connections both locally in Southern California and throughout the United States for both fundraising and community awareness purposes. In short, Mr. Adler is the point person for developing and implementing a sound and prudent business plan for the long term success of Pegasus.

Mr. Adler encourages anyone who has any questions or suggestions for Pegasus to email him at: gadler@pegasusrising.org.

Margaret Barr, Director

Margaret Barr graduated with honors from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1984 and subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 1992. Dr. Barr is currently a professor at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, located in Pomona, California, where she teaches and performs research funded by various private and governmental grants. Dr. Barr is a Volunteer Horse Caregiver and takes the lead in assisting Pegasus in its grant applications. Dr. Barr is also the primary liaison between Pegasus and Western University assuring ongoing veterinary care for our herd via Western University’s veterinary students. Dr. Barr formally joined the Board of Directors effective as of August 21, 2010.

Jack Flaherty, Director

Jack Flaherty graduated from Marist College in 1997 with a B.S. in Business Administration. He subsequently obtained his MBA from Pepperdine University in 2000 and worked as a senior manager for the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche for approximately eight years specializing in Audit and Enterprise Risk Services.

Mr. Flaherty is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and is also Certified in the Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (CGEIT). Mr. Flaherty has extensive risk management experience designing, implementing and evaluating clients’ business processes and internals relating to accounting, finance and general computer controls.

Mr. Flaherty formally joined the Board of Directors effective as of September 1, 2009 and he advises Pegasus on accounting and financial matters, including without limitation the design and structure of its accounting systems.

Cynthia Royal, Founder 

Cynthia Royal founded Pegasus in the fall of 2008. Ms. Royal has spent the majority of her life working with horses and is a professional trainer with over forty years experience.

From the age of two, Ms. Royal was mentored by a close friend of the family, Glenn Randall, a renowned Hollywood horse trainer at that time. As an aside, Mr. Randall was the Hollywood trainer of Trigger (and Roy Rogers), the chariot horses used in filming the movie, Ben Hur, and co-trainer for the Black Stallion.

Colts regroupingMs. Royal’s family trained race horses when she was just a young girl (her step-father was a jockey and her mother a dressage rider). Ms. Royal’s ability to interact with animals in an intuitive and uncomplicated way has lead to her true passion of working with horses unrestrained by tack in the seldom seen art of “liberty.”

Tony Royal, Founder

Tony Royal founded Pegasus in the fall of 2008. Mr. Royal grew up as a young child with his own horse and has over thirty years of experience training and handling horses. By the age of thirteen, he was trick riding his horse bareback. After meeting Cynthia Royal, they became involved in a number of equine related film, theatrical and television projects. Mr. Royal has also created a line of equine related merchandise, including his own “How to Make Your Own” horse gear video series, sold throughout North America and Europe.

Lisa Sinkovich, Director, Secretary & CFO

Lisa Sinkovich graduated from Arizona State University in 1995 with a B.S. in Psychology. She subsequently obtained her M.A. in Clinical Psychology, with honors, from Pepperdine University in 1997.

Colts running with the ballFrom 1998-2000, Ms. Sinkovich was a Project Coordinator at Stanford University overseeing a $1.5 million dollar research grant budget and she was responsible for the overall management of the project. From 2003 through June 30, 2009, Ms. Sinkovich was the Director of Clinical Administration at The Drake Institute in Los Angeles, California and responsible for the clinical administration of all of its Southern California clinics. Ms. Sinkovich served as a liaison between clinical and administrative staff by working directly with the owners and other executive management to direct and coordinate administrative services to support daily operations.

Ms. Sinkovich joined Pegasus in January, 2009 and her duties and responsibilities at Pegasus are the same as her duties and responsibilities while working as a Project Coordinator at Stanford University and as the Director of Clinical Administration at The Drake Institute.

Melissa Karnaze, Webmaster

Melissa Karnaze received her B.S. in Cognitive Science, with Specialization in Clinical Aspects of Cognition, from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2008. During her four years at UCSD, she threw hammer for the Women’s Track & Field Team. Ms. Karnaze maintains her own self help website, Mindful Construct, which explores the intelligence of working with your emotions.

Ms. Karnaze is primarily responsible for the design and maintenance of Pegasus’ website and blog. Ms. Karnaze is also responsible for conducting SEO for the website and leading a team of business professionals to integrate social media and other web-based platforms to optimize Pegasus’ donations so that Pegasus has the financial means to successfully complete its mission to partner horses and humans for healing.

Ms. Karnaze can be reached via email at: mkarnaze@pegasusrising.org.

Outside Collaborators

You can learn more about the additional individuals and organizations that provide Pegasus with inspiration and/or assistance by clicking here.

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