Two Board Members Speak Out
Important Message to AEI/Albert Ellis Supporters from 2 AEI Board Members
Dear AEI and Albert Ellis Supporter:
It is with a profound sense of sadness that we fulfill our obligation as Trustees to inform you of specific wrong-doings of the AEI Board. We ask you to join us in opposing these actions and in demanding a return to decency.
The Board Acts with Cruelty to Albert Ellis:
- Dr. Albert Ellis is no longer given the basic necessities he has received for the last 41 years, such as toilet paper and facial tissues… He is reduced to hoping that his written requests for supplies will not be ignored.
- Dr. Albert Ellis’ phone calls are monitored and he is charged for calls to persons considered unacceptable by Board President Lyle Stuart.
- Dr. Albert Ellis was advised in writing by the Executive Director that if Al continued to have students visit on a weekend that, “I will have no option but to file a complaint with the appropriate law enforcement authorities for trespassing and occupancy of private premises without the owner’s consent.”
- Dr. Albert Ellis’ guests are required to sign in/out and Al’s own attorney was called by the Board’s attorney within moments of his arrival and asked, “What are you doing here?”
- Dr. Ellis was forced to sue 4 Board members for illegally removing him from the Board. Following his reinstatement, Lyle Stuart explained that allowing Al to remain a Board member satisfies a “mean desire to trivialize and humiliate him by ignoring his minority side at meetings.”
The Board’s Actions Have Harmed the AEI:
- The Board refuses to make peace. They refuse to mediate.
- The Board has been billed almost a million dollars in legal fees in their battle against Dr. Ellis.
- The Board has unilaterally terminated negotiations with him without resolution.
- The Board has ignored, demeaned, and ridiculed us and our efforts to end the conflict, bring peace, and restore civility.
- The Board’s actions undercut the AEI mission of rational thinking and behavior.
- The Board ignores the fierce outcry of disapproval from the REBT Community.
A Board Member’s Responsibility:
We two minority members have a moral obligation to oppose wrongdoing.
We have, according to non-profit experts, a fiduciary responsibility to condemn wrong and………..“to not rubber stamp decisions made by the Board.”
We believe that Albert Ellis has been isolated, denigrated and thus greatly harmed personally and professionally by the AEI Board majority. The Institute has been damaged. It is not easy to speak out about this matter. But we have no other choice!
We call on you, loyal members of the REBT community, to stand with us.
Silence in the face of abusive behavior is acquiescence to wrongdoing!
Please use the information provided below as a guide to contact the Board in protest and with a plea for reason.
Sincerely,
Deborah Steinberg and Emmett Velten,
Members of the Board of Trustees, AEI.
Here’s what you can do:
CALL OR E-MAIL US:
Deborah Steinberg… dsteinberg101@aol.com 561-989-8614
Emmett Velten……...evelten@msn.com 602-254-7009
CONTACT THE AEI BOARD MEMBERS LISTED BELOW.
Express your disapproval and ask them to ::
- Restore to Dr. Ellis the right to practice REBT at the Institute. This includes: The Friday Night Workshop and other professional activities.
- Provide Dr. Ellis with the most up-to-date hearing equipment to accommodate his hearing disability.
- Resume and complete legal negotiations/mediation with Dr. Ellis to insure the return of his civil rights and affirm his financial security re his high nursing expenses.
- Commit to provide Dr. Ellis and his wife Debbie Joffe with decent housing, including all necessary repairs, ie, fix the leaking roof, peeling paint, etc.
- Honor the fees commitment to Al’s attorney and all legal obligations.
- Respect and return to AEI’s mission to teach and promote REBT as the primary ... not secondary ... instrument of public service.
- Do all that is good and is right as befits the members of the AEI Board of Trustees.
CONTACT:
Board Members:
- Mr. Lyle Stuart lyle@barricadebooks.com
- Dr. Michael Broder Drbroder@aol.com
- Dr. Ann Vernon Ann.Vernon@uni.edu
- Dr. James McMahon bjpsymac@msn.com
- Mr. John Lenton johnlenton@iname.com
- Mr. Jeff Bernstein jbernstein@trufoods.com
- Mrs. Florence Chasin FERJAC@webtv.net
Please help us restore decency, justice, and rationality to the Albert Ellis Institute.
“If not now…. When?”
Please copy us on any emails or letters you send to Board Members so that we may thank you for your support.