Advisory Board

Peter K. Navratil, LCSW-R, ACSW, CASAC, is both a licensed clinical social worker and a credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselor. He received a B.A. in Sociology at Oswego State University (1978) and his MSW at Syracuse University (1980).

Currently Peter is the Vice President of Behavioral Health for Catholic Family Center (CFC) in Rochester, NY . Prior to coming to CFC he served as the Director of Mental Health Services at Rochester Rehabilitation Center, where he oversaw the outpatient mental health programs and services including a Mental Health Clinic, Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment Program (IPRT), a Continuing Day Treatment Program(CDT) program as well as the Men’s Education for Non-Violence Workshop (M.E.N.’s Workshop).

He also served as the Program Director at Delphi Drug & Alcohol Council in Rochester , NY where he directed substance abuse prevention education, school-based counseling and outpatient treatment services. He also assisted in developing a gender-based violence intervention program called the Domestic Violence & Abuse Course for Men (DVACM). As a result of this work, he co-founded a group in Rochester , NY called Stand Up Guys, working to create primary prevention strategies focused on involving men in ending Violence Against Women. (www.standupguys.org )

In addition to his prior work experience, he also serves as a board member on the NYS Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) CASAC Credentialing Board; he is an advisory committee member and core instructor for the NYS Victim Assistance Academy; member of Rochester/Monroe County Domestic Violence Consortium; member and speaker for Rochester Against Intoxicated Driving (RAID); active member of the Monroe County STOP-DWI Technical Advisory Board; steering committee member and consultant to the Monroe County “Family Treatment Court”, “Mental Health Court”, “Integrated Domestic Violence Court” (IDV), and the Rochester Drug Treatment Court. He also served as a member of the Attorney General’s Crime Victim’s Advisory Board.

His professional areas of interest focus on the intersection of the criminal justice system and victim services, offender accountability, substance abuse, mental health and co-occurring disorders, as well as interpersonal violence directed at women & children.

Jack Brennick, MS Ed, LMHC is the Delphi Drug & Alcohol Council Intake Coordinator and a Facilitator for the Domestic Violence & Abuse Course for Men. Jack has also worked as a school based addictions prevention counselor in the Rush Henrietta School District, along with working as a facilitator for the Men’s Education for Non-Violence program at both Genesee Hospital, and Rochester Rehabilitation Center. Jack also trains others in facilitation of Domestic Abuse groups.

Rick Walther. Why am I a Stand Up Guy? From a philosophical perspective, it’s because I have always, like you I suspect, strived to be a good person in all aspects of my life. My faith and my upbringing tell me to treat all people with dignity and respect. More specifically, I am involved in Stand Up Guys because I was introduced to this group’s purpose by my friend Annie Lane , a survivor of domestic violence and a tenacious member of this organization. Her story coupled with my inherent obligation to raise my two young sons to be good people pushed me to find out more about SUG’s mission. It all made sense to me. We can build more shelters for women and children to escape domestic violence, but why not target the root cause, the violent man and more broadly, the widely excepted practices by our society that degrade women in big and little ways. I truly believe this undertaking is worthy of our most earnest efforts. Like the rest of the people involved in Stand Up Guys, I believe most men are good and well intentioned. The more this fact is known, the less likely men will feel comfortable degrading and abusing women. Isn’t that what we want for our mothers, sisters and friends? I am a father of two boys, a husband to Betsy, and work in the telecommunications industry at PAETEC Communications. I enjoy not only coaching my boys in soccer but also to be strong men. I love to take hikes with my family, play soccer and I’m a NYS licensed home inspector

Milt Kotin

Milt has almost 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, having joined Rose and Kiernan in 1994. Prior to joining R&K, Milt worked as a producer and risk management specialist with Marsh and McLennan. He then left, along with a group of professional staff from Marsh's Rochester office, to open the Rochester/Pittsford office of Rose and Kiernan on November 1, 1994 where he now heads up the property and casualty insurance operations. He spent 7 years as an Account Executive with the Riedman Corporation in the Commercial Brokerage Division in the 1980's. Milt has completed course work in both CPCU as well as CRIS.

Milt lives in Mendon where he lives with his wife, Sue, and raised two children. He has been a member of the Rush-Henrietta Rotary Club for close to 20 years, has coached a variety of youth sports leagues and currently serves as Treasurer on the board of Standup Guys, a group working toward ending violence against women.

Karen A. Messina-McDonnell is a Paralegal with Xerox Corporation.

My story is simple, I am a survivor of domestic violence and after 27 years of always looking back on my abuse and wishing I could help others, I have finally found a venue to really make a difference. I went to ABW to see how I could help and they directed me to a group called SAFER (Survivors Advocating for Effective Reform). I also work with VSLP (Volunteer Legal Services Project) on some pro-bono cases for women that are in the same situation that I was in during my abuse. I also work with Task Force on Courts to help rectify some of the injustices happening in the courtrooms. When I heard about Stand Up Guys, I was very impressed with their mission and felt I would be a good fit here as well. If any of the men that were in my circle of family and friends would have stood up during my abusive relationship, I would not have had to endure 3 years of emotional, mental and physical abuse. Raising awareness and teaching is where I feel the most good can come. Giving people tools to make better choices in their lives rather than resort to violence is the answer in my mind, so anything I can do to make a difference is my goal.

Annie Lane
Sir Winston Churchill once said “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. We are all in this life together, dependent on one another. We know that when we give, there is no sacrifice, it is all our gain.”

In October of 2007 after 23 years in the field of Telecommunications, I decided to leave the corporate world and fully dedicate my time, talents and steadfastness to work towards ending violence against women and girls in my community.

You might ask why I would make such a life-changing decision and the answer is simple. I love the women in my family.

This journey started in 2004 when I shared my personal story of escape and survival from domestic violence publicly for the first time at the 25th Anniversary luncheon for Alternatives for Battered Women. After that, I served on ABW’s Board of Directors for three years. As I continued to learn more about violence against women and girls, it became even more personal for me. Statistics show that 1 in 3 women will be victims of domestic violence, 1 in 4 women will be victims of sexual assault and 1 in 5 high school girls will be sexually or physically abused by her boyfriend. I began to look around me. I have 4 sisters, 7 sisters-in-law, a dear mother-in law, 5 aunts, 19 nieces, 4 great-nieces, around 50 female cousins, hundreds of female friends, extended family members and business associates. I realized that the 1 in 3 was not some nameless faceless woman but this includes and affects scores of women that I love and care about.

In early 2006, I met Pete Navratil and Jack Brennick the Co-founders of Stand Up Guys. As a survivor of domestic violence, Stand Up Guys’ mission and vision resonated with me; It has become my passion, my life’s purpose. I now work tirelessly to raise awareness to prevent violence against women and children with the loving support and blessing of my husband Jim. Jim channels his passion for the cause and contributes to Stand Up Guys through his music. He performs at our fundraising and awareness events for free and he has written a song for the cause, entitled Harmony. You can download the song for free at Harmony.

Please join us in the effort to protect the women and girls in your life and in your community by supporting Stand Up Guys events, activities and prevention education programs.