Associates of the Foundation

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS MICHAEL OF KENT
Chairman

In 2002, HRH Princess Michael assumed the Chairmanship of Anchor-International Foundation.

A noted historian, who has lectured extensively and in many countries, Princess Michael has long been dedicated to philanthropic activities that benefit her own nation as well as the world.

Anchor-International Foundation was founded in 1997 by foreign cardiologists and advisors to the new governors of Russia to represent cultural and medical projects that would contribute to affordable and sustainable preservation, prevention, and progress in first-, second-, and third-world countries. I hope to contribute an historical perspective to these activities by continuing to do research and by representing these important issues in print, in person, and on television. HRH Princess Michael of Kent

RONALD R. MASDEN, M.D., F.A.C.C.,
Founder and Medical Director

Dr. Masden, who founded Anchor-International, as well as St. Petersburg's International Heart Center, is one of the pioneers in interventional cardiology and an author of many scientific publications. As Clinical Professor of Cardiology at the University of Louisville for 25 years, he has trained many specialists in cardiology who are now active all over the world.

Dr. Masden performs more than 100 interventional cardiological procedures annually, and consults with medical instrument companies and cardiology clinics throughout the world.

Dr. Masden passed away in December 2004. Click here to read a tribute.

While the prevention aspects of the program have already been well defined and proven effective over the past 30 years, motivational programs are currently poorly defined. None have demonstrated long-term effectiveness. Therefore, a compliance program that helps to solve the problem of poor motivation, universally present in virtually every human being, will make a real contribution to world health. Ronald Masden

WILLIAM RODMAN SHANKLE, M.S., M.D.

President In 1988, Dr. Shankle established the Alzheimer's Disease Clinic at the University of California, Irvine, and served as its medical director for 10 years. During this time, he established the first website for Alzheimer's disease and built the first electronic medical record for Alzheimer's disease in the US. In January 2000, The New York Times Science section reported that he had made perhaps the most important discovery of the 1990s in neuroscience (that the human cerebral cortex doubles its number of neurons after birth). Also, in 2000, Dr. Shankle was awarded the prestigious Zenith Pioneer Award (of $250,000) by the National Alzheimer's Association.

We cannot control addiction or lose weight simply by effort, trying harder, or exercising "willpower." We need to know what to attend to so that we can give ourselves the proper perceptions (for example, keeping a "compliant activities diary" that forces us to pay attention to those activities) in order to drive the proper actions (for example, doing daily exercises), which will lead to the desired results (for example, losing weight). Therefore, to choose a healthier lifestyle, do what actors do: create the proper circumstances (perceptions) that leave you no choice other than to "act well." Rod Shankle

RICHARD TORRENCE
Executive Director of the Foundation

Richard Torrence, the Executive Director of the Foundation, was Advisor to the Mayor of St. Petersburg on International Projects from 1992 through 1996. His responsibilities included facilitating cultural projects and investment opportunities in the Petersburg Region. He is credited with raising $1.3-million for the city's dental health program, attracting the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company to invest $75-million in a factory near Pulkovo Airport (the company's largest outside the U.S.), and producing two American Film Festivals, in 1993 and 1995.

For seven years, Richard Torrence was one of the most frequently quoted and photographed Westerners in the press and television of St. Petersburg, where he often spoke on behalf of the expatriate community at functions in Russia and the United States.

1995: Richard Torrence (left), Executive Director of Anchor-International Foundation, and Official Advisor to Mayor Anatoly A. Sobchak (center); and Vladimir V. Putin (right), First Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 2000, Mr. Sobchak, first president of Anchor-International Foundation, passed away. One month later, Mr. Putin became President of the Russian Federation.