Meet Our Models
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Joe is an 18-year resident of Palm Springs who is fortunate to live a healthy, active lifestyle. He had his own interdisciplinary architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture and graphics firm in Beverly Hills for 25 years before retiring in Palm Springs.
He enjoys the desert area for its beauty, culture, services, events, and wonderful community of friendly people both residents and visitors. He enjoys staying active, being fit, and taking care of himself and his three pets. He also enjoys life with energy, curiosity and enthusiasm.
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Ted Gibson is one of the beauty industry’s most respected hair stylists, entrepreneurs, and educators. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has created iconic looks for some of the world’s most recognizable women, including Angela Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, and many others. He was the resident hair expert on TLC’s What Not to Wear.
Today, Ted is the co-founder of Ted Gibson Beauty Wellness Science. What began as a personal search for answers evolved into a new philosophy of beauty, wellness, and healthy aging – one dedicates to helping people feel better, look better and live better.
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Joe is an 18-year resident of Palm Springs who is fortunate to live a healthy, active lifestyle. He had his own interdisciplinary architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture and graphics firm in Beverly Hills for 25 years before retiring in Palm Springs.
He enjoys the desert area for its beauty, culture, services, events, and wonderful community of friendly people both residents and visitors. He enjoys staying active, being fit, and taking care of himself and his three pets. He also enjoys life with energy, curiosity and enthusiasm.
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Sean Grider is the co-founder and co-owner of My Desert Dogs, a dog daycare, boarding, and grooming facility in Cathedral City, which he founded with his husband, Enrique Grider. A lifelong animal lover, Sean helped create the business with a genuine passion for providing dogs with a safe, welcoming, and caring environment.
Originally from the Long Beach/Los Angeles area, Sean now proudly calls the Coachella Valley home and values being part of its growing community. He is especially proud of the team and customer relationships that have helped My Desert Dogs grow in its first year.
Outside of work, Sean enjoys family time, trying new restaurants, and traveling when time time permits.
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As Chief of Retail, Logistics and Volunteer Services and a member of the DAP Health leadership team, Dane Koch oversees programs that bring together retail operations, logistics, and hundreds of volunteers in support of DAP Health’s mission. With more than 35 years of leadership experience, Dane finds the greatest reward in using that experience to make a difference in the lives of others.
Through Revivals Stores and Volunteer Services, his teams help generate critical support for DAP Health while also serving individuals and organizations throughout the community. For Dane, the work is ultimately about people—creating opportunities, providing support, and helping ensure everyone is seen, heard, and affirmed.
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Tony was born and raised in the Denver, Colorado suburbs. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1994. In 1994, he moved to Palm Desert to begin his golf career at BIGHORN Golf Club. He has worked at BIGHORN for 32 years, including 14 years as Director of Golf and the past 12 years as General Manager.
He has a 25-year-old son and three dogs – Oakley, Bailey and Roxy. His hobbies include pickleball, fantasy football, investing and financial planning.
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Stay tuned…
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Raul is a successful real estate entrepreneur with more than 45 years of experience in business. Earlier in his career, Raul built a strong foundation in sales within the produce industry, where he became a pioneer in the industry by helping open and develop markets worldwide.
Now semi-retired, he enjoys giving back to the community through charity work supporting local organizations throughout the Coachella Valley. During the season, Raul enjoys modeling at Mitch’s on El Paseo and Wally’s Desert Turtle, as well as appearing in TV commercials. An avid pickleball player and passionate golfer, Raul brings his charismatic personality, loyalty, humor, and genuine love of people to everything he does.
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David is an orthopedic surgeon at Desert Orthopedic Center specializing in shoulder and elbow surgery. When he’s not caring for patients, he enjoys staying active and spending time with his family.
He is the proud dad of two young boys and is lucky to share life with his lovely wife. David is happy to support Animal Samaritans and the important work they do for animals and the community.
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He proudly serves as Chief of Police for the Palm Springs Police Department, bringing more than 24 years of service, leadership, and commitment to the Palm Springs community.
Throughout his career, Chief Stjerne has served in nearly every facet of the organization, from patrol and investigations to SWAT, Internal Affairs, and executive leadership. As Chief, his priorities center on fostering excellence in progressive policing, authentic leadership, community engagement, innovation, and ensuring Palm Springs remains a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
A graduate of Harvard Kennedy School’s Public Leadership Credential program, Chief Stjerne believes the best policing happens when officers know their community, and their community knows them. He is passionate about developing the next generation of leaders, strengthening relationships throughout the Coachella Valley, and relentlessly pursuing excellence in public service.
Tonight, however, the badge takes a back seat to a different kind of public service: supporting Animal Samaritans and the four-legged members of our community who occasionally require a little more patience than the two-legged ones.
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Eric is a third-generation printing professional whose family roots in the industry run deep. His grandfather founded Royal Zenith Corporation, a manufacturer of printing presses and the North American distributor of the Misomex step and repeat machine. Continuing that legacy, Eric founded EMR Systems Communication in 1985 alongside his father, Michael, driven by a vision to bring innovation to the electronic publishing business.
A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, Eric remains active with numerous trade and philanthropic organizations. He divides his time between Palm Springs in the winter and Fire Island Pines in the summer, alongside his husband, Marc Blackwell, and their bulldog, Lincoln.
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Bruce is a part-time Palm Desert resident, spending most of his time in Seattle, Washington. He enjoys spending the winter months in the desert, taking advantage of the beautiful Southern California weather.
He is a retired elementary school principal. Since retiring he has missed working with school-age children, so for the past nine years he has volunteered with Read With Me, helping elementary students improve their reading skills.
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Stay tuned…
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He is a retired global executive who spent the majority of his career developing and marketing pet foods for health-challenged pets and their owners. He is the inventor on numerous patents, in the areas of feline and canine health, Obesity, Renal Care and the lowering of feline human allergen production through food, for enhanced cat ownership in allergy prone people. He has been the proud owner of a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle, hence his companions today. Torontonian by birth, he has a combined MBA from Montreal and Barcelona and is now a resident in Palm Springs.
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Bobby Vandenberg is a commercial and print model from San Diego, CA. He’s a husband, father, grandfather and retired U.S. Army Major. He currently resides in San Juan Capistrano, CA.
When not working, you can find Bobby spending time with his family, on a golf course or at the beach.
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Jeremy Wingerter is a Senior Director of Major Gifts for the Eisenhower Health Foundation where he builds relationships and works collaboratively with donors to improve the quality of healthcare throughout the Coachella Valley.
A native of Illinois, Jeremy lived in Los Angeles for 10 years before moving full-time to Palm Springs four years ago. He enjoys socializing, pool time, tennis, croquet, architecture, and vintage cars. Jeremy adopted Beatrice, a boxer, bulldog and pitbull mix almost six years ago. She enjoys rolling around in the sand pit at Rancho Mirage’s dog park.
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Stay tuned…