Sheena Monnin

Sheena Monnin
Beauty pageant titleholder
Born Sheena Monnin
(1985-02-20) February 20, 1985
Education Master's Degree in Psychology
Occupation Business Consultant
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Hair color Brunette[1]
Eye color Brown[1]
Title(s) Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012
(Resigned)
Major
competition(s)		 Miss Florida Teen USA 2003
Miss Florida USA 2005
(Top 15)
Miss Florida USA 2006
Miss Texas USA 2007
(Top 15)
Miss Texas USA 2008
Miss Texas USA 2009
Miss Pennsylvania USA 2010
(1st Runner-Up)
Miss Pennsylvania USA 2011
(1st Runner-Up)
Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012
(Winner)
(Resigned)
Miss USA 2012

Sheena Monnin (born February 20, 1985) is the founder and CEO of Custom Life Design,[2] an employee assessment and training company based in the greater Detroit, Michigan area. Custom Life Design specializes in management training, employee assessments, and conflict resolution. Ms. Monnin uses her skills as a trained psychologist to help managers understand themselves and their employees better, foster greater communication, and improve the bottom line of the business by enhancing employee motivation and productivity.[1]

Monnin is the author of a self-help book called 'Hands on the Wheel: Getting Control of Your Life'.[3][4] The book's premise is to use Monnin's experiences at the 2012 Miss USA pageant and basic psychological principles to guide readers toward a life of strength, freedom, and perseverance, despite any bullying they might encounter.

Biography

Monnin earned her master's degree in Psychology from the University of Phoenix, and her bachelor's degree in Human Services. She is an Enneagram in Business Graduate and Certified by the Enneagram Institute, as well as a Certified Life Coach by the AACC. She is currently serving as the Area Director for Toastmasters International.

Monnin became a household name a few years ago when she was sued by Donald Trump[5] for US$5 million for calling the "Ms. USA pagent" rigged. She alleged that the Miss Universe Organization had predetermined the results of the Miss USA 2012 pageant.[6] She ended up resigning her title as Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012.

A default judgment was entered due to faulty legal advice from her lawyer, who failed to prepare for or attend the arbitration hearing. Monnin was told by her lawyer that she didn’t need to attend the hearing. Because she failed to show up for court, the judge entered a default judgment against her for US$5 million. She later sued her attorney and was able to recover expenses and also resolve the lawsuit.[7]

Professional career

Monnin is the CEO of Custom Life Design, a corporate consulting company that specializes in management training, employee assessments, management-employee, and employee-employee conflict resolution.[2]

Miss USA 2012 controversy

In June 2012, Ms. Monnin said that another contestant, Karina Brez (as Miss Florida USA),[8] saw the names of the top five on a telecast paper in the same order in which they were later called out. Brez later said she had made her comment jokingly. Brez went on to then say that she made the whole thing up, changing her story more than once.[8] Monnin stepped down when what she said were those same contestants were named to the Top 5. Immediately following Monnin's resignation, The Trump Organization publicly denied Monnin's allegations. Following television appearances by Donald Trump and an interview with his attorney, Monnin appeared on the Today Show to give an interview with Ann Curry explaining her position.

On the night of the Miss USA awards, Monnin made a Facebook post calling the pageant "fraudulent", "lacking in morals", "inconsistent", and "in many ways trashy".[9] Monnin refused to renounce her claims.[6][10][11]

The pageant organizers initiated an arbitration proceeding against Monnin for defamation and damages, arguing that they lost sponsorship and reputation because of her allegations. On December 30, 2012, an arbitrator ruled that she must pay the pageant organization $5 million for direct damages caused by lose of sponsorship, but has not awarded the other demands of the organizers[12][13] which was affirmed by the district court.[12]

On July 2, 2013, Federal Judge J. Paul Oetken upheld the decision that Monnin must pay Donald Trump[5] and the Miss USA pageant for direct damages caused by calling the pageant "fraudulent". The decision was based on the legal principle that arbitrations are rarely voided. The ruling stated: "The court does not take lightly that Monnin is compelled to pay ...a devastating monetary award."[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sheena Monnin - Miss Pennsylvania". NBC.com: "Miss USA". Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  2. 1 2 "Custom Life Design - We Build Leaders". www.customlifedesign.com. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  3. ↑ Monnin, Sheena (2016-06-15). "Hands on the Wheel: Getting Control of Your Life". Custom Life Design LLC, 15 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Graves, Lucia (2016-09-04). The Miss USA hopeful sued by Trump: 'There are ways to stand your ground'. The Guardian, 4 September 2016. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/04/sheena-monnin-donald-trump-miss-usa-lawsuit.
  5. 1 2 "Donald Trump Sued Everyone but His Hairdresser". thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  6. 1 2 "Miss Pennsylvania USA Sheena Monnin Claims Pageant Rigged". Associated Press via CBS This Morning. June 6, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  7. ↑ Mak, Brandy Zadrozny|Tim (2015-07-31). "Trump Lawyer Bragged: I 'Destroyed' a Beauty Queen's Life". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  8. 1 2 "Beauty pageant wins $5 million over contestant's rigging claim". Reuters. December 18, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  9. ↑ "Donald Trump Teaches a Disgruntled Beauty Queen an 'Expensive Lesson' in Arbitration". December 20, 2012.
  10. ↑ Kantor, Ira (June 7, 2012). "New Miss USA Sympathizes with Rebel Miss Pennsylvania". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  11. ↑ Hyman, Vicki (June 6, 2012). "Sheena Monnin Claims Miss USA Fixed, Turns in Miss Pennsylvania Tiara". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  12. 1 2 Miss Universe L.P., LLLP. v. Monnin, 2013 WL 3328241 (S.D.N.Y. July 2, 2013)
  13. ↑ "Sheena Monnin 'shocked' at order to pay Donald Trump's Organization $5m".
  14. ↑ "Court to beauty queen: Pay Trump $5M for defamation". NY Post. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
Preceded by
Amber-Joi Watkins		 Miss Pennsylvania USA
(Resigned)
2012 		Succeeded by
Jessica Billings
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