About the Team
Donna M. Butler – Founder and Spokesperson of The Broke Wives Club™ is Donna M. Butler. Like most women Donna had expected to live her life in a much different way than it turned out. Donna has been living and breathing the unexpected reality many women find themselves in.
It was her brainchild to create a club where women could learn to create a better life for themselves and inspire others to follow suit after she found herself faced with no family income, battling to keep her home from being lost to foreclosure and the reality of having to return to work after 20 years of being a stay at home mom. Now with the help of guests on the club's radio show, The Attitude Shift, she is able to share how she is creating a new way of being.
She shares her rollercoaster ride through life with the members through her very popular blog. She is a talented writer and can bring you to tears, make you laugh and inspire you to do better simply by putting in words her fight to survive and thrive by shifting her attitude from broke to stoked. As she learns to harness the power of her mind so do her readers.
Donna is the owner of Abeeya's Bakery where she leads a team of bakers and decorators creating mouth-watering treats for your love affair with sweetness. Being a mother to 7 wonderful children ranging in age from 8 to 26 and 7 grandchildren keeps her busy. She makes her home with her husband, Ivy , also known as Daddy-Man, in Zachary, Louisiana.
Siobhan Shaw – Co-Founder of The Broke Wives Club™. Siobhan Shaw is a woman who has a strong desire to help others. After years of searching for the vehicle to do just that, the universe worked it’s magic and Donna and Siobhan’s paths crossed. Siobhan listened to Donna’s despair about where she was in her life at that time and encouraged her to do something to move forward in life even though Siobhan’s life was in turmoil as well.
This has become a theme The Broke Wives' Club encourages – no matter what life is throwing at you, always reach out your hand and grab onto another person and carry them from the ditch of life they find themselves mired in, to the road of success that will take them to their destiny. Siobhan has an innate understanding of how to connect with people, excels at building rapport and her creative force shows through. As filmmaker/director, Craig March said about her work on his award winning film, The Beast of Bottomless Lake, “Siobhan goes into the world with unabashedly forward thinking and made our journey and our process that much easier by being a part of our project.”
Siobhan continually introduces new people and ideas to the club. She manages the website. Her role extends to the club's signature show, The Attitude Shift, as Producer where she sits as Co-host with Donna every week as their banter and curious attitudes create a laughter-filled and attitude shifting ride for their audience. She uses her extensive marketing and sales experience, ability to connect with people, and creativity to bring affordable business videos to companies wanting to stand out on the Internet. Siobhan shares her life with her partner of 18 years, John and they are together bringing Miracle Pots, a patented garden container product to the world which will revolutionize the way we grow food.
David Straiton – CEO and President. Seeing the vision of The Broke Wives Club™ Television Director, David Straiton approached Siobhan and Donna with his desire to help, and came on board as CEO, 2 years into the creation of this organization. David is a highly-respected director having extensive experience in the industry since the early 1990's, having directed popular TV shows such as House, Star Trek Enterprise, Charmed, Fringe, and Las Vegas. David currently directs John Grisham's, The Firm, which debuted on NBC, January 2012 and is credited as directing the premiere episode.
He is known in the Television business for his ability to hold a vision no matter how hard it is to bring it to the screen. He is dedicated to his craft and according to one his fans, referring to The Star Trek, Babel One episode, "(It) MUST be one of the best directed things in Star Trek HISTORY!!!" Another fan said that the House episode, The Tyrant, guest starring, James Earl Jones, was one of the best episodes of the entire series.
Defying Gravity's Paula Garces, said of David,"I actually flew to Toronto to audition for the role with Michael Edelstein [series executive producer] and David Straiton, who directed our first episode. I was very nervous, but David read with me and said, 'Don't worry, you're totally rocking it.' As soon as I heard that, it kind of gave me the confidence that I think the role needed. So I really have to thank David for saying what he did to me during my audition, which is not typical. You usually don't know that early on whether or not they like you."
As CEO of Broke Wives LLC, based in California, he brings support to the team encouraging them to continue creating a place women may shift their attitudes towards success. He continues to work on various on-going television series and often sets the tone of a series by directing its pilot as he has done with The Firm.
Check out Donna and Siobhan's welcome to David - http://thebrokewivesclub.com/donnas-blog/hollywood-director-sees-big-picture/
