Testimony of Sherri Pender :

Scientology and the Art of Deception

«Mission: Renaissance» a school member of the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE)

Source : www.hollywoodinterrupted.com - October 13, 2006

When a talented young artist left her home in New Mexico for Hollywood, she had no idea that simply answering a classified ad on craigslist would get her sucked into an insidious Scientology front group that would spy on her personal internet activity, then crush her hopes for success at her very first dream job...

Artist/Scientology scam victim Sherri Pender

23 year-old Sherri Pender was thrilled when she spotted a craigslist advertisement (link) seeking instructors for a local art academy called "Mission : Renaissance," founded by dubiously renowned artist, Larry Gluck. She attended their open house, filled out an application and returned for what she describes as a "long, drawn out process" of testing. She submitted to an IQ test, a suspicious Personality test, and another related aptitude test, and then, to her delight, was hired as an assistant art instructor.

"I was excited," says Pender of her hiring. "But, when I was ready to sign, there was something buried in the contract about W.I.S.E [World Institute of Scientology Enterprises] and the use of L Ron Hubbard technology."

Self Portrait of Mission: Renaissance's Famed Master
in the Art of the Combover, Larry Gluck

The World Institute if Scientology Enterprises advertises as an outfit that unites "all organizations and professionals using L. Ron Hubbard's management technology," but Scientology critics dismiss their save-the-world bluster as a scam for recruiting unsuspecting business people into the cult.

"This [the WISE/Scientology affiliation] seemed peculiar, but I had just gotten into town, I had no job, and they [Mission: Renaissance] had been jerking me around for weeks," recalls Pender. She also noticed a contract clause stipulating that in no way would she "be required to practice, or become affiliated with Scientology." Relieved, she signed on for the job, and the two month, minimum wage paying job training period.

Pender's on-the-job training consisted of almost pure L Ron Hubbard "technology" -- basically the same stuff a new Scientology recruit is fed when joining the so-called "religion" : a course called Study Skills for Life and a Hubbard Communications course. She recounts : "The training stuff alternated between Hubbard stuff and something called Tech Training for Kids. And the Study Skills for Life course was so simplistic and ripe for mockery with its silly illustrated guide book." "But," Pender continues, "I kind of felt like I was being indoctrinated. I was crying every time I had to go in and do a Hubbard drill. I had gone from being a happy, excited art instructor-in-training, to a complete wreck in a matter of months."

In addition to many fabrications on his resume,
L Ron fancied himself as an artist !

At this point, Sherri Pender took to the internet to learn more about Scientology. She quickly found Mission: Renaissance horror stories similar to her own, and thought, "What have I gotten into ?"

Reports on craigslist user forums spelled it out for her :

From http://forums.losangeles.craigslist.org/?ID=26112968 (link) :
re: receptionist Glendale-scientology scam! < amarventris > 03/24 11:25:52

Pender also discovered this :

From: http://www.slatkinfraud.com/inv_2001_4a.htm

***

Now hip to the Scientology recruiting scam that was her employer, Pender contacted a former Mission: Renaissance employee via her MySpace account and began posting the following musings on her personal Live Journal web page :

October 19, 2005

Johnny wants cake, but johnny can't have cake because he is a scientologist. It will make his ADD act up, ADD isn't real anyway according to Tom Cruise so I'm sure his spawn will be problem free. I wonder if I'll get to met him ...maybe I'll teach his spawn how to draw a feckin BIRD !
The sun never sets on scientology ! HA

Nov 8, 2005

In training we have to do these stupid "drills" to show we understand what we have read...cuz you know I work for crazy scientologists. ANYWAY all day, everytime I had to do a dril or even talk to the "instructor" about what I was learning I kept tearing up. AS soon as I get in my car to go home...the above coldplay song comes on the radio and I lost it. weird. I don't even really know why ?

I feel like I work for tome cruise. I was watching a training video (yes I'm still in training) and Our founder mr. Larry Gluckers was talking about how the generations now are all druggies. Kids have trouble learning and parents are pressured to drug them by the school systems so they can handle the kids. Fuckin ADD ... IT'S NOT REAL. NEITHER IS POST PARTUM DEPRESSION. NOBODY NEEDS DRUGS ... PAY LOTS OF MONEY TO L.RON HUBBARD AND YOU WILL BE HEALED!!!!!! REAL MAGICAL LIKE.

December 2, 2005

UMMMMMMMMMMMM ... I went to lunch today with aboot five other Mission Renaissance Newbies.

WE chatted about how we are ALLLLLLLLLLLL creeped out by our scientologist owners. We compared horror stories, we laughed, we bonded. It made me feel so much better knowing I am not going crazy ... they really are fuckin nuts. So I made friends. And soon I will be out of training and I won't really have to deal with them crazies.

***

With her cultish job preparation behind her, Pender stopped posting her reactions to all the Scientology weirdness she had endured, and officially began her career - happily teaching art to children in studios set up in malls around Los Angeles for the better part of a year. That is, until she got an ominous call last week from Mission: Renaissance VP of Public Relations, Jasmin Zimmatore ...

***

Not surprisingly, Zimmatore is a Scientologist, as is Mission: Renaissance President, Ted Prescott. The company founder and artist-in-residence Larry Gluck is a Scientologist ranked on par with the heterosexual, unemployed actor Tom Cruise. They have both reached the top, super--secret, science fiction level, "OTVIII." A random check of availably listed company employees reveals that they are mostly active Scientologists, and -- although Mission: Renaissance claims that they are not recruiting for the mind control cult of Scientology, their affiliation with W.I.S.E. mandates as much.

According to the anti-Scientology web site www.scientology-lies.com, "One of Scientology's front groups, the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), is dedicated to spreading L. Ron Hubbard's "Administration Technology." This often involves training courses for employees that introduce Scientology concepts, as well as Scientology-based management techniques."

Also, Canadian university professor Stephen Kent's published analysis of WISE in the workplace points out that WISE's articles of incorporation state that "Its purposes are to promote and foster the religious teachings of L. Ron Hubbard in society." Worse yet, as detailed on the informative site, www.stop-wise.biz, WISE has a long, litigious history of recruiting for Scientology and cases of harassment in the workplace. Furthermore, the compiled horror stories on the web site are legion and legendary in anti-Scientology circles.

***

When the call from Zimmatore came in last week, Pender was feeling sick. The Mission : Renaissance VP left a message :

I have a question for you. Are you coming in for tech today ? I can't tell you over the phone what it's regarding ...

Pender manned-up and went to work at a shopping mall in Woodland Hills, CA. The severe looking Zimmatore came strutting into the studio unannounced, approached the young art instructor and said cheerily, "I came to you !"

According to Pender, Zimmatore began their conversation asking her why she wasn't happy. The company VP then divulged that her operatives had been investigating her writings on MySpace and her other online activity, and had discovered "comments critical about our company, and Scientology."

Pender explained, "That was stuff that I had said over a year ago when I was first hired. I was just lashing out because I didn't understand what was going on behind my training."

"This is about you," accused Zimmatore. "You sound angry."

Then, says Pender, Zimmatore back-flipped. "She started blaming my friends based on their internet writings. She blamed it on peer pressure from my friends." Zimmatore stared Pender down, then verbally suspended the young artist for 30 days, without pay.

Pender has not heard from Mission: Renaissance since her suspension last week, but she reports, "They are calling in all my workplace friends on MySpace and interrogating them. They are telling my friends that I was creating a slur campaign against the company. She [Zimmatore] has also reportedly warned her friends, "If she is looking for a lawsuit, we have good lawyers."

Now Pender has a good lawyer on the burner; noted cult litigator Ford Greene may take her case.

Super Scientology Litigator, Ford Greene

Greene not only has vast experience with Scientology in court, he has also represented a plaintiff in a case in which a WISE licensed company was among the defendants.

Although he has not yet taken Pender's case or eyeballed all her contractual paperwork towards what may amount to a myriad of complaints against Mission: Renaissance, including but not limited to wrongful termination (suspension), slander, harassment, etc., Greene tells Hollywood, Interrupted, "This sounds like bullshit to me. They can't be using Scientology in her job. It's against the law." About the job suspension based on Pender's internet writings, Greene says "That's a serious 1st Amendment issue."

Also, Pender's employment contract rudely stipulates that, in the event of her firing, she must pay the company back for her job training. That clause mirrors the way the cult of Scientology often tries to milk retroactive "freeloader debts" from apostates. "They can't do that," states Greene. "On its face, the whole thing smells."

Mission: Renaissance has creepily invited Pender to come back and essentially correct the error of her ways. Pender says, "Oh yeah, they will invite me back with open arms, but only if I come in and 'clear up my misunderstanding of the company and Scientology.'" Classic. Scientology-fueled companies, like the cult itself, will always allow for a victim to come in and complete an "amends project," which means that the whole indoctrination process will begin again for Pender, except worse next time.

"Obviously," says the now cult-savvy Pender, "If I went back, they'd have broken me - and that would be their victory. Right now, I'm a sitting duck, but I'm not going to quit."

Calls to Mission : Renaissance and Senior VP of Public Relations Jasmin Zimmatore were not returned by post time.

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Source : www.hollywoodinterrupted.com - October 13, 2006

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Comments

Wow oh wow. I internviewed for a WISE mandate company and I have to agree it was the most intense interview I have ever been on. On the first interview I had to take the personality and I.Q. test. Then I had to take some kind of employee style (don't remember exact name of the test this was 5 years ago) where they had you answer all these questions about interacting with management and if I believed in a team management approach vs a dictatorship (?) management.

I kept getting the answer wrong (I chose team). They made me take the test 3 times until I finally gave in and answered it the way they wanted. This first interview last 2 hours. They called me back a week later knowing I was out of town and told me it was imperative if I wanted this job I needed to fly back the next day for the 2nd part of the interview. I flew back 2 days early and interviewed again.

This time I noticed the L. Ron Hubbard management books on display in the lobby. By the way I should add this was a software company and I was interviewing for a tech related job. The second interview was a grueling 8 hours! I was subjected to a "psychological" interview with a woman who could not confirm her personal credentials (meaning: she was not a licensed or papered psychologist). At that point I was getting suspicious but I already had so much lost time invested I stayed to the end.

I was then finally given a "tech test" and passed with a perfect score (it was a very elementary tech test). Finally I was interviewed by a "team" of managers who were more interested in my marital status and what I did in my off time than my technical abilities and skills. (I later checked inquiring regarding ones maritial status is illegal during a job interview so is asking if I had children or was pregnant which they also asked). This questioning was explained as the position required alot of travel and initial training.

I was exhausted mentally when I left but was offered the position and told to call the HR guy back the next day to firm up the salary and details. When I called back at the appointed time then next day I was told they were restructuring the position to a "more sales" oriented one than technical and wanted someone with more sales background. I attribute this to the fact I refused to answer the maritial and children questions by stating "are those questions allowed during an interview". I guess I dodged a MAJOR bullet by not qualifying for that job !!!

Posted by: anonams at October 14, 2006 08:54 AM

This stuff is freaky! I am from Pittsburgh PA and I noticed that this cult, er I mean this scientology is trying to infiltrate in the city on the east coast as well. Several times they put out a full 2 page 'ad' in the City Paper (a local free rag. The type font was so tiny you could barely read it, it had about 100 questions on it. I looked in the corner and in tiny letters it said, "Scientology" and it has an address on East Carson street. Oh no! It's an ALIEN INVASION !! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! What sort of name is L Ron Hubbard anyway, sounds like a squash or pumpkin.

Posted by: A Pitts-burger at October 14, 2006 11:32 AM

A woman who used to live in my apartment building was a true blue scientolgist. She gave me the literature to look at and I found it to be juvenile at best.

I have no understanding why she was so hooked into this scam. Her children go to the school run by these fanatics.

Why do people join these wierd cults ?

John

Posted by: John at October 14, 2006 12:14 PM

I am Sherri's mother. Her dad and I have always supported her and we always will. Sherri was raised in a very small rural town in New Mexico. When she was 3 she colored all the walls in her bedroom, as high as she could reach, with crayons. When asked why she did that she said, "I coloring my world". Wel l... we let her and that is what she has done ever since is color her world!

When it came time for college Sherri wanted to go to Emerson in Boston. 2000 miles away from home. Did we want to stop her? Yes, but as parents concerned about the woman she was becoming we didn't. Her first week of college was September 11th. More than ever we wanted her home! But, she stayed and she survived 3 Patriot victories and the historical Red Sox.

Sherri graduated a lot wiser and more aware of the world around her than she had been in New Mexico. She headed to California. Art was still the sustenance of her life.

You know the above story and yes, she called home several nights crying and wondering what she should do. She hung it out however and started teaching art. Wow, she really liked teaching and she liked the kids. She was good too and she received several commendations for her work from the very people who suspended her.

I know that despite this setback Sherri will still succeed with art, because it has always been her dream and she will persevere !

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