Shareholder Calls on Sunrise to Complete Board Renewal

Demands resignation of Directors who presided over accounting scandal

Washington, DC (October 3, 2008) – The SEIU Master Trust (“the Trust”) today released a letter sent in August to the Chair of the Board of Directors of Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE: SRZ) demanding the resignation of five long-time directors: Ronald V. Aprahamian, Thomas J. Donohue, J. Douglas Holladay, Teresa M. Klaassen, and William G. Little. Since the Trust sent the letter, two of those directors, Ms. Klaassen and Mr. Aprahamian, whose terms expire at the next annual meeting, have announced they will not seek re-election.

“I think Ms. Klaassen and Mr. Aprahamian recognized their responsibility as directors who presided over Sunrise’s financial and corporate governance breakdowns,” said Stephen Abrecht, executive director of SEIU Master Trust. “We’re suggesting that Mr. Donohue, Mr. Holladay, and Mr. Little do the honorable thing and take the same step. The terms of these three are staggered and have not yet ended. Nevertheless, they should take responsibility, too, and resign. We recently sent the names of three excellent director candidates to the Nominating and Corporate Governance committee to facilitate their departure.”

The resignations of Ms. Klaassen and Mr. Aprahamian follow the resignation in March of former director Craig Callen. At the last annual meeting, in October 2007, 62% of shareholders’ votes were withheld from him.

Also at the last annual meeting, the Trust sponsored a shareholder proposal to declassify the board. The proposal received 84% of shares voted. Without mention of the vote, the Board later announced it would propose declassification at the next annual meeting. Yet because the Board plans to declassify in stages, Mr. Donohue, Mr. Holladay, and Mr. Little will not face a shareholder vote until 2009.

“The continued tenure of these three directors is of great concern to shareholders, because of their ties to Paul Klaassen who is the outgoing CEO, the incoming board chair, and the company’s largest shareholder,” noted Abrecht. “Like Mr. Klaassen, they should not be sitting on the board committee exploring strategic alternatives. Shareholders need to know that their interests will be protected in any transaction by truly independent directors.”

Read the letter here.

The SEIU Master Trust, with total assets of more than $1.7 billion, is an active proponent of sound corporate governance as a vital means to protect and enhance shareholder value.

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