Board of Directors

Celeste Jones has a degree in Psychology and Education and is co-author of 'Not Without My Sister.' Since breaking away from the Children of God/ The Family cult in 2002 she has spoken in the media about her experiences in order to raise awareness of the second-generation born into extremist cults.

Juliana Buhring works closely with the United Youth Action for Progress charity helping the child soldiers and children directly affected by the rebel warfare in Northern Uganda. She has organized exhibitions and fundraisers focusing media attention on the plight of children in conflict and extremist environments. Juliana is co-author of the Sunday Times no.1 bestseller 'Not Without My Sister', a book detailing her unique experiences growing up as a second-generation cult child. She has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CNN World News, BBC - Heaven and Earth show and BBC Radio 4, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, the London Daily Mail, the Independent, Madison magazine and Glamour magazine.

Peter Frouman is a former second-generation member of The Family/Children of God religious cult. In May 2001, Peter graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree in News and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Sociology. Since May 2005, Peter has helped edit and administer the web site xFamily.org, a collaboratively edited encyclopedia about The Family/Children of God cult.

Sarah Martin Gill was born and raised in The Family/Children of God cult.  Since leaving the organization to start a new life, she has devoted much of her time to helping those who were raised in the same environment.  Over the past decade, she has helped provide many former second generation members of The Family with peer-to-peer counseling, immediate crisis intervention, transitional housing and referrals to various professional services including legal counsel and mental health care.  She has done most of this work on her own on an informal basis with virtually no resources or other support.  She has done many of the things that Safe Passage Foundation has talked about doing for years and we are hopeful Safe Passage Foundation can transform its plans into action with her assistance and insight.

Janja Lalich, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Sociology at California State University, Chico. Her research and writing has focused on cults and controversial groups, with a specialization in charismatic authority, power relations, ideology, and social control, and issues related to gender and sexuality. Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships (with Madeleine Tobias - 2004) is a general introduction to cults with a focus on recovery. Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults, (University of California Press - 2005) presents a new approach to understanding cult commitments, and is based on her comparative study of Heaven’s Gate, which committed collective suicide in 1997, and the Democratic Workers Party, a radical left-wing political cult. Other works include being guest editor of Women Under the Influence: A Study of Women’s Lives in Totalist Groups (a special issue of Cultic Studies Journal 14,1, 1997); and coauthor of “Crazy” Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work? (Jossey-Bass, 1996); Cults in Our Midst (Jossey-Bass, 1995); and Captive Hearts, Captive Minds: Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive Relationships (Hunter House, 1994).

Kristi LaMattery is a survivor of the Children of God/The Family cult and was born and raised in the group until the age of 16 when she left her home and the group. Since her departure she has joined the Army and served a 6 year term. Her background includes seven years of collegiate philosophy training, with study at Louisiana State University, the University of San Diego and St. Clair's in Oxford, England. Kristi works as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused and neglected children in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a state wide speaker on ritualistic sexual abuse and is working with state and local agencies to train investigators and service providers of sexual assault victims.

Alexandra Stein was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and has also lived in England, France and the United States. She has a Ph.D in Sociology and a Masters in Liberal Studies, both from the University of Minnesota. Her academic focus is on the social psychology of extremist groups. She has a particular interest in the experience of children and families in such groups. In the 1980s she was a rank and file member of a small political cult, during which time she became a mother to two children. Her book about that experience, "Inside Out: A Memoir of Entering and Breaking Out of a Minneapolis Political Cult" was published in 2002. She also writes creative non-fiction and has won two writing awards from The Loft and a Norcroft residency.

Advisory Board

Perry Bulwer — In 1972, Perry Bulwer dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to join an extremist, Bible-based cult. He lived in socially isolated communes in Canada, the U.S., Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Malaysia and China. It took nearly 20 years for Perry to break the extreme psychological hold the cult had on him. After escaping in 1991, he went on to earn a B.A. with distinction from the University of Victoria/Malaspina University-College. In 2002, Perry earned a law degree from the University of British Columbia. He was called to the Bar in 2003 and is a member of The Law Society of British Columbia. He now devotes time to human rights and social justice issues.

Lorraine Derocher works at the University of Sherbrooke’s research group Société, Droit et Religions de l'Université de Sherbrooke (SoDRUS) in Quebec, Canada.  She also teaches Sociology of Religion at that university. She has just published the results of her Master's Thesis, Vivre son enfance au sein d'une secte religieuse: Comprendre pour mieux intervenir (Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2008), which explores the challenges faced by those who were born or raised in apocalyptic groups when they leave their groups. She is presently pursuing her Ph.D. and is interested in finding new ways to intervene in problematic situations involving neglected or abused children in authoritarian groups. She also gives lectures on the topic and training to professionals who work with second generation adults.

Gillie Jenkinson is a Director of Hope Valley Counselling Limited and specializes in offering counseling and psychotherapy to those who have left cults or coercive relationships/groups and those who have been abused. Ms. Jenkinson is a trained Counselor (Advanced Diploma in Pastoral Counselling) and an MA Gestalt Psychotherapy. She is accredited and registered with United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and a member of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP). In 1999 she did a month long internship at Wellspring, Ohio and is returning summer 2008. Ms. Jenkinson was a member of The Love of God Community, a Bible-based cult, in the 1970s. She has 15 years experience working with survivors of rape, sexual abuse, and ex-cult members, as well as with clients with other issues. She is currently training as a Supervisor and supervises a number of individuals who work with rape, sexual abuse, and ex-cult members. Ms. Jenkinson runs an ex-member support and education group in London. She has presented her research, "What helps Ex-cult members recover from an abusive cult experience," at ICSA Conferences in Madrid (2005) and Denver (2006) as well as presenting a paper in Brussels in 2007. Her website is www.hopevalleycounselling.com

Kristina Jones was born and raised in the Children of God/The Family cult which she managed to escape in 1988. Since then, she has spent time studying the cult phenomenon, helped raise awareness about cults and worked as a media consultant. She has years of experience informally counseling and supporting former cult members in their recovery. Together with her sisters Juliana and Celeste, she is the co-author of 'Not Without My Sister.'