Dr. Julene Tegerstrand is a certified spiritual director with fifteen years of experience accompanying individuals who seek a deeper, more contemplative way of being. She holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies with expertise in contemplative leadership and conflict resilience. Julene supports people navigating spiritual longing, transition, or leadership loneliness so they can live and lead from the inside out. Her approach draws on Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and spiritual formation and is informed by reflective, dialogue-based practice.
She is a public scholar and researcher. She creates accessible scholarship and designs evaluation and learning studies so organizations can verify outcomes. Her work integrates cultural humility and pluralism, making space for the complexity of identities and cultures present in teams and communities. In her practice, spiritual direction as a leadership posture shapes how people guide groups and organizations.
Her teaching background includes undergraduate and graduate courses in Christian spirituality, leadership, and pluralism. She has led programs in dialogue and peace education and has spent twenty years integrating contemplative practices in teaching and ministry within Nazarene higher education. She has directed international experiential courses in Rwanda and Kenya, along the Camino in France and Spain, and in Colombia, Jamaica, Ghana, Canada, and Ukraine. Current work includes Pathways to Peace, spiritual accompaniment for individuals and small groups, and the design of learning journeys, retreats, and pilgrimages for values-driven organizations. Julene shares reflections on contemplative peace leadership at her Substack, Human Is a Verb.
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Steve is an educator who specializes in guiding learners through transitional and transformational moments in their lives. His approach integrates Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication, incarnational spirituality, and the body’s innate capacity for healing. He is a certified trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, a Laudato Si’ Animator, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, a T’ai Chi Chih instructor, and a Ph.D. candidate in Leadership at Gonzaga University. He'll celebrate his graduation in May 2026!
Steve serves as the Chief Encouragement Officer for Heart-to-Heart: Comienzos East, a nonprofit dedicated to transformative education in prisons and communities. His work accompanying incarcerated women and men has been featured in NBC News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Hull Times, and New Jersey Monthly. He is the recipient of the Elizabeth Ann Bogert Memorial Award for the Study and Practice of Christian Mysticism, an OPUS Vision Award from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and the Environmental Achievement Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.