bret@ideasinstitutestl.org

Bret is the founder of The IDEAS institute and Restoration Counseling with over 20 years of experience in the field of psychotherapy. His experience includes successful endeavors within the fields of therapy, addiction recovery, and ministry. As the Director of Restoration, he is committed to developing his staff and interns through personal mentoring and training in state licensure. He is skilled in human resource management, campus management, and non-profit development and expansion. Bret is an expert in collective effervescence, which he defines as “The ability to awaken vivacity in several individuals at once, and then assimilate that enthusiastic energy into a collective direction.” Bret creates, organizes, develops relationships with, and leads intimate, large groups of individuals toward common goals within growth-inducing environments. Bret is a master of emotional alignment and is a specialist in experiential play, creating programs for non-profit organizations and colleges, that develop people through invitation, intellectual cross-pollination, multimedia, and kinetic activity. Intersubjectivity, differentiation, risk, wonder, process, and systems are Bret’s main focus of expertise.

emily@ideasinstitutestl.org

Emily is the co-director of Restoration Counseling and an Executive Board Member of The IDEAS Institute. Emily has been a psychotherapist for the past 18 years in both public mental health agencies and in private practice. She began working in school-supported therapy programs where she developed her focus on family systems as a foundation for interpersonal health and development. Emily founded a private practice counseling center in 2010 and began extensive training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy which focused on repairing and strengthening relational bonds. She explored the nature of grief and its effects on the human psyche and its relational strategies through the Life-Death-Life cycles of existence. Emily focuses on the power of Naming, the art of Becoming, transformation through pain, and the relentless pursuits of personal sovereignty. Emily uses her knowledge of Jungian Archetypes, the Enneagram, Family Systems, and Mixology in her work. Drawing from her Mexican heritage, Emily is inspired and fascinated by Ritual and Spirituality across various cultures. She is influenced by and grateful for the work of Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Carl Jung, Esther Perel, Halsey, Richard Rohr, Rob Bell, and Jesus. Her favorite podcast is This Jungian Life.

nathan@ideasinstitutestl.org

Nathan is a Middle School United States History teacher by trade, a writer by desire, and an occasional maker of music. In his 20 years of classroom experience, Nathan has sought to help his students recognize the common humanity in and around them by teaching them to listen to and speak from the heart. He was created to help people find their purpose and place in the unfolding story of God and Man. Nathan holds Masters degrees in Education and Theology. Local affiliations include the Helen Fitzgerald’s Chapter of the Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Club and the Viking Pipe Club of Saint Louis (Founder). Nathan’s current fascinations are, trying to experience God beyond the walls of the Church and understanding the devastation that shame brings upon the human soul.

william@ideasinstitutestl.org

William owns, runs and works as an economist at John Ward Economics, where he provides expert testimony regarding economic damages since July of 2019. He received his Ph.D. in economics at Colorado State University in 2004 where he received the Outstanding Graduate Research award. After graduating he worked as an economics professor at the University of Missouri — Saint Louis for 12 years. He later joined the Hammond Institute as an economic fellow and professor of economics for Lindenwood University. Dr. Rogers published academic and consulting research in the areas of urban economics and labor economics. The Show-Me Institute published his latest relevant research titled “The Missing Million: Missouri’s Economic Performance Since the Moon Landing” with Professor Rik Hafer.