Townsend Institute Faculty and Fellows
Learn from Christian influencers, author-teachers, and practitioners in your field.
Engage With World-Class Thought Leaders
The Townsend Institute at Concordia University Irvine takes a different approach to academics. We know it’s the time you spend with people who have legitimate on-the-ground experiences and have accomplished their goals that have the greatest impact.
That’s why we provide students with the opportunity to personally learn from Dr. John Townsend, our renowned Institute Fellows, and world-class faculty. Together, they cultivate a relational learning experience, addressing the head and the heart through science and data.
Meet the distinguished faculty members who teach our programs and our Institute Fellows, who you will connect with during monthly virtual symposia.
Meet Our Faculty
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Christine Arnzen
Professor of Counseling
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Christine Murray
Professor of Counseling
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David Savinsky
Professor of Counseling
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Donna Washburn
Professor of Counseling
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Gilbert Fugitt
Professor of Organizational Leadership
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Mark Newmeyer
Professor of Counseling
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Matthew Paylo
Professor of Counseling
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Ashlie Andrew
Organizational Leadership Program Director
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Brenda Keck
Associate Professor of Counseling
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Christi Myers
Associate Professor of Counseling
Meet The Townsend Institute Fellows
Current Fellows
Current Fellows are involved in this year’s program and events, contributing to our academic community.
Jon Acuff
Bestselling Author
Jon Acuff is the New York Times Bestselling author of six books and was named an INC Top 100 leadership speaker. His work is taught by the NFL Player’s Association and each year he talks to some of the biggest brands in the world including Microsoft, Nissan, Comedy Central, and FedEx.
Daniel Amen, M.D.
Founder, Amen Clinics
Psychiatrist, brain disorder specialist, founder of the Amen Clinics, bestselling author, Change Your Brain, Change Your Mind.
Steve Arterburn, M.Ed.
Founder, New Life Ministries
Founder and chairman, New Life Ministries and New Life syndicated radio program, founder of Women of Faith, bestselling author, including Every Man’s Battle.
George Barna
Barna Research Group
Founder of the Barna Research Group, leadership expert and bestselling author of many books, including Master Leaders.
Greg Brenneman
Chairman, CCMP Capital
Past President of Continental Airlines, past CEO of Burger King; past CEO of Quiznos; past CEO of Price Waterhouse Cooper Consulting.
Jim Burns
President of HomeWord
Jim Burns speaks to thousands of people around the world; he has over 1.5 million resources in print in over 25 languages including Faith Conversations for Families.
Greg Campbell
Management and Leadership Consultant
A Management and Leadership Consultant and author of books on effective leadership. A prior partner of Coldwell Banker Corporation and Richard Ellis, Inc.
Gary Chapman, Ph.D
Bestselling Author
Psychologist, marriage and family expert, founder of the Gary Chapman Chair at Moody Bible Institute, author of many books, including the New York Times bestseller The Five Love Languages.
Henry Cloud, Ph.D.
Bestselling Author
Leadership expert, business consultant, psychologist and bestselling author, including Boundaries for Leaders.
Jim Daly
President and CEO, Focus on the Family
Popular author, including the title Finding Home.
Ron Deal, LMFT, LPC
Director, FamilyLife Blended®
Ron has worked in marriage and family ministry since 1988. He currently serves as President of Smart Stepfamilies™ and Senior Director of FamilyLife Blended®. He is the most widely read and viewed author on blended families in the country.
Dennis Del Valle, M.A.
Marriage & Family Therapist
Executive Coach, Therapist, Townsend Leadership Program Director.
Roy Englebrecht
Sports Entrepreneur
In a long-term career, Roy has owned minor league baseball, hockey, and football teams. He has sold his fight promotions company 4 times.
Ines Franklin
Founder, Trochia Ministries
President and Founder of Trochia Ministries providing Christian discipleship online, a Teaching Pastor at Mariners Church, host of Uncharted Podcast, and CFO of J.D. Franklin Holdings.
Eric Geiger
Senior Pastor, Mariners Church
He has served as senior vice-president for LifeWay Christian and authored the bestselling church leadership book, Simple Church.
Bob Goff
Author and Founder, Love Does
Bob Goff is the author of the New York Times bestselling books Love Does, Everybody Always, Dream Big, and Undistracted. He is the Honorary Consul to the Republic of Uganda, an attorney, and the founder of Love Does, a nonprofit human rights organization operating in 14 countries.
George Gregory and Tondra Gregory
NFL Chaplains, Los Angeles Chargers
George and Tondra Gregory have worked with many current and retired couples throughout the National Football League and started a marriage ministry called Journey for Life.
Steve Hotchkiss, DVM
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Thrive Pet Healthcare
Townsend Leadership Program Director
Mark Householder
President, Athletes in Action
Leading over 1,000 staff members in 65 countries who serve athletes and coaches.
Michael Hyatt
Founder and Chairman, Full Focus
Hyatt has scaled multiple companies, including a $250M publishing company with 700+ employees and his own leadership development company, Full Focus. He is the author of several New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling books.
William Kirwan, Ph.D., D.Min.
Master Clinician
Teacher and author of Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling, Board Member for the Narramore Christian Foundation.
Patrick Lencioni
President, The Table Group
Pat is one of the founders of The Table Group and is the pioneer of the organizational health movement. He is the author of 13 books, which have sold over 8 million copies. Pat speaks and writes about leadership, teamwork, and organizational health.
Michael Lyles, M.D.
Psychiatrist
Award winning psychiatrist, columnist, teacher and mental health advocate.
Gabe Lyons
Author, Speaker, Podcaster, Founder of THINQ
Gabe Lyons is a bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and the founder of THINQ, a groundbreaking media company dedicated to exploring the intersection of faith, culture, and the next generation.
Miles McPherson
Pastor, Author, Leader, Actor, Speaker
Miles McPherson is the pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, former defensive back for the San Diego Chargers, author, actor, motivational speaker, and founder of DoSomethingChurch.org.
Donald Miller
CEO, Story Brand, Coach Builder
Author of several books including the bestsellers Building a StoryBrand 2.0, Marketing Made Simple, Coach Builder, and How to Grow Your Small Business. Donald lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth and their daughter, Emmeline.
Johnnie Moore
CEO, Kairos Company
Kairos Company provides branding, strategy and public relations counsel to leaders and organizations.
Anita Phillips, LCSW, Ph.D.
Trauma Therapist, Life Coach
Dr. Phillips is a trauma therapist who is widely recognized as a thought leader at the intersection of mental health, faith, and culture. She is the author of the book The Garden Within: Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins.
Freddie Scott
Founder, Unlock the Champion
Former NFL Player, Current NFL Ambassador. Certified Transition Coach for the NFL Player Engagement Program and family expert for the NFL Players Association. Author of The Dad I Wish I Had.
Cindy Steinbeck
Founder, Voice in the Vineyard Ministries
Cindy Steinbeck is the owner-president of Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles, California; a frequent speaker at conferences, conventions, and retreats; and the author of The Vine Speaks: Eleven Lessons from John 15, a book that reflects her passion for the vineyard and for the Vine, Jesus Christ.
Curt Thompson, M.D.
Founder, Being Known, LLC
Psychiatrist. Author of Anatomy of the Soul.
Associative Fellows
Associative Fellows are recognized for their ongoing affiliation and valued presence within our fellowship network.
Karen Bergstrom, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Safe Families for Children
Karen Bergstrom optimizes her over thirty years of experience as an executive in nonprofit agencies and enjoys her role as a leadership coach and directing Safe Families for Children.
Ken Blanchard
Bestselling Author
Management expert, founder and spiritual director of the Blanchard Companies, Founder of Lead Like Jesus, speaker, bestselling author, including One Minute Manager.
Dave Browne
Board Member, Athletes in Action
Former CEO LensCrafters and Family Christian Bookstores.
Anita Carman
Founder & President of Inspire Women
Speaker, author, teacher, and leader of an organization that invests in equipping women to serve God’s purpose in missions and ministry. Inspire Women reaches thousands of women each year through its citywide events, programs and Leadership Academy curriculum.
Anthony Flynn
CEO, Work Faith Connection
Anthony is a highly sought-after adviser to CEOs, Key Executives, and their companies. Anthony has authored The Execution Pipeline, The Happiness Map, The 120 Planner and Zero to Seven Figures.
John Gottman, Ph.D. and Julie Gottman, Ph.D.
Co-Founders, The Gottman Institute
Relationship researchers, clinicians, and bestselling authors, including The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.
Mart Green
Ministry Investment Officer, Hobby Lobby
Founder and past CEO of Mardel Christian and Education bookstores, and co-host of illumiNations, a collective impact alliance working to eradicate Bible poverty.
Steve Green
President, Hobby Lobby
Chairman of the Board for the Museum of the Bible. Steve started working at Hobby Lobby when he graduated from high school when there were only 8 stores. Today Hobby Lobby has over 900 stores in 47 states.
Howard Halderman
CEO, Halderman Companies
Halderman Companies is one of the largest family-owned professional farm management and real estate organizations in the United States.
Richard Halderman
CEO, Teays River Investments
Teays River Investments is a food and agribusiness company with over 1,200 employees.
Ray Hilbert
CEO, Truth at Work
Ray is also the Co-Founder of Truth at Work, an association which helps Christian business leaders build strong organizations, popular author, including The Janitor.
Lowell Hoffman, Ph.D.
Co-Director, BIPACT
Psychologist, psychoanalyst, co-director of The Brookhaven Institute for Psychoanalysis and Christian Thought (BIPACT).
Marie Hoffman, Ph.D.
Founding Director, BIPACT
Psychologist, psychoanalyst, founding director of The Brookhaven Institute for Psychoanalysis and Christian Thought (BIPACT), author Toward Mutual Recognition, When the Roll Is Called.
Christi Hockel-Davenport
Stage actor
Actor, artist, speaker dedicated to living an exceptional life as a witness that God doesn’t make mistakes, even when one is born with an extra chromosome. Widowed suddenly after 11 happy years married to her inspirational co-Fellow and advocate, Austin, she is learning to love again.
Nancy Houston
Therapist
Townsend Leadership Program Director
Timothy R. Jennings, M.D., DFAPA
Founder and President, Come and Reason Ministries
Psychiatrist, speaker, author of The God-Shaped Brain.
Josh Kwan
President, The Gathering
The Gathering is a learning community of philanthropists motivated by their Christian faith. Previously, he was the Co-Founder and Partner at Praxis, a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship.
Terry Ledbetter
Executive Coach
Retired Founder and CEO of State National Companies, Inc., a leading provider of niche property and casualty insurance services.
Kevin Leman, Ph.D.
Bestselling Author
Psychologist, best-selling author, including The Birth Order Book.
Dave Lindsey
Founder and CEO, Defender Direct
Defender Direct is a $500m security and home automation company and founder of Companies With a Mission.
John Mabee
CEO, Mabee Ranch
Chairman of The Mabee Foundation, M.S and an M.A. Psychology, M.S., counselor for 32 years.
Paul Meier, M.D.
Founder, Meier Clinics
Psychiatrist and bestselling author, including Blue Genes.
Elisa Morgan
President Emerita, MOPS International
Co-Host Discover the Word, Speaker, Author.
David Morris, Ph.D.
Vice President and Publisher, Zondervan
Zondervan is a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
Gary J. Oliver, Ph.D.
Executive Director, The Center for Healthy Relationships
Psychologist, bestselling author, including Mad About Us: Moving from Anger to Intimacy with Your Spouse.
John Ortberg
Author
Leadership expert, former pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and teaching pastor at Willow Creek Church. Author of several books, including If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat.
Nancy Ortberg
Founding Partner, TeamWorx2
Business consultant, speaker, popular author, including Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands.
Les Parrott, Ph.D. and Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.
Bestselling authors
Psychologists, bestselling authors, including Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.
Steve Perry
Co-Founder and Chairman, Sacred Harvest Foundation
Sacred Harvest Foundation is a ministry targeting Kingdom development worldwide.
Todd Peterson
Retired NFL Placekicker
Todd Peterson played for 13 years in the NFL. He has been chairman of different non-profits, interim CEO and a member of four private company boards.
Pete Scazzero
Founder, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
Pastor. Bestselling author, The Emotionally Healthy Leader, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, The Emotionally Healthy Church.
Fred Smith
Founder and CEO, The Gathering
The Gathering is a learning community of philanthropists motivated by their Christian faith.
Joshua Straub, Ph.D. and Christi Straub
Co-Founders, Famous at Home
Authors, speakers, marriage & family strategists at LifeWay. Famous at Home help leaders build emotional intelligence and 22:6 Parenting.
Theresa Clement Tisdale, PhD, PsyD
Professor, Psychoanalyst, Psychologist
Professor of Clinical Psychology at Azusa Pacific University. Private practice clinical psychoanalyst and psychologist. Co-author of Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Eastern Orthodox Christian Anthropology in Dialogue.
Wayne Williams
Strategic Advisor, Amphenol Telect
Telect is a company specializing in connectivity, and a futurist thought leader.
Tessa Wolf, PsyD
Clinical Psychologist, Psychoanalyst (BIPACT)
Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in Roswell, GA. Clinical consultant, speaker and facilitator of women’s retreats.
John Wright
Executive Coach
Consultant, author, founder of third largest Direct Marketing Agency, as a Private Equity partner, he has helped grow and sell five companies.
Paul Young
Bestselling Author
Writer, Author of the New York Times bestseller, The Shack.
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