Soul Companioning (SC): CQ Int’l-SSD

WIL HERNANDEZ, PH.D., OBL. O.S.B.
Wil is founder and executive director of CenterQuest (CQ) and serves as the program director of its School of Spiritual Direction (SSD). A trained spiritual director, supervisor, and online instructor, Wil teaches several online classes in the field of spiritual formation for various universities and seminaries in the U.S. He serves on the editorial board of Presence journal published by Spiritual Directors International (SDI). Wil is a lay Benedictine Oblate of Saint Andrew’s Abbey at Valyermo, CA and author of a trilogy on the spirituality of Henri Nouwen

VALERIE DODGE REYNA, M.A.
Val who resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan is an original member of the Community of Companions who helped to launch CenterQuest and has since facilitated various eCourses offered by CQ ever since.  Over the last 15 years she has had the privilege of offering others a sacred space to find their genuine selves through spiritual direction and chaplaincy work. Val holds a Master’s in Spiritual Formation and has completed a residency in Clinical Pastoral Education. Trained as spiritual director under the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Val also joined Rohr’s Living School with the Center for Action and Contemplation.

CRAIG LOCKWOOD, M.S.
Craig has been pastoring at Vineyard Church of Anaheim for 32 years with emphasis on pastoral and lay counseling, support groups and inner healing. He has an M.S. in both Psychology and Pastoral Counseling and is a trained and practicing spiritual director.  For 12 years he and a team have been leading a spiritual formation community at the church utilizing  a broad sampling of different spiritual paradigms, prayer forms, and movements of inner life growth. Emerging from this are numerous spiritual directors offering both individual and group direction with peer supervision in place as a regular support.

BRENDA BUCKWELL, D.MIN.
Brenda is founder and CEO of Living Streams Flowing Water (www.livingstreamsflowingwater.com) and serves as spiritual director, coach, consultant, trainer, retreat leader and educator. She teaches several online and on-site classes in the field of spiritual formation for various seminaries in the U.S. and the UMC Cyber Campus. She also serves as spiritual director for the executive board of the Spirituality Network, Columbus, Ohio. Brenda is the author of The Advent of God’s Word: Listening for the Divine Whisper.

DANIEL ETHAN HARRIS, M.A.
Daniel is a retreat leader and author of Live Prayerfully and several devotional books. A blogger, he writes regularly at SalvationLife.com. Prior to his training as a spiritual director with CenterQuest’s School of Spiritual Direction, he studied spiritual formation at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho and completed a two-year formation program with the Transforming Center in Wheaton, Illinois. Daniel manages a family business in Midland, Texas where he makes his home with his wife Kara and their son and daughter.

VANESSA CARUSO, M.A.
Vanessa lives in Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC with her husband, Steven, and their son, Leo. She received a Master’s degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership at Spring Arbor University, and then became part of CenterQuest’s School of Spiritual Direction (SSD) inaugural cohort. Vanessa works part-time as Director of Spiritual Formation for an Anglican church called The Table. Receiving spiritual direction has been an indispensable part of her life for a decade now, so she is honored to prepare and protect a space for others to discern and respond to God’s movement and invitation in their own lives. 

GERARD BOOY, D.D.
Gerard is a spiritual director and retreat leader. He has been a lead pastor for many years, serving churches in South Africa and Canada. He has a doctorate in Old Testament studies. In the early days of his ministry, he was introduced to contemplative disciplines and spiritual direction. It transformed his approach to ministry and initiated a continuing process of personal spiritual transformation. After 27 years in pastoral ministry, he discerned God’s invitation to embark on a new journey of offering spiritual direction. Gerard received training through the CenterQuest School of Spiritual Direction (Cohort 3).

LUISA JOHNSON, PH.D.
It was “listening to God” that directed Luisa to attend Fuller Theological Seminary. With a Master’s in Theology and a PhD in Clinical Psychology, she has served God and the church for over 30 years. In pursuit of deeper contemplative practices, she retired and trained to be a Spiritual Director with Center Quest’s School of Spiritual Direction in 2015. Luisa is also an artist expressing God’s awesome creation through photography and sculpture. She and her husband live in Camarillo, CA and enjoy their four grandkids.

PAUL POTTER, M.S. PT.
For 40 years, Paul pursued a vocation as a physical therapist and business owner. For most of his life, Paul discipled others within the church and parachurch organizations. In the last few years, he has been mentoring therapists online to start and grow their own private practice. Paul graduated from CenterQuest’s SSD program in 2020.  Paul currently provides spiritual direction and leads a spiritual direction group at Grace Chapel Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.