Janja Lalich, Ph.D. is a researcher, author, and educator specializing in cults and extremist groups, with a particular focus on charismatic relationships, political and other social movements, ideology, and social control, and issues of gender and sexuality. She has been a consultant to educational, mental health, business, media, and legal professionals, as well as having worked with current members, former members, and families of members of controversial groups.
A former Fulbright scholar, Dr. Lalich is a Professor Emerita of Sociology at California State University, Chico, where in 2007 she was awarded the Professional Achievement Honor. She is also the founder and director of the Center for Research on Influence and Control. She has a Master’s in Human Development and a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California.
Keely Griffin is one of the survivors bravely sharing her experience inside the TFU cult. In addition to exposing TFU, she aspires to advocate for fellow survivors in the legal system and contribute to the education and legislation around coercive control.”
Jacob Wheeler lives in Traverse City, Michigan, with his wife Sarah and children, Nina and Leo. He publishes the Glen Arbor Sun newspaper and works with student journalists at Northwestern Michigan College. His reporting has won awards from Project Censored and the Michigan Press Association. A native of Denmark, he has filed stories from five continents, and his work has appeared in such publications as The Rotarian, Teaching Tolerance, Utne Reader, In These Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Detroit Free Press, and San Francisco Chronicle.
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