Rev. Kenneth Garrett, MDiv., DMin, is senior pastor of Grace Church, Portland, OR. For 12 years Ken and his wife Sharon belonged to an abusive, controlling church in which their life-choices, beliefs, and behaviors were increasingly brought under the control of church leaders. Ken and Sharon left church in 1996 with their three daughters. Ken attended seminary and has completed post-graduate research in spiritual abuse as it occurs in Christian churches. Ken and Sharon now enjoy many opportunities to counsel and care for survivors of abusive churches from the Portland-metro area and have established the Spiritual Abuse Forum for Education (SAFE), a regular gathering to promote friendship and education for survivors of spiritual abuse. Ken's book, In the House of Friends: Understanding and Healing from Spiritual Abuse in the Christian Church, (Wipf and Stock Press, 2020) describes the inner workings of high-control churches, the pastors who lead them, and the process of leaving and recovering from the abuse inflicted by such churches.

Ashlen Hilliard (she/her) is a cult intervention specialist helping families with loved ones in cultic or high-control groups or relationships and is the face behind People Leave Cults.

She completed her MSc in the Psychology of Coercive Control in early 2022 and conducted research on the relationship between reproductive coercion, psychologically abusive environments, and the extent of group identity in a sample of those who have left cultic groups.

Ashlen has previous experience working for multiple non-profit settings in the field of cult recovery. Most recently, this has included working as Director of Events for the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). During that time, she facilitated workshops, webinars, and conferences for those in touch with multiple aspects of the cult phenomenon including therapists, former members, legal professionals, media representatives, academics, and others. Previous to her work with ICSA, she also worked as a case manager in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the non-profit Holding Out Help, where she was involved in the front lines of helping individuals leaving diverse polygamist communities out West.

She currently enjoys living in Portland, Oregon where she is a volunteer co-organizer of the Spiritual Abuse Forum for Education (SAFE) Meetup for those who have left or are considering leaving high-demand religious groups in the local community.

Kent Burtner, M. Div., M.A., served as a Roman Catholic priest of the Dominican Order for 20 years, resigning from the priesthood in 1994. He subsequently served as program manager for an interfaith social-services agency, director of the agency’s Cult Resource Center, public-information officer for a local county public-health department, and parish business manager. A published author, Kent has also lectured extensively in the United States, Canada and Spain. In 1983, he received the Leo J. Ryan Award from the Cult Awareness Network for his work educating the public about cults and thought-reform programs. Kent makes his home in Portland, Oregon and as a pastoral counselor has consulted with more than a thousand individuals or families about the cult affiliations of their loved ones and about adjusting to life after leaving a cult or other high-control group. wkburtner@aol.com.

Sharon and Ken escaped an abusive, high-control “bible-based” church in 1996. Sharon has a keen interest in all matters related to healing and recovery from spiritual use. She’s played a major role in helping spiritual abuse survivors find recovery over the past 25 years. Sharon is a natural people connector and community builder! If you are interested in helping with our SAFE meetups, Sharon is the person to contact! Sharon also serves as Director of Community Outreach at her church and manages its guest house. She and Ken have three daughters and five grandchildren. She and Ken founded the Spiritual Abuse Forum for Education after finding their community lacked a comfortable, open forum for people from all walks of life to meet other survivors of abuse in a spiritual/religious setting and pursue healthy recovery.