About Us:
Our Story, Team Members, and Testimonials
Our Story | The Heroic Journey
Over 20 years ago, four women with over 100 years of combined experience with adolescents created a powerful rite of passage program called The Heroic Journey Program.
They researched the needs and challenges of this extraordinary age group and with their vast experience crafted a curriculum full of practical, inspiring, and self-reflective lessons and activities that help adolescents understand the changes they are going through. It was a true labor of love. The four creators are passing the torch on to us in the hopes of reaching a much larger audience.
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The Heroic Journey Program responds to the built-in human need for some kind of process to mark the shift from adolescence to adulthood. Traditional cultures almost always had a rite of passage experience. Presently, in mainstream America, it consists of getting a driver’s license and being “of age” to consume alcohol. With the Heroic Journey Program we help young people: learn who they are and develop strengths, resilience, and empathy during this phase of their lives so they can learn to navigate the adult world with confidence, creativity and their own unique talents in facing personal challenges.
Meet the Team
Chandon Sherwood Thorell
Co-Founder and Lead Trainer
After graduating from Notre Dame and spending several years working as an architect, Chandon, spent ten years teaching, consulting or directing Villa Montessori Middle School, in Phoenix, Arizona. His presentation, organization and system building skills, have been sought after by several Middle School administrative teams and programs in the Phoenix area as the previous owner of After COOL Fitness and After COOL Outdoors, and now as the Director of the Heroic Journey University in alliance with UCYC Camp in Presecott, AZ. A lover of the outdoors, Chandon leads students in outdoor education programs, leadership development, and adventure trips. Chandon’s signature characteristics in consulting and facilitating with students and staff are leadership, humor, patience and belief in each person’s ability to achieve. And as always with Chandon, fun is the order of the day.
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Chandon shown here with Anne Bruetsch, one of the original creators of the Heroic Journey Program, and with Mary Orlando, long-time supporter and facilitator of the program.
Celeste J. Ross, MA
Co-Founder and Parent/Teacher Trainer
A seasoned and impassioned educator, Celeste has been combining her skills and talents to help develop leaders, families, and teams for almost 40 years. Her personal mission is to call forth people's greatness and help them live their lives from the 'inside out'.
Her passion lies in developing leaders of all ages, especially empowering our country's youth in finding greater autonomy, resilience, creativity, compassion, and response-ability through taking the life-changing, experiential learning program, the Heroic Journey: Rite of Passage Program.
In addition to her degrees, Celeste holds certifications in Feldenkrais® Learning Method, Somatic Education, Montessori Secondary I Education, CranioSacral Therapy and Integrative Nutrition. She has presented at the national Montessori Education Conference and offers trainings with leaders and educators in the United States and internationally. Her trainings focus on using instinctual strengths, building self-awareness and confidence, realizing goals, and identifying innate gifts and talents to make their own unique contribution to the World.
Celeste spends her free time and creative energies walking the wilderness in Colorado, sewing, cooking, teaching self-care courses, and writing/illustrating a children's book series called The Adventures of Curly Top.
Stephanie Clergé, MBA
Co-Founder
With a deep passion for youth empowerment and personal development, Stephanie Clergé brings a wealth of experience and dedication to the Heroic Journey Program. Her involvement is driven by a desire to inspire young people to unlock their full potential through transformative experiences. Drawing from her extensive experience in leadership and development, Stephanie was inspired by her encounter with the Heroic Journey curriculum at Villa Montessori, where she served on the Council of Elders. Her passion for the program stems from witnessing young students take ownership of their personal growth through creative challenges and life-affirming projects.Stephanie is dedicated to expanding this powerful curriculum, ensuring that more students can access this life-changing experience.
A dynamic leader with a background in coaching, consulting, and talent development, she brings an unwavering commitment to helping others step into their roles as heroes, both in their own lives and in their communities.Stephanie has served on the board and leadership giving society of ICAN, a critically acclaimed out-of-school time program for youth in Arizona. She is also the co-founder of another non-profit, HeroicAZ, dedicated to the flourishing of people of all ages as they increase their confidence in meeting life’s challenges. Stephanie and her husband have two teenage children whose creativity inspires her each day.
John Bagley, MA
Teacher Trainer
John has taught the Montessori Middle School Curriculum, which includes the Heroic Journey Program, for almost 25 years. John has witnessed the growth and development of adolescents throughout his years of facilitating the Heroic Journey curriculum - a program which is about the heart and character of being human and creating a healthy, meaningful sense of self.
"I enjoy each part of the curriculum, as it challenges both educators and students to look inward and reflect on their social development skills in a restorative way. I look forward to teaching the HJ curriculum for the opportunities it creates in developing students who increase their self-awareness and live out their desire to be a positive contributor to their learning and global communities."
Christian Hicks, MA
Teacher Trainer
"Before moving abroad to the United Arab Emirates, I spent eight years co-founding and developing an inquiry-based adolescent program for a Montessori Charter School Academy in Michigan. These years helped shape me as an educator, and by far were my most influential years in education. It was during this tenure that I led the Heroic Journey for our adolescent program and was immediately mystified by how it changed and transformed young people from the inside out.
Since moving abroad in 2010, I have held a variety of educational leadership roles. I have been fortunate to serve as a Head of Department, Educational Advisor, English Curriculum Lead and Academic Quality Improvement Officer for Abu Dhabi Department of Education Knowledge. I also served in a post for The Ministry of Education across a cluster of K-12 schools administering support to Principals and Heads of Faculty in the areas of curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy. Currently I work for a Charter School pilot project funded by the Abu Dhabi government which involves helping to lead the first Charter School movement in the UAE.
Through my various posts and experiences in education, I have been fortunate to see how education helps shapes the way we understand and perceive the world around us. It crosses cultural, economic, and social boundaries. It is through curiosity and creativity that we are motivated to take risks and embrace the challenges that are a part of our daily lives. I believe it is the job of educators to recognize this and embed it into their educational practices so that learning has purpose, is connected to real world problems, and encourages lifelong learning and pursuits."
Jen Moyer, MA
Teacher Trainer
Jen Moyer began her career in Education as a certified health and physical education teacher. For over 30 years she has been educating students ages 2-18 in the classroom, the gym, and through outdoor and adventure education programs. A champion of student advocacy, Jen believes in educating "the whole child" using programs like The Heroic Journey Rite of Passage Program and now specializes in helping students and teachers realize the positive outcomes of social and emotional education. A natural motivator with a passion for personal wellness, she encourages the use of a positive mindset to affect change.
Jen skillfully blends physical activity and play with creative problem solving, as well as face to face communication skills and small group challenges to facilitate community building for students and staff, personal wellness for young adults, and self-care seminars for teachers. She is also a licensed trainer for the International Institute for Restorative Practices for introduction to restorative practices and circles training.
As a public educator for more than 27 years, Jen currently works at Twin Valley Middle School, a 2018 PAMLE ‘School to Watch’ building. She is a Health and Physical Educator, Student Advocacy/Student Leadership Coordinator, and a licensed Restorative Practices Trainer. Jen has provided building and district professional development and has also presented at the IIRP International Conference, and several PAMLE State Conferences.
