Borgenicht Fellowship Program for Community Leaders
Now Accepting Applications For Our 2025-2027 Cohort!
In 2023, the Rights and Religions Forum launched the Borgenicht Fellowship Program for Community Leaders. This first-of-its-kind program connects a diverse cohort of leaders who are challenging religious oppression and supporting the ability of individuals raised in insular religious groups (IRGs) to make personal choices and lead lives that reflect their personal values and beliefs. The fellowship program invests in their work and equips them with tools and resources to strengthen their efforts and maximize their impact.
We are now seeking to recruit our second cohort of Fellows to enroll in our 2025-2027 program, which will begin September 25. Applications are due July 31, 2025.
About the Fellowship Program
- Each Fellow is expected to complete an individual project during the two-year program. The project can be anything that 1) Serves or positively impacts an IRG disaffiliate community and 2) contributes to their development as leaders. Pending availability of funds, Fellows are eligible for up to $4200 in micro grant funding to complete their Fellowship project.
- The cohort works together with RARF staff to determine a group project that will contribute to the broader community of IRG disaffiliates.
- Programming includes: workshops and trainings from experts and fellow practitioners on a wide variety of topics; optional monthly drop-in sessions facilitated by a mental health professional; and meetings with other Fellows to share their work, learn from and support one another
- While funding structures may change based on funding availability and the results of the feedback we receive from our first cohort, Fellows may be eligible for up to $1000 in stipends for their participation in Fellowship meetings
Support the Leaders Doing the Work
Below is our inaugural group of six incredible leaders who are challenging the status quo that makes it difficult for individuals to leave or deviate from IRGs. Drawing from their personal journeys, they are united in their desire to advance the rights of individuals from IRGs through direct service, advocacy, and research.
If you’d like to directly support the leaders doing this vital work, please consider donating to our Fellowship Fund today! All donations are tax-deductible.
The Rights and Religions Forum is a 501c3 non-profit founded to create spaces and curate conversations around these often ignored and complex questions, giving a voice to the oppressed and vulnerable within isolated religious communities. All donations are tax-deductible.
Our Fellows: 2025-2027 cohort
Margaret Bronson
Theonomy & Christian Reconstruction / Founder of Deconstruction Doulas
Margaret was born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania. When she was a child, her family became part of an evangelical, Christian Reconstructionist cult in the area. Child sexual abuse and domestic violence were part and parcel of her world, all approved of or protected by the theological constraints of the theonomist, neo-Calvinist theology of the cult’s leaders.
Margaret married a Southern Baptist pastor when she was 20, providing her a path out of the cult. She and a fellow survivor founded The Deconstruction Doulas in 2021, a non-profit organized around helping people escape high-control, coercive religious groups, cults, and churches. Margaret now works for Deconstruction Doulas as its program director, where she leads peer-support groups, writes educational material, and works with survivor cases behind-the-scenes.
Laura Davis
Ex-Christian Fundamentalist / Founder of All Who Wander
Laura Davis was born and raised in the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), an insular, fundamentalist and evangelical church that was prominent in the United States throughout the 80s and 90s. She disaffiliated from the ICOC at 16 years old, with the support of a healthy Christian community and plenty of therapy. Since 2020 she has supported over 100 individuals and families in their desire to leave their faith communities and/or their faith, rebuild their lives, and integrate into broader society. In 2023, she had the honor of speaking at the International Cultic Studies Association and sharing her story.
With the support of the Borgenicht Fellowship Program, she is building a network of therapists, social workers, educators, and skilled volunteers to support people who have left or are considering leaving insular, fundamentalist Christian communities. With the success of this initiative, she is developing, All Who Wander, a nonprofit social support and human rights organization.
In addition to her volunteer work, she is a consultant at Aropa Consulting, a people-first organizational management consultancy for nonprofit, public sector, and international organizations. She is also a student in the CUNY BA Program for Unique and Interdisciplinary studies pursuing a dual major in Organizational Design and Social Identity Development.
She lives in New York City with her husband and three children, who simultaneously slow her down and keep her moving. In her free time, she loves quiet activities like reading fiction and completing jigsaw puzzles.
Rita Ivy
Ex-JeHovah's Witnesses / Co-Founder & Executive Director of Liberated Consciousness
Vanessa LaRose
Ex-Scientologist/Certified Peer Support Specialist
Vanessa La Rose is a Master of Social Work candidate at Boise State University and a Certified Peer Support Specialist through the California Mental Health Services Administration (CALMSHA). Vanessa received her BA in Psychology from California State University of Long Beach in 2022. She is currently completing her MSW internship with a nonprofit serving veterans experiencing houselessness, where she supports client intake, develops program materials, and advances trauma-informed care practices. Vanessa brings direct experience in mental health and peer support, with a focus on recovery, resilience, and empowering individuals facing systemic barriers.
She is also the creator of Recovering from Scientology, a digital platform dedicated to exploring life after leaving high-demand religious groups. Through educational content, storytelling, and community dialogue, she raises awareness about coercive control, complex trauma, and the challenges of rebuilding one’s identity after religious disaffiliation. Her perspective is informed by her own background of being born into Scientology – which she now frames as a lived experience that motivates her advocacy and leadership.
In addition to her work with people, Vanessa has spent 15 years in animal rescue, fostering and rehabilitating many dogs and pairing them with their forever homes. She envisions bridging her dual passions by developing social work interventions that integrate animal-assisted support for trauma recovery and social reintegration.
Her long-term goals include advancing policy and practice around cult recovery, homelessness, and integrative healing approaches, building pathways of justice, safety, and connection for individuals and communities who have been silenced or marginalized. Vanessa currently lives with her 3 dogs Stella, Bruno & Lexi.
Dhyana Levey
GREW UP ON A THEOSOPHIST COMMUNE / JOURNALIST, MEDIA CONSULTANT & CULT RECOVERY SPECIALIST
Dhyana Levey was born into a small theosophical commune in Southern California that had its own charismatic leader and left when she was 18 to pursue a career in journalism. She now lives in San Francisco and works as a writer, podcaster and consultant on various projects helping others recover after leaving insular religious groups.
Since 2018, she’s produced and hosted the podcast Generation Cult, an interview show about people who grew up in high-demand groups and how they adjusted to mainstream society after they left. Dhyana has a master’s degree in the psychology of coercive control from the University of Salford in England. Her master’s thesis studied how media coverage of controlling groups impacts those who have left them. It was published in the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse and Manipulation (IJCAM).
She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and worked as a newspaper reporter in California for Bay Area News Group, McClatchy Newspapers and the San Francisco Daily Journal, as well in Southeast Asia for The Cambodia Daily. She’s been a freelance writer, editor and copywriter for the past decade at a range of publications and websites in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dhyana uses her experience as a member of the media to help people who have left insular religious groups better tell their stories. Part of that work includes giving regular presentations in the US and internationally.
Sammy
Ex-Muslim Atheist / Haram Doodles & Ex-Muslims International
Jeremy Schumaker
Ex-evangelical (WELS) / Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist / Podcaster
Jeremy Schumacher is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with over 15 years of experience in the mental health field. Jeremy has expertise in relationship counseling, religious trauma, late diagnosed neurodivergence, and sports performance. He has worked for non-profits, in higher ed, and currently is the owner and operator of Wellness with Jer, a private practice in Milwaukee, WI.
Jeremy has given local and national talks on topics related to healthy boundaries, neurodivergence, team building, and religious trauma. He actively works to destigmatize seeking help for mental health and is the host of the Your Therapist Needs Therapy podcast.
Outside of work, Jeremy likes to spend time outdoors with his wife and two boys, particularly paddleboarding the many bodies of water in the Midwest. Jeremy is passionate about working with his rescue dogs, and has been known to have strong opinions about music, coffee, and the psychology of superheroes.
John Verner
Ex-Evangelical / Investigative Journalist / Podcaster
John Verner (he/him) is an investigative journalist whose work confronts the hidden power structures and cultural forces shaping modern faith and politics. Raised in white evangelical Christianity, he began questioning the narratives he was taught and eventually left the tradition behind. In 2019, while living out of a van, he wrote The Cult of Christianity: How Churches Control, Contain, and Convert, launching a career devoted to exposing systems of control and the human cost they carry.
Through The Cult of Christianity podcast, as well as projects like Amateur Religious Trauma Therapy, Parsing Propaganda, and Lisa Joins a Cult, John has cultivated spaces for open dialogue and critical reflection. His reporting and essays have appeared in The Click News and on his Substack, where he investigates issues ranging from leadership abuses within Hillsong to Title IX violations at Christian colleges.
In addition to his independent journalism, John serves as Publishing Editor at VOX ATL, mentoring Atlanta teens as they produce uncensored, professional-level content in digital and print media. Whether through his own investigations or by empowering others to tell their stories, John is committed to making complex truths accessible and sparking conversations that challenge entrenched systems.
Beyond his professional work, John values authenticity over idealization, is candid about his mental health journey, and finds joy in football, music, and time spent with his cat, Louis.
Our 2023-2025 cohort
Hannah Abbasi
Humanist and secular muslim/executive director of an-nas
Hannah Abbasi is a transplant to New York City from Austin, Texas. As an adult, Hannah has also lived in Qom, Beirut, and Cairo. At the University of Texas at Austin, Hannah studied Religious Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and History with a minor in Arabic Language. She went on to study at howza (Islamic seminaries) in Iran and Lebanon.Hannah first moved to New York City in 2012 to work in AmeriCorps VISTA. Hannah continued working in non-profit youth development at prominent community organizations serving Arabs and Muslims in New York City. Hannah transitioned into public education in 2016 as a high school teacher at a transfer school for new immigrants with a high Muslim population. For four years, Hannah taught ESL Social Studies courses guided by social justice and with an aim of developing responsible global citizens. She completed her Master’s of Science in Education from the City College of New York in 2018.Hannah brings to An-Nas her experience in the secular Muslim community as a former City Organizer and an Executive Board President. She is also socially and politically active and believes in building bridges across lines of faith and culture.
Mary Byler
non-practicing Amish/
CEO of THE Misfit Amish
Mary Byler, born Amish, is the CEO of The Misfit Amish, an organization they founded to create and provide meaningful and educational resources for survivors, medical and legal support systems.
They are certified in social and behavioral research by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative and serves as a researcher and cultural advisor for the Lock Haven University study on child sexual abuse in conservative Anabaptist communities. They are actively working on publication of a peer reviewed study on Amish and Anabaptist Child Sexual Abuse with Tara Mitchell PHD, Lock Haven University, presenting educational information to Healthcare Providers, Domestic Violence Advocates and CYS/DHS to bridge the cultural gaps, while collaborating with The Plain People’s Podcast, other professionals and experts to continue creating resources that will enable Amish and Mennonites to access information that meets them where they are.
As an educator and advocate for Amish children, they collaborate with other organizations and agencies to provide research supported and evidence-based best practice-based resources for Amish/Plain communities and survivors.
A medical coder by profession, Byler also holds a Master certificate in life coaching, multiple certifications in trauma awareness, and specializes in working with survivors from cults and conservative sectarian religious groups. Byler was a co-creator of a recent exhibit in Lancaster County on Amish/Plain clothing and sexual assault. They produce audio and video recordings of Amish/Plain survivor stories, focusing on LGBTQ survivor stories.
Shirlee Draper
EX-FLDS MORMON/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, CHERISH FAMILIES
A former member of the fundamentalist polygamous Mormon sect now known as FLDS, Shirlee is the Director of Operations for Cherish Families, a social service nonprofit which offers crime victim and wraparound services for people from polygamous backgrounds who need stability. She specializes in bridging the population with mainstream society and provides education for outside service providers and government agencies to facilitate cultural competence in dealing with fundamentalist community members. Shirlee lives in St. George with her children and relishes the moments when she gets to spend time with them.
Sarah O
Ex-ultra orthodox Jewish/Interfaithless meetup facilitator
Sarah grew up in a fundamentalist Orthodox Jewish sect before leaving as an adult. She has done extensive work as a staff member at Footsteps, including leading support groups for folks who left various types of insular or fundamentalist religious communities. She earned a Master’s degree in clinical psychology, and focused her thesis on developing empirical evidence for religious trauma. She continues to synthesize relevant religious disaffiliation and religious trauma research to amplify awareness of scientific advancements and highlight the growing recognition of religious disaffiliation and trauma within scientific literature.
Janice selbie
Ex-"Mennocostal"/
Registered Professional Counselor
Janice was raised in a Bible-believing Pentecostal Christian home before eventually marrying a man who would become a pastor. In her 30s she became associated with the ultraconservative Holdeman Mennonite church and began donning a head-covering, homeschooling their children, and rejecting any vestiges of secular life (TV, radio, music, newspapers, magazines, etc.). During this time, Janice referred to myself as “Mennocostal.”
In her early 40s, a series of significant family tragedies caused Janice to start questioning her deeply held faith. As her marriage unraveled, her questions grew. She found herself wondering about the impact of religion and religious trauma syndrome on sexuality, gender roles and equality, social justice, and more.
After ending her decades-long marriage, Janice went back to school to attain her Diploma of Applied Psychology and Counselling and become a Registered Professional Counsellor. After exploring Religious Trauma Syndrome, Janice recognized the need for qualified secular mental health clinicians to learn more about this issue, leading her to found CORT – the Conference on Religious Trauma, hosting the inaugural event in 2021.
In 2022, Janice founded and hosted the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture online event as an additional platform for specialists and those in recovery to discuss this important issue. Also in 2022, Janice launched the CORT YouTube channel and began hosting the Divorcing Religion Podcast.
In 2023, Janice and her co-partners began exploring what it would take to open up Recovery Centers for those leaving insular religious and high-demand spiritual groups. In April of 2023, they hosted an in-person and on-line event in L.A. to foster initial discussions with other interested parties and those who had previously been involved in cult-recovery centers in the USA. This exploration is ongoing and is currently known as the Recovery Center Project, or RCP.
Beatrice Weber
FORMERLY HASIDIC/Senior advisor AT YAFFED