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Aaron Sironi
Aaron is a faculty member and the counseling training coordinator at CCEF, where he has served since 2008. He holds a master of science in marital and family therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary and has earned counseling certificates from CCEF. Aaron is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and has counseled in community mental health, psychiatric hospital, and outpatient settings. He has a passion for building strong relationships with local churches and coming alongside pastoral ministers through consultation, training, and counseling services. In addition to his work at CCEF, Aaron serves on the board of CCEF Montana, an affiliate counseling office in Billings, MT. He lives in Big Sky Country and enjoys all its outdoor activities with his wife and five children.
Alasdair GrovesÂ
Alasdair is the Executive Director of CCEF, as well as a faculty member and counselor. He has served at CCEF since 2009. He holds a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Alasdair co-founded CCEF New England, where he served as director for ten years. He also served as the director of CCEF’s School of Biblical Counseling for three years. He is the host of CCEF’s podcast and is the co-author of Untangling Emotions (Crossway, 2019). Alasdair lives in New England with his wife and three children. He is a fiction enthusiast, plays ultimate frisbee, and loves to produce and enjoy good food and good music.
Cecelia Bernhardt
Cecelia is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2004. She holds a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and has earned the advanced counseling certificate from CCEF. Cecelia has counseled in the local church context and held leadership roles in women’s and singles ministries. She has a particular burden for counseling victims of childhood sexual abuse. She enjoys reading, flower arranging, and spending time with friends and her large family.
Darby Strickland
Darby is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2003. She has a master of divinity with a counseling emphasis from Westminster Theological Seminary. Darby brings particular passion and expertise in helping the vulnerable and oppressed, especially women in abusive marriages. She has contributed to Church Cares and the PCA Domestic Abuse & Sex Assault church training materials. She has counseled in a missionary church setting and has also held leadership roles in women’s ministry. She is the author of Is it Abuse? (P&R, 2020), has written a handful of minibooks, and has contributed to several other books. Darby is married with three children. She enjoys playing strategy games with her family, kayaking, and swimming.
Ed Welch
Ed is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 1981. He holds a doctor of philosophy in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and a master of divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed is a licensed psychologist and has been active in local church ministry for decades. He has written numerous books, including When People Are Big and God Is Small (P&R Publishing, 1997), Shame Interrupted (New Growth Press, 2012), Side by Side (Crossway, 2015), and Created to Draw Near (Crossway, 2020). Ed is married with two adult daughters and eight grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his wife and extended family and playing a few of his musical instruments.
Esther Liu
Esther is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF. She has a master of arts in religion with an emphasis in biblical studies from Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as a master of arts in counseling. Since joining CCEF in 2015, Esther has served various roles, including as a counseling intern, the executive and faculty assistant, and a content editor. Esther has a passion for bringing biblical reframing to a person’s struggles and also holds deep concern for the importance of attending to multicultural aspects of counseling. She is the author of Shame: Being Known & Loved (P&R Publishing, 2022). She enjoys enjoys hiking, beach trips, and reading.
Greg Lowe
Greg holds a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a master of social work from the University of South Florida. He currently works as a hospice social worker and has additional experience working with youth in alternative school settings and with the severely mentally ill. Greg and his wife have five children and serve as foster and adoptive parents.
Jacqueline Mize
Jacqueline has counseled at CCEF since 2019 and has served as an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. She has her own counseling practice and has over 19 years of counseling experience in various contexts, including the church. Jacqueline is married with four children. She enjoys gardening, healthy cooking, spending time with her family, and reading by her fireplace.
Janet Nygren
Janet has counseled at CCEF since 2016 and served as an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling for 10 years. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Janet has many years of experience in ministry, including cross-cultural counseling both in the U.S. and in Malaysia, working with women and small groups in the local church, and counseling at a crisis pregnancy center. She has published a number of Bible study guides and has written for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Janet is married with two adult children and three grandchildren. She enjoys reading to her grandchildren, watching birds with her husband, and exploring the Great Outdoors, especially when she can do it from a kayak.
Jill Butler
Jill is the Director of Operations and a counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2021. She is also an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Jill has counseled for over twelve years in the local church as well as over four years in a biblical counseling center. She enjoys being with friends, reading, cooking, and anywhere with a tide.
Julie Smith Lowe
Julie is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2000. She is also a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and a registered play therapist supervisor. Julie holds a master of arts in counseling from Biblical Theological Seminary. She has extensive training and experience with marriage, women’s issues, sexual abuse, body image issues, parenting, and child maltreatment issues. She is trained in leading mandated reporter trainings and provides numerous trainings and consultations on child sexual abuse. She has published numerous books, including Child Proof (New Growth Press, 2018), Building Bridges ( New Growth Press, 2020), and Safeguards (New Growth Press, 2022). Julie and her husband have five children and served for 18 years as therapeutic foster and adoptive parents. She enjoys working with a trained therapy dog, volunteering, hiking, and spending time with family.
Kathie Donaldson
Kathie has counseled at CCEF since 2019 and serves as an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a master of arts in counseling from Western Kentucky University. At Missio Seminary, Kathie earned a certificate in advanced professional counseling. She is a trained trauma healing facilitator and has counseled for over twelve years in private practice, as well as in the local church context and through women’s ministry. She is married with five adult children, one with special needs, and three grandchildren. She enjoys reading, being with family, walking outdoors, off-roading, beach driving, and traveling.
Katie Leander
Katie has counseled at CCEF since 2010. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. She has counseled in her local church and has many years experience working with children and youth and in cross-cultural ministries. An adoptive mom, Katie is married with four children. She enjoys being outdoors, learning with her kids as they homeschool, spending time with her family, and experiencing other cultures.
Lauren Whitman
Lauren is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2010. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a certificate in advanced professional counseling from Missio Seminary. Lauren also serves as the developmental editor for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Through her work with the Journal, she brings experience and skill for developing authors and their writing. She also has a particular interest in biblical counseling methodology and in marriage counseling. Lauren has published multiple books, including A Painful Past (P&R Publishing, 2020) and A Biblical Counseling Process (New Growth Press, 2021). Lauren is married with two children. She enjoys exploring Pennsylvania’s creeks with her kids and exploring Philadelphia's restaurant scene with her husband.
Matt Marshall
Matt has counseled at CCEF since 2017. He has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has experience working with people with physical and mental disabilities and has also served as a youth minister. Matt is married with three children. He enjoys homesteading, reading, board games, and martial arts.
Mike Emlet
Mike is the Dean of Faculty and a counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 2001. He holds a doctor of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania and a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to joining CCEF, Mike worked as a family physician for eleven years. He has particular interests in working with ministry leaders and with those who struggle with anxiety, depression, and OCD. He has published numerous books, including CrossTalk (New Growth Press, 2009), Descriptions and Prescriptions (New Growth Press, 2017), and Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners (New Growth Press, 2021). Mike is married with two adult children. He enjoys gardening, camping, and various artistic endeavors.
Paige Comer
Paige has counseled at CCEF since 2018. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. She has taught counseling and led group counseling and discipleship in the local church context, and she plays a mentoring role with young people in both counseling and ministry contexts. Paige is married and enjoys cooking, flower arranging, and singing in the car with her husband, Jeff.
Rona Sbraccia
Rona has counseled at CCEF since 2021. She has a master of arts in religion from Westminster Theological Seminary. Rona has counseled in cross-cultural settings both in the U.S. and in ministry overseas. She served college students and the ex-pat community for over five years as a missionary in Seoul, South Korea, and also on shorter ministry trips throughout Asia. She then counseled for over three years at a crisis pregnancy center and at an inner-city school in Philadelphia while helping to establish biblical counseling ministries there. Rona is married with one child. She enjoys cuddling her boys, discovering the art of homemaking, reading, and spending time outside on walks and hikes.
Todd Stryd
Todd is a faculty member and the counseling coordinator at CCEF, where he has served since 2005. He holds a doctor of psychology from Immaculata University and a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has experience as a hospital chaplain, crisis worker, and university counselor. He has written a minibook entitled Schizophrenia: A Compassionate Approach. Todd is married with three children. He enjoys spending time with his family, landscaping, staying active, and visiting his home state of Michigan in the summer.