Randall Frost became Director of the Bowen Center July 1, 2022. He describes his goals for the position in a post on the Bowen Center's YouTube channel. Previously (since 1991), he had been Executive Director and then Director of Training and Research at Living Systems—a Vancouver, British Columbia based pastoral counseling center that uses Bowen theory as its primary approach to clinical counseling, training, education and research. At Living Systems he initiated biannual conferences with experts in Bowen theory and leading scientists.

Mr. Frost is a long-time student of Bowen theory. He was a trainee in the in-town (1975-76) and special postgraduate programs (1980-81), He became a faculty member at the Bowen Center in January 2015 and has led the Network Seminar program of the Bowen Center since 2012. He is the author of published articles and book chapters on Bowen theory, including articles in the Center’s journal, Family Systems, and has presented numerous papers at professional meetings and conferences over the past thirty years. Mr. Frost is an ordained Presbyterian minister (Presbyterian Church USA) and was an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Studies at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Southern Indiana (1978-91). He is happily married with two adult children and five grandchildren.

Contact Information: rfrost@thebowencenter.org

Carrie E. Collier was director of the Bowen Center from 2020 until 2022. She completed her master’s in rehabilitation counseling from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, in 1999. There she became a licensed professional counselor while working in the emergency department conducting psychiatric evaluations and assessments. Dr. Collier earned her PhD in counseling from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She completed her clinical residency at the Bowen Center Clinic and trained in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center from 2007-2010. She was appointed to the associate faculty in 2013 and the board in 2018. She served as director of the online program beginning in 2016. She also has served as an editor for the journal Family Systems, 2018-present, and Chair of the Research Committee since 2023.

Dr. Collier has practiced as a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2000. She has provided outpatient and inpatient counseling services to couples and families, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults in South Carolina, Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. She has offered face-to-face and telephonic couples counseling and premarital and marital counseling services. Dr. Collier’s past experiences in the mental health field have led her to use Bowen family systems theory in her practices with individuals, couples, and families. Some of her more successful counseling outcomes have occurred when the couple, individual, and/or the family approached and resolved problems using Bowen family systems theory.

Dr. Collier’s research focus includes parenting in family systems and family system responses to challenges. She has conducted research on the relation between wisdom and ethics of care in late life and parenting. Dr. Collier is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Counseling and Human Development at The George Washington University, Washington, DC. She has taught at Trinity Washington University in the Department of Counseling and Human Development and at Marymount University in the Counseling and Forensic Psychology Department.

Contact Information: ccollier@thebowencenter.org

The Rev. Ed Henley began his study of Bowen family systems theory in 1987. He studied in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center from 2014-2017. Ed joined the Bowen Center faculty in 2017 and chairs the annual Faith Leadership Conference, works in the Faith Leadership Seminar, is Program Head for the Introduction to Bowen Theory course, and is a presenter and coach in other Bowen Center programs.

His clergy experience includes interim service in sixteen congregations, as well as a long-term pastorate (1997-2013). He is a graduate of The General Theological Seminary, New York City (1978), and New College, Sarasota, FL (1972). He is Priest-in-Charge of a congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida and is called upon to speak at clergy gatherings around the country.

Ed’s understanding is that Bowen theory focuses on our own growth (which is the hardest work of all). It can give us a way to understand how religious organizations function and how clergy can live and lead in these emotional systems.

Contact information: ehenley@thebowencenter.org

Mariana Martinez earned her doctorate in clinical psychology with an emphasis on child and family from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego, CA. She has been affiliated with the Bowen Center since 2008 and was appointed to the faculty in 2012. She directed the Clinic, 2011 to 2017, and hosted the TV show Family Matters, 2010-2018. She currently participates in various clinical and academic activities including leading the Iberoamerican Institute at the Bowen Center.

She was an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) at Shady Grove, and has taught in the Department of Psychology at Alliant International University, Mexico City. Dr. Martinez was trained as a Montessori teacher in Perugia, Italy, and worked in preschool education in and outside the classroom for eight years.

Dr. Martinez applies Bowen theory in work with families who are making decisions around their wealth and their legacy. She is vice president at Wells Fargo Privet Bank, Family Dynamics Services.

Contact information: mmartinez@thebowencenter.org

Dr. Anne S. McKnight was appointed director of the Bowen Center in May 2010 and stepped down in July 2020. She is currently a director emeritus, continues to serve on the Center board, and is active in presenting, supervising, and organizing conferences. As director, she had special interest in supporting the development of Bowen theory around the world, including an international conference in Hong Kong and developing the Iberoamerican Institute at the Bowen Center. During her tenure, she recruited twelve new faculty and expanded training programming, while putting the Bowen Center on a solid financial footing.

Dr. McKnight has been a member of the Bowen Center faculty since 1992. Her activities have included directing, teaching, and supervising in the Postgraduate Programs, leading the internship program, organizing and presenting at conferences sponsored by the Bowen Center and at meetings nationally and internationally. As a family therapist for 40 years, she developed a special interest in families with addiction from working, teaching, and supervising students in a child and family substance abuse program in Virginia. She has written chapters in many books on Bowen theory and articles for the journal Family Systems.

Dr. McKnight is in private practice in Arlington, VA, and at the Bowen Center.

Contact Information: amcknight@thebowencenter.org

Dr. Millikin participated in the Bowen Center's Postgraduate Program from 2015-2019 and became a faculty member in 2019.  He is the head of research in the Bowen Center Clinic, leading an IRB-approved project of tracking family emotional process and progress towards differentiation of self for both the consultant and coach. He also is co-director of the Continuing Studies online program which offers international learning of Bowen theory.  His interests include the application of Bowen theory to clinical practice, teaching Bowen theory in various settings, and staying current with research in the sciences. 

Dr. Millikin earned a doctorate in human development/family therapy at Virginia Tech in 2000. He has maintained a private practice in Reston, VA, since 2001 and works with individuals, couples, and families from a systems approach. From 2002 to 2020, he taught a variety of courses as an adjunct faculty member in the Virginia Tech master’s program in family therapy.

Contact information: jmillikin@thebowencenter.org

Jake Morrill is a Bowen family systems theory coach, working primarily with organizational leaders who seek greater ease and impact through differentiation of self. Since first exposure to systems thinking in 2004, he’s worked steadily at a greater understanding of himself, his family, and Bowen theory.

Through his twenties, Mr. Morrill worked in group homes with people with developmental disabilities; he also led court-mandated groups for men on probation for domestic violence. Since 2003, he has been the Lead Minister of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, in East Tennessee. He’s led three small non-profit organizations, served on a number of Boards, and been a Chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve. He’s licensed as a marital and family therapist in Tennessee.

Mr. Morrill holds degrees from the University of Texas, Austin; the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; Harvard Divinity School; and East Tennessee State University. He was in the Bowen Center's Postgraduate Program from 2015-2021 and is also on the Faculty of the Bowen Theory Education Center in Chattanooga TN. 

An area of special interest is collective behavior in natural systems, as applied to organizations and communities. In that light, since 2016, he's had an ongoing relationship with the Kettering Foundation in their research on what makes democracy and communities thrive.

Contact information: jmorrill@thebowencenter.org

After graduate training in social work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Dr. Papero entered postgraduate training in family systems theory and psychotherapy at the Georgetown University Family Center. In 1982, Dr. Bowen invited him to join the faculty of the Family Center, now the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family. Over the years he has served in many administrative and teaching roles at the Center. He currently organizes a research seminar and coordinates the Theory Meeting, a bi-weekly working group dedicated to the exploration and expansion of family systems theory.

He has written numerous articles and book chapters on various aspects of family systems theory and family psychotherapy. In 1990, he published a basic introduction to family systems, Bowen Family Systems Theory. He and Robert Noone, PhD, co-edited the volume The Family Emotional System: An Integrative Concept for Theory, Science and Practice in 2015.  He has served on the editorial board of the journal Family Systems since its founding. He currently gives many invited presentations yearly to various professional groups across the country and around the world on topics related to family systems theory, family psychotherapy, and the functioning of corporations and organizations.

In recent years he has consulted increasingly with organizations in both the private and public sectors about the impact of relationships on functioning and the emotional process of organizations.

Contact information: dvpapero@thebowencenter.org

Kathleen Smith is a licensed professional counselor and writer. A graduate of The George Washington University and Harvard University, she also works as a mental health journalist. Her writing has appeared in Salon, Slate, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, Counseling Today, Psychotherapy Networker, and many other publications.

 Dr. Smith trained in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, 2012-2014. She is interested in exploring how young adults engage with Bowen theory. She is the author of the book Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down, a collection of stories about her work with young adults using Bowen theory.

Contact information: ksmith@thebowencenter.org

Kent Webb works in both the organizational and mental health worlds with practices in each field. He is an executive coach and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who has obtained broad experience and education as both a chief executive officer and a mental health coach. 

He is a Professional Certified Coach endorsed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), of which he is a member. He has earned a Multidimensional Leadership Certificate from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management’s Executive Education program, and is a certified Korn Ferry Leadership Architect and 360 coach. For 12 years, he was CEO and principal of Psychotherapy Provider Network, PC, a statewide network of behavioral health care providers. There he was clinical director and manager of contracts with national health insurance companies.

After receiving a master of social work and an undergraduate degree in music therapy from the University of Kansas, Mr. Webb trained in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center. He became a faculty member of the Bowen Center in the summer of 2020.

Kent is the Vice President and board member of The Murray Bowen Archives Project, and also served on the Denver Mayor’s LGBTQ Commission. Additionally, his background includes training, facilitating seminars, and speaking. He has been a trainer for the US Department of Justice, the Human Rights Campaign, and The Denver Center for Trauma and Resilience. He has given presentations at the National Bar Association, The National Managed Healthcare Congress, The National Employee Assistance Association, the Bowen Center, and the Colorado State Mental Health Conference.

Mr. Webb’s experience as a trainer and facilitator also includes various aspects of organizational development and management. He has conducted such trainings at QWest Communications, Coors Brewing Company, and the Department of Behavioral Health for the District of Columbia.

His publications include a chapter in Chronic Death and Illness in the Family and a chapter in The Emotional Side of Organizations: Applications of Bowen Theory.

Contact information: kwebb@thebowencenter.org

Kathleen Wiseman is a business advisor whose work is based on Bowen family systems theory. Her 30-year professional experience is focused on being a strategic thought partner to family enterprises, family foundations, family offices, and families of wealth.  Her prior experience includes consulting to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and multi-site manufacturing facilities. She works with lawyers, wealth advisors, trust officers and financial professionals as they plan for the next generation’s role in decision-making with regard to their family assets.

Along the way, she has gained an appreciation for the challenges individuals and families encounter in their working relationships with family and a respect for people’s ability to adapt creatively. Her perspective is one of a “business anthropologist.”

Ms. Wiseman received an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The George Washington University. She was appointed to the faculty of the Bowen Center in 1994.

She is founder and president of Working Systems Inc, a consulting firm located in Washington, DC, and co-founder of Navigating Systems, a rigorous educational forum dedicated to bringing family systems thinking to professionals who serve families.  She is a past president of the Family Firm Institute and leads their Research and Education Foundation.

Contact information: kwiseman@thebowencenter.org