it takes a village
MEET our team
.jpg)
Nicholas Hedlund
Nicholas Hedlund, Ph.D., is a philosopher, metatheorist, and land steward at Eudaimonia, a regenerative community and private retreat located in the mountains of Northern California. He is director of research and leader of the Strategic Metacrisis Mapping Initiative at the Institute for Applied Metatheory. Nicholas is also Editor-in-Chief of Integration: The Journal of Big Picture Theory and Practice. For two decades, Nicholas has been exploring and developing sophisticated metatheoretical frameworks to address the global metacrisis. His work integrates critical realism, integral theory, and complexity science into a novel philosophical approach called visionary realism, designed to illuminate deeper structures of reality and support the transition to a flourishing planetary civilization. Nicholas earned his Ph.D. from University College London under the mentorship of philosopher Roy Bhaskar, and he was a former exchange scholar at Yale University, executive director of the Integral Research Center, and organizer of the Critical Realism–Integral Theory Symposia. Nicholas’s publications include Metatheory for the Twenty-First Century and Big Picture Perspectives on Planetary Flourishing, which explore innovative integrations of critical realism, integral theory, and complex thought to address the structural roots of contemporary global crises. He is currently completing additional books, including Integrative Responses to the Global Metacrisis and Visionary Realism and the Emergence of a Eudaimonistic Society: Metatheory in a Time of Metacrisis, further articulating his visionary realist philosophy within the context of profound civilizational transformation. A dedicated musician, Nicholas is passionate about the interplay of philosophy, music, and spiritual transformation, seeing sound and meaning as mutually reinforcing avenues of insight, inspiration, and evolution. He teaches integral philosophy, consciousness studies, and courses on the global metacrisis at the California Institute for Human Science, mentoring the next generation of transdisciplinary scholars to bridge scientific rigor with spiritual depth. http://www.nicholashedlund.com
Claudia Meglin
Operations; Integral Systems Advisor
Claudia Meglin is an Integral Systems Designer with a deep commitment to bridging philosophy, technology, and creativity in service of regenerative futures. With over 25 years of experience as a Creative Director and Systems Designer, Claudia brings a unique synthesis of visionary thinking and grounded practice to complex challenges at the intersection of human and ecological well-being. Her academic journey bridges transformative innovation and consciousness studies. She holds an Integral MBA in Creative Enterprises for Social Transformation from Meridian University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Integral Noetic Sciences at the California Institute for Human Science, where her research in Wisdom Design explores visionary realism as a foundation for regenerative futures. Claudia is a core team member at MetaIntegral, where she has worked alongside Sean Esbjörn-Hargens since 2017 to support the organization’s development. Beyond MetaIntegral, Claudia coaches philanthropic and mission-driven organizations, designing regenerative funding architectures and guiding small and large-scale community projects. She is a project and grant manager at Inquiring Systems, and Executive Director of US Friends of Damanhur’s Temple of Humankind. As a global facilitator, Claudia integrates systems design with inner development. Her work draws from decades of embodied practice—including the study of wisdom traditions, dance, and immersive experiences in nature—to deepen her engagement with living systems.
Olga Sohmer
Operations; Social Innovation Lab Initiative Leader
Olga Sohmer, Ph.D., is a holistic counselor, participatory scholar, and experiential educator/facilitator passionate about encouraging the depths of human potential. Drawing on a dynamic background in transpersonal and humanistic psychology, intergroup dialogue, mindful movement, embodied spirituality, Earth-based ritual, archetypal mythology, and participatory inquiry—Olga’s research explores the value participatory methods in psychospiritual contexts, as well as themes regarding authentic self discovery and actualization within a relational worldview. Her publications span theory and practice including, "The Experience of the Authentic Self: A Cooperative Inquiry" in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, "Addressing Persistent Challenges in Transpersonal Psychology: Cooperative Inquiry as an Innovative Response" in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, and a special topic issue of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies where she curated an exploration of participatory research methods in the field.
.jpg)
Brandon Nørgaard
Operations; Civic Enlightenment Project Initiative Leader
Brandon Nørgaard is a co-founder of the Civic Enlightenment Project, an initiative of Eudaimonia Institute that aims to promote improved sensemaking, civic engagement, and inner development through networks of local civil society hubs and meta-hubs. He is also a graduate student studying wisdom design at the California Institute for Human Science (CIHS). He started his career as a software engineer and has recently been involved in the convergence of metatheory, technology, and community development. He has been involved with metacrisis studies and is working to bring integral concepts and practices to the community level and to metamodernize legacy institutions.
Ashley Parks
creative brand strategist
Ashley Parks is a visionary entrepreneur, social impact strategist, and creative leader dedicated to the intersection of design, storytelling, innovation, and community empowerment. She is a scholar of Watson Institute where she studied social entrepreneurship and transformative action. Ashley is the founder of Creators Collaborative, a dynamic platform designed to support and unite independent creatives, entrepreneurs, and organizations through business mentorship and digital design. Her professional experience spans design agencies in Los Angeles, festival production, and non-profit creation. Driven by a deep belief in the power of collaboration, Ashley sees community as the foundation of a more equitable and creative future. She is passionate about cultivating spaces where diverse voices can co-create solutions to global challenges. As both an artist and a strategist, she is committed to helping people become sovereign creators—empowered to design their own lives and contribute meaningfully to the world around them.
Sean Esbjörn-Hargen
metatheory advisor
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Humanities focused on Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is a recognized global leader in the application of integrative thinking and research methodologies in both academic and organizational contexts. His work is characterized by going beyond disciplines into what he calls a metadisciplinary approach. These are big picture approaches that integrate dozens of disciplines from the hard sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. In 2004 Sean founded and served for nine years as executive editor of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice an academic peer-reviewed journal. In this role he published 4000-pages of material from over 100 authors. Between 2006 and 2011 he created and served as chair of a number of new graduate masters and certificate programs at several universities including John F. Kennedy University (JFKU) and Fielding Graduate University. Sean is the founding editor of the SUNY series in Integral Theory. Since 2008 twelve volumes have been published. Sean has published two dozen articles and book chapters. He has also authored or edited eight books including: Integral Ecology (co-authored with Michael E. Zimmerman), Metatheory for the Twenty-first Century (co-edited with Roy Bhaskar et al), and Dancing with Sophia (co-edited with Michael Schwartz). He is currently co-editing two anthologies on integrative metatheory for Routledge. Sean has made significant contributions to the fields of integral research, integral ecology, integral business, integral education, and integral philosophy. In 2011 he created MetaIntegral a leadership and consulting company that works with a variety of mainstream and progressive mission-driven companies to measure four types of social impact. In 2018 he founded The Institute of Exo Studies through which he is joining others in pioneering the field of exo studies. Exo studies draws on over 50 disciplines to help make sense of anomalous and extraordinary experiences of our multiverse in all its complexity and mystery.
Brendan Graham Demphsey
Metatheory Advisor
Brendan Graham Dempsey, M.A., is a writer, poet, farmer, and the co-director of research at Institute of Applied Metatheory. He is also director of Sky Meadow Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting systems-based thinking about the things that matter most. He holds a BA in religious studies from the University of Vermont and a master's in religion and art from Yale University. He is the author of the 7-volume Metamodern Spirituality Series and, most recently, Metamodernism: Or, The Cultural Logic of Cultural Logics. His primary interests include theorizing developments in culture after postmodernism, productively bridging the divide between science and spirituality, and developing sustainable systems for life to flourish. All of these lead through the paradigms of emergence and complexity, which inform all of his work.
Bruce Alderman
metatheory advisor
Bruce Alderman, MA, is an integral and transpersonal psychologist, a professor of consciousness studies, the Associate Director for the Blue Sky Leaders Certificate Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and full-time faculty for the Consciousness, Psychology, and Transformation department at National University (NU). He is a long-time Buddhist and TSK practitioner, and a long-time student of David Bohm’s work. He recently led a course with Lee Nichol on the concept and practice of the rheosoma. Prior to working at CIIS and NU, Bruce worked and studied abroad in Asia for several years, teaching courses on creative writing and inquiry at the Rajghat Besant School, a Krishnamurti school in Varanasi, India, and studying and practicing at monasteries and ashrams in Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Nepal. He has published essays in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, and Consciousness Journal, as well as in several anthologies on Integral philosophy and spirituality. Recently he launched a YouTube channel and podcast called The Integral Stage, dedicated to exploring integral, metamodern, and other holistic and integrative approaches to addressing the complex social, ecological, and spiritual challenges of our time. He lives with his partner and his son in the Bay Area, CA, the USA,
.jpg)
Layman Pascal
Metatheory Advisor
Layman Pascal used to be a Canadian meditation teacher, yoga instructor & philosopher of Integral Metatheory -- but he’s feeling much better now. In his rapidly dwindling spare time, he leads the Metamodern Spirituality Labs, hosts The Integral Stage and Soulmakers podcasts, and provides unique online courses for the Parallax Academy. He is a founding member of the Archdisciplinary Research Center, the Endemic Wisdom Council, the SPECTRA think tank for Metashamanics, Sky Meadow Institute, and the RSPND project. He is senior editor of Emerge online and he operates as co-chair of the Foundation for Integral Spirituality and Religion. His written articles can be found in various obscure journals and certain esoteric anthologies including Perspectiva’s Dispatches from a Time Between Worlds and Cadell Last’s Abyssal Arrows: Spiritual Leadership Inspired by Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and Logic for the Global Brain. He is the author of Gurdjieff for a Time Between Worlds and is currently working on a collection of short essays called Archaic Futurism as well as an upcoming book about Nietzsche. Layman is known for his philosophical work on the metaphysics of adjacency, analytic nonduality, coaxial developmental stage theories, neurological correlates of meditation, sacred naturalism, many-one theology, embodied spirituality & emerging formulations of the human religious instinct suited to a post-postmodern civilization facing numerous accelerating and converging crises. And he has started referring to all his work as the Serious Playground.
_edited.jpg)
David Nicol
Integral Activism Advisor; Social Innovaton Lab Initiative
David Nicol, Ph.D., is a leading scholar-practitioner at the intersection of personal and collective transformation, with a particular focus on the power of coherent group fields to catalyze large-scale change. He is the author of Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation (SUNY Press), the first comprehensive study to demonstrate how collective meditation and prayer can measurably influence social outcomes. Through this pioneering work, he helped lay the intellectual and experiential foundations for a new field of consciousness-based activism. David is also the co-founder of the Gaiafield Project and BeThePeace, two global initiatives that have engaged tens of thousands of participants in synchronized consciousness practices for planetary healing. Currently, with his wife Kate Naga, he co-directs EarthRising, a global platform dedicated to cultivating the energetic architecture of an emerging planetary consciousness through “symphonic” group coherence practices. Integrating his background in integral philosophy, astrology, and collective transformation, David's work explores the use of group processes as intentional vessels for archetypal activation—designed to support both individual healing and systemic cultural evolution. His overarching aim is to contribute to the healing of humanity’s deep-seated wounds of separation—from one another, from the Earth, and from Source—and to support the re-enchantment of human awareness. Originally trained as an environmental lawyer in Brisbane, Australia, David now lives in Northern California with Kate and their two dogs, Peaches and Bluey.
Emil Ejner Friis
metamodern politics advisor
Emil Ejner Friis is a theory artist and wordsmith who is developing a new cultural code to foster social and cultural change towards a more inclusive and listening society. For the past many years I’ve been working as a writer and developmental editor. I’m one of the co-founders of the think tank project Metamoderna and have helped the great Hanzi Freinacht publish The Listening Society: A Metamodern Guide to Politics, Book Two (2017) and its sequel, Nordic Ideology (2019). I have also been working as a developmental editor for the writer, philanthropist and exfinancier Tomas Björkman on the books Världen vi skapar (2017) and the new and updated English language edition titled The World We Create (2019). Currently, I’m working on a new secret book project together with Hanzi Freinacht and his close ally Daniel Görtz.
Robb Smith
Business and Metatheory Advisor
Robb Smith is founder of the Institute of Applied Metatheory and leader of its executive team. He is a lifelong social innovator who coined the term the Transformation Age and has been a leader in integral philosophy and the global integrative metatheory movement. He is CEO and co-founder of Integral Life, a hub of the integral philosophy movement. He was founder and CEO of Chrysallis, the world's most comprehensive human development app, nominated for the Goldman Sachs Healthcare Startup of the Year and the IONS award for Transformational Technology before being acquired in 2016. He was CEO of Integral Institute, which sponsored the application of integral metatheory to over 60 different academic fields, and published the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice (SUNY Press). He was a co-founding member of the Conscious Capitalism movement. Prior to that, he was a co-founder and partner in Nevada Ventures, the state's first venture capital fund, and helped build Nevada's innovation economy. He is a former director of Alere, which became the largest population health management company in the United States (NYSE: ALR). He was named Nevada's Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is former president of Entrepreneur's Organization Reno-Tahoe. He started the Nevada Ventures Nanoscience Program at the University of Nevada and co-founded Nevada Nano, which currently is building the world's most advanced methane detection network. He is a graduate of University of Nevada, the Venture Capital Institute and held the Certified Management Accountant and Certified in Financial Management designations. He was a fellow of Desert Research Institute and Aspen Institute, and a former trustee of Nevada Museum of Art. He was named to Nevada Top 20 under 40 lists in three different decades and was nominated for the TED Prize.
Arthur Petersen
Arthur Petersen, Ph.D., D.Phil., D.P.A., M.A., M.Sc., F.I.S.S.R., F.I.E.T., F.R.S.A., F.H.E.A., M.A.E., is Professor of Science, Technology and Public Policy at UCL, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Dutch Delta Commissioner (since 2024), and Editor-in-Chief of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science (since 2018 – this role includes that of Executive Director of the related US-based charity). He joined UCL STEaPP fulltime in September 2014 after more than 13 years’ work as scientific adviser on environment and infrastructure policy within the Dutch Government. He served as Chief Scientist of the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2011–2014) and continues to advise the Dutch Government on environment (including nitrogen) and infrastructure (including climate-change adaptation). Professor Petersen has been Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009–2025), Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (2009–2022), Adjunct Professor of Science and Environmental Public Policy at the VU University Amsterdam (2011–2016), Professorial Fellow in the Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance Risks at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment – RIVM (2016–2017) and Visiting Fellow in Anthropology of Environmental Infrastructures at Osaka University (2018). In June 2019, he was elected as a Member of Academia Europaea, the European Academy of Humanities, Letters and Sciences. Professor Petersen studied physics and philosophy, obtained doctorate degrees in atmospheric sciences (Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Utrecht University, 1999), philosophy of science/science & technology studies (Doctor of Public Administration - DPA, VU University Amsterdam, 2006), and theology/science & religion (Doctor of Philosophy - DPhil, University of Oxford, 2022), and now also finds disciplinary homes in international relations (science diplomacy and soft power) and philosophy of culture. Most of his research is about dealing with uncertainty. He has published several books, among which are Simulating Nature: A philosophical study of computer-simulation uncertainties and their role in climate science and policy advice (2006; 2012 [2nd ed.]) and Climate, God and Uncertainty: A transcendental naturalistic approach beyond Bruno Latour (2023).
Get involved
At the Eudaimonia Institute, we believe that the deep codes of culture can be rewritten—that a more just, sustainable, and flourishing future is possible if we engage in the right kind of transformative inquiry. If you feel called to join us in this vital work, connect with us.