About NextStage

Joseph claims to be boring and dull, but that depends on what you find boring and dull.

His training started as a child sitting on his maternal grandfather’s knee. People from all walks of life came to his grandfather, a Sicilian Mystagogue, for advice and help ranging from cows that wouldn’t milk to cheating mates. Always Joseph’s grandfather would do what he could then, when the person had left, he would ask Joseph to share everything Joseph experienced while his grandfather was working with the person. Several of Joseph’s paternal aunts and uncles had “second sight” (and were often accused of malocchio because of it). Through training with his grandfather, aunts, uncles and studies with wisdom keepers the world over, Joseph learned what he could and has been sharing that knowledge with others since the 1980s. He continues his studies and has been called a highly talented Healer and Teacher by those who know him.

Outside of those studies, Joseph’s work as a HypnoTherapist and Therapist/Practitioner specializing in adolescents and personal mythologies received national recognition. He served as an International Ambassador for Psychological Science specializing in trauma and AIDs therapies in 2010, is a member of NYAS-UN’s Scientists without Borders, Senior Research Fellow at USC’s Annenberg Center for the Digital future, a Senior Research Fellow and Board Advisory Member for the Society for New Communications Research, a Founder, Senior Researcher and Director of Predictive Analytics for the Center for Adaptive Solutions and is both Board and Editorial Adviser to the Center for Multicultural Science. He currently holds five patents in a base, disruptive technology that allows machines to understand and respond to human thought through any human-machine interface and has authored several books and over 1,000 articles in five areas of expertise. His fiction has been nominated for both the Nebula and Pushcart Prizes. His non-fiction works encompass neuroscience, mathematics, database technology and various other topics. He’s also been known to write a line or two of poetry.

You can often find Joseph in fields flying kites larger than most cars (he loves to teach others how to play with the wind). When not flying, Joseph loves to play music (and wishes he could play better), reading, writing and making pizza for and enjoying the company of his family and friends.

Susan’s studies began one day when she woke up and realized her life could be better if she were willing to change it.

Susan is a noted scientist who specialized in novel technologies and their implementation as immunoassays for monitoring the treatment of the immune system in therapeutic environments. Studying immunological applications of innovative research developments, Susan worked at TCELL Sciences in Cambridge, MA, has contributed to four patents in her field and co-authored Advances in Clinical Immunology. After a successful career in science, Susan switched to marketing and market research encompassing anthropologic, linguistic, psychodynamic and cultural concepts with NextStage Evolution. She is a sought after trainer who has taught marketing, communications and science throughout North America and Europe.

Susan is also an award winning artist who designs and markets her own Earth Resonance™ Jewelry and Ritual Candles, is an accomplished photographer, painter, spinner, knitter and dessert maker (you haven’t lived ’till you’ve had her white chocolate cheesecake), gardener, and all around craftsperson who has illustrated some of Joseph’s books. She is an accomplished equestrian who has trained and shown horses throughout New England and published several papers on horse care and equine disorders.

In her free time, Susan gardens, does canning (did we mention her preserves?), baking, needlework, reads and plays the fiddle.

Dan had been studying with Susan and Joseph for seven months when they asked him, “Do you think anybody else would be interested in this?” This site is our start of that exploration.

If you’d like to know more about Dan’s experiences as a beginner in The Practice, you can read about his personal exploration .

Dan’s career has been in digital marketing almost as long as there has been an Internet. Currently he does digital analytics for a well-known computer chip manufacturer, which takes advantage of his highly analytical mind. Dan has held the Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US) designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), and was also a long-time instructor for the University of British Columbia Digital Analytics Award of Achievement.

In his free time, he works on this website and continues to practice The Practice where he is learning to use other things besides his highly analytical mind, while also enjoying the odd science fiction movie, watching Game of Thrones, or a quick game of Halo.

Joe (he’s the one in back) came to Joseph, Susan, and NextStage feeling like his spiritual growth had become stagnant. Now feeling fully immersed in The Practice, he is certain he is on a path of self-actualization. Joe has worked with the Coast Guard for almost 15 years. He was highly involved in humanitarian missions in response to Hurricane Katrina and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil release as well as countless search and rescue missions.

In the recent past he has helped to oversee Port Security in the Port of Jebel Ali, U.A.E., taught celestial navigation and nautical science at a Maritime Academy, and earned a Deck Watch Officer qualification under sail and under power on board a 270′ training Barque. Joe loves training and helping others reach their full potential.

His other interests include reading, writing, cooking, feeding the scores (literally) of birds that visit his backyard, and learning something new. He loves his pet Ackie Monitor lizard Sir Francis Drake and the handful of dogs, cats and reptiles that live in his house. He loves his few very close friends. Above all, he loves his wife and children. It is for them that he strives to be the best person he possibly can be.