Coordinating Council
2023 Members
- General Coordinator – Rev. Robert Hempel
- Communications and Marketing – TBA
- Programs – Brenda Schaeffer
- TA Practitioner Certification – Wayne Hart
- Finance – Lucy Freedman (acting)
- Membership – Waldemar Gies
- IESA –Â Aleksandra Dobric Stanosevic
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Members-at-Large
- Felipé Garcia
- Vann Joines
- Tom Nissley
- Gloria Noriega Gayol
- Edie Beaujon
- Elvin Aydin

Rev. Robert L. Hempel
General Coordinator
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Rev. Robert L. Hempel, M.Th., T.A.P. is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, retired. He has used TA for over 40 years as a pastor.
He was introduced to TA in 1966 by the late Bob Goulding, M.D. and the late David Kupfer, at church meeting, which lead to extensive training with the Bob and Mary Goulding at Western Institute for Group and Family Therapy.
He also studied with Denton Roberts, and Maurice and Natalie Haimowitz of Chicago. He uses TA in his practice. Visit his website to learn more resurrectionpastoralcare.org.
He serves on the Coordinating Council as Midwest Representative, FaceBook page editor and a member of the Social Action committee.

Brenda SchaefferÂ
Coordinator of Programs
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​Brenda Schaeffer is an author, a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Addictions Specialist, Certified Transactional Analyst, a TAPI, and holds a doctorate in spiritual psychology. With over 600,000 publications sold, she is the best-selling author of Is It Love or Is It Addiction?  presently published in twelve languages, among many other books and appearances.
Dr. Schaeffer is a national and international lecturer and workshop presenter having been a featured speaker in countries such as Iceland, Chile, Canada, and the UK.

Lucy Freedman
Coordinator of Administration / Finance (acting), North American Representative to ITAA
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Lucy Freedman is a consultant, speaker, teacher, and coach who has practiced transactional analysis since the 1970’s.
She served as General Coordinator of NATAA and as President of ITAA, has organized several international TA conferences in San Francisco, and continues to teach and advocate for TA.
She lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California and enjoys walks in the redwoods near her home.

Wayne Hart
Training and Certification Coordinator
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Wayne Hart teaches and coaches TA theory and methods, online, stressing application in professional and personal life. Training qualifies for certification in ITAA’s TA 101, and NATAA’s Introduction to TA and TAP program.
His background includes 20 years clinical work as a Marriage Counselor and Clinical Psychologist, several senior leadership positions, extensive executive coaching, high school classroom teacher, and 19 years as Senior Faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership for which he is a Senior Fellow.
He is a TSTA (ITAA) and TAPI (NATAA) and holds master’s degrees in educational administration and Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Psychology.

Waldemar Gies
Membership Coordinator
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Born in the panhandle of Nebraska, I spent grade school through college in Waverly, IA, and seminary (Old Testament emphasis) in Dubuque, IA, with an intervening year in Germany. After graduate studies on the East Coast, I served as a Lutheran parish pastor: 18 years in western Iowa, 12 years at the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, and 5 more in a first-ring suburb of Detroit … serving a German-speaking congregation (finally getting back to my roots!).
Bob Hempel routed me to Bob and Mary Goulding and the Western Institute for Group & Family Therapy; it was GOOD! I found TA of profound use in some of the toughest settings … like with prisoners in the Rockwell City’s (then) IA Men’s Medium Security Prison (as chaplain) and with confirmands (as pastor). I’m kind of “evangelical” about TA – it is good news!
I retired the year after Kathy, my wife (now of 31 years), another ordained ELCA pastor, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and minor strokes, moving us (plus the Old English Sheepdog and the tabby cat) to Rochester, MN. Kathy has now been in a care facility for 4.5 years and continues to teach me patience, gentleness, and love.
I’m serving 2 small, rural congregations as an interim pastor (my 3rd interim), helping them to find a way to do more of their own pastoral care. I continue to lead a weekly pastors’ text study in town using the Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek texts.
I am glad to be Coordinator of Membership.
I personally would like to hear from you if you have input on the Membership Committee or NATAA / NATAA. For that matter, if you are passing through/near Rochester, MN, I’d enjoy hearing from you … and maybe drinking some coffee / tea with you – just give me a bit of warning (I stay busy).

Aleksandra D. Stanosevic
Coordinator of Inclusion, Equity, and Social Action Interest Group
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I am a therapeutic counselor with a background in Integrative Transactional Analysis. Integrative means that I rely on other approaches using insights and elements from relational/Rogerian and Erskine’s School of Integrative psychotherapy. I started off with the Serbian TA Training Centre to obtain the TA Practitioner Certificate, and my first placement was at a rehab in Belgrade.
Having emigrated to Canada in 2015, I was blessed to re-train with Janice Dowson and thus earned the NATAATAAP certificate in 2020. In the meantime, my journey into helping professions was enriched by taking up a Bachelor Program of Social Work in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where I gained
considerable insight into a recent Indigenous history of residential schools, the 60-ies scoop, and neocolonialism. In the course of my first years of social work practice, I continued learning about addictions and mental health, working with clients from all walks of life, while a major part of my clientele was Indigenous. My passion and enthusiasm lie in social justice issues and decolonization and what I enjoy the most is helping clients do self-advocacy and practice autonomy.
I’ve got three kids and two black pugs. The highlight of my day is going on my bike and listening to the recordings of TA training courses. TA adds a delightful flavour to my life!

TBD
Coordinator, Communications and Marketing
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TBD

Felipé Garcia
Member-at-Large
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Felipe is one of the original founders of NATAA and was the first general coordinator of the NATAA council. He was in private practice in San Antonio Texas as a psychotherapist and trainer for 45 years. He is mostly retired but still does some teletherapy and training/supervision. He also served in many roles in the International Transactional Analysis Association including serving on the board of trustees and coordinating regional and International Conferences.

Vann Joines
Member-at-Large
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Vann Joines, PhD, TAPI, TSTA and a Diplomate in Redecision Therapy, serves as an educational advisor on the Council. He directs the Southeast Institute in Chapel Hill, NC where he trains other professionals in Transactional Analysis, Redecision Therapy, Advanced Integrative Therapy, Marriage and Family Therapy and a number of other approaches.
He is currently training in Chapel Hill, Louisville, KY, Japan, and China. He is co-author of TA Today: A New Introduction to Transactional Analysis (2nd Edition) and Personality Adaptations: A New Guide to Human Understanding in Psychotherapy and Counseling, and he developed the Joines Personality Adaptation Questionnaire.

Tom Nissley
Member-at-Large
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Born and grew in Lancaster PA. Early fun as Junior Magician and Floral Designer. High School Band and Orchestra. Entered Franklin and Marshall College planning to be a florist. English degree 1955; by then on the path to Princeton Seminary and ordained as Presbyterian Minister. (Later attended the University of Neufchatel as a doctoral student).
Introduced to TA thru Richard Abell and Bill Holloway; then WIGFT with Bob and Mary Goulding, George Thompson, Jon McNeel. Also trained with Marilyn Zalcman and Richard Erskine and Joseph Zinker (Gestalt).
I am a Clinical Certified Transactional Analyst and can teach the TA 101. Founded and hosted training events for TA and Gestalt at the Ridgelea Institute in Connecticut, which is still my home state. Served ITAA as trustee and Program Chairperson. Helped found the Eastern Region TA Association. Promoted tours to conferences in Belgium, Switzerland, Singapore, and Brazil. Presented workshop demonstrating Family System using the Ridgelea (really, Russian) Dolls.

Gloria Noriega Gayol
Member-at-Large
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Coming soon.

Edie Beaujon
Member-at-Large
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Edie Beaujon received her BA and MSW at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
While living in Germany for 3 years raising her daughter, she worked with international adoptions and as a psychiatric social worker for the Air Force.
When she began a private practice in St. Louis, she earned her Clinical TA certification and went on to study with Fanita English, who was her longtime mentor and friend. Edie taught TA at Washington University.
She also interned at ABC News and won an Emmy and a CNN nomination for her documentary “Jimmy Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.“ She continued working in PR as well as private practice on moving to Aruba. Edie moved back to New York the day before the 9-11 attack and immediately volunteered to work at Ground Zero.
In 2003 she entered theology school receiving her MDiv in 2005, which evolved into becoming adjunct faculty at New York Theological Seminary, teaching men at Sing Sing Maximum Prison. Including TA in her course work, she brought in Fanita English, Denton Roberts, and Vince Gilpin.
Currently, Edie has a private practice in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, VA, after becoming a certified chaplain and working with the US military in the US, Turkey, Germany, and Japan. She has a daughter and three grandchildren.