About Us

John Eldredge

John Eldredge is an author (you probably figured that out), a counselor, and a teacher. He is also president of Wild at Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own hearts in God's love, and learn to live in God's Kingdom. John grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles (which he hated) and spent his boyhood summers on his grandfather’s cattle ranch in eastern Oregon (which he loved). John met his wife, Stasi, in a high school drama class. But their romance did not begin until they each came to faith in Christ, after high school. John earned his undergraduate degree in Theater at Cal Poly and directed a theater company in Los Angeles for several years before moving to Colorado with Focus on the Family, where he taught at the Focus on the Family Institute.

John earned his master’s degree in Counseling from Colorado Christian University, under the direction of Larry Crabb and Dan Allender. He worked as a counselor in private practice before launching Wild at Heart in 2000. John and Stasi live in Colorado Springs.  They have three sons (Samuel, Blaine, and Luke), two golden retrievers (Oban and Maisie), and two horses (Whistle and Kokolo).

While all of this is factually true, it somehow misses describing an actual person. John loves the outdoors passionately, and all beauty, Shakespeare, bow hunting, a good cigar, anything having to do with adventure, poetry, March Madness, working in the shop, fly fishing, classic rock, the Tetons, fish tacos, George MacDonald, green tea, buffalo steaks, dark chocolate, wild and open places, horses running, and too much more to name. He also uses the expression “far out” way too much.

Stasi Eldredge

Stasi Eldredge loves writing and speaking to women about the goodness of God. She spent her childhood years in Prairie Village, Kansas, for which she is truly grateful.  Her family moved to southern California back in the really bad smog days when she was ten.  She loved theater and acting and took a partiality to her now-husband, John, when they were friends in high school. Stasi earned her bachelor's degree in Sociology from San Diego State University, which she attended primarily because it was close to the beach.  She became a Christian her junior year in college and dove into the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.  After graduating, Stasi joined Youth for Christ, heading up a ministry to pregnant teenagers and teen mothers.  She has been active in ministry ever since, including theater ministry, crisis pregnancy center ministry, women’s ministry, and children’s ministry. The Eldredge family moved to Colorado in 1991.

Stasi loves the joy and freedom that comes from knowing the passionate, stunning love of Jesus Christ and lives to see others come to know him more deeply.  She loves worship music, time to bake, celebrating life, getting lost in a good novel, baths, walking in the woods, hearing her sons' laughter, the sound of wind in the trees, a good cup of coffee, the smell of the earth after it rains, a powerful turn of phrase, animals in the wild, gardens, freshly mowed grass, family traditions, cherished friendships, the Tetons, rivers, mountain lakes, the grace and beauty of horses, the affection of her dog, and most of all, her family and her God.

Brad Beck

Brad is the Executive Director and a board member for Wild at Heart, where he oversees most of the administrative, HR, and operations for the ministry. Brad’s varied background includes being a physician who worked for NASA, mission work with YWAM, and working with Focus on the Family as a medical advisor. Brad has been bringing his organizational, leadership, and cat-herding skills to these various roles over the 12 years he has been at Wild at Heart.

Bart Hansen

Bart Hansen is a founding board member of Wild at Heart. Shortly after the ministry began, he was invited to join the team as Director of Discipleship and a vice president on the leadership team. He also has a speaking role in the men’s events. Before he made a career transition to ministry, Bart was a principal and co-owner of Shawntana Development Corporation and Nieupointe Enterprises, which have developed housing and commercial properties in southern California for over 25 years. Bart was involved in bringing affordable housing solutions to that region of the country in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. He was a founding board member of HomeAid, which provides housing for the homeless and has grown to a national presence; he's also the chairman of the board of directors of the Orange County Rescue Mission in California.

One thing that deeply stirs Bart’s heart is the continued pursuit of his bride. They met running in Texas 40 years ago, and Bart has been chasing Tannah ever since! Bart and Tannah have one son, Kris, who is married to Margarett; Kris and Margarett have two sons. Kris is a Marine aviator who picked up his love for flying from Bart at the age of 12 and is now passing that passion along to Bart and Tannah’s grandsons.

Many of Bart’s adventures have centered on his love for flying, something he incorporates in discipling men in his role at Wild at Heart. He has set aside many of his other interests but still loves golf, bird hunting, and shooting sporting clays. Bart also loves building all kinds of things—a house, workshop, aircraft hangar, or the airplane in it. But the building that turns his crank the most is building the Kingdom into the hearts of people.

Morgan Snyder

Morgan Snyder has served alongside John Eldredge since before the inception of Wild at Heart almost two decades ago. Originally developing and directing the retreats and conferences, Morgan now serves as a speaker, teacher, and Director of Strategy.

He is married to an extraordinary woman, Cherie, and finds great joy in adventuring with his 15-year-old son, Joshua, and his 12-year-old daughter, Abigail. When he’s not with his family or on mission, he is most often found on expeditions in the mountains of Colorado.

Alex Burton

Alex Burton was born in Denver, CO in 1976 and grew up with a dad who’s army career took them to various assignments in Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas, but eventually settled in Colorado Springs finishing up his grade school years at Air Academy High School.

A lover of the outdoors, he considers skiing his first love, learning to make turns at age 5. He can still be found chasing turns in the backcountry of Colorado each winter. He started climbing boulders at age 13 and eventually broadened his climbing pursuits to include sport, trad, ice and mountaineering.
While studying for his Bachelors in Youth Ministry along with Outdoor Leadership at Colorado Christian University, he met his wife Melanie and married in the summer of 1997. They now live in Colorado Springs with their three grown kids.

In 1999 he started his career in college enrollment, working for a Non-Profit College   program focused on Christian Worldview.  That’s where he met John Eldredge while John was in the process of writing the book Wild at Heart.  He joined the Wild at Heart team as the Director of Events in 2008 and currently leads Operations.  He also currently serves as an Owner/Board member of a local Colorado Springs climbing gym.

Jon Dale

Jon is originally from London, England, and moved with his family to Texas at the age of ten. He founded his first marketing firm at eighteen and went on to work with medium and large-sized companies to develop and implement innovative marketing and leadership strategies. In 2009, he participated in a selective MBA program with Seth Godin in New York City.

Throughout his career, Jon worked with a diverse range of clients, including Thomas Nelson, The Marcus Buckingham Company, The Acumen Fund, Martha Stewart Living, Molson/Coors, and Children’s HopeChest.

Jon currently leads innovation for Wild at Heart as the Chief Innovation Officer and serves in advisory and board roles for several for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Jon and his wife, Amy, live in the mountains of Colorado and have four adult children. An avid outdoorsman, Jon enjoys snowboarding with his kids in the winter. When spring arrives and the snow begins to melt, he can be found riding his mountain bike with friends on singletrack trails throughout Colorado.