was born and raised in northern California. Has a bachelor's degree in
psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and masters'
degrees in cultural anthropology from California State University, Chico,
and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he is a Ph.D
candidate and lives with his wife and two daughters. He made three trips to
Acre and Amazonas states in 2002, 2003, and 2006-7 to study the Centro de
Iluminação Cristã Luz Universal--Alto Santo