Creating this thread to (1) Consolidate what is currently known about the group and to (2) Learn more about the group’s structure and behaviors. Former members are highly encouraged to contribute their knowledge!
ALA started in ~2016 in San Diego but is currently operating in Austin. It’s run by husband & wife Jenna Phillips Ballard and Brad Ballard.
A 2017 CEI post says Jenna & Brad attended the Mastery in Transformational Training (MITT) trainings in Los Angeles. MITT evolved from Lifespring, after Margo Majdi purchased the rights to the trainings from John Hanley and changed the name to MITT.
In a 2018 GQ article, Rosecrans Baldwin mentions in footnote 5: "M.I.T.T. primarily operates around Los Angeles, though Majdi said she allows other groups to run trainings elsewhere, as long as they operate under other names." Ascension Leadership Academy may be one of these LGAT groups.
From the same article, Baldwin mentions evidence of harm associated with MITT from May 2017:
-"A few weeks after my training, I found a complaint from May 2017, brought against Majdi and M.I.T.T. in California's Superior Court. In the lawsuit, Dana Wampole, who took the Basic and Advanced trainings in 2015, accused M.I.T.T. of "thought reform" and "brainwashing" so intense that she experienced a psychotic break, causing her to cycle through "extreme confabulations, violent acting out and a catatonic state requiring four-point restraint and psychiatric hospitalization.
-“Dana and I spoke recently. She said that before she did the trainings, she'd never experienced anxiety. No history of addictions, eating disorders, any psychological problems. "There was absolutely no reason that I thought I would be any more at risk doing this program than anybody else."
-"It's a pretty nasty organization," Dana's lawyer, Ford Greene, told me. In the past, Greene has successfully represented clients against the Church of Scientology. "The consequences on Dana were drastic and severe."
To be clear, Dana's complaint is with MITT. If there is any information regarding harm associated with ALA, or any information on the group's structure and behaviors, please share your experience & knowledge!
Below I've posted links for what former participants have already shared regarding their experiences with Ascension Leadership Academy:
Reddit
-Ascension Leadership Academy: Dangerous Cult In Austin, Texas. WARNING
-Ascension Leadership Academy...cult in Austin?
-Ascension Leadership Academy? Possible MLM?
Yelp
[www.yelp.com]
CEI
Post from 2017
[forum.culteducation.com]
ALA started in ~2016 in San Diego but is currently operating in Austin. It’s run by husband & wife Jenna Phillips Ballard and Brad Ballard.
A 2017 CEI post says Jenna & Brad attended the Mastery in Transformational Training (MITT) trainings in Los Angeles. MITT evolved from Lifespring, after Margo Majdi purchased the rights to the trainings from John Hanley and changed the name to MITT.
In a 2018 GQ article, Rosecrans Baldwin mentions in footnote 5: "M.I.T.T. primarily operates around Los Angeles, though Majdi said she allows other groups to run trainings elsewhere, as long as they operate under other names." Ascension Leadership Academy may be one of these LGAT groups.
From the same article, Baldwin mentions evidence of harm associated with MITT from May 2017:
-"A few weeks after my training, I found a complaint from May 2017, brought against Majdi and M.I.T.T. in California's Superior Court. In the lawsuit, Dana Wampole, who took the Basic and Advanced trainings in 2015, accused M.I.T.T. of "thought reform" and "brainwashing" so intense that she experienced a psychotic break, causing her to cycle through "extreme confabulations, violent acting out and a catatonic state requiring four-point restraint and psychiatric hospitalization.
-“Dana and I spoke recently. She said that before she did the trainings, she'd never experienced anxiety. No history of addictions, eating disorders, any psychological problems. "There was absolutely no reason that I thought I would be any more at risk doing this program than anybody else."
-"It's a pretty nasty organization," Dana's lawyer, Ford Greene, told me. In the past, Greene has successfully represented clients against the Church of Scientology. "The consequences on Dana were drastic and severe."
To be clear, Dana's complaint is with MITT. If there is any information regarding harm associated with ALA, or any information on the group's structure and behaviors, please share your experience & knowledge!
Below I've posted links for what former participants have already shared regarding their experiences with Ascension Leadership Academy:
-Ascension Leadership Academy: Dangerous Cult In Austin, Texas. WARNING
-Ascension Leadership Academy...cult in Austin?
-Ascension Leadership Academy? Possible MLM?
Yelp
[www.yelp.com]
CEI
Post from 2017
[forum.culteducation.com]