Joel Emerson

Joel Emerson has been guiding groups for reflection and connection since he was 17 when he facilitated his first retreat. A lifelong teacher and student, he’s spent the past 20 years in the high school classroom, before which he worked in public health across East and Southern Africa, and participated in communal contemplative life within three monastic communities.

He lives near the ocean, where he gardens, swims, climbs trees, and considers hammocks and saunas sacred ground. A Returned Peace Corps volunteer and proud tiny-house dweller (as seen on Tiny House Hunters, season 2), Joel also revels in the role of devoted “guncle” to ten nieces and nephews.

Through retreats, Joel offers a steady, welcoming space for gay men to explore a sense of Presence, through shared story, and an exploration of inner wisdom. His facilitation blends the psychological and spiritual with a quiet confidence in the healing power of shared experience in affirming and safe spaces.