Kate Rodger, PhD, is Founder and Director of the modern day mystery school, Institute of Modern Wisdom.  Since 1999, she has studied under the tutelage of new thought visionary Rev. Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith of Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, which holds her ministerial license. In addition, Rev. Kate has engaged in deep immersions, study, and living with various indigenous Elders and Mystics from Africa (Brother Ishmeal Tetteh of the Etherean Mission) to the Amazon (Grandmother Norma Panduro of the Shipibo-Canibo), and the Far East (attending Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Japan and given refuge and teaching by Buddhist nuns in Thailand) to North America with Chief clan leader in the Tslagi/Cherokee tradition, the Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo, amongst other pivotal Wisdom Keepers.  Kate holds a B.A. in Religious Studies with a minor in East Asian Studies, graduating Suma Cum Laude, in addition to her BFA from SMU.  She also holds a Masters of Science in Science and Spirituality and a Masters of Arts in Ancient Wisdom Traditions from Emerson Theological Institute.  Rev. Kate is currently completing her Doctorate of Philosophy, with a focus on Mysticism.

From 1988-1999, Kate is known for her work as an actor on stage and in film and television.  In her formative years in Dallas, Texas, she had the unparalleled opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned musicians, visual artists, writers, and directors via her one-woman shows as a performance artist, steeped in the then-underground renaissance art movement of Deep Ellum.  In 1992, under the name Kathleen Clary Rodger, Kate published her first [children’s] book, My Guardian Angel Took a Vacation, with illustrations by the incomparable artist, Steve Ralston, to rave reviews.

After moving to and working in Los Angeles and Europe in smaller films and television in the mid-late 90s, she transitioned her life’s direction to align with the yearnings of her heart and soul.   For a period of just over two years, Kate lived in solitude and deep listening to support returning to a life of inspired-living rather than achievement-orientation.  Out of this commitment emerged a life path of dynamic service, residing peace, and liberated co-creation.

For over a decade, Kate has focused on providing evocative, life-transformative opportunities for individuals, youth, couples, families, communities, Fortune 500 Executives, Grammy artists, Emmy and Academy Award winners – essentially any aspirant of living a life of empowered consciousness and productivity.

Beginning in 2002, Rev. Kate Rodger founded the Modern Day Priestess® movement, igniting with monthly Feminine Energy Circles in Los Angeles, CA.  In 2006, she launched the pilot Modern Day Priestess® Training and in 2010, the men’s training-in-consciousness, Modern Day Alchemist® Training after newly establishing the educational foundation, Institute of Modern Wisdom, a 501c3 corporation.

Via the Institute, Rev. Kate regularly leads world-wide Sacred Journeys, Immersions, Trainings, and Retreats devoted to the legacy of the Ageless Mystery School practices and rooted in accessible scientific universal truths, articulated in a way that serves the Modern Day.

She has been called an “Alchemist of Delight”, infusing humor, wisdom, and mystical union into the heart of each program offered by IMW.  Under her guidance, the Institute specializes in offering pragmatic spiritual tools, practices, and experiences to empower inspired-living rather than a life oriented in survival, competition, and victimization.

Bridging Ancient Wisdom Ways of Earth Medicine Traditions with Modern Day practical technologies through all IMW offerings, Rev. Kate, IMW Certified Wisdom Practitioners®, and all IMW sponsored Master Teachers are deeply committed to living a life of contribution and aligning with one’s intrinsic brilliance; essentially fostering Right Relationship, beginning with the Self and extending to All of our Relations, including Mother Earth.

In 2014, Paola met Rev. Kate in a completely synchronistic, friend of friend, warm social media introduction. Since that moment, Paola immersed herself in every online tele-course IMW had to offer and encouraged others (like her own Mother) to engage and experience Sacred Mystic Circles® in Berkeley, CA led by Kate.

Paola truly loved soaking in the exuberance Kate emitted in her teachings and actions. Later in 2016, when Modern Day Priestess® Training announced they were open for enrollment, Paola knew she wanted to be apart of it. She was inspired and started a GoFundMe account, asking for pledges to help her raise money to put a deposit down for the training. With much success in asking for support, she completed the Modern Day Priestess® Training in 2017/18.

With a semi-religious Catholic upbringing, born of courageous and loving immigrant parents from Central & South Americas, Paola remembers feeling she was born with a purpose, to teach. Going through school, Paola started to believe her gifts were not enough. After successfully graduating High School, obtaining a BA in Human Development from California State University, East Bay, she believed in the common fallacy that her uniqueness would only be seen and measured in academics and not through her unique creative expressions. As ambitious Paola was to please her teachers and parents, she didn’t pursue further education until after her marriage ended. Her divorce was her catalyst for her spiritual awakening.

Over the next 6 years, having vast exposure to IMW’s tele-course, being willing to be fully seen in Sacred Mystic Circles, and intentionally expressing her voice in online group coaching programs, Paola gained confidence to go in a direction that redefined what pursuing her unique calling meant to her.  She continued her studies, becoming a Certified Life Coach via the Institute of Life Mastery, matriculated through the IMW Modern Day Priestess® program, delving deeper in facing her wounds, expanding her self spiritually, mentally, and emotionally while blending in her own life experiences.

To this day, she continues with devotion and commitment to remember who she really is. Enough. Whole. And, Complete.

Paola recently joined the IMW core team and serves as Business Operations Manager for the greater vision of the Institute of Modern Wisdom, as well as the new online platform for the Modern Day Priestess® Training.  She is the interface, a friendly voice of IMW and MDP for tele-course enrollments, training inquiries, questions or concerns regarding anything from Sacred Mystic Journeys to teaching opportunities.

Paola likes to keep her finger on the pulse of what’s happening now and in the future with all platforms. In addition to being the Operations Manager, Paola works as liaison when you need a question answered, an appointment, or have collaborative inspired ideas to discuss with the IMW team… she’s here for you!

In addition to handling online tech-interface activities, she loves being sun-kissed, enjoys taking drives to the Pacific ocean cliffs, picking up seashells, and taking a selfie with her beautiful son Isaac.

Marianne Mitchell is an IMW-Certified Modern Wisdom Practitioner, KRI-Certified Aquarian Teacher of Kundalini Yoga, Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner, Ancient Wisdom Teacher and Spiritual Counselor. She holds a variety of other certifications and trainings.  Marianne works with individuals and groups, teaches a number of tele-classes on spirituality and healing, co-facilitiates seasonal cleanses as well as co-teaching the 2015/16 Modern Day Priestess® Training.  She is Director of Certification and Director of Sacred Ceremony for the Institute of Modern Wisdom as well as a member of the Elder Council and Director of the Practitioner Core.

Currently in private practice in the Asheville, NC area, Marianne weaves together an immense toolkit of modalities, including intuitive guidance and wholistic consulting to support individuals and groups at the level of mind, body and spirit to hold each one in remembering more fully who they are.  Marianne offers private sessions, distance sessions, Divine Feminine Shamanic Circles, Shamanic Men’s Council, Co-ed Mystic Circles®, Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Classes. She also offers Land Ceremonies and Blessings as well as Rites of Passage for all stages of life.

Erika Rose Santoro, MWP(c), began her deep passion and intrigue for all things numinous at a very young age. The first book she read at age 9, Many Lives, Many Masters, by Dr. Steven Weiss, confirmed past-life remembrances and from there she began to study astrology and stay in close contact with her Angels.

Rose Santoro’s connection to the spirit world, and her love of music, dance, and making people laugh sustained her throughout her adolescence. Like many, she felt very “different” from others and deeply felt the lack of compassion and love in the world around her. Thus, she spent the next 20 years unwinding the non-supportive programming of her youth through working with Shamans, Reiki Masters, and other healing and energy work practitioners.

While at The University of Miami, Erika majored in Jazz Voice, minored in Business, and began her yoga and meditation practices. Upon graduation, she put her album project on-hold to go on the road and support her best friend, the then unknown Alicia Keys. Keys went on to win 6 Grammys for her debut, Songs in A Minor – an album on which Rose co-wrote the wildly successful single “A Woman’s Worth”.

While partnering with Keys business-wise over the next 15 years, Erika continued her studies, becoming a Certified Holistic Health Coach via the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a Level 2 Reiki Practitioner, a Clairvoyant Practitioner, and a KRI Certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher.

In 2012, she matriculated through the IMW Modern Day Priestess® program, and her life forever changed. Feelings of being “different” and alone melted away. By way of the masterfully designed course of deep study, practice, and community support, she was able to remember Truths – that we are indeed all One – awakening that part of her which had forgotten, and fostering deep peace, allowing her to exhale and finally be her true self!

Now married and a mother, Erika’s life continues to grow and expand. Living in upstate NY on a homestead apothecary and farm, Rooted and Wild, where along with husband, David, they will host Chef’s Table dinners, Yoga and Wellness Retreats, Workshops and Trainings for Youth, Women, and Couples.

It is with great honor, in loving service, that Erika holds the space for the Youth Training Program for the Institute. This is a deep calling, offering a loving heart and hand to children and adolescents who may be feeling and experiencing the very same challenges she felt growing up.

Sharyn was a founding board member of the Institute of Modern Wisdom as a 501c3 corporation, where she served as its Treasurer for 4 years.  In 2015, she transitioned to her new post as Hospitality Director, inspired to find and create ways to support the vision of the Institute while weaving in participation with the greater community, near and far.

Sharyn has spent the last 20 years helping others. She has committed her life to personal transformation and inner peace.  With a Masters of Arts in psychology from Pepperdine University, she has established a well-rounded private practice, blending concepts from her psychotherapeutic training with her education from the many courses and trainings offered by the Institute of Modern Wisdom.  Sharyn’s clients also benefit from her training as a KRI certified Kundalini yoga instructor.

She provides a safe and nurturing environment to explore spiritual awakening, emotional growth, and health and well being.  As an undergrad, she received a BSBA from Boston University.  She has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2000, with a practice in the San Fernando Valley and the Westside of Los Angeles.  She also currently serves as a Regional Board member for the Anti-Defamation League.

She is excited to now be the Director of Hospitality because it will allow her to share her warmth, her bright light, and huge smile with the new and current participants of IMW!

Dawn Leader is a person of love and wisdom; depth and passion.  From a very early age, she started weaving life in a unique way – often spending time in nature and with numbers where she is so comfortable.  Dawn feels, sees, and responds to the flow of nature deeply, and she brings this aptitude into the corporate world today; she can see, feel, and know where energy is flowing, with an attuned understanding of harmony and balance in the nature of modern day business.

Throughout her life, she has worked for a variety of different types of businesses – fabrication, food, contracting, public accounting, insurance, and personal development and is well-versed in many areas of business functionality – including accounting, IT, human resources, and management.  Having held most positions from clerk to Senior Vice President, Dawn is currently Chief Operations Officer of an insurance administration company in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin.

Specializing in unique ways to shift processes while reducing time, saving money and resources, Dawn mentors employees to bring out the best qualities of each.

Dawn is deeply spiritual, is committed to her daily practice, and supports others in finding their unique connection to spirituality.  She has studied with various mentors over the past 20+ years, most recently with the Institute of Modern Wisdom.  Through her Modern Day Priestess® and Modern Wisdom Practitioner® journeys she has strengthened a powerful understanding of the way universal truths operate in the world.  She is adept at reiki, crystal healing, sound healing, circle work, workshops, and intuitive guidance.

Dawn guides groups through equality in the Mystic Circles® she holds for reflective sharing and exploration.  She utilizes sound, nature, and ancient/ageless wisdom to assist those choosing a life of love.  Her service to love extends to her role on the board for The Women’s Center in Waukesha, WI. and to being a dynamic presence on the Elder Council of the Institute of Modern Wisdom.

After meeting Reverend Kate Rodger in 2002, Marisa started on the path of the Modern Day Priestess® via regular attendance of monthly Feminine Energy Circles, private study, and travel on Sacred Journeys led by Rev. Kate.  In 2008, Marisa completed the Modern Day Priestess® Training, incorporating what she learned, remembered, deepened, and strengthened into her life as a mother, actor, teacher, and volunteer.

In 2004 Marisa and her husband moved their family to magical Ojai, CA because they were drawn to the energetic vortex of this special town. Raising their two boys in the sweet community with the small-town feel, they enjoy many family outdoor activities and wonderful community relationships.

Marisa and her two boys are professional actors working in the Los Angeles area – and, while the commute may be a little more than average, they feel returning to the haven that Ojai is balances the many stresses that can accompany one working in the entertainment industry.

As the property manager for the Ojai Love Center, Marisa is only half a mile away and loves tending to the home and land with its natural beauty. “There is such a sense of serenity the minute you enter the property… You will find yourself immediately exhaling any stress and inhaling the peace that surrounds you…   The Ojai Love Center invites you to enjoy feeling centered, as your body and soul instinctively and naturally move into easier pace.”   This is precisely why Marisa and her family continue to choose to live in Ojai, and she invites everyone to come and experience this extraordinary beauty for themselves. Learn more here: http://ojailovecenter.com/

8Rev. Grace has been working in the fields of therapeutic bodywork and consciousness since 1987.  She holds two nationally recognized certifications in Somatic therapy and as a Bonnie Prudden Myotherapist.  The relationship between our bodies and our minds became abundantly clear as she recognized the correlations between the personal healing of bodily injury and disease and the attitude of healing the patient holds.  After several years of dedicated work in the physical realm she received a “call” to ministry.  Her studies in the field of body-mind-Spirit connection and the understanding that “what you think about and talk about, comes about” made it imperative to teach the importance of allowing the Spirit, through the use of Mind, to inform and lead in the physical realm.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Consciousness Studies from Agape Institute in 2004 and her Masters of Arts in Consciousness Studies from Holmes Institute in

The importance of the spiritual work done through Institute of Modern Wisdom gives Rev. Grace another opportunity to support the work of raising consciousness on the planet, one committed person at a time.  She is happy to be included on the Board of Directors for IMW.9898

I remember starting to unwind about 10 years ago, and suddenly feeling an expansion and delight, and a hot pursuit ensued. Who knew I was pursuing my own Self! I began Reiki training, attuning to Usui Reiki, to include Master Teacher level. Shamanism arrived and I began opening my experience to the “in between” spaces, and Shamanic healing techniques. My awareness of all things nature deepened my love affair and communion with plants. Then by chance (ha, synchronicity!!) I met Rev Kate Rodger and was introduced to her MDP program, and other tele-programs she orchestrated. I spiraled open to both a higher and deeper evolvement of Self. The invitations to explore my Beingness were many, what I thought I knew, and what was to be discovered. IMW continues to be such a blessing of unraveling and unfurling, while fortifying and strengthening my journey. I am so grateful to have met Rev Kate and her Consciousness.

I intend to continue this amazing adventure Here in both Sovereignty and Service, Surrender and Freedom, Love and Truth.

It is an honor and pleasure to be traveling with Rev Kate and the IMW Love Team Tribe.

Rev. Candice is a visionary. In her financial work, she has built strong foundational structures for several individuals and companies, witnessing complete turnaround by implementing conscious financial strategies and eliminating debt methodically and systematically. Her proven leadership has taken debt-ridden individuals and companies to living debt-free with millions in positive cash flow annually. Known and respected for her deep compassion, financial wit, and straightforward approach, Candice brings to light the emotional underpinnings and limited beliefs that often undergird money behavior.

From her deep love of God, years of observation in her profession and deep listening, Rev. Candice realized she had a unique opportunity to serve others in spiritual community by teaching a blend of spiritual practice through the Principles of Prosperity and conscious financial choices. Her signature course; “Prosperity from The Inside Out” has assisted countless individuals in identifying old patterns and beliefs around prosperity, abundance and money, resulting in a freedom they never thought possible.

Candice speaks and teaches at Agape and other spiritual centers around the country. She also teaches in various business venues throughout the United States and is wholly committed to a world that works for everyone.

She is the Director of Membership at Agape.