The Journey Center Association
The Journey Center Association (JCA) was established as a nonprofit organization in 2016 to respond to the growing interest from individuals and groups around the world in what the Spirit has been doing through the Journey Center in Santa Rosa, California.
The JCA’s mission is to enter into discernment with and provide practical resources to those who sense the Spirit inviting them to explore the possibility of birthing a Journey Center, or something like it, in their city or region.
Click on the resource links below to find free introductory resources as well as mentoring, training and support resources for members and associates of the JCA. After reviewing these, please feel free to email Joanna Quintrell (joanna@journeycenter.org) if you have any questions and would like to schedule a conversation. She looks forward to meeting you!
Is the Spirit Calling You?
Joanna’s Story
It can be both exciting and overwhelming to recognize that something is stirring in you…that perhaps the Spirit is inviting you to listen more deeply for God’s invitation at this season in your life. I’m Joanna Quintrell, the Executive Director of the JCA, and I will never forget experiencing those first stirrings on my own journey!

Resources for Members of the Journey Center Association Community
Free Resources for Phase One: Entering into Discernment
Our journey together begins with informal conversations in which we get to know each other and begin to listen to God together, and there is no charge for the resources in this first phase of early discernment. We simply want to offer you support, prayer and a listening ear as you begin to explore what God is saying and how the Spirit is moving in you and in your area.
As you enter into early discernment, we offer consultation, community and written resources. Read the following document An Invitation to a Discernment Journey (pdf) for more details.
Resources for the Second Phase of the Discernment Journey: Becoming a JCA Associate Group
If you and your group discern that God is indeed inviting you to move toward birthing something in your area, we offer a variety of resources to support and equip you as you enter into active discernment. There is no requirement at this point in your discernment process to commit to birthing a Journey Center; our desire is to walk with you as you continue to listen deeply to God, whatever the calling turns out to be.
Choosing to join the JCA as an Associate group gives you and your leadership group access to the following resources for active discernment: consultation, mentoring, training, community, resources and discounts. Read the following document An Invitation to a Discernment Journey (pdf) for more details about resources and fees.
Resources for the Third Phase of the Discernment Journey: Becoming a JCA Member Group
Some Associate groups will discern that God is calling them to birth a Journey Center in their area, which is a process that requires specific mentoring, training and support as it includes becoming a non-profit organization.
Choosing to become a full member of the Journey Center Association licenses you to use the Journey Center name and gives you access to all the resources that the JCA offers, including: guidance through the process of becoming a nonprofit organization, consultation, mentoring, training, community, resources and discounts. Read the following document An Invitation to a Discernment Journey (pdf) for more details about resources and fees.
Journey Center Association Events
The Journey Center Association has an annual gathering, regional events, online member groups, trainings, orientation sessions and other resources. Some are open to Associates and Members only, and others welcome all who are interested. Listed below are upcoming events.
Contact joanna@journeycenter.org if you would like more information.

Journey Center Association Community Annual Gathering 2024!
Journey Center Association Board and Staff
Click on a name to read the bio for each Staff or Board Member.

Joanna Quintrell

Jan Stanish

Paldrom Collins

Pamela Carraher

Executive Director
Joanna Quintrell
Joanna Quintrell serves as the Executive Director of the Journey Center Association. It was in the year 2000 that she found herself in a spiritual crisis and first learned about spiritual direction, a gift that was life-changing and heart-transforming for her… no one had ever taught her how to nurture her own inner life with God. Joanna began her training as a spiritual director in 2003 (trained at the Mercy Center, Burlingame and the Center for Spiritual Direction in Chicago). She served as the founding director of Journey Center Santa Rosa in California through 2016 and then established the Journey Center Association in 2017. She has been the co-director of the Association’s 2-year Spiritual Director Formation Program since 2009. In addition to the joy of holding sacred space for others, Joanna loves organic gardening, hiking, traveling and grand-parenting. She and her husband live in Santa Rosa, California.
Email:joanna@journeycenter.org

President
Jan Stanish
Jan completed the 2-year Spiritual Direction Formation Program with the Journey Center Association in Santa Rosa, California, in 2011 and was also trained in group direction at that location. She was certified in spiritual direction supervision at North Park Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. She is currently part of the facilitator team for Journey Center Association’s Spiritual Direction Formation Program and serves on the Journey Center Association board.
Movement toward a more contemplative way of life began for Jan in 1999 with a compelling invitation to know herself in more authentic ways. This God-guided journey included redeeming truth from her early childhood. As in a mirror, she saw evidence of who she was created to be: deeply connected with nature, courageous, creative, secure in one who is loved and belonging to self and God. Challenge and freedom are always part of holding these truths and living in them.
As a Spiritual director, Jan creatively holds space for another’s sacred journey of encountering the Holy and embracing the true self.
After living a few miles north of San Francisco, CA for 40 years, a move to Tucson, AZ, in 2020 fulfilled a desire to be near family.
Email:jhstanish@me.com

Treasurer
Paldrom Collins
Paldrom’s first introduction to religion was with her parents as a young child in the First Baptist church in Oklahoma. But by the time she was in high school, her mother was studying Theosophy and her father had announced his agnosticism. She spent years seeking enlightenment first as a Tibetan Buddhist nun, then through the non-dual Advaita-Vedanta lineage of Ramana Maharshi. Now returning to her Christian roots, she, like T.S. Eliot, has found:
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Secretary
Pamela Carraher
Pamela Carraher is a listener, teacher, spiritual director, facilitator, and education consultant, with emphasis in spiritual formation and worldview studies. She mentors lifelong learners of all ages and carries a passion for bringing life’s deeper questions into meaningful conversations.
Pam received her training in Spiritual Direction and Contemplative Retreat Leadership from Journey Center Santa Rosa where she currently serves as a facilitator in their two-year formation Program. She received Supervision training in Chicago at North Park Seminary.
As a board member of the Journey Center Association, Pamela works with teams worldwide who have interest in developing Journey Centers in their areas, as well as developing Advanced Training Seminars intended for Spiritual Directors. Her newest project is a program in Spiritual Formation, currently in development.
She is married with three adult children and five grandchildren.
“As my formal career draws to a close, I find my deepest interest and desire is to facilitate groups that discuss and reflect upon our deepest longings and desires combined with meaningful action in and around our neighborhoods, communities and the world. I love reading, spending time with family and friends, nature study, art journaling, and Yosemite. “
Email:pamelacarraher@me.com