Our Team

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Co-Founders and Co-Directors
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat have been covering contemporary culture and the spiritual renaissance for four decades. They are the authors of the national bestseller Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, a collection of more than 650 examples of spiritual perspectives on everyday experience, which is also the basis of a 26-part DVD series. In that book, the Brussats introduced the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy — 37 essential spiritual practices of the world's religions and spiritual paths. Their book Spiritual Rx: Prescriptions for Living a Meaningful Life recommends resources and exercises for exploring those practices. The content on Spirituality & Practice, compiled from years of the Brussats' work, is also organized around the practices.

To read more about Frederic and Mary Ann work over the years, click here.


Darren Polito
Senior Editor, Designer
Darren is a renaissance soul as an artist, dancer, and Interfaith Minister. He began his professional career in Houston, Texas, as a hairstylist. After moving to New York City, he used his keen eye and attention to detail as the Special Projects Manager of Geoff Howell Studio where he kept busy sculpting, sewing, doing computer graphics, and handling project management.

Acting on a higher call to service, Darren attended One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and was ordained in 2009. His ministry includes officiating at ceremonies, leading Ecstatic Dance workshops to empower people to celebrate their bodies as temples of the Divine, and his many contributions to Spirituality & Practice. He is involved in all stages of getting new content online, posting reviews and curating articles on special topics. His pet project is "The 12s" — a monthly pop-up gallery of inspiring imagery and quotes. More of his art can be found at his website FreeSoulExpression.com.


Joy Carol
Editor
Joy is an author, speaker, spiritual director, and workshop and retreat leader. She had a productive career as a manager with international development programs, working for such organizations as the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, Save the Children, and Child Fund (formerly Christian Children's Fund). Fifteen years ago Joy had three close encounters with death and has since dedicated her life to spirituality and healing. She earned a Masters in Spiritual Direction from General Theological Seminary and now speaks and leads retreats on such topics as spirituality, self-care, friendship, care-giving, burnout, dealing with loneliness, aging, healing for dying and living, and finding meaning in life. Her recent books include Towers of Hope: Stories to Help Us Heal, Journeys of Courage: Remarkable Stories of the Healing Power of Community, and The Fabric of Friendship: Celebrating the Joys, Mending the Tears in Women's Relationships. Information on her retreats and her blog can be found on her website JoyCarol.com.

Joy and Mary Ann have been friends for 50 years, and Joy has given part of her time and her many gifts and talents to the Brussats' projects over the years. At Spirituality & Practice, she helps edit our databases of reviews and book excerpts.


Mike Wu and Bandwidth Productions
Web Team
Mike Wu is the founder of Bandwidth Productions, Inc. a full service web design and development company founded in 2001 and located in New York City. Prior to starting Bandwidth, Mike managed websites for companies like NBC, Disney, and the National Hockey League. More about Bandwidth Productions can be found at their website.

Mike and his designers and programmers created Spirituality & Practice's web presence in 2006. They provide ongoing technical support to the website and are currently working with S&P to plan a rebuild of the site in 2012.