Stephen Gerringer

Stephen Gerringer has devoted the past fifteen years to the collaboration that is the
Joseph Campbell Foundation (JCF). After growing up in a relatively small, authoritarian
Christian cult, his personal beliefs took a decidedly libertarian turn in college. After
graduation and a few years of political activism, a major health crisis interrupted his post-
college career trajectory, which prompted a deep inward turn. Stephen subsequently
“dropped out” and spent most of the next decade on the road, thumbing his away across
the country on his own hero quest.  

Stephen did eventually “drop back in,” accepting a position teaching English and
Literature in junior high. After 9/11, inspired by Campbell’s advice to “follow your bliss,
and doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors,” he
resigned to pursue his interest in creativity and the mythic imagination.

At the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Stephen’s responsibilities over the years have been
many and varied, most often focusing on community – from composing newsletters,
planning special events, moderating online discussion forums, and helping coordinate
JCF’s Mythological RoundTable® Program, to overseeing collaborations with other
institutions and organizations, accepting invitations to speak on mythic themes, and
participating in educational initiatives.

Stephen is also the author of JCF’s Practical Campbell series – comprehensive essays
covering topics ranging from ritual regicide to the mythology of breath. His primary task
at the moment is editing a volume compiled from little known print and audio interviews
with Joseph Campbell.

Stephen often describes himself, only half tongue-in-cheek, as “a hindu, buddhist, taoist,
gnostic, pagan, shamanistic, psychedelic, wiccan deadhead who believes Everything –
which doesn’t mean I’ll believe just anything.”