Who is Principium?

We have diverse backgrounds, from consulting with leaders in the public and private sectors, to intensive work with gun-carrying gangsters and prisoners, to furniture design, architecture, martial arts training, movement and nano-tech.

Our product is a multi-dimensional seminar/demonstration forum in which clients are trained physically and intellectually, led through various learning activities involving vigorous meditation techniques, sensory deprivation, dramatic roll play, communication assessment, exploration of creative process, conflict utilization practices, holistic technology development and strategic reorientation, and in the end given a practice that supports health, discipline, focus and imagination on multiple life levels, from the personal and organizational to the world.

The Principals

Andrew Markell


Andrew received his BA in Religion with a Presidential Commendation for Academic Excellence at Reed College in Portland Oregon, and has studied and researched extensively abroad in Latin America and Asia.

Andrew has fifteen years of experience working with individuals, organizations, school systems, youth, families, and community leaders in the areas of leadership, conflict, cultural education, organizational design, trauma recovery and violence prevention. Andrew has provided strategic consultation for numerous non-profit and for-profit companies in the United States and abroad. This work has been diverse. For example, Andrew has trained individuals in areas such as maximum-security prisons, urban and rural school systems, large corporations and international relief organizations.

In addition to this work, Andrew served as Adjunct Professor to the Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution at Portland State University for six years. His research areas included: a) sustainability, leadership and systems models in business, government and non-profit centers, b) the philosophy of violence and conflict, c) the nature of religion and conflict, d) international conflict resolution, e) political and personal power and d) teaching pedagogy.

Andrew’s special area of expertise is in the area of leadership as informed by a confluence of wisdom traditions, modern philosophy, systems thinking, and the fighting arts.

Benjamin Shook


Benjamin Shook graduated from St. John's College in Santa Fe summa cum laude. He lived and taught in France several seasons. He is fluent in French and well acquainted with Ancient Greek and classical studies. He owned and operated a furniture design and fabrication company for nearly ten years before deciding to direct energies into the art of innovation, as well as the art of levity. He has completed extensive study of design and architecture crossing many traditions; he has likewise trained with Japanese timber framers and with some of the Compagnons du Devoir, in France. He has traveled widely, collecting stories and artifacts of many cultures, their vernacular objects and languages. Ben is an avid outdoor man: rock climbing, alpine, telemark ski, kayak, surf, cycling, etc. Ben also enjoys sailing and hunting for edible mushrooms (for cuisine, not mind alteration). He is known by friends and family for having an exceptional bright spirit, intense focused high energy, and alert physical presence. Ben's power animal is the common honeybee.


The Partners

John Ashford

John spent 8 years in the Catholic Seminary and graduated from Rockhurst University with a BA in French and Communication and a minor in Philosophy and Religion. John also studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France and studied Sacred Geometry in Northern Spain.

John has worked for Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Department for the last 16 years. In this time he has worked with thousands of gang members, at-risk youth and families. John oversaw the creation of the Save Our Youth violence prevention program which become a national model for its effectiveness working with conflict and violence, and continues to provide leadership for the evolution of his department into a national model for innovative youth programming.

Nationally John has trained social service agencies how to become more effective with families that struggle with violence and crisis for the last ten years. He has also trained hundreds of professionals the essence of working with diverse cultures.

John helped to create Exstasis Corporation and Oceansun Creative through which he worked with a wide array of for-profit and non-profit organizations in areas of organizational design, conflict utilization, diversity training, leadership training, school reform, restorative justice, and youth programming.

John, along with Principle Andrew Markell and a small team of trainers has recently been involved in the design and execution of a series of leading edge leadership trainings for high-potential executive teams in two large Scandanavian companies, one a multi-national bank and another a 13,000 employee construction company. These trainings, the first of their kind in the world, have been extremely successful.

John has a 1st Degree Black Belt in Traditional Taekwon-Do and is also certified in Sheng Zhen Wuji Yaun Gong.

Gregory Fong

Gregory Fong was born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong. He began training in the mid-60's studying Wu style t'ai chi for five years. In addition, he learned Northern Shaolin from Sifu Yim Sheung Mo in Hong Kong. Also in Hong Kong, Sifu Fong learned 7-Star Northern Praying Mantis kung fu from Sifu Chan Yin Yee (senior disciple of Sifu Luo Guang Yu and senior classmate of Sifu Wong Hon Fun).

At the age of 19, he moved to the United States. Subsequently, his pursuit of martial arts studies included, among others, Yang and Chen T'ai Chi, Luk-Hop-Ba-Fa, Chi Kung, Hsing-I, Pa-Kua and I-Chuan. Sifu Fong is one of very few non-natives who have lived in Chen Village, China (the birthplace of t'ai chi) and studied with the Chen masters there.

Gregory Fong focuses on teaching individuals to coordinate mental and physical communication by waking up the central nervous system and keeping it awake. For progress in life to be made, according to Gregory, individuals have to become aware of their bodies and their bodies have to be ready to work. This training actively challenges and enhances one's mental focus and physical stamina: it is, in fact, the underlying key to progress for health, training and powerful leadership.

His personal site is here.

James Hedberg

James is currently developing new technologies to advance the frontiers of experimental physics. Based at McGill University, in Montréal, Canada, he is a contributing member of the international physics community. He is currently working on one (of only a few in the world) low temperature atomic force microscopes, which is the basis of cutting edge research in nano technology. His previous work, in Portland, Oregon, involved a research collaboration between the Intel Corporation and Portland State University to develop biologically integrated nanoscale electronic materials. He also manages a science-based design firm responsible for producing publication quality research media.

Jennifer Rhule

Jennifer Rhule has more than 20 years experience in the field of strategic human resources and organizational development. She has held executive and senior organizational development and human resource positions in a range of industries including J. Sainsbury, PepsiCo, Xerox, Bank of America and Skandia Insurance.

Jennifer has a passion for people and has dedicated her career to creating corporate cultures that inspire and enable employees to realize their full potential within the corporate context.

She has led large scale cultural development programs to support alignment to strategic goals, acquisition integration, strategic repositioning and organizational effectiveness. Her career success can be attributed to her humanistic approach and her ability to effectively position the people agenda as a key enabler to achieving business success. Much of her work has led to national and international accreditation with Fortune Best Company To Work For, Investors In People, EFQM and Who’s Who as a few of her professional awards.

Jennifer’s areas of expertise include:

- Cultural diagnosis and cultural development
- Leadership development using behavioral feedback and executive coaching
- Facilitation
- Developing communities of practice and creating forums and processes for knowledge sharing and networking
- Team development
- Employee engagement and motivation
- Talent management