Teachers
Biographical records of the people who received, carried, and taught the Human Design System.
Each profile is a structured record: legal and teaching names, birth data, the design as it was read from that data, the period of active work, and the lineage of training. Profiles are organized by generation — by proximity in the lineage to Ra Uru Hu — and added as they are documented and sourced.
A separate page sets the official certification path against where the public reach of Human Design has actually accumulated: The Credential and the Reach →
The generation framework below follows Ra Uru Hu’s own description of the three teacher generations, as given in his address to the third generation of teachers. Ra described four-year intervals between each generation — “they’ve all been four years apart, which I find curious, which is pretty much of a notion cycle” — and noted that each generation had distinct characteristics in terms of the tools and educational framework available to them. Source: Ra Uru Hu, address to the third generation of IHDS teachers (Jovian Archive, youtu.be/RjFESyyRODo).
Pre-Generational — The Founding Era (1987–1995)
Before Ra Uru Hu established his formal teacher training structure in January 1996, a cohort of analysts and practitioners trained directly with Ra in the original mechanics of the Human Design System — before the Four Types behavioral overlay (introduced May 1997), before the formal IHDS educational standards, and before the international organizational agreements of 2000. Ra’s first formal teachers training in San Juan Bautista in 1996 was the beginning of his generational framework; those who trained before it are pre-generational in Ra’s own terms. This archive documents them as founding-era teachers whose training predates the formal generation structure Ra later described.
- Ra Uru Hu
- Jürgen Saupe
- Martin Grassinger
- Erik Memmert
- Zeno Dickson
- Chaitanyo Taschler
- Ilse Sendler
- Genoa Bliven
- Alokanand Díaz (Alok)
- Chetan Parkyn
- Eleanor Haspel-Portner
- Richard Rudd
- Dr. Andrea Reikl-Wolf
- Richard Beaumont
- Theresa Blanding
- Mary Ann Winiger
- Peter Schöber
- J. Randolph Richmond (Randy Richmond)
- Henriette Mark
The first American cohort — December 1993. Ra Uru Hu certified the first generation of American Human Design analysts over the last two weeks of 1993: a Basic training in Santa Fe on 16–17 December, followed by a six-day Advanced training on 26–31 December held at the Winslow Dance Studio in Taos, New Mexico. Eight students were certified as analysts by New Year’s Eve: Zeno Dickson, Chaitanyo Taschler, Josef Velten, Liz Winslow Fruits, Sarasvati Cohen, Ilse Grunninger, Ivy Amar, and Lenny Blank.
Zeno Dickson and Chaitanyo Taschler are profiled above. The other six are documented here as members of the founding cohort; beyond the December 1993 certification, no further public record of their Human Design work has been located, and this archive does not publish unsourced biographies. Documentation is sourced to the Zen Human Design archive (humandesignsystem.com/archive) and the published Human Design history. If further public material on any of them exists, corrections are welcome at the contact form at thescienceofdifferentiation.com/contact.
Generation 1 — The First Teachers Training (January 1996, San Juan Bautista, California)
Ra Uru Hu held his first formal teachers training in January 1996 in San Juan Bautista, California. In Ra’s own words: “in January of 96 was the first teachers training… there were a number of people that were there — Alok who’s here today, he was one of those that were there, Martin Grassinger, Peter Schöber, there was a number of people that are long time teachers in design who were part of that first generation of teachers.” Ra later noted that many first-generation teachers “fell out of the loop” as the knowledge base expanded rapidly after 2000. Note: Alokanand Díaz and Martin Grassinger are documented above as pre-generational founding-era teachers who also participated in the 1996 training. Peter Schöber is documented above as a founding-era teacher and Germany/Switzerland national director — see also /national-directors.
Generation 1 teacher profiles are in development. Named by Ra at the 1996 San Juan Bautista teachers training: Alokanand Díaz, Martin Grassinger, Peter Schöber, and others not yet confirmed in the public record. If you were present at the January 1996 teachers training and wish to be documented, contact the contact form at thescienceofdifferentiation.com/contact.
Generation 2 — The Second Teachers Training (2000, Vienna, Austria)
Ra trained the second generation of teachers in 2000 in Vienna, Austria. In Ra’s own words: “that was the first generation that was actually taught with a universal principal — that was the beginning of the organization of formal international design, the various organizations agreeing to work with the same educational program.” Ra noted that some second-generation teachers “who didn’t stay with the fastest expansion in Design’s knowledge no longer have the competency really to teach at the level that you’re able to teach at as the third generation.”
Generation 3 — The Third Teachers Training (2005)
Ra addressed the third generation of teachers in 2005. In his own words: “for me this gathering here, this is the third generation of teachers — this is the next step down the line in this process. And what’s so interesting is that they’ve all been four years apart, which I find curious, which is pretty much of a notion cycle.” Ra described this generation as having “the kind of tools that we need and the structure that gives us the professionalism that we need in order to place representatives out there who not only can do an efficient job but they can excel in what they do.” Post-Ra teachers (2011–present) are documented below as continuing the IHDS educational lineage after Ra’s death in March 2011.
- Ruth Brennan Creative Director, IHDS; certified analyst and BG5 Consultant; PTL and Foundation teacher
- Lynette Crisfield IHDS Professional Training faculty; PTL II (Cycles and Connections)
- Lynette Hagins IHDS Administrator; Professional Analyst; Living Design Guide
- Brian D. Stout IHDS teacher; PTL I, Living Your Design, Rave ABC’s, Rave Cartography
- Ella Aboutboul IHDS teacher; Projector specialist
- Michael Brown BG5 Career & Business Consultant; IHDS Creative Code program
- Karen Sherwood BG5 Business Institute instructor; former Director of Training, Marketing & Educational Development
- John Martin Human Design Hawaii; Tonal Cognition (with Theresa Blanding, 2020); removed from IHDS professional register following Tonal Cognition publication; deceased June 11, 2023. See /teachers/john-martin and /erasure.
IHDS-Lineage Teachers
Teachers documented as certified within the International Human Design School lineage, whose training is established through the IHDS but for whom direct training with Ra Uru Hu is not documented in the public record. They are listed separately from the generational cohorts above — which are defined by Ra’s own teacher-training sequence — so the record does not overstate the connection. Each profile is sourced to the teacher’s own published materials and the IHDS.
Pop HD — The Mainstream Era (2020–present)
From 2020, Human Design spread rapidly through social media — TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube — reaching audiences of millions outside the lineage accountability, IHDS credentials, or doctrinal standards of earlier generations. This archive uses “Pop HD” to describe teachers and content creators who reached mass audiences in this era. These profiles are now documented on the dedicated Pop HD page.
The Pop HD category covers teachers and content creators who reached significant public audiences from 2020 onward, largely through social media platforms, without formal IHDS certification or documented lineage training. See the full documentation: Pop HD — The Mainstream Era. If you have information about a Pop HD teacher relevant to this archive’s documentary mission, contact the contact form at thescienceofdifferentiation.com/contact.
Critics & Skeptics
Voices from outside or against the teaching lineage — critics and skeptics of the Human Design System, not teachers of it. They are listed here for completeness of the record; the fuller, sourced treatment is on the comparative reference (Divergence — the critics) and the research page (The Cult Question).
- Jonah Dempcy Author, The Human Design Cult (2025). Founder of the High Desert Human Design Conference; by his own account a nineteen-year participant in the system. An insider-turned-critic — never a certified teacher of the system.
- Robert T. Carroll (1945–2016) Philosopher and author of The Skeptic’s Dictionary; documented among the system’s external skeptics. Never inside the system.
- Praggya Beniwal “A Critical Analysis of the Human Design System,” Parts 1–2 (self-published, 2023).