ConnectEd Institute exists because the people who hold the most should never be the ones holding it alone.
We are a professional coaching and training organization built around Applied Consilience — the integration of neuroscience, social-emotional research, motivational psychology, and spiritual wisdom into a single, practical framework for human growth.
We founded ConnectEd because we kept seeing the same pattern: thoughtful, capable, deeply committed people — pastors, educators, counselors, leaders — running on fumes and performing wellness while quietly falling apart. The tools existed to help them. They just weren't in the same room.
So we put them in the same room. The Five Capacities framework draws from the best of what's known about how people regulate, connect, act, create, and discern — and puts it in the hands of coaches who know how to use it.
The Team
Lisa G Favela, Ed.S., NCSP
Co-Founder
Lisa’s background spans educational psychology, intercultural learning, and developmental psychology. Lisa integrates cognitive evaluation with relational approaches to human growth. Her work sits at the intersection of emotional attunement, applied neuroscience, and behavioral strategy.
She guides, consults, and coaches with a particular focus on helping individuals find safe, relational spaces to live with deeper purpose and thrive.
Whether facilitating a workshop or hiking a desert trail, her work is grounded in a commitment to human flourishing.
Tiago Baltazar, Ed.S.
Co-Founder
Tiago’s work sits at the intersection of systems thinking, applied neuroscience, and theological reflection. Drawing on a background in school psychology, trauma-informed practice, and restorative practices, he designs professional learning that centers belonging and well-being and leads initiatives aimed at systemic change.
He's drawn to leaders willing to move past traditional approaches toward more integrated systems of improvement, and has shared this work at state and national conferences.
He writes, consults, and coaches — with a particular focus on helping people in helping professions reconnect with themselves. He lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and two children.
What "Applied Consilience" Means
Consilience is the principle that evidence from independent, unrelated sources converging on a single conclusion is stronger than any one source alone. Applied Consilience is our commitment to building frameworks that draw from multiple traditions — neuroscience, psychology, spiritual wisdom, and lived experience — and integrating them into something individuals and practitioners can actually use.
We don't believe any single model has the whole picture. We believe the picture gets clearer when you put the best models in conversation with each other.