Teen Discovery Team
We get to work with teens and families at their worst and have the amazing privilege of seeing many move on to thrive and become stable and successful! From crisis intervention and stabilization to discovering and leveraging Talents and Character to move to amazing cohesion and success. That is a great job!
We believe that when an individual discovers their Talent DNA and Character, that becomes the pathway to future success. We work with parents and young adults to discover that Talent DNA and create great futures.
Mark R Demos, M.A., PFP, C-LSI
Founder, Creator, Father, Coach, Speaker
My greatest joy in life is to find ways to help parents and their children discover their lives of purpose, passion and success. I am a parent. I raised three children. I am a grandparent of three more.
Parenting is not for cowards. Helping teens and young adults become all they can be, through all the distractions, temptations and harmful influences that face them, is not for the weak. I know the pain. I know the frustrations. I know the joys as well.
Through the last 27 years, I have created Student Success programs for schools and universities, Diversion programs for court systems and drug courts, Out of School Suspension programs for school districts, church youth programs, innovative interventions for young people in crisis.
I am the creative mind and evangelist for Talent DNA Profiling, Corp-DNA and Positive Forensics. I created the process of Positive Forensics - the 21st Century scientific process for discovering Talent DNA.
My book "The DNA Code: The Forensics of Purpose, Passion and Performance" has received endorsements from some of the world's most prominent psychologists including Dr Elizabeth Loftus and Dr Christopher Peterson.
I have spoken to 1000's of audiences in over 30 countries and all 50 US states. My education and degrees are in Psychology, Theology, International Politics and Cross-Cultural Communication. I have been educated through schools and universities in England, Africa and the USA.
I am the father of three grown children. and three grandchildren. I loved being a parent and raising my children. There were definite challenges but also many joys. I know what it is like to have to struggle, deal with very tough situations, encourage through tears, stand up to defiance, draw lines in the sand when needed and celebrate their graduation to adulthood.
I am a cricket coach and player. I play golf, love to travel, enjoy photography and I am always thinking about the beach.
Dr. Nick Heyne, MD
Consulting Psychiatrist
Board Certified - Adolescent, Addiction and Forensic.
Dr. Heyne is our consulting psychiatrist and works both in our initial assessment phase and also in an ongoing treatment and oversight role. His relevant and broad expertise is an invaluable asset. He travels for initial assessments and also conducts many sessions on our facetime platform Thera-Link
Nicholas G. Heyne, M.D., specializes in adult, child/adolescent, forensic, and addiction psychiatry. A native of Southlake, Texas, he attended Cistercian Preparatory School and then the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. After graduating from medical school in 2010 at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Dr. Heyne completed general psychiatry training at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
While at UNC, Dr. Heyne pursued his passion for serving pediatric patients by completing a fellowship in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry. Additionally, he received specialized training in Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities as well as training in Sports Psychiatry at the North Carolina State University Athletics Department.
After completing a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry (for children and adults) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 2016, Dr. Heyne returned home to North Texas to train as an Addiction Psychiatrist specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Heyne has received multiple teaching awards for his outstanding work with medical students and residents and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society in 2013. He volunteers to teach medical students, residents, and fellows at local academic institutions and hospitals today. Triple-board certified in general adult psychiatry, child/adolescent psychiatry, and addiction psychiatry, Dr. Heyne is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Upon completion of his third fellowship in 2017, Dr. Heyne opened his private practice, Cornerstone Family Psychiatry, PLLC where he serves patients throughout the North Texas community. Additionally, he works at various emergency rooms and rehabilitation centers throughout the metroplex.
Dr. Monique Rinere, Ph.D.
Director of Education and College Pathways
Dean, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton and The New School
Monique Rinere, a first-generation college student, earned a B.A. in German and Music in 1990 from Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures from Princeton University in 2000.
After serving as the Director of Studies of Mathey College and then as the Residential College Dean of Butler College at Princeton, in 2006 she founded Harvard College's Advising Programs Office at Harvard University. In 2009, she was recruited to serve as the Dean of Advising for Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University in the City of New York. At these three Ivy-league schools, Rinere served on countless committees and spearheaded more than her share of new initiatives to care for students and their parents. She believes ferociously in the value of assessing colleges, their teaching, student learning, advising and other services, as well as being realistic about the overall cost and importance of a college education.
She currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of The New School, leading academic and career advising, transition programs, academic integrity, and other student success initiatives. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Global Business at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and is on the advisory board of My Life Scene-The Science of Human Talent. She is active in the Princeton Women’s Network (PWN) and sometimes contributes to her alma mater’s Annual Giving Campaign in addition to having served as an external reviewer at Yale and Georgetown.
An award-winning leader in the field of college advising, Rinere is author of the new book, "Countdown To College - The Essential Steps To Your Child's Successful Launch".
She has given dozens of talks to high school and college students and their parents on how to choose a college and succeed there, focusing on the questions few people ask, but everyone should. She has also organized and spoken at conferences designed for high school counselors and college advisers and delivered presentations at international gatherings of academics on college advising and assessment.
Krisandra Parsons Demos, M.S., LPC, PFP
Director - Mental Health Services
Licensed Professional Counselor
I have worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor for 24 years. I have worked in private practice, rehab facilities, run groups, worked with Mark Demos travelling to families around the country and bringing hope and change. I direct Teen Discovery's mental health programs
I am an expert Profiler. I come alive when I look directly into the face of someone I have identified High Performance DNA in. I want them to see what I see in them.
I have always been fascinated by those DNA Markers which identify the: What, How, When and Why people do what they do and also Who they do it with. Motive or the "Why" behind behavior is what I am always attempting to understand and identify.
I now get to maximize my greatest DNA Talents to Profile High Performance and Success. I love to see the power of people who get it.
My focus in Teen Discovery is both overseeing our mental health services and running our Talent Profile Lab. I not only help with profiling but when all the evidence of Talent DNA has been collected, I sit with our other profilers to put together a Talent DNA Matrix that predicts likely pathways for future success.
I am a world traveler, I love the beach and warm places, I love speed and fast cars, I enjoy a wide variety of music, I am a movie quote savant.
Penny van der Westhuizen, PhD (nd) LPC-S, PFP, C-LSI
Licensed Professional Counselor
Talent DNA Profiler
Adolescent Expert
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas and also hold the LPC/S certification which enables me to supervise graduate students for their licensure. In addition I have been teaching drug and alcohol classes for the State of Tx for over 10 years.
I am certified in the VIA Character Strengths Profile and various other Positive Forensic Profile Tests and processes. I am an expert in Profile Evidence Contamination. This enables me to profile possible DNA Markers, that if addressed appropriately, will result in sustained High Performance and not limit or undermine Talent DNA.
I was an aerobics instructor for many years, and enjoyed playing field hockey, tennis, swimming and running. I am also a major dog person and I am passionate about rescuing dogs from abusive situations. I currently have two pups, Asher Rain and Zoe, Kai, both rescue dogs
Charles Bartlett, B.A., MBA (cand)
Peer Coach and Speaker
Charlie is one of the amazing success stories we have had at The Legacy Forum. Charlie is the grandson of Charles Bartlett Johnson, founder of Franklin Templeton Resources and majority owner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team.
Charlie became a client back in 2015 when his family asked if we could work with him. He was struggling with life in every way. Facing another wall after leaving Southern Methodist University and then about to walk away from the University of Vermont, he knew he needed help.
Over the next year of intense work, Charlie's life turned around. The team at The Legacy Forum helped Charlie discover his immense talents and also what mattered to him in life.
He enrolled in Stetson University and his GPA moved from a 1.6 to his graduation GPA of 3.4 in 2018 with a degree in business and sports management. Charlie is currently enrolled in an MBA program at Stetson.
The change took time and has resulted in Charlie now seeking to help others as a Peer Coach and speaker.
Charlie will be speaking about his experiences, how to discover your own voice, participating in panel discussions with the Legacy Forum team and consulting with us on legacy issues with HNW families.