Michael Kropveld is Founder and Executive Director of Info-Cult / Info-Secte, based in Montreal, Canada, and sits on the board of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). Since 1980 he has assisted thousands of former members and members of "cults," "new religious movements," and other groups, and their families. He has served as an expert witness on cult-related criminal and civil cases, and is consulted regularly by mental health professionals and law enforcement agencies. Since the mid 1990s he has collaborated on the organizing of the ICSA annual international conferences on cultic phenomena. He has been an invited speaker worldwide, and has appeared on many radio and television programs locally, nationally and internationally. Among other publications he co-authored, in 2006, The Cult Phenomenon: How Groups Function / Le phénomène des sectes: L'étude du fonctionnement des groupes. Both versions are downloadable for free here. He was awarded the 125 Commemorative Medal in 1992 by the Government of Canada "in recognition of significant contribution to compatriots, community and to Canada" and in 2007 he received the Herbert L. Rosedale Award from ICSA "in recognition of leadership in the effort to preserve and protect individual freedom."