ETC started in Irving, Texas as a parenting course written by Michael and Amy Monroe with the support of Dr. Karyn Purvis, co-creator of Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®). The impetus of ETC came from the need for parents and caregivers to have the knowledge and skills needed to create healing environments for children who had experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and more specifically those who are in care outside their family of origin.

From that time, the leadership of ETC began Train-the-Trainer for the ETC Connect Course. ETC was stewarded and led by Tapestry Ministries and several key leaders as it continued to serve families and trainers. During this season, the long legacy of Show Hope partnering with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development and Empowered to Connect through the Empowered to Connect Conference began.

The ownership, intellectual property, and program rights of ETC were transferred to the care and leadership of the Memphis Family Connection Center (MFCC) with the intent of MFCC providing support for its continued impact as well as building capacity around opportunities for growth. Long time ETC Parent Trainers Mark and Tona Ottinger co-founded MFCC in Memphis, Tennessee. MFCC as a holistic, integrated family care clinic that provides connection-based, trauma-informed care to families.

Seeing the need to leverage the global brand recognition of ETC to further the vision of the organization, the board of directors and executive leadership restructured the organization, making Empowered to Connect the top organization and placing MFCC as one of its many programs. 

Since its origin, ETC has impacted hundreds of thousands of individuals across the globe through our network of trainers, parenting courses, community trainings, podcasts, YouTube videos, clinical practices, and collaborative efforts with strategic partners. 

We are proud of the foundation ETC’s vast impact has laid over the last decade and are hopeful about the growth we have ahead.