Jeralynn “Jeri” Kozak brings a deeply personal and unconventional perspective to The Cross Files. A Thai-American and the first person in her family to be born outside of Thailand, Jeri was raised in California while navigating two very different cultural worlds. Growing up, she often wrestled with the desire to fit in among her predominantly white peers while also learning to appreciate the Thai heritage that helped shape who she is.
Her childhood was marked by profound loss. When Jeri was just 12 years old, her mother died by suicide, leaving her to navigate grief and adolescence while being raised by her father, an architect. Like many people who experience deep trauma at a young age, much of that grief remained unspoken for years.
During her teenage years, Jeri also became involved in occult and New Age practices — areas that she now recognizes as spiritually dangerous and explicitly forbidden in Scripture. Rather than bringing the answers or peace she was searching for, those experiences ultimately became part of the stark contrast between the spiritual darkness she encountered and the freedom she later found in Jesus Christ.
At 16, Jeri committed her life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, beginning a transformation that would profoundly redirect the course of her life. Her experiences gave her a lasting interest in understanding the intersection of the spiritual, psychological, and supernatural — always through the lens of biblical truth.
Jeri later pursued an education in psychology, an area that continues to influence her compassion for people dealing with grief, trauma, emotional wounds, and difficult life experiences. She believes Christians should exercise discernment while also recognizing the importance of wise counsel, prayer, biblical healing, and allowing people the opportunity to bring long-buried wounds into the light.
Her interests eventually expanded into Christian broadcasting and podcasting, where she has explored subjects ranging from biblical prophecy and spiritual warfare to near-death experiences, supernatural encounters, cultural issues, and testimonies of lives transformed by Christ.
Jeri has been married to her husband, Ted, for more than two decades. After beginning their relationship online in 2001 and marrying several years later, they eventually traded California for Florida in 2006, where they continue to make their home.
Through The Cross Files, Jeri hopes to create a place where difficult questions can be explored without fear, unusual experiences can be examined with discernment, and ultimately everything is brought back to the truth and hope found in Jesus Christ.