DEATH DOULA ✦ EDUCATOR ✦ ACTIVIST

I am a committed death work activist, specializing in Queer end-of-life assistance, palliative pet care & hospice, advance care planning, death cleaning & possession bequeathment, and abortion doula services. As a proud member of the Queer community, I bring a deep, personal commitment to ensuring inclusive and compassionate care. At my core, I am an educator, sharing knowledge both in one-on-one settings and with large groups of hundreds, working to reshape how deathcare is understood, one conversation at a time. With a background in animal and human medicine, I hold certifications in deathwork, thanatology, and pet behavior and bereavement, and I am also an ordained Celebrant.

With over 20 years of teaching experience across medical, nursing, and holistic disciplines, I have dedicated my career to both educating and providing hands-on care. My journey has taken me from acute care for the elderly to volunteering with Hospice organizations, and even to the jungles, where I had the honor of studying chimpanzees alongside Dr. Jane Goodall. My passion for deathwork is deeply rooted in a desire to foster open, honest conversations about death and dying - conversations that empower us to face these inevitable moments with dignity and care. Since becoming a certified Death Doula in 2018, I’ve made it my mission to educate and inspire others, serving as the Program Director for a death doula training organization for four years. Through teaching and public speaking, I strive to create a space where people can engage with death in a transformative way.

I currently serve as a Subject Matter Expert at the University of New England, where I actively shape the curriculum and teach the End-of-Life Pet Doula Course. I also bring my expertise to the End-of-Life Doula Course for humans, offering compassionate guidance and education in both fields. Beyond the classroom, I’m passionate about engaging with communities through public speaking, leading workshops, and creating deathcare programs. I also host death cafés, where I help foster open, meaningful conversations about end-of-life issues, encouraging people to approach death with curiosity and compassion.

I have had the privilege of serving and chairing numerous performing arts boards, facilitating medical clinics in Kenya and the Caribbean, and representing the United States at the WHO World AIDS Day conference. From 2019 to 2021, I also served on the Board of Directors for the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), where I chaired the Webinar, Education & Assessment Committee.

It’s this experience that fuels my passion to be your strongest advocate in deathcare, while working to reshape cultural narratives, challenge implicit biases, and dismantle the ingrained fear surrounding death and dying.

My wife and I split our time between West Michigan and New York City. Despite being a Pisces, I paradoxically dislike water, but I’m a firm believer in daily Champagne indulgence! I also cherish the companionship of our elderly cats, Bruce Frances and Douglas Kerrigan, while dreaming of the day we can provide the perfect home for a rescue dog…or two…or ten!