Catherine Alicia Georges, EdD, RN, FAAN

Dr. Catherine Alicia Georges, RN, FAAN, a professor and chairperson of the department of nursing at Lehman College is a leader in academic nursing, health policy development, community engagement, organizational development, and healthy aging. Her leadership in these areas is known nationally and internationally through her service as a member of health policy boards, health care delivery boards, professional organizations, governmental boards, and the world’s largest consumer organization board of directors. She is committed to assuring social justice and equity for marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Dr. Georges served as the national volunteer president of AARP from 2018-2020. AARP is the world’s largest consumer organization. She served as the fifth president of the National Black Nurses Association and is the president of the National Black Nurses Foundation. She is a Lifetime member of the National Black Nurses Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. And an honorary member of Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority. In October 2021 Dr. George became Chair of the National Easter Seals Board. She is the first Black female volunteer to serve as Chair in the 100-year history of the organization. Dr. Georges is a fellow of the NY Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Nursing. In 2019 she was named a Living legend by the American Academy of Nursing. In June 2020, Dr. Georges received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Seton Hall University. In October 2021 she received the Academy of Nursing Lifetime Legacy Achievement Award

Dr. Georges received a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from Seton Hall University College of Nursing, a Master of Arts degree in community health nursing administration and supervision from New York University School of Education, Division of Nursing, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Vermont.

Cathy Fox, MSW

Cathy Fox, MSW serves as Assistant Professor and Field Education Director for the Social Work Program at Creighton University. As an alum of the program herself, she enjoys educating and supporting students as they prepare to become future helping professionals. Prior to moving to academia, she served over eight years as the Program Director and Director of Operations at Grief’s Journey, a center for grieving families in Omaha, NE. Her expertise includes social work practice in the field of grief and loss, grounded in trauma, child development, and family systems, with a strong background in mental health, suicide, and nonprofit administration. She formerly served on the Board of Directors for NASW-NE (National Association of Social Workers); is an active member of NASW, NACG Education Committee, Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD), and Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); and regularly presents at national conferences for these organizations. As a college faculty working with rising professionals, she has a particular interest in self-care, trauma-informed classrooms, and mental health among young adults.

Kevin Carter, MSW, LCSW

For the past 40 years, Kevin Carter, MSW, LCSW, has spent his career working in several formal and informal capacities focused on helping families heal after facing a traumatic event in life. Kevin has worked in a range of human service and academic institutions across the country and is a highly respected and nationally known clinician, administrator, and educator. This long-spanning career in service, combined with his natural lived experience in service, has allowed Kevin to develop a perspective that very few practitioners can obtain.

Kevin has a strong belief that his approach to accomplishing his established goals starts with examining the impact of childhood loss and grief experiences from the lens of his psychosocial development as an African American male growing up in the South and as a social work practitioner. Kevin believes that despite growth in understanding African American grief, there is a need for developing approaches to education and intervention that inspire hope and courage to make a change. He further believes that the emphasis on perceived pathology and the problem-focused approach has led social workers to shy away from advocacy and prosocial approaches to healing in communities of color.

Kevin feels that the clinical field has had a long history of practice with African American individuals, families, and communities who are coping with grief and trauma. A foundational element of this practice is to challenge social injustice. He hopes that his approach to issues through his consulting platform will help participants to develop historical and contemporary frameworks for understanding how African American children and families cope with grief and ongoing injustices related to death, dying and living by exploring systemic and relational approaches that honor the unique cultural and historical experiences of African Americans.

Bethany Gardner

Bethany Gardner is Director of Bereavement Programs at Eluna, a non-profit organization with a mission to support children and families impacted by grief or addiction. She has worked with children, young adults, and families in a variety of settings, and has supported youth and families who are grieving since 2008. She holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and is a proud member of the Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Bethany has also served as adjunct faculty at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology focusing on vocational, leadership, and interpersonal skills development.

Michaeleen (Micki) R. Burns, PhD

Michaeleen (Micki) Burns, PhD, is the Chief Clinical Officer at Judi’s House/JAG Institute and adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado. JH/JAG is a comprehensive family bereavement center in Denver. A Licensed Psychologist with two decades of experience providing therapeutic assessment and support to families facing adversity, Micki has witnessed the lasting impact of unaddressed grief. She is dedicated to ensuring appropriate care is available for all and raising childhood bereavement to a level of critical public importance. At JH/JAG she oversees the direct service, research, and training departments working towards a vision where no child is alone in grief.

Jim Santucci, CPA

Jim Santucci, CPA, is a graduate of the U.S Military Academy. Jim served four years in the active duty Army as an Infantry officer with the 25th Infantry Division and later commanded the 227th Engineer Company while a member of the Hawaii National Guard. After his 10-year-old daughter died in 2008, he received support from Kara, a non-profit grief services agency in Palo Alto California. Soon after he began volunteer work for organizations advocating for pediatric palliative care (Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California) and supporting bereaved parents and individuals (Kara, Lucile Packard Family Partners Group). In November of 2013, Jim became the Executive Director of Kara. In addition to his daily chief executive responsibilities, he is a peer group facilitator for parents who have suffered the loss of a child and serves annually as a counselor at Camp Kara (a weekend bereavement camp for children and teens). His non-profit service also includes time with Children’s Health Council in Palo Alto and over 19 years of operations management for two faith- based organizations. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Daniel Layman

Dan Layman served as President and CEO of Ele’s Place Michigan for 7 years.  His work focused on transitioning the organization from a regional provider of peer support services to an integrated, statewide organization with the vision of reaching all grieving families in Michigan. Prior to Ele’s Place, he worked for several Michigan based hospices, leading their community outreach and business development programs. He served over ten years as a member of the Hospice of Michigan management team and helped grow the organization into one of the largest hospice providers in the country. Dan‘s passion for non-profit work stems from his time supporting grieving families and witnessing the pain and distress unresolved grief can have on individuals, families, and the larger community. Dan recently joined the Blood Cancer Foundation of Michigan as Community Liaison Manager, where he works to advocate and improve access to support for children and families facing blood cancer.  His interests are grief support advocacy and education, as well as DEI and community engagement.

Tashel Bordere, PhD, CT

Dr. Tashel Bordere, CT is a Researcher and Adjunct Professor in the Center for Family Policy & Research, Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She currently serves as Board Member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, Board Member of the National Alliance for Grieving Children, and Advisory Council Member of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). She has specialized education and training as a Certified Thanatologist (Death, Dying, and Grief). She has served as Editor of the ADEC Forum publication. Dr. Bordere’s research program assumes a contextual approach focusing on trauma, loss (homicide loss, assaultive violence – sexual assault), suffocated grief and Black youth and family bereavement. She studies cultural practices that promote healing and survival. Dr. Bordere has done numerous workshops, consultations, keynotes, and published research relating to social inequities and culturally responsive practices in loss including her co-edited/co-authored book, Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief (Routledge). She recently completed a Forward Promise Fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focusing on the promotion of healing, growth, and thriving among boys and young men of color. Dr. Bordere has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Ronald K. Barrett Award (2018) from the Association of Death Education and Counseling for research on Black adolescent and young adult grief, 2022 Excellence in Engagement in Outreach Award at the University of Missouri, and the CASE Award for outstanding faculty mentorship to underrepresented college students. She has been featured in multiple media outlets including USA Today, New York Times, Legacy.Com, Psychology Today, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, NPR (WPSU Take Note), on national and international podcasts (Grief Outloud – Dougy Center), and webcasts (National Alliance for Grieving Children), and the Open to Hope Cable Show – Saving At Risk Youth. Dr. Bordere developed the S.H.E.D. Loss and Grief Tools Training.