Expert Category: Course presenter

Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv

Kenneth Doka is Senior Vice President of Grief Programs at Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) and the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). He is professor emeritus, the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle. A prolific author and editor, Doka serves as editor of HFA’s Living…

Matt Metevelis, MDiv

Matt Metevelis has served as a Chaplain at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas for 15 years.  Metevelis studied at the Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota to train for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. During his preparation for ordination, Matt completed Clinical Pastoral Education in the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio…

Patti Anewalt, PhD, LPC, FT

Patti Anewalt is founder and previous director of the Pathways Center for Grief & Loss with Hospice & Community Care. The focus of her clinical practice, writing and teaching is on issues related to end of life, grief, compassion fatigue and crisis response, presenting at the national, state and local level. Anewalt is a Fellow…

Alua Arthur, JD

Author of The New York Times bestseller Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End, Alua Arthur is the most visible death doula in America today. She is a recovering attorney and the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. Her TED Talk titled,…

Jacquelyn J. Benson, PhD, MA

Jacquelyn Benson is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Palliative Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Benson is a family gerontologist whose program of research has a translation focus aimed at enhancing the psychological and social lives of older adults and their caregiving families. Much of…

Joy Berger, DMA, FT, BCC, MT-BC

Joy Berger is Editor in Chief for Hospice & Palliative Care Today, a national newsletter for executive leaders. Additionally, she is the Founder/Owner of Composing Life Out of Loss, equipping hospices with caregiver/family video libraries for their needs through the continuum of care.  Berger’s 30 years of hospice service span providing direct patient care; leading…

Susan Bluck, PhD

Susan Bluck is Director of the Life Story Lab and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. Bluck is a lifespan developmental psychologist with an emphasis on adult development, aging, and the end of life. Her research examines the ways that individuals use memories of life’s experiences (i.e., autobiographical remembering, life stories) to serve…

Jillian Blueford,  PhD, LPC, NCC, CT

Jillian Blueford is a Clinical Associate Professor for the school counseling program at the University of Denver, a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado, and is certified and a Fellow in Thanatology (Death, Dying, and Bereavement). Over the years, she has provided grief counseling to individuals of all backgrounds in various settings, including…

Pauline Boss, PhD

Pauline Boss is Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and a former president of the National Council on Family Relations. She practiced family therapy for over 40 years. With her groundbreaking work in research and practice,  Boss coined…

Karen Bullock, PhD, LCSW, FGSA, APHSW-C

Karen Bullock is the Ahearn Endowed Professor in the Boston College School of Social Work. Her practice interests include health disparities and health equity in serious illness care; aging and gerontology; and hospice, palliative, and end-of-life care decision making. Her research focuses on cancer care, social support for older adults, diversity, equity, and cultural factors…

Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Harvey Max Chochinov is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute. His research in palliative care has resulted in more than 350 career publications, broaching diverse topics such as depression, quality-of-life, suicide, vulnerability, spirituality, and existential distress. He has also led a large…

Elizabeth Crunk, PhD, NCC, LGPC

Elizabeth Crunk is a psychotherapist, educator, and researcher who maintains a private practice in Washington, DC. She specializes in treating adults who are bereaved or who have experienced a loss, with particular expertise in treating complications in grieving. Prior to establishing her practice, Crunk served as assistant professor of counseling at The George Washington University….