Experts & Educators
We are a hub for the country’s most distinguished hospice and grief experts, researchers, and professionals. HFA experts help to inform and educate on a wide range of timely and relevant topics essential to best practice.
Our HFA educators are well known and widely recognized as experts in their fields.
They’re researchers with decades of knowledge backed by evidenced-based studies.
They’re professionals who have honed their skills with years of patient and family care.
HFA has been privileged to include many notable experts in its professional education offerings over the past 30 years, including the late Earl. A Grollman; Nancy Hogan, RN, PhD; Karla Holloway, PhD; the late William M. Lamers, MD; the late Richard E. Payne, MD.
Below is a complete listing of our presenters and authors from 2020 onward. We are grateful for their willingness to share their expertise to advance hospice and bereavement care through HFA.
As an integral part of hospice care, family caregivers now more than ever find themselves unprepared, overtired, stressed, and without the knowledge and resources they need to provide sufficient care to their loved ones or themselves. Join representatives from three hospice programs to learn about their innovative approaches to enhance family caregiver support while improving patient care and the family caregiving experience.
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Kathleen Taylor has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare and nonprofit sectors. Her passion is centered in improving the healthcare experience for people who are sick and vulnerable, and helping healthcare professionals master skills in cultivating empathy and communicating compassionately. She operates a healthcare consulting practice focused on advance care planning, palliative care program…
Richard Tedeschi received his BA in Psychology from Syracuse University, his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Ohio University, and completed his Clinical Psychology Internship at The University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Tedeschi is Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he teaches personality and psychotherapy, and serves as Graduate…
Nancy E. Thacker Darrow earned her PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is currently an assistant professor of counselor education and supervision at the University of Vermont (UVM). She commonly teaches lifespan development, helping skills, and applied clinical counseling courses. She also coordinates the PhD program in Counselor Education and…
Kara Thieleman is an assistant teaching professor with the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Arizona State University. She has served as a grief counselor and hospice social worker, as well as a group facilitator, program developer, and supervisor for coaches on the Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families program with the REACH Institute at…
Carrie Traher works as a counselor, educator, and researcher. She has authored articles on issues related to the experiences of adolescent girls, attachment and loss, bereaved university students, and has edited volumes regarding bereaved children and adolescents. Additional research interests include medical assistance in dying (MAiD) and the use of photo narrative and arts based…
Susan Turner is the Vice President of Community Programs & Services for Accord Hospice & Palliative Care overseeing outreach, events, and building relations at their three locations in Arizona and Kansas. She has spent most of her career working in the non-profit world in a leadership role and the last 13 years with hospice focusing…
Elizabeth Uppman is a freelance writer and mother of two and lives in Overland Park, Kansas.
Lauren Jodi (“LJ”) Van Scoy is a professor of Medicine, Humanities and Public Health Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine and is a physician scientist with training as a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician. She has an active, independent research program in the field of end-of-life communication and advance care planning. She has published…
Erika VanDyke is the program manager for the Van Scoy Research Laboratory at Penn State College of Medicine (PSU COM). In this position, she supports a large research portfolio of projects related to communication around issues concerning medical decision making. Before joining Dr. Van Scoy’s lab, she worked as a project manager for the Qualitative…
William Villanova is the President of Frank E. Campbell – The Funeral Chapel in New York City, the Past-President of the New York State Funeral Directors Association and a multi-year recipient of the National Funeral Directors Association Pursuit of Excellence and Best of the Best Awards. Celebrating 125 years, Frank E. Campbell–The Funeral Chapel has…
Elizabeth-Ann Viscione is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at the University of Rhode Island. Her professional interests include health psychology, loss, and addressing critical incident traumatic stress with first responders. Her research focuses on sexual functioning, especially within women and individuals with gynecologic conditions.
Beverly Wallace is currently the associate professor of Congregational and Community Care at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Wallace has authored several articles and book chapters including Narratives of Grieving African Americans About Racism in the Lives of Deceased Family Members; A Womanist Legacy of Trauma, Grief, and Loss: Reframing the Notion of the Strong Black…
Whether you’re a patient, family member, or a friend trying to determine whether hospice is the right choice, HFA is here. We provide guidance before, during, and after the important decisions are made.
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