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.
Hospices can play a significant role in supporting communities in the aftermath of natural disasters and other tragic situations. This program will feature speakers from western North Carolina, who will share lessons learned and response strategies they employed to support families, patients, staff, and first responders while faced with death, flooding, mudslides, property destruction, and communication and power outages caused by Hurricane Helene.
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Continuing Education
Professional CE hours included with registration; choose your certificate type below.
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William Feigelman is an emeritus professor of sociology at Nassau Community College, where he taught for 50 years. Since his son’s suicide in 2002, Feigelman has focused his professional writings on suicide and suicide bereavement, with his writings appearing in most all leading bereavement journals. He is a co-author of Devastating Losses: How Parents Cope…
Gary Fink was Senior Vice President of Counseling and Family Support at Montgomery Hospice in Rockville, MD, where he supported the counseling departments, directed the Spiritual Counseling staff, and led interfaith community outreach efforts. He served as a congregational rabbi for more than 25 years, retiring from the pulpit to establish a pastoral counseling practice…
Pamela Gabbay is a nationally recognized author, trainer, and consultant who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her career. Gabbay is part of the training corps of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and travels throughout the country conducting trainings on their behalf. She is on the Advisory Board for the…
Louis Gamino is Professor (Affiliated) of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Texas. Dr. Gamino is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) through the Association for Death…
Maria Georgopoulos is a licensed mental health counselor and Fellow in Thanatology, whose work focuses on grief, loss, and trauma. She is founder of Roula’s Kids: A Space for Grieving Families, Inc., which provides free grief groups in New York for children and their families that have experienced the death of someone significant in their…
Carlos Graveran has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare and is a passionate hospice advocate. Since 2016, he has served as Executive Director of Frederick Health Hospice, a nonprofit hospice agency in Frederick, MD. Previously, he served as vice president of operations for VITAS Healthcare. Graveran co-chairs the Public Policy Committee for the…
Vern Grindstaff, an avid community philanthropist, came to work in the hospice arena at Compassionate Care WNC (CCWNCC) around ten years ago. After serving in several capacities at CCWNC, he proudly accepted the invitation to take the reins and lead as CEO in 2022.
Earl Grollman (1925-2021) was a rabbi, a pioneer in the study of death and dying, and the author of several books on crisis intervention.
Madeleine Hardt is a postdoctoral associate at Weill Cornell Medicine in Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine’s T32 training program. Hardt earned her PhD in clinical psychology with a health emphasis at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She completed her clinical internship (residency) in behavioral medicine at Yale School of Medicine, where her…
Alvin Harmon is the Director of Spiritual, Bereavement, and Supportive Services at Coastal Hospice in Maryland. With over 15 years of experience in the death and dying industry, Alvin spearheads programs and leads efforts in community coalition building, spiritual and grief support, harm reduction services, and addressing health disparities and injustices. His dedication extends to championing…
Bryan Harnetiaux has been a Playwright-in-Residence at Spokane Civic Theatre in Spokane, Washington, since 1982. Thirteen of his plays have been published; these works include commissioned stage adaptations of Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Killers, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Long Walk to Forever, all published by The Dramatic Publishing Company. His play…
Joanne Harpel is President of Coping After Suicide, LLC, an international authority on suicide bereavement and postvention response. She is certified in Thanatology (death, dying, and bereavement) and has over 20 years’ experience addressing the questions, emotions, and complexities that arise in the aftermath of suicide. Harpel’s full-service practice includes working directly with grieving individuals,…
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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