Join us for our 5th Annual Death and Dying Conference for those caring for the living, the dying, and the dead.
This will be a day full of thoughtful, important conversations that help expand the ways we can provide care
Date: September 20, 2024
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location: Evergreen Medical Center
Topics:
Caring for Neurodiversity in Deathcare
Supporting People through Pregnancy, Infant and Child Loss
Non-medical Care for Suicidal Ideation
Advocating for Medical Advocacy
VSED Community Care Case Review
Documenting Death
Cost sliding scale $125 -$200 Zoom~ $100 tickets available at asacredpassing.org
This is an in-person and virtual conference. We are limiting in-person attendance to 60 seats. View our website unebonnemort.life for updates and past conference information
Conference Space Hosted by and at Evergreen Medical Center in Kirkland, WA
In Person COVID requirements:
We ask all attendees test upon arrival and we will also provide masks. We also will have air filters around the room. Thank you for continuing to support community as we navigate this ongoing pandemic.
Adana Protonentis
Adana is the co-owner and Director of Liberatory Learning at Kindred Consulting. Adana’s most important qualifications come from lived experience. As a Black, disabled mama, raising a beautiful and tender-hearted autistic son, and a creative and optimistic queer, nonbinary “lion cub”, she has learned more about the transformative power of inclusion and belonging than school could ever teach her. But Adana is also a lifelong learner who can’t stay away from academia. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Organizational Leadership and Political Science, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Seattle University. She is the co-chair of the Washington Developmental Disabilities Council and recently joined the faculty of Seattle University’s Institute for Public Service.
Marquita Straus
Marquita Straus, MSW, LICSWA is a Perinatal Grief & Trauma Therapist, Death Doula, and founder of Imani's Light Grief & Wellness. As a therapist, Marquita aims to inspire and empower people to show up authentically, while fiercely advocating for those navigating spaces that are not traditionally occupied by people of color. Her therapy specializations and passions are rooted in the areas of birth trauma, perinatal/neonatal grief and loss, perinatal sexual wellness, and working with the LGBTQI community. Marquita is a bereaved mother who enjoys exploring the world with her tiny humans, photography, reading and listening to records.
Lauryn L Bell
Lauryn is a Michigan native and EMU Alumna, now relocated to Washington state. Lauryn graduated with her bachelor's in Therapeutic Recreation and pursued her career as a behavioral health therapist for kids diagnosed with ASD. She centers herself in community activism work through yoga, doula work and her traditional practice of hoodoo. Lauryn is a huge health and wellness advocate and is passionate about curating spaces for the BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ community to come together and heal. She specializes in palm reading, rootwork, yoga-asana, meditation, and sound bowl therapy.
Jazmin Williams
Jamin is the founder of BLKBRY® Black Centerd-Centered Holistic Care. Jazmin is a Full Spectrum Doula, Lactation + Feeding Specialist®, Certified Perinatal Nutrition Educator, Herbalist and Childbirth Educator. BLKBRY® is grounded in advocacy, decolonizing support care, trauma-informed care, gender-affirming care, and resourcefulness. The structure of my full spectrum practice is to promote, support, and strengthen access to culturally congruent care, continuity of care, and ancestral holistic care. I have stepped into the birth work world wholeheartedly and I am embracing every moment of the journey. I believe this work saves lives and I believe the purpose of this work is to create empowering stories for all that are interested or in need."
Leilani Maxera
Leilani Maxera (she/they) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is a daughter of the Hawaiian diaspora raised in Martinez, California. Leilani was called home to Hawai’i in her early 30s and currently lives in Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu. Leilani is a therapist, death educator, and grief worker with her own private practice, Kaipuokaualoku Therapy + Death Work + Consulting (kaipuokaualoku.com) , and also works closely with A Sacred Passing based in Seattle, WA as one of their teaching crew and support group facilitators. Leilani has worked and volunteered in harm reduction since 2007 and feels strongly about reducing the stigma of drug use. They previously managed a statewide syringe exchange and overdose prevention program and co-founded Hawai'i Opioid+ Consumer Alliance (HO+CA) in 2023 with the intention of spreading overdose prevention and harm reduction knowledge among people who use drugs.
Rebecca Hudson
Rebecca Hudson (she/they) is a long-time believer in patient rights and autonomy and is passionate about empowering people in their end-of-life choices. She has a Master's degree in Health Advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College and has previously worked in the Food Justice movement and as a hospital-based patient advocate. Rebecca is now the Client Support Manager at End of Life Washington. Rebecca believes every human has an inherent right to determine how they want to live and how they want to die. When she is not focused on advocacy Rebecca spends her time playing with her 4 cats, exploring the circus arts, and forgetting to water her plants.
M Abeo
M Abeo (they/them) is a Mental Health Advocate, TEDx Speaker, Podcast host, Producer and Photographer from Seattle, Washington. In 2017 M started the Faces of Fortitude project: A portrait series documenting the images and stories of people touched by suicide in any way, be it loss, attempt or first responders. The project initially began as a side project to help M in their own healing of losing their only brother to suicide when he was just 26. In just 5 years, it has grown into a body of work that shows the resilience and fortitude of the human spirit, as well as the light and joy that can be found in the darkest of moments. Their goal is to create communities of survivors across the globe that understand the importance and power hidden in the act of difficult conversations and sharing our stigmatized stories - in the hopes of creating a system of mutual healing. M currently travels around the US and beyond, sharing keynote presentations and workshops about the power of learning to Unearth your Trauma, as well as working on two books and a new gallery exhibit entitled The Faces of Fortitude Experience.
Z. Mayreni López
Multiracial queer polyamorous immigrant, trained therapist, healer, and mother through foster, adoptive, and natural journeys, Mayreni moved to stolen Duwamish lands in the summer of 2013. She is a fervent change-catalyst and spends most of her energy deconstructing structures of oppression from within, while helping her community members (family, friends, clients, partners, do the same. In her spare time, Mayreni enjoys time in nature, diving into relationship building conversations, riding motos on windy roads, and gettimg tattooes.
JM Wong
JM Wong (they/them) is a queer child of the Chinese diaspora living on Duwamish lands (Seattle) via Malaysia/Singapore and many cities in between. They write about movements, desires, and longings across distances and bordered spaces. Of diaspora, of the logistical supply chain stretching over ocean waters, of connections transcending prison walls, of crossings over to the ancestral realms. What we each journey through matters, and the futures we imagine begin from now.
Ashley Johnson
Ashley Johnson, President of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, embarked on a transformative journey from forensic anthropology to founding Loyal Hands, a consulting agency reshaping end-of-life services. A University of Florida alumna and licensed direct disposer, she's also a celebrant, enriching ceremonies with personalized meaning. Engaging actively with CANA, NHPCO Diversity Advisory Council, and the PsychArmor Working Group. Beyond her professional endeavors, Ashley volunteers in hospices and spearheads events like the "Get Your Rear in Gear" 5k run/walk, demonstrating her dedication to public health. As a TEDx speaker and member of the Compassion & Choices African American Leadership Council, Ashley continues to shape the future of end-of-life care.
Bonnie Bizzell
“When care and caring come together, it’s transformative.” For over 15 years, Bonnie Bizzell has been a dedicated advocate for person-centered care. From hospital gowns to clinical research, Bonnie champions patient and family voices as the cornerstone of quality care. Currently, she runs BOANN, a company committed to fostering a community approach at the intersection of self-care, healthcare, and deathcare. BOANN strives to deliver personalized, empowered health and end-of-life care, transformed through comprehension, creativity, and compassion. With extensive experience in business, non-profits, and government, Bonnie holds an MBA and MEd. She has coauthored several articles in prestigious medical journals such as JAMA and the BMJ and served as a technical advisor for an award-winning short film about advance care planning. Bonnie encourages everyone to find their joy today and every day.
Kristen Baker
Kristen is an advocate for those nearing the end of life, ensuring that they know their choices and has the support and care in their decisions. As a board member and volunteer at End of Life WA, Kristen is committed to empowering individuals and honoring their final wishes. Kristen has also supported people accessing A Sacred Passing’s A Place to Die program. By day, Kristen brings creativity and strategy to the marketing and advertising industry.
Lashanna Williams
Lashanna is an intentional tender. A tender of people and spaces, a recovering corporate employee and avid learner. A mistake maker, community lover, consensual hugger, garden witch, and mother; a midwest-grown University of Michigan graduate, artist, facilitator, and holder of heavy things. Creating space for belonging is at the core of their work, from teaching medical professionals to working with youth, from shrouding a community member to hand-grinding herbs for tea. Lashanna lives and works at the intersection of death, art, education, and love. As a member of multiple community and national boards, she gathers, guides, and supports efforts to remain purposeful, creative, sustainable, and free from the anti-Black patriarchal Western structures currently in place. Lashanna is a Scorpio, which means they were born an agent of change and has lived that life.
Dr. Amish Metha
Amisha Mehta is a physician who practices palliative and geriatric medicine in Washington State. Her clinical focus centers on chronic illness management and end-of-life care. Dr. Mehta enjoys collaborating closely with individuals and their loved ones, particularly when addressing serious illness conversations. Her hope is to encourage open conversations about mortality and helping people develop a healthier relationship with end-of-life discussions. Dr. Mehta is especially grateful to the staff at End of Life Washington and A Sacred Passing for their collaboration and community.
Dr. Laura Labelle
Dr. Laura LaBelle is a living, grieving human, an educator, and a parent. With more than 20 years of experience working with children and grief, Laura has used formal education, personal experience, and shared experiences to create a care model that honors the intention and integrity of care work. Laura works as a death doula, including abortion and perinatal loss, 1:1 companioning, grief support group leader, and workshop facilitator. A long-term goal of Laura’s is to help communities create public mourning spaces to normalize our relationships with grief and death. All work Laura does is rooted in the belief that humans are autonomous beings capable of making their own choices. Laura is committed to working with people who have experienced discrimination, trauma, and/or loss due to some aspect of identity, such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and religion. They have created numerous educational tools and trained professionals for nearly two decades. lifeshiftscompanion.com.
John McKendricks
As a Chaplain with Eden Hospice, John provides various emotional support to the people in his hospice care. Spiritual counseling for people of all faiths and planning services are also large pieces of his role. John is often the liaison between friends, family, the medical care team, clergy, and caregivers. Drawing on 25 years of growth and change, John creates a non-judgemental space for the people he cares for, a space open for questions and feelings. John is a deeply caring individual who works hard to honor each person’s autonomy in supporting choice and making care accessible.
Oliver Farshi
Oliver Farshi is a British-Persian photographer based in New York. His work features people in moments of intense connection and disconnection. A graduate of the International Center of Photography’s Documentary Practice & Visual Journalism program, Oliver’s work has appeared in Forbes, The LA Times, and The Boston Globe. Ultimately Oliver's photographs reveal moments of vulnerability that are familiar yet rarely seen.