Keynote speakers

Darcy L. Harris, R.N., R.S.W., M.Ed. (Couns.), Ph.D., FT^®, is a Professor of Thanatology at King’s University College/ Western University in London, Canada, where she also maintains a private clinical practice specializing in issues related to change, loss, and transition. Dr. Harris developed the degree program in Thanatology at King’s University College. In addition, she is a faculty member of the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, dedicated to training in grief therapy leading toward Certification in Meaning Reconstruction in Loss. She currently serves on the board of directors for the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement and recently stepped off the board of directors for the Association for Death Education and Counseling.

She is the co-editor of Routledge Publishing Company’s Death, Dying, and Bereavement Series and an internationally recognized speaker and author. In addition to numerous journal articles and chapters, her books include Counting our Losses: Reflecting on Change, Loss and Transition in Everyday Life, Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society: Bridging Research and Practice, Principles and Practice of Grief Counseling, The Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief: Exploring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Non-Death Loss and Grief: Context and Clinical Implications, and Compassion-Based Approaches to Loss and Grief.

Michael S. Hogue, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion at Meadville Lombard Theological School (Chicago, IL). His writing and teaching explore the intersections of religion, ethics, and politics. The author of numerous articles and three monographs, including American Immanence: Democracy for an Uncertain World (Columbia, 2018), he coauthored his most recent book with Dean Phillip Bell, Interreligious Resilience: Interreligious Leadership for a Pluralist World (Bloomsbury, 2022). His current writing project develops the concept of “structural grief” to name and navigate the pervasiveness of loss in the contemporary world. Originally from northern Michigan, he lives with his wife, three kids, two cats, and a hyperactive dog in Chicago.

Tashel C. Bordere, Ph.D., CT^® is an internationally-known scholar, author, speaker, consultant and PI at the Center for Family Policy and Research at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Bordere is the Immediate Past President of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG) Advisory Board member for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and past ADEC Board Member. She completed a Forward Promise Fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) focused on healing among Black youth. Dr. Bordere’s research focuses on cultural trauma, stigmatized loss (gun violence), suffocated grief (a term she coined), and Black youth and family grief and rituals. She has received numerous awards including the Dr. Ronald K. Barrett Award (ADEC), Excellence in Engagement in Outreach (MU), and the Outstanding Faculty Mentorship to underrepresented students award (MU). Dr. Bordere has done workshops, keynotes, and published research on inequities in loss and culturally resonant practices. She developed SHED Grief Tools for Schools. Dr. Bordere has been featured in national/international media.

Jakob van Wielink, M.A., helps people find and live their calling. Jakob is a grief counselor and executive coach. He is a partner at De School voor Transitie in the Netherlands, a faculty mentor at the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition in the USA, and is affiliated with IMD Business School’s (Advanced) High Performance Leadership Program in Switzerland and Singapore

Dr. Doka was elected President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling in 1993. In 1995, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Work Group on Dying, Death and Bereavement and served as chair from 1997–1999. The Association for Death Education and Counseling presented him with an Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Death Education in 1998, Significant Contributions to the Field of Thanatology in 2014 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. In 2000 Scott and White presented him an award for Outstanding Contributions to Thanatology and Hospice. His Alma Mater Concordia College presented him with their first Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is a recipient of the Caring Hands Award as well as the Dr. Robert Fulton CDEB Founder’s Award. In 2006, Dr. Doka was grandfathered in as a Mental Health Counselor under NY State’s first licensure of counselors. Dr. Doka is a recipient of the International Center for Loss, Bereavement, Loss and Human Resilience and the Israeli Bereavement Forum Award for Lifetime Contributions to the Study of Loss, Bereavement, and Human Resilience, and The International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement’s Herman Feifel Award for Lifetime Contributions to the field of thanatology as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award from ADEC (The Association for Death Education and Counseling).

Dr. Doka has keynoted conferences throughout North America as well as Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He participates in the annual Hospice Foundation of America Teleconference and has appeared on CNN and Nightline.  In addition he has served as a consultant to medical, nursing, funeral service and hospice organizations as well as businesses and educational and social service agencies. Dr. Doka is an ordained Lutheran minister.

Kenneth Doka is a prolific author. You can explore his many books and publications on his website.

Alison Penny is Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network, the hub for those working with bereaved children and young people across the UK. She is also Coordinator of the National Bereavement Alliance, a strategic collaboration of organisations and individuals working with bereaved people in England. She keeps the sector updated with relevant developments, and helps the field to develop consensus on key policy and practice topics, contributing to gains in national policy in bereaved people’s interests. Alison has a particular interest in supporting bereavement services to demonstrate the effectiveness of their work and has recently been awarded a Ph.D. in this area. She is an editor of the peer-review journal Bereavement and a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement.

Dr. Carla Sofka, Ph.D., M.S.W., is a Professor of Social Work at Siena College in Loudonville, NY.  Prior to her academic career, she was a clinical social worker who worked in geriatric, medical, psychiatric, and hospice settings. Her research has focused on the impact of technology on how society deals with life-threatening illness, death, and grief (she coined the word “thanatechnology” in 1996), the use of survivor advocacy to cope with loss, and how museums and memorials related to tragedy serve as healing spaces. She also educates students, helping professionals, hospice volunteers, and community members about the importance of planning for one’s digital assets following death and communicating one’s wishes about one’s digital legacy. Carla has held multiple roles in the Association for Death Education and Counseling since joining the organization in 1986 as a student and served as president in 2011–2012. As a result of completing one of her MSW practicums at a funeral home and teaching death and dying courses for over 30 years, she tends to know a little bit more than the average person about funerals, final disposition (and alternatives to traditional burial or cremation), and enjoys visiting cemeteries when she travels. She currently serves as a Trustee at Albany Rural Cemetery and looks forward to new adventures after retiring in the summer of 2025