As our conference presenters stated, we find guidance and illumination in collectivism, interconnectedness, and solidarity. Thank you for each action you took toward the creation of an expanded narrative about ADEC’s resilience.

In my view, we are now called upon to reflect on the lessons we have learned. I have noticed a tone of rest within ADEC since the conference. Several decades ago, I learned the companion metaphors of “home” and “journey,” the function and oscillation of both when moving forward. “Home” can bring history, respite, nurturance, stillness, rest, and reflection. It is almost the necessary fuel for the “journey” into new activity, unchartered destinations, outreach, voice, mission, and action. As I said in my closing conference remarks, our reflections as we pause are the repeated call to renew our higher purpose and to stay faithful to our mission in the world.

Also in my remarks, I suggested we frame our reflections around questions such as these:

I hope you might consider these kinds of questions as you rest, ponder, and move outward.

The ADEC Board is taking time to reflect on what we’ve learned, where we are, who we are, and where we want to go now. We want our movement to be defined as development in a stated direction toward greater focus, strategic priorities, increased visibility, and diverse and inclusive commitments.

I pledge my leadership in those directions. ADEC has set markers such as membership goals for engagement, revenue markers for foundational stability and increase, communication and social media platform expansion, virtual and special event initiatives beyond the annual conference, inter and intra committee partnerships, creative ways the new Handbook edition might be accessed and utilized, and revitalization of how diversity and inclusion can be a forerunner of our contribution. This can give you the spirit of ADEC’s direction!

Our voice is needed now. The pandemic world is one filled with isolation, stress, and loss. Even as some countries move into a more post pandemic environment, violence and homicide continue to rise as sustained racial injustice, health disparity, and economic impact are realized. The residual effects of our global crisis are coming into view. Our news headlines are returning to alarming worldwide statistics of mass shootings historically and on the rise. Even amidst the LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations now worldwide, June brings a U.S. anniversary commemoration of the Pulse Nightclub massacre that took 50 human lives in 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Our expertise and voice are of paramount importance and are timeless.

I see ADEC as an international community where the universal experience is found, the voices of difference live, and where we all, including those who are disenfranchised and marginalized, can teach one another about resilience. May we be filled with the amazing light of mercy, of hope, of peace, of courage, of acceptance as we unite as a community of care. We are surely given to each other to be a sanctuary as we act. 

With gratitude and purpose as we move forward,

Her research, publications, and trainings focus on cultural trauma, Black youth and family bereavement, suffocated grief (a term she coined), and coping. She has a co-edited/co-written book – Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief (Routledge).

Do you have a mentor/role model who has significantly affected your career path in thanatology? Tell us why you chose this career path.

My work in thanatology is most influenced by bereaved youth and families dealing with trauma and loss that I encounter through my research and programming and the entities (teachers, clinicians, researchers, parents, clergy) who actively seek knowledge and skills that will allow them to provide culturally responsive bereavement services and resources to underserved communities. 

Multiple colleagues have been role models and provided unyielding mentorship, most notably, Drs. Ronald K. Barrett, Kathleen “Kay” Fowler, and Darcy Harris.

I chose this career path to increase the visibility and access to the narratives and lived experiences of Black youth and families contending with cultural trauma, loss, and suffocated grief in context. My work is also built around fostering alliances and increasing cultural knowledge and skills that permit effective practice and greater self-efficacy in work with bereaved Black youth and families.

What advice would you offer a more junior professional in the field on growing their career or keeping their work fresh?

Stay up on the literature! A good way to do that is through active involvement in ADEC. Attend and present at ADEC conferences and other grief related conferences and organizations like the National Alliance for Grieving Children and Hospice Foundation for America. Volunteer for committees. Connect and collaborate with people who are doing similar work or engaged in similar practices. Be open to possibilities for collaborating with individuals from across disciplines so that you benefit from unique perspectives while also contributing your skills and knowledge to other areas of study, clinical practice, and bereavement programming.

Write it down! Write down your ideas. Keep a notebook or three! You don’t have to do it all today. You haven’t written your last word until you’ve written your last word. I even keep a little note pad next to my bed, so that ideas and insights that come to me even in the dark and quiet of the night can be recorded for future consideration and integration in my work. Since an undergraduate student, I have kept notebooks and, more recently, added a folder with electronic files of all my ideas, insights, research questions, manuscript ideas, future research projects and programs I wish to expand or undertake.

What do you think the future holds for your work and that of others like you? How will that impact what you do?

My work focuses on social justice issues and culturally conscientious practices in loss and grief. In the wake of visible pandemic disparities and social unrest, I think the future holds increased attention to diversity, inclusion, and social justice issues in loss, including a greater focus on non death losses, in organizational policies, practices, and outreach. Further, I developed the concept of suffocated grief or punishments and penalties assessed by bereaved people and communities for otherwise normal grief responses. The concept of suffocated grief can be applied to all bereaved populations but is disproportionately experienced by marginalized communities due to conscious and unconscious biases, stigma and discrimination. This term has quickly grown in its use and application with death and non death losses; a trend that I believe will continue both nationally and internationally.

Describe how the role of being an ADEC member has been beneficial to you in your professional and or personal life. 

Since becoming an ADEC member, I have had numerous opportunities for both professional and personal growth, including my newest role as Board Member. Through participation in ADEC, I have formed numerous connections and participated in meaningful collaborative and leadership opportunities. I have been able to benefit both from mentorship and collaboration with some of my most revered ADEC colleagues like Dr. Ronald Barrett and Dr. Kathleen “Kay” Fowler, both of whom I continue to sorely miss and take with me in my professional work and personal development.

Similarly, I have been able to create and contribute to the continued growth of ADEC through committee memberships and various leadership roles – Editor of the ADEC Forum and Chair of the Multicultural/People of Color Committee. As Editor, I created an editorial position for students and new professionals to promote their professional development and include their voices in ADEC conversations and scholarship. I was also able to expand the ADEC Forum beyond the diversity featured article to include various forms of diversity and inclusion throughout each issue. I made intentional efforts to bridge research and practice by including more clinicians and program developers into each issue in hopes of furthering bidirectional learning opportunities and collaborations between scholars and practitioners.

Do you have a mentor/role model who has significantly affected your career path in Thanatology? Tell us why you chose this career path.

As an adolescent, and later – a college student – I lost two close friends to accidents. They died several years apart and happened to be siblings. The way my family navigated these deaths did not strike me as peculiar at the time, but as I grew older, I often reflected on the taboo nature of grief. Most of my relatives, friends, and colleagues seemed quite uncomfortable discussing something that I had begun to consider an essential topic.

As a teacher, I watched students struggle to comprehend death and find the "right" venue or mode of expression for grief. Efforts to develop student programming (such as groups, assemblies, advisory activities) were consistently rebuffed by decision makers who reasoned that "sad things" did not have a place in schools. I became more and more frustrated by this. Fortunately, I found a mentor in Alissa Drescher, the director of the Grief Center at Alive Hospice. From our very first meeting, I felt seen and heard by Alissa, who encouraged me to fight the good fight via graduate school and continued volunteering. I consider her my "go to" person for any grief question, big or small.

What advice would you offer a more junior professional in the field on growing their career or keeping their work fresh?

I am definitely still a junior professional, so at this point I am taking all the advice I can get from seasoned counselors! One thing I experienced in school that I didn't quite expect is that many graduate programs consider grief work optional or omit it entirely from students' plans of study. Grief can get the short end of the stick in graduate curricula (baffling!) so students might have to fight for the kind of training and experience they deserve. Supplement any formal program with additional books, conferences, webinars, etc. Ask your professors and colleagues to introduce you to trusted leaders in the field. There are a lot of free resources out there, so choose whatever fits into your schedule. And of course, volunteer. The easiest way to gain experience is to be in the company of grief experts while making a difference in your community.

What do you think the future holds for your work and that of others like you? How will that impact what you do?

While I am admittedly not inclined toward social media, it is undeniable that platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are helping to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. Several of my clients have felt empowered to make their first counseling appointment because their friends have been transparent about the benefits of therapy.

My hope is that as more and more individuals become comfortable with the discourse around depression and anxiety, the more likely families will begin to initiate open conversations about death and dying. Of course, one of the best ways to shape change is through mindful education. In my professional future, I can imagine visiting schools and meeting with faculty to discuss the importance of not relegating discussions about death to hushed and hidden spaces.

Each of our actions has the power to either challenge or enforce long standing cultural practices. A friend once gave me a desk plaque that read: Ash Weber, Stirrer of Pots. I hope that my pot stirring leads toward alleviating the difficulties that grievers face in western society.

ADEC Members’ Corner is a regular column in ADEC Connects that highlights one or more members’ activity as an ADEC professional. Members’ Corner is open for contributions from all ADEC members; to be included, please send your article to Amanda Brace or Beverly Rollins.

Connects is interested in your thoughts and work. Please reach out to us with content submissions, suggestions or ideas.

For consideration in the August 2021 issue of Connects please submit your ideas/content by Friday, July 16, 2021.

Contact Us
Editor – Amanda Brace Ed.S, LSC, PCC-S
Assistant Editor – Beverly Rollins BSW, MGA, MA