Donna L. Schuurman, EdD, FT, is Senior Director of Advocacy & Training at Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children & Families in Portland, Oregon, where she has served in various roles since 1986, including 25 years as Executive Director. She writes and trains internationally on bereavement issues, and has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and the book, Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent. Dr. Schuurman served as President of the Board of Directors for the Association for Death Education & Counseling, and received their Annual Service Award in 2003 and their Clinical Practice Award in 2013. She is a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement, and a founding board member of the National Alliance for Grieving Children. She has been invited to assist communities following tragic school shootings as well as natural disasters; is regularly sought out by national media for interviews related to understanding and supporting children, teens, and adults when someone in their life dies; and provides expert witness testimony in wrongful death legal cases.

Donna will lead Session 1: Meeting the Needs of Children, Teens, and Adults who are Grieving: 12 "Take-aways" from 35 years in Bereavement Work

Michaeleen (Micki) Burns, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer, Licensed Psychologist, is the Chief Clinical Officer at Judi’s House and JAG Institute (JH/JAG) and adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado. JH/JAG is a comprehensive family bereavement center in Denver. A Licensed Psychologist with more than two decades of experience providing therapeutic assessment and support to families facing adversity, Micki has witnessed the lasting impact of unaddressed grief. She is dedicated to ensuring appropriate care is available for all and raising childhood bereavement to a level of critical public importance. At JH/JAG, she oversees the direct service, research, and training departments working towards a vision where no child is alone in grief.

Micki will lead Session 2: Childhood Bereavement Prevalence: The Story Behind the Numbers

Tashel C. Bordere, PhD, CT, is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and State Extension Specialist in Youth Development at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has developed and taught courses in Death, Dying, and Bereavement, Black Families, Adolescent Development, and Parent-Child Interaction. She is the past editor of the The Forum: quarterly publication of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). She has served on the ADEC Board of Directors, as past Chair of the People of Color/Multicultural Committee, and is a member of the National Alliance for Grieving Children, Society for Research in Child Development, and the National Council on Family Relations. Dr. Bordere is a speaker, youth and family social justice advocate, researcher, and author of works relating to diversity and resilience through loss and grief, including Adolescents and Homicide and “The remedy is NOT working”: Seeking socially just and culturally conscientious practices in bereavement, a co-authored work, in Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society. She is a Certified Thanatologist (Death, Dying, and Grief Education).

Tashel will lead Session 3: Centering Culture and Equity in Youth Bereavement and Grief Support