About Me
I am a dedicated and compassionate end of life doula, deeply committed to helping individuals and families discuss, prepare for, and navigate the dying process. This work is profoundly meaningful and fulfilling to me, as I support people through one of life’s most significant transitions with love and understanding.
My journey into working in this sacred space began with deep personal experiences of loss within my family. My beloved brother, Ilan, passed away at the age of thirty one after a ten-year battle with an aggressive bone tumor. He was in hospice briefly before he died, and he died at our parents’ home surrounded by our family.
In the wake of his death, I found solace in a grief support group for siblings, which helped me feel less isolated in my sorrow. My family’s brief time with hospice inspired me to get involved with hospice care. I joined the original volunteer cohort at George Mark Children’s House, the first freestanding children’s hospice in the U.S., where I began to acquire the skills needed to support individuals through profound suffering and loss.
My personal journey continued when my husband was diagnosed with lymphoma while I was pregnant with our second child. We endured two years of treatment, including a challenging bone marrow transplant. Although the treatment cured his cancer, it left his body destroyed. He died when our daughters were just five years old and twenty months old, leaving me shattered. With the support of family, friends, and compassionate grief professionals, I navigated the early, tumultuous years of grief.
​As time passed, I began to find my footing and learn to live with these deep losses. Community members started reaching out to me for support when they faced their own loved one’s deaths. I began offering informal grief support and sharing resources with those newly bereaved, including forming a group for young widows and widowers to connect and share their experiences. I have found great meaning in helping others feel less alone and accompanying them on their own grief journeys.
In addition to offering support to those in grief, I felt a strong calling to be present for individuals in the dying process. This led me to return to hospice volunteering, where I visit with dying patients and offer support to both them and their caregivers. Driven by a desire to deepen my understanding of end-of-life care, I have immersed myself in learning about preparing for death, the dying process, post-death care, and bereavement. Over the past several years, I have engaged in extensive training with organizations such as the International End of LIfe Doula Alliance (INELDA), National End of Life Doula Alliance (NEDA, and the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation.
I am also deeply involved in Jewish end-of-life care, which provides a rich framework for managing death through rituals that offer both structure and solace. I have been trained in these traditional practices and lead a group of volunteers known as the Chevra Kadisha, who carry out these sacred duties. Additionally, I am a field educator and board member of the Jewish Association for Death Education, a nonprofit organization that provides education and guidance on end of life practices to Jews of all backgrounds. I also serve on the Board of Directors for Sinai Memorial Chapel, the Bay Area’s Jewish non-profit mortuary.
My goal is to help make the experience of dying and death less daunting and stressful for individuals and their loved ones, providing comfort, love, and compassionate presence during this profound journey.
