Each expert who reviewed and validated the content in this book provided a brief biographical statement incorporating the name, pronouns, and honorific of their choice. This practice is intended to model the way we should support individuals and families as they define and present themselves to the world. (Note: Reverend Vonshelle J. Beneby, MDiv served as a content expert reviewer for my first book but not the second. The following individuals joined the content expert review team in 2022 and reviewed only the second book: Charlie Blotner, MSW, APHSW-C; Reverend Dr. Danielle J. Buhuro; Alex Kemery, PhD, RN; and Shail Maingi, MD).

 

Charlie Blotner, MSW, APHSW-C (he/him) is a hospice social worker at EvergreenHealth Hospice in Seattle, WA. Intercommunity knowledge serves as an access point to guide his practice interfacing with chronic illness communities. Charlie is a patient advocate who is dedicated to helping people be better informed about their health, research, policy, and the future implications of their disease. He served as a Stanford Medicine X student adviser, advocate for LGBTQIA+ health disparities, and cofounder and comoderator of #BTSM (Brain Tumor Social Media) Chats. 

Rev. Dr. Danielle J. Buhuro (she/her) is the founder, executive director, and ACPE-certified educator at Sankofa CPE Center, LLC. She has been certified by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) and board certified in the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Rev. Dr. Buhuro is an ordained clergy with ministerial standing in the Illinois Conference’s Chicago Metropolitan Association of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Throughout her career, Rev. Dr. Buhuro has served as an ACPE associate supervisor and staff chaplain at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, she has served as an ACPE-certified educator at Advocate Good Shepherd, South Suburban, Trinity, and Christ Hospitals in Illinois. Rev. Dr. Buhuro’s has served as a chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Rev. Dr. Buhuro is passionate about issues of race, gender, and sexuality. She is the author of Spiritual Care in an Age of #BlackLivesMatter: Examining the Spiritual and Prophetic Needs of African Americans Living in a Violent America (Wipf and Stock, 2019) and Is There a Heaven for a “G”? A Pastoral Care Approach to Gang Violence (Wipf and Stock, 2017). Rev. Dr. Buhuro attended Chicago Theological Seminary, where she earned her master of divinity (MDiv) and doctor of ministry (DMin) degrees. She is currently working on her PhD, studying social media identity, violence, and pastoral theology. Rev. Dr. Buhuro serves on the national board of directors of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. She also serves as adjunct faculty, teaching DMin and MDiv courses in spiritual care and chaplaincy at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Rev. Dr. Buhuro facilitates numerous workshops nationwide on African American pastoral care and African-centered psychology. Rev. Dr. Buhuro is same-gender-loving and excited to be currently engaged to her life partner, Christina. Together they parent a son, Ezekiel. Rev. Dr. Buhuro is committed to excellence and community partnership. Her philosophy of education embraces a pedagogy of helping students enhance their pastoral identity and pastoral competence while improving their pastoral reflection.

Constance Dahlin, ANP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN, FAAN (she/her) has extensive hospice and palliative care experience in administration, clinical practice, and academia across the health continuum. She is a consultant to the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) in community-based care and education. She continues clinical practice as a palliative nurse practitioner, and she codirects the Palliative APP Externship. She is national faculty for the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) and a member of the American Hospital Association Circle of Life Committee, the Massachusetts Serious Illness Coalition Nursing Taskforce, and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Cancer Steering Committee. She has served on many editions of the NCP Clinical Practice Guidelines as well as other national work on quality palliative care. She has authored peer-reviewed books, articles, chapters, and curricula and presented nationally and internationally. Ms. Dahlin has focused on access to quality palliative care throughout her career and is now focused on health equity in palliative care. Given the ever-changing social context and language, she is committed to the ongoing dialogue and education working toward diversity, equity, and inclusion within all aspects of palliative care.

Gary Gardia, LCSW, APHSW-C (he/him) is a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at state and national conferences and works as a consultant for various businesses and health care organizations. More than forty years ago, Gary began his hospice journey as a volunteer. Gary received the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) Heart of Hospice Award for developing innovative programs to meet the needs of caregivers and the bereaved.

Judi T. Haberkorn, PhD, MSW, MBA, MPH (she/her) is a health care practitioner with more than twenty years of experience in health care and social services. Dr. Haberkorn has served as both an assistant professor and a health care training executive. Dr. Haberkorn has spent nearly ten years in the hospice field and considers it an honor to work with patients in end-of-life care.
 

Noelle Marie C. Javier, MD (she/her) is a trained internist, geriatrician, and hospice and palliative care specialist who also serves as a faculty member at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. She is a longtime advocate and champion for the provision of high-quality and holistic medical care to the marginalized members of society, including older adults, the indigent population, and members of the LGBTQIA+ population. As an empowered minority woman of Asian descent and transgender experience, she also understands firsthand the unique set of care needs affecting this population. She has taken part in and continues to promote culturally sensitive health care education and training in local and regional settings.
 

Alex Kemery, PhD, RN (he/they) is a partner to three and parent to six and works as an associate professor at the University of Indianapolis. He obtained a BA in nursing from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis; an MS in nursing, with a specialization in education, from the University of Indianapolis; and a PhD from the Catholic University of America. He is currently studying to become an adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner. His primary research interests are end-of-life care for the LGBTQ+ community and developing LGBTQ+-competent health care professionals. Alex describes himself as a queer, polyamorous, trans man.

Shail Maingi, MD (she/her) is a medical oncologist, hematologist, and palliative care physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Network at their South Shore location. In addition to seeing patients with solid tumors and blood diseases, she is the inaugural DFCI Network health equity and inclusion liaison. She has been a health equity advocate and clinical researcher for years with a focus on health care disparities in oncology and end-of-life settings, particularly for sexual and gender minority people with a focus on intersectionality. She is an advocacy champion for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). She served as track leader for the Survivorship and Symptom Management scientific program for ASCO’s 2021 annual conference. She also currently serves on ASCO’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Practice Health Task Force, and as the cochair of their Sexual and Gender Minority Task Force. In addition, she was the founding chair of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine’s (AAHPM) LGBT Special Interest Group. She serves on the GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality board and heads their Racial Justice Task Force.

Sam Mullen (he/him) ministered in an interfaith capacity in hospice chaplaincy with VITAS Healthcare, where he served as a staff chaplain. After serving fifteen years as an evangelical pastor, Sam came out as gay and is now actively involved in advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community. Sam leads bereavement support groups for LGBTQIA+ people in his area.
 

Martha Rutland, DMin (she/her) is director of clinical pastoral education at VITAS Healthcare. She is a certified supervisor with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and a certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains; she holds a doctor of ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary. Martha is also an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.