Explore the Extraordinary >>
Stephanie Bradbury, BA, MDiv >> The Rev. Stephanie Chase Bradbury has been an Episcopal priest for 26 years, counseling many people who’ve had NDEs and STEs. She herself has had a number of Mystical Experiences. Stephanie is drawn to how material reality is intertwined with the transcendent. She feels called to help facilitate the processing of those who have been touched by the extraordinary. She has led NDE retreats, spoken at IANDS gatherings, and been interviewed for podcasts. Stephanie is both grounded in the Christian tradition, while welcoming insight from beyond organized religion. She serves an Episcopal Church in Massachusetts.
Roberta Moore, MBA >> Videographer, writer, and speaker, Roberta Moore is producer of NDEvideo.com specializing in spiritual topics. Having studied near-death experiences since the 1970s, she is a long-time, professional member and former vice-president of The International Association for Near-Death Studies. In partnership with IANDS, she has produced two training videos about NDEs, one for healthcare providers and another for Veterans; both are available at YouTube.com/c/NDEvideo. She is a former professor of English at Florida Southwestern College, where she taught for 20 years.
Rev. Dr. Graham Standish, PhD >> Graham Standish is the executive director of Samaritan Counseling, Guidance, Consulting in Pittsburgh, PA, and has decades of experience as a spiritual director, therapist, pastor, and teacher in the area of spirituality. He has guided many people in becoming more open to God’s presence and flow in everyday life. His PhD is in the area of spiritual formation. Beginning with his reading Raymond Moody’s “Life after Life” as a teen, he has been studying spiritual experiences related to NDEs and those in everyday life. He is the author of 10 books on different areas of spirituality.
Walt Scotson >> Walt has been teaching, instructing, and counseling since he was 15 years old. He retired as a Four Square Pastor after serving for 30 years, and was in the Montana National Guard and Army Reserve as a Senior Chaplain Assistant instructor for 22 years. Walt currently ministers in several healing modalities including Transformation Prayer Ministry, Reiki Level 2, Emotion Codes and is growing in mediumship and spiritual mysticism. He is currently serving as the Volunteer Coordinator for IANDS, assists with IANDS Groups and Events (IG&E), facilitates the Central Montana IANDS Local Group, and is the assistant to the Director of IANDS Local Groups.
Angie Wilson-Quayle, PhD >> Angie has been running the IANDS Local Group near Washington, DC since 2019. Her interest in IANDS grew out of three spiritually transformative experiences she had years ago, which forever changed her life and got her on a spiritual path directed daily towards love, giving back, and a deeper awareness of true self. She is originally from the United Kingdom, and has lived in the United States since 1991 and has two daughters. She began studying psychology in London, then completed her research-based doctoral training in Developmental Psychology in Northern Virginia. After she could no longer ignore the long-time, clamorous call of the Universe to change directions, she recently moved from research to the clinical arena and a new path opened up effortlessly and mysteriously, and things have been falling into place ever since.
Alex Haley, JD >> Alex is a practicing attorney Oklahoma who had one NDE in 2003 and an out-of-body experience in 2022. Her spiritual awakening that generally occurs immediately upon return from an NDE did not occur for her until two years after the event. At that point, she learned from an audiobook by the Dalai Lama she happened to randomly purchase, that her NDE was a typical Buddhist practitioner’s conscious death. She had no previous background or interest in Buddhism before this.
Glory Schneider, MFA >> Glory Schneider is a filmmaker, lifelong traveler, and lover of Earth and it’s curiosities.
Victoria Reynolds >> Victoria Reynolds is a spiritual luminary, award winning international speaker, six time author, and broadcaster. Along with moderating this year’s Near-Death / Transformative Spiritual Experiences panel, Victoria will be sharing insights resulting from a profound spiritual experience which then lead to becoming a walk-in, and igniting her role as a luminary.
Lisa Arrington >> Lisa Arrington is an intuitive polymath, author, and SEO professional. She studies life’s universal connections and embedded meanings. Lisa will share the lessons she’s learned from her postpartum near-death experience and spiritual journey after the death and rebirth of her twin flame.
Hillary Hardin >> CEO and Founder of Whose Heart Mourns Me Foundation and Founder of HARE by Hillary. Hillary designs shoes for various health and wellness causes, alongside promoting awareness for various causes. Hardin writes Christian fiction based on true, along with writing gospel and jazz gospel music. She also ministers and conducts a Christian faith based television show that streams live on Favor Network and Preach The Word Network. She also is a mother of three amazing children. Hannah, Meghan, and Reaghan.
Brianna Lafferty, BS >> As an award-winning author that suffered through most of her life with a rare, chronic illness as well as paranormal experiences that led to her near-death experience in 2017, Brianna Lafferty will share how she has been called to hack this life, help others, and start her own Death Doula business.
Shaun Martin, MA >> Shaun Martin, is a healthcare worker, graduate student, recording artist, and STEr. He will share his unique story of visionary experience and insight into the significance of STEs in modern day mental health and how they can be used to discover deeper meaning and fulfillment in our lives.
Jayme Tener, MEd >> In the Summer of 2018 during a series of celestial events, she had a spiritually transformative experience that radically changed her perception. She will be sharing about how her initiation into a complete change in perception that resulted in her understanding that the miraculous was actual reality and everything else was an illusion.
Vicki Werner, BS >> Vicki Werner experienced her NDE in 2012 and endured years of healing. She delved deep into the cause of dis-ease. Having a profound level of compassion with self-discovery in the healing process, she views trauma as a catalyst to expand consciousness and engage in self-love. Vicki is the author of The Secret to Healing and Recovery.
Aaron Sabori >> Aaron Sabori is a member of the Gila River Indian Community. His parents were the late Manuel and Marjorie Sabori. He was raised in the Village of Komatke in District Six. Aaron is an artist, who utilizes his Akimel O’Odham culture to design jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and murals. He is best known for creating art pieces from the Saguaro Cactus rib. Aaron has worked for the Gila River Indian Community as a paralegal both at the Office of Water Rights and the Defense Service Office. Aaron credits his Grandfather, Francis Peters, and various elders in Komatke and Santa Cruz village for teaching him about the Akimel O’odham culture. He has shared his knowledge to encourage cultural immersion throughout the community by demonstrating his artwork and providing technical consultation to Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) entities.
Scott Taylor >> Scott is president of the Expanded Awareness Institute (EAI). EAI helps people curious about near-death experiences (NDEs) and shared death experiences (SDEs) explore what those experiences mean to them and to our human culture. His YouTube podcast The Afterlife Files, is rated in the top 20% worldwide. On the faculty of The Shift Network, Scott teaches NDE meditation for his course The Bi-Location Phenomenon.
Debbie James >> After completing her master’s thesis on disclosure of near-death experiences (NDEs), Debbie James was appointed to the board of directors of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In 2009, Debbie co-authored and edited the first compilation of research on NDEs, The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation. Inspired by her belief in the art and science of nursing practice and education, Debbie has focused her career on the advancement of safe, evidence-based patient-centered care.
Melinda Peterson >> Melinda is an Intuitive health practitioner, registered nurse, motivational speaker, energy healer, yoga teacher, loss mama, adoptive mama, near-death experiencer (NDEr), and entrepreneur. One of the most profound changes that arose from her NDE was being called from her previous career as an environmental scientist to a career in nursing. Melinda has expanded her nursing practice by using a vision from her NDE to create the Scarlit Center, a global movement helping people connect to their bodies’ inner wisdom through workshops, movement, and nourishment to enable them to lead luminous lives. Melinda lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her daughter, son in spirit, husband, and poodle. She prefers tea over coffee, always takes an opportunity to pet a dog, and enjoys a nearby unfrozen lake via paddle board and frozen lake via ice skates.
Bernadette O’Brien Thompson >> Bernadette is the owner of Tell Me Our Story Genealogy & Ancestral Healing. She is a genealogist who trained in psychology, trauma, and grief and who focuses on ancestral healing. Through the University of Vermont Professional End of Life Doula program, Bernadette is certified to help those going through the grieving process to understand the mind, body, and spirit connection of grief. She began her career as a genealogist over 15 years ago, yet it was through the trauma and grief of losing her husband to alcoholism that Bernadette felt the very deep personal connection she has with her ancestors. Her ancestral healing began as she opened up to spiritually transformative experiences with her ancestors and other spiritual beings. It is her deep desire to continue to help others open to their spiritually transformational experiences of ancestral healing.
Rebecca Kastl >> Rebecca is an energy healer, angel interpreter, and pediatric speech-language pathologist who underwent a life-altering spiritually transformative experience between the ages of 26 to 28. During this experience, she saw a beautiful light that spoke to her, saw light within everyone, started feeling surrounded by angels, saw alternate timelines of her life, and began having psychic dreams. She uses her experiences and training to give healings and angel readings and to help others learn to connect with their own guides and angels. Outside of this work, she helps children communicate as a speech-language pathologist. She lives in Denver, CO.
Chase Skylar DeMayo >> Chase, a US Air Force Veteran and Orlando, Florida native, underwent a profound spiritual transformation after a near-death experience in 2008. His NDE led him to embrace a life philosophy of ‘Chasing the Light,’ focusing on personal and community betterment. DeMayo kept his experience private for 12 years but eventually used it to guide his work in community service and holistic healing, particularly in helping veterans and addressing mental health. As a speaker, he shares his insights to inspire others, embodying a spirit of service and commitment that defines his spiritual journey. Chase has recently competed a bachelors degree in Alternative Medicine, a separate bachelors in ministry as well as a soon to complete doctorate in Holistic Counseling.
Genny Krackau >> Genny is author of Beyond the Explosion, Stories of The Light, a compilation of combat near-death and spiritual experience stories. Genny is a life resident of San Antonio, Texas–military city, USA. After she retired from the U.S. Army Medical Department, she worked numerous military and civilian contract jobs. Of special interest are clinical research studies involving wounded warriors, hearing conservation for military service members, and supporting a clinical trial for military and civilian head injury patients. Genny personally relates to near-death experiencers because she also has had spiritual experiences and understands the difficulty in discussing such personal phenomena.
Chuck Swedrock >> Chuck was a USMC draftee in 1970-1971. His computer skills merited a stateside assignment at Camp Lejeune, NC, where he had 21 contiguous months on site with married housing assigned after infantry training there. The health after-effects of the water contamination at Camp Lejeune culminated in a near-death experience in 2003. He flatlined in the back of an ambulance called after he experienced a 1.5 cm tear inside his weakened esophagus. His fully conscious experience occurred in the ambulance at eye-level with the paramedic resuscitating him after announcing there was no pulse, and the medic was initially unable to start an intravenous injection. The resulting internal bleeding necessitated a transfusion of 4.5 units of plasma and 4-days recouperation in the intensive care unit.
David Campbell >> David is a disabled army veteran from the Gulf War. He was born in Fort Hood, TX in the early 1970s, and grew up in Southern California, moving and starting over at a new school nearly every year. David came from a military family going back to the Revolutionary War! He signed up at age 17 as a Combat Engineer. In the Gulf War, he had an near-death experience (NDE) when he died for five minutes as a result of a combat explosion. David suffered 25 years with PTSD. David shares, “God then pulled me out of Hell and showed me the light by giving me a mission to guide veterans to healing!” David is the co-founder of the Mesa Veteran’s Resource Center, Veterans 5-9, and the current V P for Pleasant Valley Veteran’s Retreat Center. David has received many awards for his lengthy volunteer career.
LaVonne Wells >> LaVonne is an award-winning global speaker and love activist. She assists people in processing the passing of a loved one. Her work has emerged because of the despair she experienced through the passing of her daughter Kiva. She provides a listening ear, open heart, and support in remembering…where there is LOVE, there is life! LaVonne shares that there is no death but, rather, a continual journey that takes on a new form. She brings awareness that there is more to human existence than the physical life we are experiencing. LaVonne offers life and grief support through her group sessions, one-on-one sessions, and annual retreats.
Lotte Valentin >> Lotte has had two near-death experiences. She is an NMD, author, evidential psychic medium, medical medium, ancestral healer, and international keynote speaker. Lotte wrote Med School after Menopause, The Journey of my Soul, an inspirational story about transformation, healing, and spirituality which, in a literary competition, won 1st place in the category of Spiritual Leadership. Lotte is creator of the audio Ancestral Healing Series which she produced in collaboration with Hemi-Sync. She regularly leads workshops on ancestral healing for The Theosophical Society as well as other organizations and is a regular guest on The Shift Network. She is also the host of her own podcast Dr. Lotte: Science with Soul, which, out of 3 million podcasts globally, is currently ranked in the top 5%.
Philip Hasheider >> Philip is author of over 30 books on farming, local history, and family stories. His sudden cardiac death and associated NDE may have been sensed by the family’s herd of beef cows an hour before these events occurred. His time in eternity is still present with him, just “in the background,” as he moves through each day. He now speaks about his NDE aftermath, both personal and regarding his relationship with his wife, Mary.
Mary Hasheider >> Mary, after nearly seven years as an executive in a national advertising agency and 12 years in corporate management positions, returned to farm with husband Philip and to raise their young son and daughter on the Little Prairie settled by Philip’s ancestors before Wisconsin was a state. Her STEs led to hands-on healing with animals and work with nature spirits to enhance the health of the farmland and food grown upon it. Mary shares how, in the face of all the emotional, physical, psychological, and financial challenges following Philip’s cardiac arrest and NDE, they were able to “renegotiate” their contract to stay together as a couple.
Karen Michelle >> Karen is a near-death experiencer and psychic medium who has a unique understanding and compassion for her clients. She has spoken at events and conferences in regards to near-death experiences. Karen began working over eighteen years ago in the mental health care field focusing on PTSD, trauma recovery, and dynamics of abusive relationships. Wanting to honor the messages she received during her NDEs, Karen Michelle shifted her career to reflect a holistic and spiritual path. Her specialties include Resonant Kinesiology with harp and guided imagery to facilitate therapeutic music and sound interventions for stress management and relaxation. Dr. Karen Michelle’s educational background includes a doctorate in clinical psychology, Resonant Kinesiology Instructor certification, grief and loss training, and certificate training in working with survivors of sexual assault.
Christina Tourin >> Founder and Director of the International Harp Therapy Program, Christina leads training centers in multiple countries with Therapeutic Harp Practitioners serving on five continents. As an internationally award-winning artist, she trained at the Mozarteum in Austria and McGill in Montreal. She was harpist for the Vermont Symphony and for 17 years for the Sound of Music Maria von Trapp family. Returning to IANDS, she is remembered for her workshops on Music of the Spheres. Christina truly lives a life ‘As above, So below’ sharing her performances of sacred and transcendent moments. Bringing her harp to magical life, she shares with the world the deepest, most profound truths of the Universe, which rightfully and intuitively credits as the source of all she creates.
Lee Ann Heltzel>> Lee Ann is an explorer of human potential, a death doula, and a multi-dimensional artist and marketing innovator. Trained as an artist and gifted in esoteric practices, Lee Ann pioneered a new visual art genre, MetaArt. Each MetaArt piece energetically transforms its space to a specific frequency, serving as an active portal to higher states of consciousness via engagement with the pineal gland. Lee Ann’s work integrates creativity, imagination, and spirituality, making her a bridge to multi-dimensional realms and pure potential. She founded Creative One, a multi-dimensional marketing firm that taps into the highest potential for conscious creatives and leading-edge thinkers through her Signature MetaInsight(TM ) process.
Tammi Spring >> Tammi has had multiple STEs, including an NDE during cancer treatments in which she made a choice to return to this life. For more than 12 years, she has been practicing meditation. Having trained with Dharma Ocean in Colorado, and with two years of intuitive, shamanic, and psychic training in Washington, DC, with “Bridge Between Two Worlds,” her practice is primarily somatic meditation in which she blends mindfulness, loving-kindness, and visualizations that channel an energetic connection to source, spirit, and human self. With more than four years of experience leading private meditation groups in Boulder, CO, Tammi has a private practice of intuitive meditations and channeling for clients.
Jim Fisher, MBA >> Jim is a retired CPA with a BS in Psychology and an MBA in Accounting. He served as the Treasurer of IANDS in 2019. Jim began exploring the breadth of reality 20 years ago when he met a near-death experiencer. Her story prompted a search for knowledge and experience that would expand his understanding of our collective spiritual nature. Several years ago Jim borrowed a concept from a friend and began a meetup group called Consciousness Café in North Carolina. The purpose of the group was to share experiences and broaden member awareness of their spiritual underpinnings. Jim’s efforts include multiple trips to the Monroe Institute, participation in Rhine Center programs, a two week healing retreat in the Peruvian jungle and trips to Togo, Africa exposing him to Togolese traditional spiritual practices.
Jen Catlin, MS >> Jen has an MS in Psychology and is a certified transpersonal, spiritual hypnotherapist, and hypnotherapy training instructor. She has had an NDE. She serves on the Education Committee for the Newton Institute. Jen has completed the Duke Integrated Mindfulness Training for Professionals.
Bethany Silver, PhD >> has been an educator for 25+ years. She began her teaching career as a psychology instructor at Manchester Community College. At UConn’s Neag School of Education she served as the Director of the Professional Development Academy and Assistant Professor of Educational Technology. Dr. Silver has taught courses in research methods, evaluation, assessment, and learning. She has engaged her research skills with neurology patients at Hartford Hospital and public school districts in Connecticut. Bethany has been interested in NDEs since her graduate work at UConn exposed her to the work of Dr. Kenneth Ring, returning to study NDEs after recent losses of family members and friends. She co-facilitates the CT IANDS NDE Support Group with Tina Angeli and Jack Lardis, beginning in May 2020.
Diana (DiFranco) Marquez Lyons, LCSW, LISW, ACISTE ACMHP >> is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in supporting Near-Death Experiencers and their families. Ms. Marquez Lyons has had her own psychotherapy practice since 2010. A spiritual seeker most of her life, in 2010 Diana had a shared death experience when her mom passed. She was the founder and leader of the CT Shoreline IANDS for seven years and has also had a kundalini awakening. Diana has spent the majority of her adult life studying Spiritually Transformative Experiences, as well as Near-Death Experiences and the aftereffects. Diana earned her ACISTE Certified Mental Health provider certification from The American Center for the Integration of Spiritual Experiences (ACISTE). She was invited to present at the ACISTE conference in 2013. Diana also presented at the 2015 IANDS conference, and in 2021 with Jim Bruton, and in 2022 with Bethany Silver and Jim Bruton.
Jim Bruton >> Jim Bruton has been a world traveler and adventurer for much of his life- his adventures ranging from living in Africa as wildlife filmmaker for National Geographic to serving as a war journalist for NBC News. Using only a backpack, providing news coverage as a war journalist for NBC News in Iraq, and Lecturing in Telemedicine at Yale University School of Medicine. But when his experimental aircraft crashed in Oct. 2016, he had an adventure that topped them all. Transported to the In Between, his NDE there was not a typical passive one but required him to do something- to change his future and see how all things are interconnected. Jim has documented all of this in his books, “The In Between, A Trip of a Lifetime” (2020), and “The Practice in Between: The Art of Letting Go”(2021).
Adam Dince, MBA >> Adam is the author of “Back to the Beyond: Exploring Near-Death Experiences Through Hypnosis.” He specializes in past life regression, life between lives regression (LBL), and hypnotic regression techniques that heal traumas, limiting beliefs, and other challenging life experiences. In addition to hypnotherapy, he is also a Sacred Medicine Man, Reiki Master Teacher, author, and the founder of & healer at Sacred Stairways Hypnotherapy & Healing located in Stillwater, Minnesota.
Betty Guadagno >> Betty Guadagno had a spiritually transformative experience in March of 2019. Betty underwent a 180-degree transformation from drug addict, sex worker, and radical atheist to a devout believer, in long term recovery, and working as a recovery coach. During her integration process, she felt an incredible pull towards establishing spiritual community in her life. She has been connected to the IANDS community since December of 2020. Betty began her involvement with IANDS as an attendee of our sharing groups. She quickly got involved with service to the community by volunteering as a facilitator and moderator. Betty then moved into the role of Webinar Coordinator for IANDS Groups and Events.
Marjorie Woollacott, PhD >> Marjorie Woollacott, PhD, is emeritus Professor and prior chair of the Dept. of Human Physiology, and member of the Institute of Neuroscience, at the University of Oregon. She taught courses in neuroscience as well as complementary medicine and meditation. She is President of the Academy for the Advancement of Post-Materialist Sciences, Research Director, IANDS, and Co-director of the Galileo Commission. Her current research interests are in meditation, spiritual awakening, end-of-life experiences and after-death-communication. She has published more than 200 scientific articles and written or co-edited nine books
Bruce Greyson, MD >> Dr. Greyson is the Chester Carlson Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. He co-founded the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), and for 27 years edited the Journal of Near-Death Studies, the only scholarly journal dedicated to near-death research. Through his research, he has discovered common and universal themes in near-death experiences that go beyond neurophysiological or cultural interpretations, as well as patterns of consistent aftereffects on individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, values, and personalities. He was a co-editor of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation. His most recent book, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, is his first trade book bringing his scientific research to a popular audience.
Karalee Kothe, MA >> Karalee Kothe, MA, received degrees in Psychology and Global and Multicultural Studies from Montana State University working in the Stress, Adversity, Resilience and Health Lab, exploring different responses to acute anxiety between emotion regulation and mindfulness coping strategies. She earned her MA in Psychology at the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University, aiding with research in NDEs. She is currently a PhD Clinical Health Psychology student at CU Denver, interested in exploring how clinical health populations can live meaningfully unhindered by fear of death, understanding the lessons that death and dying teach us about living, and connecting to our shared sense of mortality as our greatest common ground.
Natasha Tassell-Matamua, PhD >> Natasha is an Associate Professor and co-Director of the Centre for Indigenous Psychologies in the School of Psychology at Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her teaching is in the area of Indigenous psychologies, and in particular the utilization of Indigenous knowledges to effect meaningful change across a range of contexts. Her research typically focusses on the interplay between spirituality, well-being and the wider ecosystem. Natasha has also spent the last 14 years researching the phenomenology, after-effects and cultural specificity of near-death experiences and other exceptional experiences of consciousness, and has published extensively in the area as well as providing numerous presentations both nationally and internationally.
Kimberly Braun, MA, CSP >> Kimberly has been devoted to meditation from the age of 5, with over ten of her years spent as a monastic nun. She is a retreat and workshop facilitator, TEDx speaker, meditation coach, and former meditation faculty at the renowned Omega Institute. She has produced three CDs and a book, Love Calls, Insights of a former Carmelite Nun, about her time as a nun. Communication through words has always been a shining way for Kimberly to be an instrument of inspiration and transformation. She identifies her personal call and mission to inspire others to live from the power and wisdom of Source within them.
Emily Spear, BS, CIA, CISA, CRISC >> Emilie is a successful businesswoman who has had a deep and lifelong spiritual practice. A few days after the birth of her twin daughters, unforeseen medical complications resulted in a life-changing near-death experience. Her vivid account of an eternal, graceful and all-encompassing love is filled with insights on how to cultivate a Heavenly experience within the day-to-day world of humanity. In the midst of this life-changing event, Emilie made a promise to share her experience of Divine Love in order to help others on their own journeys of inner healing and awakening.
Sharon Milliman >> Sharon is a four-time near-death experiencer. She is a published author, speaker, and licensed ordained minister. Sharon has presented as a guest speaker at a number of spiritually oriented groups, including IANDS groups, various churches, hospitals and hospice groups. Sharon was featured in an NDE documentary film by filmmaker and producer James Bonato in 2022. She was featured on the Dr. Oz Show in 2019, and the National Geographic channel in 2016. Sharon’s books include A Song In The Wind, A Near-Death Experience, The Whispers In The Wind, A Poetic Journey Of The Soul, and A Rose From Heaven.
Ellen Wier (formerly Whealton) >> Ellen is a light worker, transpersonal and music therapist, healer, workshop presenter, and educator who uses numerous modalities in her work, including music, crystal singing bowls, chanting, visualization, and meditation. Kicked in the head by a horse at age 12, Ellen experienced an NDE in which she vowed to come back to heal people with music and then experienced tremendously impactful spiritual downloads before being drawn back to her body by music. This spiritual event gave Ellen first-hand knowledge of the immense web of love, wisdom, and support that is available to everyone at all times. Ellen has a master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling with an emphasis in Music Therapy from Naropa University. Trained in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, Holotropic Breathwork, Reiki, and Aroma-Release, Ellen is an online course instructor who provides continuing education for music therapists and counseling psychologists around the globe.
Scott Taylor >> Scott is president of the Expanded Awareness Institute (EAI). EAI helps people curious about near-death experiences (NDEs) and shared death experiences (SDEs) explore what those experiences mean to them and to our human culture. His YouTube podcast The Afterlife Files, is rated in the top 20% worldwide. On the faculty of The Shift Network, Scott teaches NDE meditation for his course The Bi-Location Phenomenon.
Debbie James >> After completing her master’s thesis on disclosure of near-death experiences (NDEs), Debbie James was appointed to the board of directors of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In 2009, Debbie co-authored and edited the first compilation of research on NDEs, The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation. Inspired by her belief in the art and science of nursing practice and education, Debbie has focused her career on the advancement of safe, evidence-based patient-centered care.
Elke Macartney >> Elke is a shaman, counselor, healer, and wisdom keeper in practice for 40 years. As an aura seer and spirit walker, her daily life is a continual spiritually transformative experience. She also enjoys dancing every day, walking in the forest, and facilitating online IANDS sharing groups.
Noelle St. Germain-Sehr >> Noelle is a Clinical Associate Professor and Counseling Fieldwork Coordinator at William & Mary. With over 30 years of clinical experience, she is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas, a National Certified Counselor, and an ACISTE Certified Mental Health Professional trained to assist individuals with integrating spiritually transformative experiences. Noelle has advanced training in transpersonal counseling, including Induced After-Death Communication (IADC); is the Executive Director of The Center for Grief and Traumatic Loss and The International IADC Board; and is an IADC Trainer. She holds membership in 16 professional organizations, has served on three editorial boards, and is the Secretary for the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Her research focuses on improving mental health providers’ effectiveness in addressing transpersonal issues and includes multiple publications and over 65 professional presentations.
Jennifer “Kim” Penberthy >> Kim is the Chester F. Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Kim is a board-certified clinical psychologist and conducts research, teaches, and provides clinical care at UVA in psychiatry and the cancer center. She obtained her undergraduate and masters degree in psychology from Wake Forest University, her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, and her Fellowship in Medical Psychology at the University of Virginia. In addition to her expertise in persistent depressive disorders, she studies the mind-body relationship, exploring human consciousness as well as extraordinary human experiences, including the impact of such on human abilities and wellness. Kim has held numerous professional leadership positions and has published and presented extensively on psychotherapy and mindfulness, including her most recent book, co-authored with her daughter, Morgan: Living Mindfully Across the Lifespan: An Intergenerational Guide.
Tess McCormick >> Tess is a 2023 graduate of the University of Virginia’s undergraduate psychology department. She is currently preparing to apply to graduate school to earn her PhD in Clinical Psychology, with her ultimate goal being to become a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist. She currently conducts research with UVA’s Department of Perceptual Studies, studying after-death communication, and she works in Charlottesville, VA, as a care coordinator at Addiction Allies, a substance abuse treatment facility. Tess enjoys helping others to better themselves; loves to spend time with her friends, family, and cat, Roo; and finds meaning in weekend time on a local farm where she works with mini donkeys and horses.
Gwen Grams >> Gwen has a PhD in quantitative experimental psychology from DePaul University in Chicago. Her dissertation was titled Self Deception in the Perception of Personal Appearance. Following her recent retirement from a career in behavioral health data administration, she joined Dr. Kim Penberthy as a Research Lecturer in the Faculty Support Track at the University of Virginia Medical School Division of Perceptual Studies, where her work focuses on after-death communication.
Daniel Endy >> Daniel has been a spiritual student, seeker, and experiencer since, at the age of 14, he found the book Seth Speaks. He has a balance of left and right brain interests ranging from engineering and physics to spirituality, philosophy, and metaphysics. He researched and studied these topics extensively, and in 2010, had an awakening. Since then he has led monthly classes to share what he learned to help others live better lives. He is very active with IANDS serving as a Board member and as a host/facilitator of many IANDS Sharing Groups. Daniel is a hypnotherapist and does past life regressions as well as personal coaching. Daniel also has researched UFOs and ETs for several decades. He looks forward to the day when the existence of ETs is acknowledged.
M.K. (Kathy) McDaniel >> Kathy’s distressing near-death experience (dNDE) in early 2000 caused her to rethink her religious beliefs and her concept of God. With the help of multiple synchronicities, she joined IANDS 10 years later and told her story for the first time at a Seattle IANDS meeting. Since then, Kathy has been an advocate for that approximately 12% of souls who have suffered dNDEs. She and Daniel Endy co-host a growing IANDS monthly dNDE Sharing Group. Kathy has shared her dNDE story as a podcast guest on over 100 programs and has garnered over 1.5 million views to date. Kathy authored the memoir, Misfit in Hell to Heaven Expat, published in 2021, which is now selling worldwide.
Brianna Lafferty >> After a 22-year journey grappling with an “incurable” neurological movement disorder, Brianna Lafferty had a profound near-death experience in 2017 that ignited her major life transformation. This pivotal moment sparked a remarkable metamorphosis, unlocking her innate divine healing power to conquer the once “incurable” affliction. She is now an award-winning author, international speaker, and passionate Death & Spiritual Doula. Guiding others on transformative journeys, she empowers individuals to birth into their authentic selves and helps others liberates themselves from chronic illness. With unwavering passion, Bri also lends compassionate support in navigating end-of-life transitions and challenges, weaving a tapestry of resilience and inspiration.
Bryan Jackson >> Bryan had a life-changing spiritual experience in March 1993. The story of his dark-to-light NDE has been a useful tool in helping others to change their perspective about life. For those who have lost hope, Bryan’s experience teaches that life can be filled with meaning and purpose. Bryan is married and lives with his wife in Florida.
Kathy Winings >> Kathy has spent over 30 years as an educator and senior administrator in a graduate seminary. Having trained initially to be a concert pianist and French horn player, she found her real calling as a teacher and educator. Her other deeply held investment has been directing the work of an international development agency focused on disaster response, sustainable development, and restorative justice, which involved partnering with numerous religions and cultures around the world. After her near-death experience, her teaching and ministry skills have enabled her to speak to diverse communities and audiences about her experience and its ongoing transformative aftereffects. She spends her time writing, serving as an educational and social justice consultant, teaching piano, and spending time with family and friends, while pursuing hobbies that include reading, solving puzzles, and swimming.
Eric Taylor >> Eric is an intuitive astrologer whose life and practice transformed in 2021 following a 40-day coma and NDE. Eric engaged in astral travel, encountering life-altering decisions that reshaped his existence. This event heightened his psychic and astrological abilities and deepened his connection to his divine purpose. Eric now offers expanded services, leveraging his enhanced skills to guide clients through self-discovery, healing, and personal growth. His non-judgmental insights encourage clients to break free from past constraints, fostering progress towards their highest selves. Beyond his professional achievements, Eric is a devoted husband and father to four, drawing on his experiences as an educator for disabled children and his own vision loss to cultivate compassion and spiritual insight. Eric’s rebirth has lead him to live with a deeper focus and commitment to serve humanity.
Cathy A. Mortimer >> When Cathy was 6 years old, she fell out of a tree and experienced an NDE. In it, she was stopped from proceeding by two robed beings who telepathically told her to go back. She refused, saying she could not breathe so she couldn’t go back, but the beings said they would help her. Afterwards, telepathic ability stayed with her but took 30 years for her to integrate. Because of her mother with schizophrenia in a single parent household of six people, Cathy’s childhood was full of trauma and strife. In spite of the struggle, she went on to become a nurse where her innate understanding of the other side helped her with dying patients. Her telepathic abilities helped her communicate with those who cannot speak.
Mary Lydia Ryan >> Mary Lydia, critically acclaimed vocalist, pianist, composer, and creator of Spa Opera® utilizes her musical, mystical, and spiritual gifts to call forth, support, uplift, and encourage each individual’s unique magnificence. As seen and heard on Seattle and worldwide stages, including TEDx, Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, and One World Music Radio, as well as through group and individual sound transmission sessions, Mary’s offerings are designed to bring greater light and consciousness evolution to the world.
Georgia Wild >> Georgia has been actively practicing authentic expression for years. She first pursued many forms of dance and theater, working through layers of pain to finally find release through vocal expression. She studied opera and graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater, only to find that world did not support the spiritual nature connection she yearned for. Following her dreamtime guidance, she moved to Hawaii to enable her Soul’s roots to meet again with our Earth Mother Gaia. From this deep dive into the truth of her being, Georgia now shares her song. Holding space, she uses sound to vibrate open locked places within so that each person can greet and alchemize aspects of themselves that are ready to be given back into the ultimate source intelligence frequency of creator God that is/has always and in all ways been transcribed into our DNA from the beginning of time.
Maria Lupita Gurule >> Maria Lupita Gurule’s near-death experience (NDE) in 2000 opened up her reality, unveiled an invisible field, and forced open her ‘Gifts of the Spirit.’ Through her struggle to integrate back into life, Maria learned how to accept and use her abilities to heal from life’s traumas. Mystically attuned and guided, Maria overcame many debilitating life challenges in order to learn how to fully live. Since then, she has dedicated her life to the service and love of Humanity. She is a Certified Medical Support Clinical Hypnotherapist with expertise in past-life, inter-life and natal-life sessions, and a world-class Soul-Reader.
Patricia L’Dara, MA >> Patricia came to the work of death and dying when her mother made her sacred passage in 1993. Prior to that time, Patricia had never been in a room with anyone dying and did not know what to expect. Her experience was so beautiful and profound that it altered her life. Since her first encounter, she has quietly continued to accompany people from all walks of life in their passing. Patricia is the author of the book, Song of Sight: An Introduction to Soul Passage Midwifery.
Ray Catania, MMsc, MCLC >> Award-winning author Ray Catania’s latest book, “You Are Still Alive, Now Act Like It”, is available in 52 countries. In addition to being an author, Ray Catania is an intuitive-medium, who teaches spirituality and metaphysics with clients in his private practice. He is an NDE survivor, an ordained minister, with master certifications in life coaching, Usui Reiki, and meditation, and is working towards his doctorate degree in Metaphysical Parapsychology. Ray has had the privilege of studying under, and training with, some of the greatest forward-thinking minds in the world, including Intuitives, Mediums, Shaman, and Energy Healers.
Rebecca S. Valla, MD >> Rebecca S. Valla, MD is a practicing Psychiatrist for over 30 years. She in currently working in a private practice with her husband, a Dermatologist. She ascribes to a Holistic and Integrative approach to her work, where Self-Love and Inner Child Healing are central. She is a life-long spiritual seeker, and enthusiastic supporter of NDErs and their opportunity for transformation and healing. She is a former IANDS Board member, and current Co-Chair of the IANDS Ethics Committee.
Debbie James, MSN, RN, CCRN-K >> Debbie James has worked in the Adult Critical Care arena for the last 44 years as a clinical nurse, nurse manager, nurse educator, and Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is a certified bereavement facilitator and formed two support groups in San Antonio: one for NDErs and one for organ donor families. She is a current IANDS Board member, and the Co-Chair of the IANDS Ethics Committee. Debbie co-authored and edited the first compilation of research on near-death experiences, Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation.
Rebecca Austill-Clausen, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA >> Rebecca “Becky” Austill-Clausen is an Occupational Therapist and Reiki Master, providing Reiki for 27 years. She presents the Usui form of Reiki Level I as a Pre-Conference Workshop at IANDS Annual Conference yearly since 2021 including the upcoming 2023 Conference. Becky is delighted to be the Healing Coordinator for each IANDS in-person Annual Conference since 2019. She founded a private practice that grew to include 350 therapists serving over 100,000 clients.
Daniel Endy, BS >> is the co-founder and co-facilitator for the IANDS Distressing Experiences Sharing Group (2nd Thursday of each month 8 pm ET). He has a deep interest in understanding the full range of spirituality and spiritual experiences and has studied them extensively for over 50 years. Daniel is a hypnotherapist and a regression therapist in the Charlotte, NC area. He has a BS degree in Computer Engineering, had a successful career in software, and has been a co-founder of several successful businesses.
Brianna Lafferty, BS >> As an award-winning author that suffered through most of her life with a rare, chronic illness as well as distressing paranormal experiences that led to her near-death experience in 2017, Brianna Lafferty will share how she has been called to hack this life, help others, and start her own Death Doula business. Certified Death Doula, and in Sussex Hypnosis.
Michael Alton Haley, BA >> Michael is the Founder of World Riders Foundation, a non-profit organization that built schools for orphanages in foreign countries. In May of 2018, while finishing their first school in Uganda Mike contracted Malaria and MRSA – a very serious infection – which led to a 16-day coma. During his coma, Mike died for 10 minutes and had a very detailed distressing NDE before it turned into a loving experience. In the years since then, Mike has been processing his experience, seeking understanding, and sharing what he experienced. Mike has had a variety of professions from commercial fishing in Alaska, to owning a childcare center. Mike has a BA in Philosophy from the University of St Thomas.
More Panelists may be added.
“Father Nathan Castle, OP >>Father Nathan Castle has helped more than 500 “stuck” and not-so-stuck souls who died suddenly and traumatically to adjust to the afterlife. Victims of fires, automobile accidents, shootings, stabbings, drownings, and suicides come to him in his dreams seeking help to resolve their Interrupted Death Experiences. Father Nathan believes that providing such help is something the Holy Spirit has given him and his prayer partners to do. In his Afterlife Interrupted books, Father Nathan is quick to point out that not everyone who dies suddenly gets stuck. He also addresses questions like: Is death survivable? What does he do to help people cross over? Does time exist in the afterlife? Do deceased relatives help us adjust to moving through our deaths.
Michael A. Quinn and Linda L. Quinn >> Michael and Linda Quinn have been hospice volunteers for 20 years. They are co-authors of The Journey Home – Soul Release Intercession: Assisting the Actively Dying at the Time of Transition and The Journey Home – Inspiring Passages From Near-Death Experiences to Comfort the Dying. Writing these books are a part of their sacred journey to awaken us to the reality that we are all beautiful, sacred souls, loved beyond measure by God, and that life is full of opportunities to share this profound love with others. Michael is also the author of Chop Wood, Carry Water: Listening for the Whispers; Suffering From Acatalepsy?: Learning to Love the Questions and Whispers From the New Paradigm.
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Tonda Nampaio-Cardenas >> As a childhood trauma survivor, Tonda experienced an NDE at the age of 9. She is a public speaker and is certified as a wellness coach, an art therapist, learning facilitator, and is an intuitive nature guide through her indigenous heritage, ceremonies and teachings.
Loreli Drache >> Loreli Drache is a four-time near-death experiencer, spiritual transformative-mystical experiencer, spiritual mentor, medical intuitive, medical assistant, clair-abled, channeler, energy reader, psychic intuitive empath, energetic alchemist, quantum-shaman healer, mystic, Reiki Master Teacher, Akashic record reader, oracle reader, reverend-high priestess, intuitive jewelry artist, writer, and poet.
Rebecca Kastl Millsap, MS >> Rebecca Kastl Millsap, a pediatric speech-language pathologist, energy healer, and angel reader, underwent a life-altering spiritually transformative experience (STE) in 2006. During and after that experience, she became aware of the Divine Love that guides all of us. Since that experience, she has dedicated her life to connecting to that love and sharing it with others as much as possible. She lives in Birmingham, AL with her husband and daughter.
Elizabeth Clark, MA, CBMT, HCPC >> Elizabeth comes from a performing arts background. Witnessing the extraordinary effects that the music had on the young patients and their families as a performer inspired her to train as a music therapist. She currently works as a trauma informed, Board Certified Music Therapist and HeartMath practitioner to help clients access and express emotional trauma. She has extensive clinical experience in healthcare in France, UK and the US.
Peter Panagore, MDiv >> Peter Panagore, author of the best-selling, Heaven Is Beautiful: How Dying Taught Me That Death Is Just the Beginning, experienced two transformative near-death encounters. Following a BA in English Literature, he changed careers from architecture to theology and completed a Master of Divinity at Yale University, specializing in the Classics of Western Mysticism. For more than two decades, Panagore served progressive New England churches. His first book, Two Minutes for God, a best-seller in Maine and now available worldwide, was based on his 15 years as an NBC-TV writer for a daily Maine and New Hampshire broadcast viewed annually by 30 million people. He currently hosts “Not Church: Mysticism No Doctrine No Dogma No Bravo Sierra” on his YouTube channel, offers spiritual counseling through Zoom, and teaches meditation and yoga to a global community.
Kristen Adams, MA >> After all her schooling, Kristen was fulfilled — balancing the obligations of her young family with her calling: working with traumatized kids. But when an epically ugly-messy divorce came to her own household, she took an unsatisfying government desk job that provided ample leave time to invest in her own children — but which only barely paid the bills. During the ensuing two decades, she lost all belief in a Benevolent Cause but had convinced herself it was better that way. Finally, after years as a front-line functionary, she was finally promoted and then quickly promoted yet again. Things were finally going right. She finally had room to breathe! A routine X-ray found a space-occupying lesion in the right upper lobe of her lung, and she feared this was the end of her difficult, sad, and disappointing life. It was time to look for answers.
Ellen Corson, BA >> Ellen Corson was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1964 and moved to Hanover, NH, in 1974. She graduated from Hanover High School and attended Brown University. Ellen’s favorite class at Brown was Religious Studies. However, since that was not an acceptable field of study in her family, she went on to work at numerous non-profit organizations and social assistance organizations, later founding an Improvisational Comedy group while volunteering around Greater Portland, Maine. She is currently a hospice volunteer who is giving herself a course in mystical studies, wherever it leads. Her 21-year-old son remains skeptical.
Kendall (Ken) Gilligan, MD >> Dr. Kendall Gilligan was an emergency department physician for almost 40 years before he retired in 2018. His spiritual insights were shaped by a study of Edgar Cayce, Paramahansa Yogananda, and especially by Al Miner/Lama Sing. The insights that he will share come from his personal experiences that arose from contemplation that he began as a teenager.
Kacy Kelly >> Scholar, gas station clerk, mother, wife, and meditator. Kacy had an STE that happened from self-destructive tendencies, and there came the point when she fell to her knees in pain. I quickly got back to my feet. It took a week to heal, at which point she found myself stopped in my tracks with a knowing that I was saved by the light that goes and comes back again. I don’t really know what that means. I didn’t see heaven or hell, just this knowing and a real empty feeling. It was like it took her two years to get her soul back! She moved, changed my life, got married, and had a daughter.
Shelly Liedtke, BMSc >> Shelly is a lifelong perpetual student of Self-Empowerment and a Spiritual Life Coach who is here to lovingly help her students and clients shift the stresses of day-to-day living from mystery to mastery, steadily center in the Sacred Intentions of their Soul and open the doorway to consciously creating miracles in their life. Throughout all of her mentoring and coaching services, she offers loving, gentle support for welcoming her clients and students back home to being their True Self; to open the space for really loving and appreciating who they are deep down inside – the One they came here on earth to experience and BE – so they can thrive and be healthy, well and happy in their life…all through the lens of Love grounded in Gratitude.
Françoise E. Netter, MA>> Françoise E. Netter, MA, renowned author, educator, presenter, and performer, has innovatively contributed to Yoga, Dance Therapy, and Stress Management for over four decades. She has instructed at prestigious institutions like Stanford University and the University of Colorado and trained professionals in her specialty. Françoise has garnered international attention through TV, radio, podcasts, and print media. Her book, “Movement For The Mind,” empowers individuals to integrate and apply their creativity holistically. Drawing from her mystical experiences and trauma, Françoise aims to inspire transformation. Her current focus revolves around Resiliency and trauma, serving as the theme of her upcoming book and Ted X talk.
Lynne Seymour, RN >> Lynne had a life transforming NDE in 1970 at the age of 24 following the traumatic birth of her first child. She came close to death when her vital signs plummeted. She left her body, went to a heavenly realm, and was convinced by spiritual beings to return to complete her work on earth. She returned with a distorted sense of reality, a feeling of disconnection, no one with whom she could safely share her story, and a longing to return to her true home. In 1980 she had a profound, life-changing STE in which she experienced the all-encompassing love of God. She retired after 40-plus years in nursing but has been haunted by a desire to gain a deeper spiritual understanding of her own NDE and to complete her work in this world.
David Ulrich >> Raised in 1960s Detroit, David’s early experiences of faith were shaped by the Methodist Church he attended with his family. His grandmother’s role as the church secretary deepened his exposure to the church, particularly to its minister, whom he respected greatly. However, his perception was jolted upon discovering the minister indulged in questionable habits. As a teenager, David explored various religious paths, including the Church of God, the Catholic Church, and the Church of the Nazarene, seeking authenticity but finding hypocrisy instead. As he matured, he chose to step away from organized religion to formulate his unique understanding of God. His spiritual journey took a significant turn at age 25, when a Detroit Unity Temple radio broadcast resonated with him, leading him to a community that nurtured his spiritual quest, a journey still in progress today.
Chenée Fournier >> Chenée is an evidential medium, energy healer, and spiritual mentor. Since childhood, she has been able to sense and interact with Spirit. For more than four years, as a Reiki Master, she volunteered her services with hospice, providing Reiki to patients and sitting vigil with people as they began their transition beyond the veil. As she pursued a clinical pastoral education program, she worked as an interfaith chaplain in a hospital. Chenée believes that mediumship, when done with integrity, can lead to profound spiritually transformative experiences and is an ultimate form of energy healing.
Scott Taylor >> Scott is president of the Expanded Awareness Institute (EAI). EAI helps people curious about near-death experiences (NDEs) and shared death experiences (SDEs) explore what those experiences mean to them and to our human culture. His YouTube podcast The Afterlife Files, is rated in the top 20% worldwide. On the faculty of The Shift Network, Scott teaches NDE meditation for his course The Bi-Location Phenomenon.
Debbie James >> After completing her master’s thesis on disclosure of near-death experiences (NDEs), Debbie James was appointed to the board of directors of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In 2009, Debbie co-authored and edited the first compilation of research on NDEs, The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation. Inspired by her belief in the art and science of nursing practice and education, Debbie has focused her career on the advancement of safe, evidence-based patient-centered care.
Dashmesh Khalsa>> Dashmesh is a musician, producer, and philosopher who has worked with internationally renowned artists such as Bill Laswell, Byron Metcalf, Steve Roach, Toshinori Kondo, and Ken Koshio. He has played all around Arizona at venues such as the Music Instrument Museum, Scottsdale Center for The Performing Arts, Tempe Center for The Arts, and the Berger Performing Arts Center as well as yoga studios and other intimate venues across the Valley. He has studied music traditions from around the world such as Indian Tabla, Australian Didgeridoo, Japanese Taiko drumming, and West African Djembe. He has blended styles of music including tribal, electronica, ambient, hip-hop, and jazz, thus defying traditional notions of genres and styles. Dash‘s music is informed by the need to create a healthy relationship between technology and nature, unite the ancient with the modern and bridge the difference between cultures to create more harmony where it may not have existed otherwise.
Nathan Castle >> Fr. Nathan has helped more than 500 “stuck” and not-so-stuck souls who died suddenly and traumatically to adjust to the afterlife. Victims of fires, automobile accidents, shootings, stabbings, drownings, and suicides come to him in his dreams seeking help to resolve their Interrupted Death Experiences. Father Nathan believes that providing such help is something the Holy Spirit has given him and his prayer partners to do. In his Afterlife, Interrupted: books, Father Nathan is quick to point out that not everyone who dies suddenly gets stuck. He is the author of And Toto, Too: The Wizard of Oz as a Spiritual Adventure and Afterlife, Interrupted (Books 1 and 2): Helping Stuck Souls Cross Over. His new book is Afterlife, Interrupted Book 3: Please Let Me Explain.
Stephanie Chase Bradbury >> Stephanie has been an Episcopal priest for 28 years and has professionally counseled many people who have had NDEs and STEs. She herself has had a number of mystical experiences beginning at age 6. Stephanie is drawn to the bright overlap between matter and spirit and to the intertwining of life in this reality with the transcendent. She feels called to act as a translator to a world that is often blind to the astonishing wonder of All That Is and to help facilitate the integration of those who have been touched by the extraordinary. Stephanie has led NDE retreats and lectures at churches, spoken at IANDS conferences, been interviewed for podcasts, and writes a newsletter on the intersection between Christianity and transcendent experiences. Rev. Stephanie serves an Episcopal Church in Massachusetts.
David Maginley >> For 25 years, David Maginley has counseled those facing cancer and other life-threatening conditions at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has also survived cancer four times, which resulted in a profound near-death experience. David is a specialist with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC), a Lutheran minister, a Therapeutic Touch teacher, and the award-winning author of Beyond Surviving: Cancer and Your Spiritual Journey. David speaks internationally on meaning in suffering, the wisdom of grief, mindfulness, death and dying, mystical phenomena, compassion fatigue, and integrative spirituality. His new book, Early Exits: Spirituality, Mortality and Meaning in an Age of Medical Assistance in Dying, will be released in 2024.
Paul Sperry >> Paul is a systems scientist and former executive director of a University of Colorado research institute of over 500 colleagues. He has been on boards of directors with the Society for Scientific Exploration, the Conference on World Affairs, and BoulderExo where he has given talks and moderated many panels. His passions include addressing societal problems through interdisciplinary approaches and recognizing our roles and opportunities in the grander reality we are co-creating together. Paul and his wife Maryann have been active in IANDS for the past four years and love living at the base of the Rockies in Longmont, CO.
PMH Atwater >> PMH, began her research of the near-death phenomenon in 1978, after having had three such experiences in three months in 1977. To date, her work covers nearly 5,000 adult and child experiencers. Some of her findings have been verified in clinical studies, among them the prospective study done in Holland and published in the peer-reviewed general medical journal, The Lancet. She created and incorporated Inner Forum, Idaho’s first metaphysical non-profit organization, and over 3,000 people have participated in its programs. She is the author of 20 books, including Edge Walker, and is currently working on a book about her research study on aliens and the near-death experience.
Paola Harris >> Paola is an Italo-American award winning photojournalist and investigative reporter in the field of extraterrestrial related phenomena research. She is an in-demand international speaker. She is also a widely published freelance writer, especially in Europe. Her books have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. She produces the annual StarworksUSA conference in Laughlin, NV, and several other in-person and online consciousness events each year.
Catherine Chapey >> Catherine has had a lifetime of spiritually transformative experiences, including being a contactee of many various UFO’s, ETs, inter-dimensional beings, and orbs–phenomena she has documented over the past 18 years through journaling, photography, and film. She is an Ordained InterSpiritual Minister, Certified Spiritual Counselor, spiritualist medium, healer, and trance channel for “The Council of Light.” Catherine is also a Certified Hypnotist and a Level 2 Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) Hypnotist who trained in 2014 with the late Dolores Cannon, developer of QHHT. Catherine is also a Certified Facilitator/Moderator for IANDS Sharing Groups, and a Facilitator for IANDS’s new monthly topic sharing group UFO/ET/NDE. For several years she has hosted and facilitated her own monthly sharing groups in support of spiritual experiencers, now on Zoom: “Safe Space Sharing,” “UFO ET Experiencers,” and “Spiritual Experiencers.”
Chris O’Connor >> Chris is founder and owner of the DEEMS Company, created to help humanity evolve spiritually while learning all aspects of self-healing. Chris has had formative experiences working with off world species where he learned medical technologies and has now brought some of that technology to the world. Chris has also been in close contact with his spirit guides for many years and relies on them daily, while helping others communicate with their guides as well. Chris has memories of many past lives and remembers the actual process of choosing his parents and programming his life experiences. Chris’s heart-lead mission is to assist humanity during this time of great transition and to remember the power they possess while bringing a message of love-based hope for the future of the human species on Earth.
Michelle Clare >> Featured on Coast to Coast AM multiple times and on Gaia TV, Michelle Clare is a Certified Medium, angel intuitive, spiritual coach, medical intuitive, energetic healer, and three-time near-death experience (NDE) survivor. Over a span of 11 years, she had three NDEs: the first in April 2000, the second in May 2006, and a monumental, life-changing event in which Michelle suffered a traumatic brain injury on November 1, 2011. Shortly after this last event, she began receiving information for other people from their loved ones who had transitioned. All three NDEs served as a reminder of an unconditional love and connection that surpasses our Earthly life. Michelle’s journey of discovery continued with two shared death experiences. Her journey is marked by resilience and profound transformation. Today, Michelle uses her gifts to illuminate the paths of healing and self-discovery for others.
Sue Frederick >> Sue is an ordained Unity Minister, clairaudient, Soul Regression Therapist, angelic realm channel, and master numerologist. She channels messages and prayers from the angelic realm and receives wisdom from guides to help people heal grief and find purpose. She uses sacred numerology and mystical information in her books and teachings. Sue is the author of 11 books, including Through a Divine Lens: Practices to Quiet Your Ego and Align with Your Soul and The Sacred Numerology Workbook. As a student of numerology since 1980, she brings a deeply enlightened perspective to using numbers as navigational guidance tools for deciphering the soul’s journey.
David A. Williamson >> David, a native of Yanceyville, NC, had a near-death experience in 2017 that changed how he views this life and what it means to be a human being. For most of his life he had been deeply effected by several phenomena including identity confusion, racial narratives and racial trauma, general trauma, and rigid orientations towards ideology and personality. During his NDE, as his dying/dead body lay in the emergency room, he hovered above it and came to some realizations about his life that presented him with the opportunity to ground and integrate a different approach to living and being. He has shared his experience in podcast interviews and continues to ground and integrate practical approaches to life and ways for people to let go of lamenting and focus on creating their desired reality.
Norman Klaunig >> Norman is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate in Texas. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at the University of the Cumberlands. His interest in near-death and other transpersonal experiences started during his youth. Now, Norman identifies as a transpersonal counselor, integrating the spiritual dimension into the counseling process. He has a virtual counseling practice serving all of Texas. Norman has extensively studied and continues to study the NDE/STE literature and has contributed to the Journal of Near-Death Studies and the IANDS magazine Vital Signs.
Brianna Lafferty >> After a 22-year journey grappling with an “incurable” neurological movement disorder, Brianna Lafferty had a profound near-death experience in 2017 that ignited her major life transformation. This pivotal moment sparked a remarkable metamorphosis, unlocking her innate divine healing power to conquer the once “incurable” affliction. She is now an award-winning author, international speaker, and passionate Death & Spiritual Doula. Guiding others on transformative journeys, she empowers individuals to birth into their authentic selves and helps others liberates themselves from chronic illness. With unwavering passion, Bri also lends compassionate support in navigating end-of-life transitions and challenges, weaving a tapestry of resilience and inspiration.
Jill Lafferty >> Jill, wife of husband Ed and mother of daughters Brianna and Tara, has the experience of partnering a spouse and parenting children with transpersonal experiences, including a child with an NDE.
Tara Lafferty >> Tara holds an MS in Health Psychology. She has worked primarily in paralegal and real estate roles within her state of Colorado. Her interest in near-death and similar topics started within her own home environment while she was growing up. Working currently as a legal secretary, Tara is also working in her free time on her own spiritual revelations via her book Lessons With God, which walks the reader through her spiritually transformative experiences.
Christopher Rosing >> Christopher experienced so much early trauma and bullying that, at the age of 12, he set himself on fire. Surviving but being scarred forever–an outcast who felt unlovable, he first sought escape through addiction. But his search for deeper meaning and identity led to his awakening at the University of Connecticut while working as Kenneth Ring’s lead researcher on The Omega Project, which compared the transformational aftereffects of NDEs and UFO experiences. Through this work, Christopher met his wife Adrianne, who gifted him a shared death experience when she passed away in 2015. After her death, Christopher discovered Bon Buddhism, which completely transformed his life as he reconnected to the Light through Dzogchen Meditation. Dzogchen means “the great perfection” and is beyond religion or culture, as it is inherent in all sentient beings.
Debbie James, MSN, RN, CCRN-K >> Debbie James has worked in the Adult Critical Care arena for the last 44 years as a clinical nurse, nurse manager, nurse educator, and Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is a certified bereavement facilitator and formed two support groups in San Antonio: one for NDErs and one for organ donor families. She is a current IANDS Board member, and the Co-Chair of the IANDS Ethics Committee. Debbie co-authored and edited the first compilation of research on near-death experiences, Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation.
Vincent DeVice, BSN, RN >> Vincent Device is a new graduate of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is a registered nurse working in a hospital in Pennsylvania on the telemetry unit. Vincent began his interest in the literature of near-death experiences in high school and continued to read related content throughout his undergraduate degree and nursing studies. He has attended three IANDS annual conferences and participated as a presenter in two. In the 2022 event, Vincent served as a panelist and interviewed the distinguished near-death researcher, registered nurse, and Vietnam Veteran Diane Corcoran. He continues to be an active member in the IANDS community with the goal of fostering knowledge of near-death experiences particularly, to young adults and healthcare professionals.
Deborah King, PhD, RN >> Debora King has been a successful healthcare professional for over 40 years, working in critical care, home care and hospice, mental health, and academic settings. For many years, Dr. King was privileged to hear about NDEs, spiritually transformative experiences, and other phenomena around the time of death and after transition—from her patients, family members, and students in her roles at Bellevue, Johns Hopkins, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in psychotherapy practice, and many other settings. Although her own formal educational preparation in nursing, clinical psychology, and research left her unprepared to compassionately respond to such experiences, her own personal journey led to powerful spiritually transformative experiences of her own, including a life-changing NDE in 2008 during cardiac arrest and coma which changed her life forever. She is passionate about sharing the universal messages of connection, compassion, and love she received during her NDE with other healthcare professionals, experiencers, and non-experiencers alike. In her current work as a professor of graduate studies at Stevenson University, Dr. King’s qualitative research class helps nursing professionals to examine the lived experience of those who have had spiritually transformative experiences in order to strengthen holistic clinical practice and self-care skills.
Deborah Snider, ThM >> Deborah has worked in healthcare and shared in the journey of NICU parents and families for over 30 years. In 1999 she had an NDE that led to a search for deeper spiritual understanding. She has volunteered for hospice, studied energy healing, shamanism, meditation, and mediumship. Deborah has taught mediation classes, presented workshops on mindfulness, and currently serves as a spiritual medium. Her greatest joy is assisting others in experiencing themselves as spirit and finding their own path to joyful service.
Cathy Gabrielsen, BS >> Cathy is an international healer and speaker, spiritual teacher, holistic Ayurvedic coach, graduate teacher of Energy Medicine, and #1 best selling author of Dying to Live: Surviving Near-Death. Cathy is the founder of Connect Thru Cancer and The Gabrielsen Healing Center. She offers private healing sessions via zoom. After two near-death experiences, once as a teen and another time recovering from cancer, Cathy experienced spiritual transformations and discovered her own paranormal gifts. Cathy learned how to heal her own anxiety, depression, and PTSD and returned to life to help others heal their mind, body, and spirit.
Oshara Waago >> Oshara is the president and founder of The Seth House which is restoring the building where Jane Roberts channeled Seth and where most of their 45 books were written including “Seth Speaks.” Plans are underway to create an open center for the study of Seth’s information and other life-affirming teachings. She was the founder and publisher of three New Age Magazines. She also channels a group of higher beings.
Leora Leon, BA >> Leora’s metaphysical experience began as a young child when she discovered the four “clairs” of intuition. She experienced two near-death experiences (NDEs), one in a boating accident when she was knocked unconscious and was underwater for 30 minutes and the other while hiking at 7,000 feet in the Angeles Forest Mountains. Both transformed her life and she learned the wonders of the multi-universe. She turned that knowledge into books, healing, and teaching people worldwide. Leora is certified in multiple metaphysical modalities, including becoming a Past Life Regression Therapist, certified by Dr. Brian Weiss, a certified Shaman, a Reiki Master/Teacher, a Channel, and an Intuitive Energy Healer.
Ritu LeBouef, MA >> Ritu is a native of India who has had numerous Spiritual experiences. While under the discipleship of her Guru, Swami Mohan Das Ji Maharaj, she had a life-changing spiritually transformative experience (STE) awakening her to profound spiritual principles, “I AM That” and that God is Love. Her experience led her to understand the essence of Sanatana Dharma (aka Hinduism). After her profound experience, Ritu left her successful IT career to share her inspirational messages to awaken others to their Eternal Truth and to practice holistic therapies to help others heal. She conducts international support circles, spiritual seminars, and workshops.
Betty Guadagno >> Betty Guadagno had a spiritually transformative experience in March of 2019. Betty underwent a 180-degree transformation from drug addict, sex worker, and radical atheist to a devout believer, in long term recovery, and working as a recovery coach. During her integration process, she felt an incredible pull towards establishing spiritual community in her life. She has been connected to the IANDS community since December of 2020. Betty began her involvement with IANDS as an attendee of our sharing groups. She quickly got involved with service to the community by volunteering as a facilitator and moderator. Betty then moved into the role of Webinar Coordinator for IANDS Groups and Events.
Mystic Chics >> Wendy, Audrey, and Mary are The Mystic Chics. That’s Chics without a “k.” Healers, authors, musicians, and family: these Modern Medicine Women offer private healing sessions in their two East Coast studios as well as ceremonial healing events around the country. Their unique combination of energy medicine skills, spiritual gifts, and family harmonies provides a transformational experience for anyone receiving their various forms of healing medicine. In the bestselling 2023 anthology, Deserts to Mountaintops, the Chics document their spiritual journey: from the trauma of early family death, to overcoming addiction, reclaiming their intuition and voice, and now, through the spiritual healing business they have created together. As published singer, song-writer musicians, their four recently released singles (Words Create, Be the Change, I Find Myself Mantra, and Awaken the Mystery) speak to the creative power we each have in every moment of our lives.
Kat Sanders >> Kat flatlined in 2010 from a massive brain hemorrhage. Her beautiful visit to the afterlife revealed the continuation of life and the connection between all living things. Once she pierced that veil, it would remain open to her. But returning to the physical world was a challenge. She experienced the roadblocks suffered by millions of people with similar experiences. Naysaying family members, churches, and friends made her feel uncomfortable about sharing her story. Nevertheless, over the ensuing months, Kat’s unique abilities became undeniably real. She has since evolved into a medium and medical intuitive. She authored a self-help book Unstoppable Life and was featured on an episode of the A&E TV series I Survived, Beyond And Back. She passionately shares her amazing NDE with IANDS groups and various organizations.
Mary Lydia Ryan >> Mary Lydia, critically acclaimed vocalist, pianist, composer, and creator of Spa Opera® utilizes her musical, mystical, and spiritual gifts to call forth, support, uplift, and encourage each individual’s unique magnificence. As seen and heard on Seattle and worldwide stages, including TEDx, Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, and One World Music Radio, as well as through group and individual sound transmission sessions, Mary’s offerings are designed to bring greater light and consciousness evolution to the world.
Scott Taylor >> Scott is president of the Expanded Awareness Institute (EAI). EAI helps people curious about near-death experiences (NDEs) and shared death experiences (SDEs) explore what those experiences mean to them and to our human culture. His YouTube podcast The Afterlife Files, is rated in the top 20% worldwide. On the faculty of The Shift Network, Scott teaches NDE meditation for his course The Bi-Location Phenomenon.
Debbie James >> After completing her master’s thesis on disclosure of near-death experiences (NDEs), Debbie James was appointed to the board of directors of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In 2009, Debbie co-authored and edited the first compilation of research on NDEs, The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation. Inspired by her belief in the art and science of nursing practice and education, Debbie has focused her career on the advancement of safe, evidence-based patient-centered care.
Keyaunoosh Kassauei, MD >> Keyaunoosh is an international medical graduate who continued her medical education with a post-doctoral research fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Medicine in the US. Enlightened by her NDE in 2006, she founded My Conscious Coaching Group as a 501C3 coaching nonprofit in 2018 with a mission to heal and care for the Whole-Self and a vision to raise self and global awareness for a conscious mind through education and application of EQ/SQ (Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual/Deep intelligence) for humanity and citizens of Earth. Keyaunoosh is a Certified EI Coach and EICC Meta Coach (Emotional Intelligence Certified MetaCoach) from Goleman & Beyond EI, with a focus on coaching physicians and leaders in healthcare and education.
Shaun G. Lether >> Shaun is the Group Leader of Hawaiian IANDS. Shaun is a multiple near-death and spiritually transformative experiencer and a highly sensitive person (HSP), an empath with mediumship gifts. He was previously a successful marketing and real estate businessman and a Licensed California Landscape Contractor. After a profound NDE and during a spiritual emergency in 2019, Shaun started a small sharing group to support NDErs and STErs in Hawaii which has grown to become Hawaiian IANDS with over 6,000 members worldwide. Shaun has learned that as he helps others heal, so he is healed. He facilitates experiencers’ sharing groups with many spiritual organizations as well as groups for PTSD trauma survivors, and he runs Life After Death Facebook groups with a combined membership of over 850,000 followers. Shaun is a passionate student and teacher of A Course in Miracles as well as a devotee of Paramahansa Yogananda.
Leena Zafary >> Leena is a beacon of transformation, drawing from her journey as a survivor of near-death and spiritually transformative experiences. As an intuitive energy healer, author, and speaker, she offers profound insights and healing modalities to guide individuals on their paths to wholeness. Leena’s compassionate approach and extensive expertise in Reiki, BioAcoustic Research, and HeartMath facilitation empower clients to achieve balance and vitality in their lives. Beyond her professional endeavors, Leena finds joy in spending time with her family, exploring nature, and delving into spiritual practices like music, dancing, and cooking that nourish her soul.
Melinda Peterson >> Melinda is an Intuitive health practitioner, registered nurse, motivational speaker, energy healer, yoga teacher, loss mama, adoptive mama, near-death experiencer (NDEr), and entrepreneur. One of the most profound changes that arose from her NDE was being called from her previous career as an environmental scientist to a career in nursing. Melinda has expanded her nursing practice by using a vision from her NDE to create the Scarlit Center, a global movement helping people connect to their bodies’ inner wisdom through workshops, movement, and nourishment to enable them to lead luminous lives. Melinda lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her daughter, son in spirit, husband, and poodle. She prefers tea over coffee, always takes an opportunity to pet a dog, and enjoys a nearby unfrozen lake via paddle board and frozen lake via ice skates.
Maria Lupita Gurule >> Maria survived death after giving birth to her second child on June 5, 2000, when she spent eight eternal minutes in heaven reconnecting with her StarPurpose. This experience awakened her dormant extrasensory abilities and helped prepare her for the reality-bending, transformative experiences that followed. Maria Lupita is a world-renowned thought leader, wisdom keeper, and intuitive soul reader (psychic medium). She has spent nearly 25 years straddling two dimensions, accessing the Sacred Living Library meant to help people around the world ignite their light, learn the language of their souls, and discover their peace and purpose. Maria Lupita is considered a second-generation Star Being, incarnate on Earth as part of the second wave of volunteers who are ushering in the Golden Age of the New Earth. She is writing her first book.
Rafael Garcia >> Rafael is a Native American Shaman from Mexico residing in San Diego, California, with his wife Linda. He has a BA in International Business and has traveled the world for 20 years, living in 11 countries. In 2004, Rafael had a near-death experience and an awakening of consciousness that led him to understand the fabric of the Afterlife. Rafael now teaches about the Afterlife, Welcome Committee, Council of Light, Life Review, Life Lessons, Cycle of Reincarnation, and what happens after graduation from the Cycle of Reincarnation. Rafael has been a guest on several podcasts. His teachings assist people to understand that we are eternal beings and the stages of the evolution of the soul.
Joseph Banks >> Joseph has steered a small nonprofit organization in Portland, Oregon, called Pia Domu, which is Latin for “Loving Home.” Pia Domu aims to bring the loving warmth of the eternal Loving Home into one’s life and current experience and to promote the inspiration that by living one’s life to the fullest, one learns the true meaning of “Eternal Life.”
Laurie Majka >> Laurie has become a beacon of hope and inspiration through her YouTube channel where she interviews individuals with near-death experiences (NDEs) and transformative spiritual journeys. Her channel and artwork, focusing on spiritual awakening and the power of personal connections beyond death, has touched millions worldwide. Laurie’s most profound spiritual journey began with the passing of her Soul Mate Mark, the lead guitarist for Starship, whose signs from the beyond have profoundly transformed her life. Author of Signs Surround You – Love Never Dies, Laurie shares her and Mark’s love story and the hundreds of signs she’s received, showcasing the enduring power of love. Her work, including over 150 videos and 400 inspirational paintings, aims to awaken Souls to the omnipresence of their loved ones and the eternal nature of love.
Connie Fusella >> Connie is a professional evidential psychic medium and spiritual teacher who serves a worldwide clientele. A natural born medium, she began seeing and hearing Spirit as a small child. Her second NDE in her early 20s guided her on a spiritual journey toward her current vocation. Connie’s passion and soul’s purpose are to bring love, healing, and comfort to others through highly evidential and meaningful Spirit communications, validating that our departed loved ones and pets never leave us. In April 2021, Connie became a Certified Medium with The Forever Family Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the understanding of afterlife science through research and education while providing support and healing for the bereaved. She volunteers her mediumship for grief retreats, fundraisers, Signs of Life Radio, and charities and is featured as “The Psychic Next Door” in the book She Shines, a collection of interviews and stories about unique and inspirational women.
Sarina Baptista >> Sarina is an author, international speaker, spiritual teacher, and evidential psychic medium. She has two award-winning books, Finding Love and Purpose, and My View From Heaven. She was a featured speaker for the “Life, Death, and Beyond” International Conference in Crete, Greece, and has presented at IANDS conferences. Sarina discovered her gifts through her own tragedy: the passing of her seven-year-old son in March 2007. She learned that her son did not really die. Rather, he was still very close, and he led her to her incredible gifts.
Janice Miner Holden >> Jan grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with honors from the University of Illinois, she taught high school psychology for 11 years and was a high school counselor for one year while she earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in counselor education at Northern Illinois University. Since completing her EdD in 1988, she served 31 years on the University of North Texas (UNT) Counseling Program faculty—12 of those years as chair of the Department of Counseling & Higher Education. In 2019 she retired as professor emerita of Counseling. Beginning with her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Holden’s primary research focus has been counseling implications of near-death experiences, after-death communication, and other transpersonal experiences—those that transcend the usual personal limits of space, time, identity, and influence. In this research area she has over 50 refereed journal publications and over 100 national and international presentations; served as lead editor of the 2009 Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation, and co-edited the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling’s (ASERVIC’s) 2017 Connecting Soul, Spirit, Mind, and Body: A Collection of Spiritual and Religious Perspectives and Practices in Counseling. Since 2008 she has served as editor-in-chief of the International Association for Near-Death Studies’s (IANDS’s) scholarly Journal of Near-Death Studies. She is a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and an American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE [pronounced “assist”]) Certified Mental Health Professional. For her career-long research on and advocacy for people who have had transpersonal experiences, Jan was awarded ASERVIC’s 2013 Research Award and the American Counseling Association’s 2015 Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person. For her outstanding and sustained contributions to scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service, Jan received the UNT Foundation’s 2019 Eminent Faculty Award, one of the highest faculty achievements whose recipient serves as an inspiration for the entire UNT community. In early 2020, Jan served for 10 days as an International Visiting Scholar at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Since 2020 she has served as IANDS’s president.
Aaron Sabori >> Aaron Sabori is a member of the Gila River Indian Community. His parents were the late Manuel and Marjorie Sabori. He was raised in the Village of Komatke in District Six. Aaron is an artist, who utilizes his Akimel O’Odham culture to design jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and murals. He is best known for creating art pieces from the Saguaro Cactus rib. Aaron has worked for the Gila River Indian Community as a paralegal both at the Office of Water Rights and the Defense Service Office. Aaron credits his Grandfather, Francis Peters, and various elders in Komatke and Santa Cruz village for teaching him about the Akimel O’odham culture. He has shared his knowledge to encourage cultural immersion throughout the community by demonstrating his artwork and providing technical consultation to Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) entities.
Felice DiMartino >> Felice is an international speaker, educational consultant, spiritual mentor, and soul-full guide committed to collaboratively creating experiences of self-empowerment and personal transformation. Eight years ago, after a series of traumatic events that threw her into Resiliency Bootcamp, Felice was hit by a truck. In addition to sustaining multiple injuries, she had a near-death experience during which she was shown the nature of life, death, and the spaces between. Returning with activated extrasensory awareness and continued connection with higher realms of light, Felice combines her personal journey of resiliency; 30 years as a Montessori educator; in-depth study with spiritual teachers and indigenous elders; certifications in several healing modalities including yoga, meditation, and mindfulness; neuroscience technologies; and insights gleaned in her NDE to assist adults of all ages in cultivating a deeper connection with their spiritual self and an alignment of body, mind, and soul.
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IANDS is the original organization dedicated to supporting experiencers, educating interested people, and researching the near-death and related spiritual experiences.
IANDS is the original organization dedicated to supporting experiencers, educating interested people, and researching the near-death and related spiritual experiences.
