Red is a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education Leadership at Oakland University in Rochester, MI.

His doctoral research focuses on the phenomena of grief and bereavement among students in higher education environments and ways administrators can best support students who experience loss.

Red serves as the co-chair of the Students and New Professionals Committee within the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and is co-founder of Arrow Academic Consulting, a social entrepreneurship firm that advocates for and provides assistance to students and scholars from diverse backgrounds, including first-generation students, international students, and veterans.

Rene has served in leadership positions at multiple local, state, and national nonprofits, overseeing the development of peer-support programs and educational initiatives for families of children with special health care needs and medical complexity.

Her work has aimed to bridge the gap between science and community practice, ensuring that families have access to evidence-based resources and systems of support that help them make informed care decisions and improve quality of life and well-being.

Following the death of her youngest daughter, Rene’s interests expanded to include the field of bereavement research and its translation into quality care for grieving individuals and families.

Amelia is a medical student at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She received her undergraduate degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, where she was a Division I Student-Athlete.

She then attended Georgetown University for her Master’s in Aging Healthcare and Economics, focusing on long-term care policy. Now in medical school, Amelia works in Medicaid policy and Ophthalmology research.

Amelia loves to walk marathons, make jewelry, and bake cookies (always forgetting to add the eggs and sugar).

Jean has more than 20 years experience as a management consultant, applying social network principles and techniques to help companies improve performance and employee well-being. Her clients have included Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies, global financial institutions, and leading technology firms.

Jean works with Evermore to help build operational capability and organizational growth. She also applies her background in the study of social networks to research on the impacts of bereavement on social connection. She holds a bachelors degree in chemical engineering, an MBA, and a PhD in human and organizational systems.

Ms. Mazyck is a highly respected and accomplished nursing professional who has spent over three decades advocating for the health and well-being of children in schools across the United States. As the Executive Director of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) from 2011 to 2023, Mazyck led an expansion of the influence and impact of our nation’s school nurses in addressing student and school community health and safety. She oversaw the creation of the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice, which defined the role of student-centered school nursing and its complex mix of community/public health, leadership, care coordination, quality improvement, and standards of practice components. Since 2003, she has volunteered in providing support to bereaved individuals in communities.

Mr. Purvis is a seasoned financial management professional with over 30 years of leadership experience at organizations including WETA, Discovery Communications, GE, and CarMax. He has proven expertise in financial analysis, relationship management, process improvement, and operations. As a former Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Purvis oversaw finance, accounting, building services, and IT, providing strategic fiscal guidance. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Discovery Communications, managing over $3.4 billion in revenue. A University of Richmond graduate, he resides in Kensington, Maryland, with his wife, three children, and their dog, Oreo.

Ms. Aron has spent over 25 years conducting research and policy analysis on a wide range of social welfare issues, including health and disability, education, employment and training, homelessness, and family violence. Her work focuses on how social and economic conditions shape health and well-being, and how social welfare programs can best support healthy human development across the life course and over time and place. Drawing on diverse research methods, she has conducted national program evaluations, field research, survey designs, data analyses, and reviews of the literature for many foundations and federal agencies, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Council on Disability, the Social Security Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development.

In 2013, Ms. Aron was appointed to the first Board of Visitors of Howard University’s School of Education. She holds degrees in Mathematics (BSc) from McGill University and Demography (MA) from the University of Pennsylvania and is fluent in French and Farsi.

Ms. Aron has served on the Evermore Board of Directors.

Ms. Brooks is passionate about helping leaders, teams and organizations thrive through learning, change management and operational excellence. Every role in her career has cultivated this passion as she never stops learning and adapting her approach to maximize impact every day. Ms. Brooks has led sales and functional teams, built and managed sales enablement capabilities, designed strategies to create learning cultures and standards of excellence, and built programs and processes that systematize the best ideas to accelerate performance. She has done this at several preeminent global companies, including Ernst & Young, Charles Schwab, Well Fargo Private Bank, and BlackRock, in the US and globally.

Today, Ms. Brooks continues this work as a Learning and Sales Enablement Leader at Capital Group. Capital Group Private Client Services is a privately-owned wealth management firm committed to delivering premium, personalized service and superior long-term investment results to wealthy individuals, multi-generational families, nonprofits and foundations, with the goal to help them create the impact they want their wealth to have on their families, communities and the world. Capital Group Private Client Services is backed by the global resources of Capital Group—one of the world’s oldest and largest asset management firms, with nearly 8,000 employees in offices around the world and $2.3 trillion under management.

Ms. Hawkins is a steadfast community leader who has dedicated her life to advancing the health and well-being of her local community, Anacostia, located less than five miles from Capitol Hill and the White House. The community copes with systemic hardships pervading every aspect of life. To address and mitigate the challenges she witnessed in Anacostia, she left her federal financial analyst position to provide services and support to her neighbors. From gun violence to poverty, Ms. Hawkins has provided child care to financial support to families facing some of life’s toughest challenges. In 2015, Ms. Hawkins’ son, Alvin, who was affectionately known as Momo, was shot. The injury rendered him paraplegic, wheelchair-bound, and navigating Anacostia with a handicap. Eight months later, Momo died by suicide, and Ms. Hawkins lost her ability to make his dreams happen. As a bereaved mother, Ms. Hawkins has developed artistic and restorative programming for fellow mothers and women who are actively grieving their losses. For over a decade, Ms. Hawkins’ work for Bread for the City, a non-profit providing direct service support and championing equity, spans several portfolios, including story collection, organizing, wellness, and information technology.

Mr. Higgs is a veteran, engineer, business executive, and published author. He has more than 25 years of experience in leadership, operations, engineering management, and program management. During his time in the Navy, Mr. Higgs served as a Naval Flight Officer and a Program Management & Acquisition Professional. He received numerous awards throughout his career for his leadership, accomplishments, and participation in major US military operations. He has worked in several industries and held leadership positions in startups, small companies, and large corporations. In addition to his professional work, Mr. Higgs serves his community in many ways. He served a five-year term on the King County Library System Board of Trustees and was selected as President for calendar year 2021. Since 2020 he has served as a member of the Seafair Board of Directors. Seafair is a nonprofit organization that sponsors the multi-week Seafair Festival in Seattle featuring over 30 sanctioned events that reach more than two million people.

Mr. Higgs holds a BS in Mathematics from the US Naval Academy, an MS in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a certificate in Engineering Flight Test from the US Naval Test Pilot School.

Ms. Krauchunas is steadfast in her commitment to the well-being and advancement of her family of nine and the nation. As the spouse of a former military officer and formerly a devout Christian, Ms. Krauchunas unconditionally supported her family through nearly a dozen moves, and two deployments, and attended to all the educational needs of her seven children through homeschooling. To build character, cultivate empathy, and install faith among her children, she used a combination of religion and literature-based learning to develop acumen, citizenship, and initiative. Her eldest children have achieved much success, including degrees in Architecture, Mathematics, and Education (tentative graduation May 2025). In November 2021, Ms. Krauchunas’ son, Caleb, was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way home from college classes. Caleb was a proud member of the Army’s Reserve Officers’ Training Course for two years and looked forward to serving his country, like his father. With a curious mind, exceptional mathematical talents, and an avid baseball athlete, Caleb looked forward to making a difference in the world and becoming a devoted family husband and father, thus emulating his own mother’s dedication. The University of Texas at San Antonio established the Caleb Scott Krauchunas Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Mathematics has been established in his honor. His death has irrevocably impacted the close-knit Krauchunas family.

Steven A. Lerman

Steven A. Lerman is a communications and entertainment lawyer, nonprofit leader, fundraiser, philanthropist, and mentor whose career has focused on leadership, service, and creating opportunities for others. He is Senior Counsel to Lerman Senter PLLC, a Washington, DC communications law firm founded in 1982, where he previously served as Managing Partner from 2000 through 2017.

Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Lerman has advised major media companies, radio networks, broadcast executives, and on-air talent on corporate, regulatory, transactional, and First Amendment matters. He served as Outside General Counsel to CBS Radio Inc. from 2000 to 2008, when the company operated nearly 180 radio stations in 30 markets. He has also served as a Board  Director of several publicly traded and privately held media companies, including Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, Premiere Radio Networks, and Westwood One, where he served on the Audit Committee.

His professional accomplishments have earned him numerous honors, including listings in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Washington, DC Super Lawyers. He also received the prestigious Joseph Wharton Award from the Wharton Club of Washington, DC, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Distinguished Leadership Award for his work on a major scholarship initiative.

His education includes a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at Penn and a Juris Doctor Degree, with high honors,  from George Washington University Law School.

Nonprofit Leadership and Fundraising

Mr. Lerman has devoted substantial time to nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and mentoring. He currently serves as the longtime Chair of Active Minds,  a preeminent national organization focused on improving mental health awareness and support among students. He has served on the organization’s Board for 15 years and as Chair for more than a decade, helping guide its growth and strategic direction.

Fundraising has been an important part of his philanthropic involvement. At the University of Pennsylvania, he co-chaired a $7.5 million Scholarship Initiative, personally identifying, cultivating, and soliciting donors in collaboration with the University’s development team. He also helped establish several individual endowed scholarships and served as a director and Vice President of Development of Penn’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Advisory Board. He also served for many years on the Dean’s Board of Advisors at GW Law School.

Mr. Lerman’s approach to fundraising is grounded in personal relationships. He enjoys opening doors, connecting people to meaningful causes, making the case for support, and engaging prospective donors directly. He brings an extensive professional and personal network and substantial experience in developing the trust and relationships that lead to philanthropic commitments. His core strength is networking people from different disciplines.

He also is extremely proud to have co-founded and chair the Newton South High School Alumni Scholarship and Mentoring Program, established by the Class of 1965 in 2011.  The program provides college scholarships as well as intensive mentoring to high school graduates who may lack the resources and support available to many of their peers. Over 15 years, he has personally mentored 22 young people, maintaining relationships that extend through college, graduate school, and beyond. He currently mentors ten students in college, three in graduate school and nine who graduated college and are now gainfully employed. His mentees have a 100% college graduation rate, in which he takes great pride.

Personal Connection to Bereavement

Mr. Lerman’s interest in bereavement and the needs of grieving individuals and families is deeply personal. His father died unexpectedly when Steve was 12 years old. At the time, he recalls being frightened, disoriented, and unsure how to navigate a world that had suddenly changed for him and his family. In 1959, professional support and counseling were not as readily available—and were not always welcomed—as they are today. Thus, he had to soldier on and forge his own path.

In the first chapter of his published memoir, “The Enchanted Path: My Unexpected Journey from Loss to Leadership”, Mr. Lerman reflects on how the experience of the untimely death of his father ultimately contributed to his development of independence, leadership skills, determination, and resilience. But he also recognizes that becoming stronger does not eliminate the fear, confusion, isolation, and grief that can accompany the unexpected loss of a parent, sibling, or other loved one.

His experiences as a lawyer, nonprofit leader, philanthropist, and mentor have reinforced his belief that people facing profound loss or hardship—whether it be an under-resourced mentee, a student struggling with their mental health, or someone enduring grief from the untimely loss of a loved one–need practical support, understanding, equity, and sustained human connection. Through his mentoring relationships, he has repeatedly encountered young people dealing with difficult family circumstances and the lasting effects of loss and has helped these mentees cope with their myriad issues and move ahead successfully. And he is acutely aware, from his own personal experience,  that bereavement affects adults, including children, spouses, siblings, and entire family systems.

Mr. Lerman lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife, Charla. They are the very proud parents of four children and grandparents of four grandchildren.

Mr. Mickens is a hardworking American who logs an estimated 3,000 miles a week on our nation’s highway systems delivering everything from household supplies to military equipment. Over the course of his 22-year career in commercial truck driving, he has driven nearly 3.5 million miles, sometimes driving for three consecutive weeks. Grief and bereavement have been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.

Mr. Mickens enjoys seeing America firsthand and meeting everyday Americans from all walks of life. While observing the many cultural traditions the United States has to offer, Mr. Mickens cultivates dialogue and friendships with most people he meets. He is eager to lend a helping hand and challenge the status quo even when it is not popular to do so. Mr. Mickens is a persistent optimist, a father of two spunky children, and a fan of the 49ers and the University of Miami football.

Mark Mioduski brings three decades of Washington, D.C. appropriations, policy, and legislative experience in the legislative and executive branches, as well as the private sector. Mark is one of the firm’s founding partners and co-leads the health practice at Cornerstone Government Affairs, where he assists non-profit public health associations, coalitions, healthcare providers, and for-profit companies with federal appropriations, authorizing legislation, and general representation.

In a career dedicated to mission, Ms. Barton Reeves advocates for improving the lives of those in need. She effectively and strategically leads complex organizations and engages a wide variety of stakeholders in meeting and exceeding expectations.

In 2020, Ms. Barton Reeves was unanimously selected as the inaugural CEO of Connecticut’s Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Authority. She started and administers a $400 million program, offering some of the most generous paid family medical leave benefits in the country. She assembled a team that stood up the Paid Leave Authority on time, under budget, in the midst of a pandemic.

Ms. Riordan-Nold is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData). She is responsible for executing the vision and strategy of CTData which is a user-driven, non-profit corporation that educates, liberates, curates, and democratizes data for public consumption to help drive planning, policy, budgeting and decision making in Connecticut. In her tenure at CTData, she has grown the organization from 1 full time staff person to a team of 12. In addition, she has created and developed new data service offerings including but not limited to, launching the CTData Academy which is focused on individual and organizational data literacy skills; building an integrated data system called the Hartford Data Collaborative; and launching a social enterprise, CTData Strategic Planning, a unique data capacity-building service focused on helping nonprofit organizations turn data into a strategic asset.

Ms. Riordan-Nold holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Boston College and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. In her career, she has had the opportunity to work in all sectors of the economy – private, nonprofit, and government. Her policy interests are broad but her passion is in using data to help drive policy decision-making.

Mr. Schlaifer’s distinguished career spans both public service and private endeavors. He is an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, a distinction reserved for only the top ten percent of attorneys. He is co-editor of The Law and Business of Resort Development and a prolific writer, with over 280 published articles and a monthly column for over 20 years on vital business and legal issues in the resort and hospitality industry. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for his decade of service at the Federal Trade Commission.

Mr. Schlaifer is equally dedicated to serving his community and nation. He is a long-term leader in Rotary, his residential HOA, and served as an honorary Ambassador for Liberation Route Europe, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in 2019 and V-E Day in 2020. He has also received the Wharton School’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Service and the Wharton Club’s Joseph Wharton Award, its highest honor. He holds degrees from the Wharton Business School and Harvard Law School.

Dr. Sepulveda is a Distinguished Professor at Florida International University, and CEO of CLARALUZ LLC, a health, data, technology, and analytics consulting firm. He is a senior executive advisor to Fortune 500 and health technology start-up companies and the retired Vice President of Health Systems and Policy Research, IBM Research Division.

Prior to this post, Dr. Sepulveda served as IBM Vice President of Integrated Health Services and led health policy and strategy, health benefits innovation and purchasing, occupational health and well-being services for IBM globally. He is currently on the membership committee of the National Academy of Medicine, and boards of advisors for UPENN School of Nursing, the University of Iowa College of Public Health, the Council for Health Research for Development, and the Harvard Center for Work, Health, and Well-being.

Dr. Stith has long championed advancing evidence-based science into policy and legislation to eliminate discrimination and advance equity. She led dozens of major reports from the National Academies of Science (NAS), including Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life and Psychosocial Interventions for Mental and Substance Use Disorders: A Framework for Establishing Evidence-Based Standards. She also served in leadership roles on NAS reports on the nursing workforce, regenerative medicine, family planning, preterm birth, the psychological consequences of terrorism, diversity in the health care workforce, and racial and ethnic disparities in health care.

Prior to her work at the Academies, she was the James Marshall Public Policy Scholar, a fellowship sponsored by the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Dr. Stith is a clinical psychologist and received a doctorate in 1997 from the University of Vermont. She completed postdoctoral fellowships in adolescent medicine and pediatric psychology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York.

Dr. Stith has served on the Evermore Board of Directors.

Born with muscular dystrophy, Carole Zoom has been involved in the disability rights movement since the 1980s. As executive director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Zoom helped organize the passage of the ADA, the Air Carrier Access Act, and other legislation. She was also the international leadership exchange coordinator for Mobility International USA. In the past three years, she has traveled to 25 countries and been interviewed by National Public Radio on international travel issues. Her travel and disability writing has been published in the Washington Post, AARP Magazine, and New Mobility.