Meet Our Members

We are the Orange County Deathworkers Alliance, a collective of compassionate professionals dedicated to supporting individuals and families navigating the complexities of end-of-life experiences.

Our diverse membership includes caregivers, medical doctors, death doulas, photographers, writers, artists, and other end-of-life practitioners. Each member brings a unique perspective and set of skills, united by a shared commitment to making the end-of-life process less daunting and more human.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

Each individual listed here takes a unique approach to service. These professionals offer a variety of services designed to help ease the process before, during, and after a death.

 

Death Doulas/End-of-Life Practitioners:

  • Services provided by a death doula range from pre-planning to education and support throughout the dying process, as well as after-death rituals and home celebrations.

  • ​A doula can help locate appropriate resources, including hospices, caregivers, palliative care, assisted living, legal support, medical aid in dying (MAID), green burial and body composting options, cremation, and more.

  • Engaging a doula can encompass a life review, making end-of-life choices and documents, developing legacy projects such as videos, memory books, letters, photos, and art for loved ones, and envisioning plans for one's final days.

Physicians Offering Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD):

  • California's End of Life Option Act went into effect on June 9, 2016. The law allows mentally capable, terminally ill patients to request "Medical Aid in Dying" - a prescription for a medication that will end their life at their own chosen time. MAiD is currently legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C.

  • More information is available here: Compassion And Choices

  • Personal stories shared by Californians: Testimonials

* Please note that engaging any of these providers for consultation or services is the choice of the user. The OC Deathworkers Alliance makes no claims as to the compatibility of the user's expectations, needs, and satisfaction with the selected consultant. We suggest you ask questions, consider your options carefully, and aim to find the right provider that matches your needs, budget, and personality.

 

Legacy Artists

Palliative and Alternative Care Providers:

Art, photography, and an artful online presence are beautiful ways to honor a person's life and connect the people who loved them.

Offering pain and symptom management alongside holistic approaches to ensure comfort and dignity.​

 

“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot. What is grief if not love persevering? ”

— Jamie Anderson

OUR MEMBERS

Smiling person with short blonde hair and black turtleneck

Barbara McMurrary
End-of-Life Consultant

Andrea Deerheart
Founder of The HeartWay

Guiding people in planning end-of-life choices by connecting them to resources, enabling them to focus on what truly matters and transition with grace and dignity.

Smiling woman with gray hair wearing a floral dress outdoors

End-of-Life Care, Advocacy & PlanningGrief Counseling. Healing Meditations, ceremonies, funerals & Memorial Services. Medical Aid In Dying Ingestion Planning & Support.

Dr. Donald Moore
End-of-Life Physician

Smiling man in light blue shirt in front of a blurred green background.

Judith Lannaccone
End-Of-Life Practitioner

Dr. Donald Moore, MD is an end-of-life physician with extensive experience in Medical Aid in Dying. Comprehensive end-of-life services tailored to meet your individual needs to ensure a dignified, peaceful, and personal experience.

Smiling woman wearing a colorful top, leaning on a large tree branch outdoors.

Heart-centered guidance and emotional, spiritual, and practical support to individuals and families navigating the end-of-life journey. Trained by INELDA and The HeartWay, she meets clients exactly where they are, serving the whole person and supporting their loved ones. Compassionate companionship, End-of-life choices and documents, Intuitive Support: Reiki and Yoga Nidra, Practical resources and referrals.

Nicole Simon
End-Of-Life Practitioner

Woman with curly blonde hair wearing glasses and a black hat, smiling outdoors near white railing steps.

Grief support, Reiki, Sound baths, Community circles. It was enlightening to discover that I could befriend my nervous system and help myself feel more calm, peaceful, present & powerful through Breathwork, Sound Therapy, Reiki, and Coaching. I’m so confident in the benefits of these practices that I have now invested time in training to share them with others.

Nick Schiavoni, M.D.
Palliative Care Consultant

Smiling doctor wearing glasses and a lab coat with a tie.

Anesthesiologist with a passion for palliative care and innovative therapies. Currently working to offer ketamine-assisted therapy for end-of-life patients, collaborating with specialists in palliative care, psychiatry, and integrative medicine to develop comprehensive, compassionate, and personalized treatment plans.

Jackie Jou Kim
Area Director, Arosa Orange County. Caregiving and Care Management

Smiling woman with long dark hair and a beige shirt against a plain background.

Arosa is a premier provider of integrated care management and home care services for seniors in Orange County. We help navigate through the aging journey’s toughest challenges with customized care plans that meets the needs and wishes of your loved ones.

Rickie Redman
The Artful End

Smiling woman with long dark hair and red lipstick wearing a dark top.

Empowers individuals to discover and embrace their own version of aging and death. Practical support, guidance in navigating family dynamics, referrals, advocacy, death education, memoir writing, and end-of-life planning. Aging in place specialist for older adults welcoming people of all ages and the LGBTQ+ community.

Christina Shook
Photographer / Archivist

A person with long gray hair wearing a dark sweatshirt, sitting in front of a backdrop of rocks and blue water.

Vintage Human Photo Stories: Capturing long, well-lived lives. Photographing aging and elderly people led to helping document and digitally preserve a legacy.

Christina Lerchen
Online Legacy Creation - The Memories Remain.

Smiling woman with wavy hair, wearing green earrings and a floral top.

The Memories Remain is a simple, heartfelt app that helps people tell their stories before they're gone. It allows you to create a personal online memoir filled with memories, messages, photos, and more. It’s not about death. It’s about honoring life, in your own words, while you’re still here.

 

OUR APPROACH

“We are all just walking each other home.”

-Ram Dass

We believe that confronting death with openness and support can transform a typically isolating experience into one of connection and meaning. Our approach is grounded in empathy, respect, and a deep understanding of the varied cultural and personal attitudes toward death and dying.​

GET INVOLVED.

If you offer end-of-life services and are interested in joining our alliance, or if you seek assistance and would like to learn more about our members, please reach out to us. We are here to support and guide you through this journey

 
 

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to provide comprehensive, empathetic support to those facing their own mortality or that of a loved one. We aim to demystify the end-of-life process, offering resources, guidance, and companionship to ease the journey.