Terry Hershey is an author, humorist, inspirational speaker, dad, and ordained minister. He divides his time between designing sanctuary gardens and sharing his practice of “pausing” and “sanctuary,” to help us rest, renew, and live wholehearted. Terry’s book, This Is the Life, offers the invitation and permission to savor this life, to taste the present moment. Most days, you can find Terry out in his garden – on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound – because he believes that there is something fundamentally spiritual about dirt under your fingernails.

Mary T. O’Neill has over 30 years of experience with training Ministry students for national board certification as Chaplains and spiritual care providers to patients, families and staff persons in healthcare. She is certified as a Pastoral Educator through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. Mary T. is also a Licensed Therapeutic Massage Therapist and has worked many years in care for persons struggling with illness, disability and the diminishment of age. For 18 years, Mary was employed as the Assistant Administrator/Director of Pastoral Services at Calvary Hospital in Bronx, NY, a specialty palliative care hospital that emphasizes care for the whole person, body, mind and spirit. Her recent employment for 13 years was with Catholic Health Services of Long Island (CHSLI), NY, as VP for Spiritual Care and Pastoral Education. Catholic Health Services is a health system that covers a wide spectrum of health and behavioral services. She received her master's degree from St. Louis University and her Doctor of Ministry from New York Theological Seminary. She is currently actively retired and living in Maryland.

Denise currently serves as the Executive Director of the Supportive Care Coalition - a partnership of Catholic health care ministries from across the U.S. committed to advancing excellence in palliative care. Denise comes to the Coalition with over a decade of experience in palliative care clinical practice and organizational leadership. She is also a licensed psychotherapist, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a palliative care chaplain. She is happily married with two amazing adult children.

Ed is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator in two states, with more than 40 years of both clinical and administrative experience in healthcare. He holds a BS in Health Care Administration from Excelsior College, a PGDip in Dementia Studies from the University of Bradford, and an MA of Theology from Saint Leo University. Additionally, Ed is an ordained permanent deacon in the Catholic Church and is assigned to Saint Benedict Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia.

Clare L. Horn received her undergraduate degree from Marymount College, Tarrytown, NY, a M.S. Ed. from Hofstra University and a M.S.W. from Fordham University where she also completed her doctoral courses. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State. She holds membership in the Academy of Certified Social Workers and National Association of Social Workers. 

She has worked with the elderly and served as Director of Social Work for over 25 years in Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Centers. In November 2016 under Ms. Horn’s leadership at The New Jewish Home the dementia unit received Comfort Matters Accreditation. Ms. Horn has educated staff and families in palliative care and the ‘person-directed care’ program.  She has presented at conferences and meetings on topics related to social work, dementia, palliative and person- centered care. 

She currently serves on the board directors of Marian Woods, Marian Woods, an Adult Care Facility and Convent for religious women in Westchester County. She is on the faculty of the Avila Institute of Gerontology

Dr. Sasha Speer, DPT is a physical therapist and an artist. She has worked with patients ages 18-106 around the country since 2008, treating a variety of diagnosis from spinal cord injuries to pneumonia and back pain. In her experiences, she found that her love of the human body and her love of art created a more positive, uplifting, healing experience for her patients. She is bringing both gifts together with her Dr. Sasha brand to uplift, inspire, and heal.

 Dr. Sasha gained a more profound understanding of the power of the human mind in relation to healing beginning in 2012, when her own body failed her after the passing of her father. She found herself as an expert of the human body in a world of medicine, lacking the answers she needed to heal. After seeking advice from physicians, surgeons, therapists, and other practitioners, she realized her answer was not within the traditional medical practices. Desperate to heal her body, Dr. Sasha delved into reading book after book, and bit by bit she was not only able to finally heal herself but she found she was having a more profound impact on the patients she treated. She now incorporates mindset practices in her healing as she feels it is the most critical factor to healing and feeling whole.

Dr. Sasha has brought these practices into two programs: Strong & Steady, addressing the needs of the frail elderly, which was co-created with help from the Sisters and Staff at the Carondelet Center in Los Angeles; and YOUNGER, a daily mindset and exercise program geared at preventing many of the signs and symptoms of aging.