Life and Death in NYC: Learning to Die Well and Live Now

UPDATE NOV 3: This event is currently at capacity, but we expect a few tickets to open up. Please feel free to…

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Death is the one reality we all share—yet it’s the one we most often leave unspoken.

Life & Death in New York City is a one-day summit that brings this conversation into the open, exploring mortality and meaning as a path toward living more fully. Together at the historic Parish of Calvary-St. George’s in Gramercy, we’ll gather for presentations, communal conversations, immersive experiences, and a shared meal—all designed to illuminate how we may prepare for death in ways that are beautifully hospitable, deeply human, and grounded in hope. 

What to Expect

We will approach learning about death holistically, exploring themes of lament and joy, head and body, heart and hands, while also gaining practical tools for the end-of-life journey.

The day includes:

• Plenary sessions with keynote speakers drawn from our network of industry and thought leaders
• Two breakout sessions with hands-on workshops, creative activities, and contemplative practices, facilitated by local end-of-life practitioners and educators
• A communal lunch, gathering around the table to feast, reflect, and practice presence together

Schedule Overview

• 9:30 am – Check-in and coffee
• 10:00 am – Plenary Session #1
• 11:00 am – Workshop Session #1
• 12:00 pm – Workshop Session #2
• 1:00 pm – Lunch Together
• 2:00 pm – Plenary Session #2
• 3:00 pm – Closing Words

Speakers & Presenters

Emma Acker | End-of-Life Doula & Founder, All’s Well Initiative

Emma Acker has been working as an End-of-Life Doula since 2017. She trained under Henry Fersko-Weiss (INELDA), and completed the End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate at The University of Vermont. In 2021, Emma founded All’s Well Initiative to provide compassionate end-of-life care across the socioeconomic spectrum of NYC. Partnering with the Pathways Program at All Angels’ Church on NYC’s Upper West Side, Emma created the Health Care “Proxy Project” supporting unhoused individuals. Emma joined University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate Program as an academic instructor in 2025. She is a founding team member of Here to Honor. 

John Asirvatham | Spiritual Care Preceptor, VNS Health Hospice NYC

John Asirvatham, M.Div., is a member of the parish of Calvary-St. George’s, and serves as the Spiritual Care Preceptor for VNS Health Hospice in NYC. He mentors chaplains, supports families at the end of life, and preaches regularly at his church. He and his wife Kylee live in New York City, where they enjoy cooking and hosting dinner parties.

Katie Benn, MPH, RN | Clinical Nurse, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Katie Benn works at Memorial Sloan Kettering as an oncology nurse with an emphasis on palliative care. Her interest in end-of-life work has come from years of bedside nursing in a culture that remains uncomfortable discussing end-of-life planning. Katie recently published her research Caregiver Perceptions of the Transitions from In-patient to Home Based End of Life Care. She has a background in public health research ranging from collecting mosquitos in Virginia to track West Nile Virus, to working with school districts in Colorado to promote sun-safe school policies, to counseling NYC taxicab drivers on ways to improve health and well-being.

Marni Blank | End-of-Life & After Loss Consultant, Begin With The End

Marni Blank is the founder of Begin With The End. Her services are curated to empower individuals and families to prepare for logistical and emotional aspects of death, dying, and grief. This can include accountability in completing end-of-life decisions and documents, facilitating family conversations, getting your important documents and digital life organized, and legacy projects. For families in grief, she offers after loss support to help executors and families work through the paperwork and logistics to close the estate. She is a trained end-of-life doula, mediator, after-loss consultant, recovering lawyer, and female-founded small business owner (and a lifelong learner at heart).

Chris Dingman | Musician & Program Director, Transformations

Known for his distinctive approach to a unique instrument, vibraphonist Chris Dingman has worked with legendary artists Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and many of today’s jazz, creative, and world music luminaries. Working in NYC since 2002, Chris’s trajectory changed when, in 2018, he improvised and recorded music as an act of care for his father in his final months of life. This music became the 5-hour album Peace. Since then, Chris has brought his special brand of healing music far and wide, from live sessions at Omega Institute and The Rubin Museum of Art, to talks for the Gold Foundation and the American College of Physicians, and since 2022 to the online series Transformations.

Lydia Dugdale, MD, MAR | Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, Columbia University

Dr. Lydia Dugdale is the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is also Co-Director of Clinical Ethics at NewYork-Presbyterian Milstein Hospital. A physician and medical ethicist, Lydia speaks and publishes widely, including in outlets such as The Free Press, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. She published the book The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom with HarperOne and has a forthcoming book on hope. Lydia attended medical school at the University of Chicago, completed residency training at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and holds a MAR in ethics from Yale Divinity School.

Sarah Gerth | Dean of City Learning Ecology, City Seminary of New York

Sarah Gerth is a curriculum designer and researcher specializing in the role of senses, affects, and materiality in ways of knowing. Through her role as Dean of City Learning Ecology at City Seminary of New York, and Curator at CSNY’s Walls-Ortiz Gallery, she designs learning experiences at the intersection of creative practice, place, and theology. She is the co-founder of Shapes of Knowledge, an experimental studio for knowledge design, and she shares ways to spark learning anywhere you find yourself, at the podcast Curriculum Encounters. 

Erica Hill | Founder, Sparrow

Erica Hill is the co-owner of Sparrow, A Contemporary Funeral Home in Brooklyn, NY, and of The Alpha Society by Sparrow in Los Angeles, CA. She is also a licensed funeral director in California. Erica brings a modern, thoughtful approach to end-of-life care. Whether arranging traditional funerals, memorials, or innovative eco-friendly options such as aquamation and human composting, her commitment to dignity and respect remains unwavering. As the only funeral home of its kind in the country, Sparrow is redefining the funeral experience with a warm, design-forward space and a focus on inclusivity, transparency, and innovation. Sparrow has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, NBC, Morning Brew, and Good Housekeeping.

David Kim | CEO and Co-founder, Goldenwood

Rev. Dr. David Kim is the CEO and co-founder of Goldenwood, a non-profit cultivating spiritually attentive communities to envision work enlivened by hope and the fullness of our humanity. Over the past several decades, David has trained, consulted, and counseled hundreds of leaders and organizations in developing a robust, meaningful integration of faith and work. He has served as the Vice President of Faith and Work, Executive Director of the Center for Faith & Work and Director of the Gotham Fellowship, and as Editor of the NIV Faith and Work Bible. David’s passion is to help people and organizations see the unseen realities that give rise to the world we create.

Katy McNulty | Director of Operations, Pixie Scout

Katy McNulty is the Director of Operations for Pixie Scout, a catering and hospitality company that she helped to found in 2014. She has a professional culinary background and spent many years cooking in some of New York City’s beloved restaurants. Katy is involved in several community-led projects addressing systemic food insecurity and serves on the Leadership Council for the NYC Food Policy Alliance.

Daphne McWilliams | End-of-Life Doula, Daphne Mac

Daphne McWilliams is an End-of-Life Doula who offers calm, compassionate presence to those navigating death and grief. Daphne received certificates in End-of-Life Doula Training under Henry Fersko-Weiss in 2023 and through the International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA) in 2024. She also received the Companion Animal End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate from the Osher Center for Integrative Health at The University of Vermont (2025). Her work honors each person’s story, helping them find meaning, comfort, and dignity in life’s final chapter.

Christopher Nicolson | Co-Founder/Partner, Iliamna Fish Company

Christopher Nicolson was born in Montana to a native Alaskan mother and an Australian father. Through his mother’s multigenerational and indigenous family fishing business, he has been a commercial fisherman in Alaska, during the summer months, since childhood. For the past 25 years, he has worked as a winemaker in California, Italy, and now in New York. He and his wife Emily (who manages and operates their family’s fish-selling business) live in Brooklyn, New York during the months of August through May, where Christopher makes wine from fruit grown on the North Fork of Long Island.

Eva Ting | Founder/CEO, Here to Honor

Eva Ting is the Founder/CEO of Here to Honor, a social enterprise that cultivates community around end-of-life learning through offering death education and hosting events. Prior to starting Here to Honor, Eva served as the Director of W83 Ministry Center at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. With a career in arts and events management spanning Boston, Shanghai, and New York, she is passionate about creating meaningful community experiences. Eva trained as an end-of-life doula with INELDA (International End-of-Life Doula Association), and she holds a B.A. in English and B.S. in journalism from Boston University, and an M.A. in visual arts administration from New York University.

Workshops

At registration, you can select your preferred workshop to attend for each session:

Planning Ahead for Solo Aging & Thriving
Many of us may find ourselves navigating our later years without a traditional family support system—perhaps single, widowed, divorced, or living far from relatives. In this practical and encouraging workshop, lawyer turned end-of-life doula Marni Blank will help participants identify personal support networks and create action plans for aging with confidence and joy.

Live Music: Transformations for Grief
You are invited to come as you are, with any kind of grief you may be carrying, for a session of meditative music performed by acclaimed vibraphonist Chris Dingman and facilitated with guided prompts by end-of-life doula Daphne McWilliams. You are encouraged to get comfortable—feel free to bring your own yoga mat or blanket, and some mats will be available for use as well.

From Life to Death: Mortality in Winemaking
Wine is often associated with conviviality, sometimes gladness. But the process of winemaking involves laying grapes to rest, and stages of decay, death…even rebirth. What can we glean from winemaking that speaks to our own mortality? Join winemaker Christopher Nicolson and chef Katy McNulty for a conversation around feasting and celebrating with the end in mind.

Sensing the City Walk (this workshop will take place outside)
Pause and practice attentiveness on this guided walk in the nearby Gramercy neighborhood with educator Sarah Gerth. Provided prompts will invite participants to slow down and hone their senses to become more present and attuned to their everyday surroundings.

How to Talk about End-of-Life Planning
Communicating one’s medical care preferences and final wishes is an important but often challenging process. In this introductory workshop, oncology nurse Katie Benn will provide overview knowledge, practical resources and professional insight to help participants ease into end-of-life conversations with family and friends.

Tickets & Registration

Your ticket includes: access to plenary sessions with keynote speakers, two workshops of your choice, a communal lunch, and guided experiences in a historic gathering space designed to nourish reflection, conversation, and community.

Ticket Cost: Choose your Tier – A Pricing Model Rooted in Generosity & Relationship

At Goldenwood, we believe in a gift economy—where our work and giving is not transactional but part of a relational and generative system. Like a root network, where some trees bear more fruit in one season and others in another, this pricing approach allows for a shared ecosystem of flourishing: some contribute more so that others may receive, and all are sustained together. Our tiered pricing model reflects this, and we invite you toparticipate in a way that reflects your own season and capacity.

1. Full Value (Sustainable Tier) – $135
Reflects the true cost and value—while balancing affordability—including the unseen work that makes this a meaningful and transformative experience. Includes lunch, sessions & materials.

2. Covering Costs (Supported Tier) – $100*
Covers only the essentials—venue, speakers, materials, and your meal—ensuring the program is financially viable. Includes lunch, sessions & materials.

3. Generative Giving – $165+
Goes beyond covering costs, helping make this event accessible to others and investing in the longer term flourishing of this work. Includes lunch, sessions & materials.

*If cost is a barrier, please reach out to hello@heretohonor.com—we’re happy to explore further scholarship options with you.

Sponsors (more to be added)

Thank you to our event sponsors:

GiveWillow
GiveWillow is on a mission to transform how people experience and support each other through grief. We offer the first-of-its-kind funeral registry, making it easier to show up for loss in a meaningful way.
🌐 GiveWillow.com

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The Parish of Calvary-St.George’s
Calvary-St. George’s is a historic New York City parish, proclaiming the faith of Christ and Him crucified.  We accomplish this through a ministry of word and sacrament so that people might faithfully live in this age, and in the age to come, have life everlasting.
🌐 calvarystgeorges.org

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Coda Estate Law PLLC
Coda Estate Law is a flat-fee estate planning and estate administration law firm serving clients in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
🌐 codaestatelaw.com

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NYC Senior Care Authority
Senior Care Authority helps older adults and their families make informed decisions about senior living and care. We provide senior living placement, eldercare consulting, and patient advocacy services.
🌐 seniorcareauthority.com

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Ford Financial Solutions, LLC
Fee-only financial planning with purpose. We believe money can and should bring wholeness to your life, family, and community.
🌐 fordfinancialsolutions.com

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Iliamna Fish Company
Iliamna Fish Co. is a family-owned, Indigenous cooperative from Bristol Bay, Alaska, offering sustainably harvested wild sockeye salmon through a CSA-style program that allows individuals across the U.S. to join as shareholders in our harvest.
🌐 redsalmon.com

INELDA
INELDA, the International End-of-Life Doula Association, is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization formed in 2015 dedicated to supporting individuals and their circle of care in end-of-life planning and practices. INELDA provides education, resources, community, and advocacy to inspire social awareness and compassionate, accessible deathcare, with an emphasis on the roles of end-of-life doulas.
🌐 inelda.org

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Special thanks to our friends John Alsdorf, Hanneke Block, Beverly Chung, Christine Evans, Louis Kim, Jennifer Kwong, Olga Lah and Nico Nortje!