Team
Grief Counseling and Research Team
Welcome to our Selah Carefarm Team page. Included in this section, our Grief Counseling and Research Team, which includes highly trained counselors and researchers in the trauma and loss field, as well as volunteers and interns who bring their valuable knowledge and experience to the table as they support our efforts.
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore is a bereaved mother and the founder of the MISS Foundation, an international NGO that serves families whose children have died. She is also a tenured research professor and senior Wrigley Institute of Sustainability Scholar at Arizona State University, spearheading the Graduate Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement. Her best selling book, Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief, is a national award winning best seller that has helped revolutionize the way our culture thinks, and feels, about grief. She works with and counsels families from all around the world who have experienced catastrophic deaths. Dr. Jo, believing that current practices around food production are a social, ethical, and environmental justice issue, is a vegan and hasn’t eaten meat since 1972.  She also teaches meditation, mindfulness, and compassion and ahimsa practices to students and clients from around the world.  If you’re a provider seeking supervision or consultation, please contact us.
View Joanne’s complete bio and vita please click this link.
Dr. Gorman is a geographer and professor at Exeter University in the UK with particular interests in health, care, and medicine, and how these intersect with human-animal relations and more-than-human worlds. Rich’s research at present has involved exploring the dynamic interrelations between health and place, particularly, the roles of animals within various caring and health-promoting practices, seeking to understand how human-animal relations can affect people’s and animals’ capacities to thrive and flourish.
Roshi Genmitsu holds a Swiss masters degree in Adult Education, is certified in Psychosomatic Counseling and is a certified Provider in Compassionate Bereavement Care. She is an esteemed meditation teacher and specializes in Pastoral Counseling, mindfulness practices, and rituals.
Paul has provided 30 years of leadership in NY and NJ developing quality, hospital-based and free-standing mental health programs for underserved populations. He was appointed as a team member to write treatment standards for the State of NJ on co-occurring conditions of mental illness and addiction. For the past 25 years he has had a private practice in psychotherapy specializing in trauma, and also is certified in Compassionate Bereavement Counseling. Additionally he is a pioneer in Zen Buddhism, known as Roshi Paul Genki Kahn, a Buddhist priest, a lineage holding Zen Buddhist teacher, Â and co-founder with his wife, Roshi Monika Genmitsu Kahn, of the Zen Garland Order.
Jennifer Huberty, Ph.D., is the Director of Science for the mobile app company, Calm. She holds affiliation as Adjunct Faculty with Arizona State University in the College of Health Solutions, Associate Professor and Research Scholar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Arizona’s College of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mays Cancer Center/MD Anderson in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Huberty has been conducting research for almost 20 years using digital interventions (online, mobile apps) to deliver complementary approaches (e.g., yoga, meditation, physical activity) to improve mental and physical health in women (i.e., stillbirth mothers, pregnant women), middle-aged adults, and cancer patients.
Dr. Huberty is also the Founder and Director of Fit Minded, an innovative online behavior change program for adult women. She also is the co-founder of the podcast “Mindful Vibin”. Dr. Huberty is co-author of two books: Delivering Compassionate Healthcare: A mindfulness curriculum for interdisciplinary healthcare professions (Chapters 7,8, 13) and Designing Effective Physical Activity Interventions and has published just under 150 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Huberty has received over $7 million in grant funds from entities including the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Dr. Huberty loves to spend time with her husband and two boys, her three rescue dogs. She loves hiking and yoga.
Dr. Kara Thieleman received her B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 2005 and her MSW from Arizona State University in 2011 with a specialization in adult health and mental health. She also completed ASU’s Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement in 2011. She has experience as a grief counselor for bereaved parents at the MISS Foundation and as a hospice social worker. In 2019, she received her doctorate in social work.
Dr. Cheryl Pence is the MISS Foundation Clinical Director at the Selah Carefarm. She provides counseling sessions, therapeutic walks, time with the animals, guided meditations, yoga, and works with bereaved families and providers from around the world. She manages the carefarm’s family house where bereaved clients stay during their visits. She also supervises the interns and volunteers and assists in the development of new programs, group retreats, clinical training, grant-writing, and research.
Dr. Cheryl is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), certified Compassionate Bereavement Care (CBC) provider, and maintains several other licenses and certifications. She left a tenured associate professor position at Western Kentucky University to join the MISS Foundation. At WKU, she taught, advised, and supervised graduate counseling students and coordinated their clinical internship placements. She served on regional and national counseling association boards and committees which included developing and publishing the nationally endorsed counselor wellness competencies. Her previous professional counseling experiences included working with terminally-ill patients and families in hospice; counseling clients and survivors at accident scenes, hospitals, or their homes through the Alachua County Crisis Center; and supervising counseling interns as the Co-Director of the Talley Family Counseling Center. In addition, Dr. Cheryl is a U.S. Navy veteran with 11 years of military service. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a naval officer onboard two ships (USS Yorktown and USS Essex) and a joint-military command. She received her master’s, specialist, and doctorate degrees in counseling from the University of Florida. She also completed her master’s in human resource management from Troy University and her bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
On a personal note, Dr. Cheryl lost her sister in 2014 after a long battle with substance abuse. She also struggled for many years with infertility and two pregnancy losses. Never able to have children, she expanded her family by opening her home to teenage exchange students from Norway and Germany and her fur babies. She loves animals, nature, hiking, and has been vegan since 2011 for health, compassion, and environmental reasons. She maintains her own contemplative practice, completed a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat, and is an ordained minister in an interfaith ministry where she is open to helping clients and families work from their own unique perspectives.
Dr. Langridge is a volunteer who discovered Selah Carefarm after the loss of her teenage daughter Hilary, who was a student at ASU. She has dedicated her career to supporting communities and organizations in creating sustainability programs. She founded Sustainable Synthesis Limited as a public benefit corporation to facilitate collaboration to meet sustainability goals. In addition, she is an active in a number of environmental and educational organizations. Her time supporting Selah helps with her healing, and is personal validation of Dr. Jo’s work.
Specializing in Counseling, psychology and expressive Art Therapy, JoAnn is a graduate of Prescott College, Prescott, AZ. and has been providing client centered compassionate care to those challenged by addictions, mental disorders, trauma, and grief for decades. She believes that traumatized people are capable of restoring themselves and their lives to one of inner peace and harmony.
JoAnn combines her love of nature, animals, music, art therapy, ceremony, rituals, and energy work as pathways into the wounded heart. Holding each client and their trauma as sacred and individually personalized, she gently guides one through their pain, helping them to bring a new sense of balance and wholeness to their body, mind, emotions and spirit.
After more than three decades providing mental health and educational services to children and families in public school systems, Wendi Malmgren began a new journey with the MISS Foundation and Selah Carefarm. In 2019, Wendi’s oldest daughter died at age 44, and her youngest daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through the compassionate care and support provided by staff at the MISS Foundation and Selah Carefarm, and lots of love from the animals, Wendi discovered she was not alone in her grief, and created a pathway to peace and hope.
Wendi is a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) mental health services provider and holds Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Compassionate Bereavement Care (CBC) certifications. She received her Master of Educational Leadership from Gonzaga University, and Master of Social Work from Arizona State University. Wendi has extensive experience as a teacher, advocate, trauma-focused service provider, researcher, and grant writer. Her comprehensive training includes expressive arts therapy, family-centered practice, grief and loss, trauma, and trauma-informed care.
In her free time, Wendi enjoys yoga, dance, cooking, writing, hiking, and spending time with family, friends, and her cat Kimmi.
Missy received her Master of Social Work from Loyola University at Chicago specializing in clinical mental health. Her intense love for animals and experience with their therapeutic benefits in trauma healing drove her pursuit in finding Selah Carefarm. Missy is experienced in research, counseling, and community organizing. She is also a licensed massage therapist and myofascial release therapist for humans, horses, and animals big and small.
Team
Grief Counseling and Research Team
Welcome to our Selah Carefarm Team page. Included in this section, our Grief Counseling and Research Team, which includes highly trained counselors and researchers in the trauma and loss field, as well as volunteers and interns who bring their valuable knowledge and experience to the table as they support our efforts.
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore is a bereaved mother and the founder of the MISS Foundation, an international NGO that serves families whose children have died. She is also a tenured research professor and senior Wrigley Institute of Sustainability Scholar at Arizona State University, spearheading the Graduate Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement. Her best selling book, Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief, is a national award winning best seller that has helped revolutionize the way our culture thinks, and feels, about grief. She works with and counsels families from all around the world who have experienced catastrophic deaths. Dr. Jo, believing that current practices around food production are a social, ethical, and environmental justice issue, is a vegan and hasn’t eaten meat since 1972.  She also teaches meditation, mindfulness, and compassion and ahimsa practices to students and clients from around the world.  If you’re a provider seeking supervision or consultation, please contact us.
View Joanne’s complete bio and vita please click this link.
Dr. Gorman is a geographer and professor at Exeter University in the UK with particular interests in health, care, and medicine, and how these intersect with human-animal relations and more-than-human worlds. Rich’s research at present has involved exploring the dynamic interrelations between health and place, particularly, the roles of animals within various caring and health-promoting practices, seeking to understand how human-animal relations can affect people’s and animals’ capacities to thrive and flourish.
Roshi Genmitsu holds a Swiss masters degree in Adult Education, is certified in Psychosomatic Counseling and is a certified Provider in Compassionate Bereavement Care. She is an esteemed meditation teacher and specializes in Pastoral Counseling, mindfulness practices, and rituals.
Paul has provided 30 years of leadership in NY and NJ developing quality, hospital-based and free-standing mental health programs for underserved populations. He was appointed as a team member to write treatment standards for the State of NJ on co-occurring conditions of mental illness and addiction. For the past 25 years he has had a private practice in psychotherapy specializing in trauma, and also is certified in Compassionate Bereavement Counseling. Additionally he is a pioneer in Zen Buddhism, known as Roshi Paul Genki Kahn, a Buddhist priest, a lineage holding Zen Buddhist teacher, Â and co-founder with his wife, Roshi Monika Genmitsu Kahn, of the Zen Garland Order.
Jennifer Huberty, Ph.D., is the Director of Science for the mobile app company, Calm. She holds affiliation as Adjunct Faculty with Arizona State University in the College of Health Solutions, Associate Professor and Research Scholar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Arizona’s College of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mays Cancer Center/MD Anderson in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Huberty has been conducting research for almost 20 years using digital interventions (online, mobile apps) to deliver complementary approaches (e.g., yoga, meditation, physical activity) to improve mental and physical health in women (i.e., stillbirth mothers, pregnant women), middle-aged adults, and cancer patients.
Dr. Huberty is also the Founder and Director of Fit Minded, an innovative online behavior change program for adult women. She also is the co-founder of the podcast “Mindful Vibin”. Dr. Huberty is co-author of two books: Delivering Compassionate Healthcare: A mindfulness curriculum for interdisciplinary healthcare professions (Chapters 7,8, 13) and Designing Effective Physical Activity Interventions and has published just under 150 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Huberty has received over $7 million in grant funds from entities including the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Dr. Huberty loves to spend time with her husband and two boys, her three rescue dogs. She loves hiking and yoga.
Dr. Kara Thieleman received her B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 2005 and her MSW from Arizona State University in 2011 with a specialization in adult health and mental health. She also completed ASU’s Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement in 2011. She has experience as a grief counselor for bereaved parents at the MISS Foundation and as a hospice social worker. In 2019, she received her doctorate in social work.
Dr. Cheryl Pence is the MISS Foundation Clinical Director at the Selah Carefarm. She provides counseling sessions, therapeutic walks, time with the animals, guided meditations, yoga, and works with bereaved families and providers from around the world. She manages the carefarm’s family house where bereaved clients stay during their visits. She also supervises the interns and volunteers and assists in the development of new programs, group retreats, clinical training, grant-writing, and research.
Dr. Cheryl is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), certified Compassionate Bereavement Care (CBC) provider, and maintains several other licenses and certifications. She left a tenured associate professor position at Western Kentucky University to join the MISS Foundation. At WKU, she taught, advised, and supervised graduate counseling students and coordinated their clinical internship placements. She served on regional and national counseling association boards and committees which included developing and publishing the nationally endorsed counselor wellness competencies. Her previous professional counseling experiences included working with terminally-ill patients and families in hospice; counseling clients and survivors at accident scenes, hospitals, or their homes through the Alachua County Crisis Center; and supervising counseling interns as the Co-Director of the Talley Family Counseling Center. In addition, Dr. Cheryl is a U.S. Navy veteran with 11 years of military service. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a naval officer onboard two ships (USS Yorktown and USS Essex) and a joint-military command. She received her master’s, specialist, and doctorate degrees in counseling from the University of Florida. She also completed her master’s in human resource management from Troy University and her bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
On a personal note, Dr. Cheryl lost her sister in 2014 after a long battle with substance abuse. She also struggled for many years with infertility and two pregnancy losses. Never able to have children, she expanded her family by opening her home to teenage exchange students from Norway and Germany and her fur babies. She loves animals, nature, hiking, and has been vegan since 2011 for health, compassion, and environmental reasons. She maintains her own contemplative practice, completed a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat, and is an ordained minister in an interfaith ministry where she is open to helping clients and families work from their own unique perspectives.
Dr. Langridge is a volunteer who discovered Selah Carefarm after the loss of her teenage daughter Hilary, who was a student at ASU. She has dedicated her career to supporting communities and organizations in creating sustainability programs. She founded Sustainable Synthesis Limited as a public benefit corporation to facilitate collaboration to meet sustainability goals. In addition, she is an active in a number of environmental and educational organizations. Her time supporting Selah helps with her healing, and is personal validation of Dr. Jo’s work.
Specializing in Counseling, psychology and expressive Art Therapy, JoAnn is a graduate of Prescott College, Prescott, AZ. and has been providing client centered compassionate care to those challenged by addictions, mental disorders, trauma, and grief for decades. She believes that traumatized people are capable of restoring themselves and their lives to one of inner peace and harmony.
JoAnn combines her love of nature, animals, music, art therapy, ceremony, rituals, and energy work as pathways into the wounded heart. Holding each client and their trauma as sacred and individually personalized, she gently guides one through their pain, helping them to bring a new sense of balance and wholeness to their body, mind, emotions and spirit.
After more than three decades providing mental health and educational services to children and families in public school systems, Wendi Malmgren began a new journey with the MISS Foundation and Selah Carefarm. In 2019, Wendi’s oldest daughter died at age 44, and her youngest daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through the compassionate care and support provided by staff at the MISS Foundation and Selah Carefarm, and lots of love from the animals, Wendi discovered she was not alone in her grief, and created a pathway to peace and hope.
Wendi is a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) mental health services provider and holds Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Compassionate Bereavement Care (CBC) certifications. She received her Master of Educational Leadership from Gonzaga University, and Master of Social Work from Arizona State University. Wendi has extensive experience as a teacher, advocate, trauma-focused service provider, researcher, and grant writer. Her comprehensive training includes expressive arts therapy, family-centered practice, grief and loss, trauma, and trauma-informed care.
In her free time, Wendi enjoys yoga, dance, cooking, writing, hiking, and spending time with family, friends, and her cat Kimmi.
Missy received her Master of Social Work from Loyola University at Chicago specializing in clinical mental health. Her intense love for animals and experience with their therapeutic benefits in trauma healing drove her pursuit in finding Selah Carefarm. Missy is experienced in research, counseling, and community organizing. She is also a licensed massage therapist and myofascial release therapist for humans, horses, and animals big and small.
Emotional Health & Wellness Advisors
Our Emotional Health & Wellness Advisors are well-respected professionals in the medical, mental health and social work fields who are often called upon within their specialties as advisors for our team.
Grace Jackson, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist who graduated summa cum laude from California Lutheran University with degrees in political science and biology, as well as a Masters in Public Administration.   She earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado in 1996, followed by specialty training in psychiatry while serving in the U.S. Navy. For more than eighteen years, Dr. Jackson has approached her work from the perspective of a clinical toxicologist in recognition of the harmful effects of prescription drugs.   An avid researcher and occasional writer, she is the author of Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent and Drug Induced Dementia: A Perfect Crime. Dr. Jackson’s professional experience has included national and international testimony as an expert witness, as well as clinical service in a wide variety of treatment settings.   As the interim director of the inpatient behavioral health unit at Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, Az, she acquired invaluable experience in geriatric psychiatry and dementia, experientially confirming the benefits of her philosophical approach known as PharmARRU: Pharmaceutical Avoidance, Reduction, and Responsible Use.  Dr. Jackson currently provides hospital and ER consultations to a wide range of healthcare systems across the country.
Gabor Maté, M.D. has worked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with patients challenged by hard-core drug addiction, mental illness and HIV, including at Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Site for more than twelve years. With more than 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience and extensive knowledge of the latest findings of leading-edge research, Dr. Maté is a sought-after speaker and teacher, regularly addressing health professionals, educators, and lay audiences throughout North America. He has written several bestselling books including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction; When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress; and Scattered Minds: A New Look at the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder. He is the co-founder of Compassion for Addiction, a non-profit that focusses on addiction. Dr. Maté  received the Hubert Evans Prize for Literary Non-Fiction; an Honorary Degree (Law) from the University of Northern British Columbia; an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Simon Fraser University; and the 2012 Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Mothers Against Teen Violence. He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Criminology, Simon Fraser University.
Beth DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S., A.B.O.I.M., is a board-certified general surgeon specializing in diseases of the breast, with additional board certification in integrative medicine. She is a nationally recognized breast cancer expert who has chosen to bring her 26 years of experience and surgical expertise to the Verde Valley. Dr. DuPree earned her medical degree from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and her undergraduate degrees in behavioral neuroscience and the history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her first book, “The Healing Consciousness: A Doctor’s Journey to Healing,” was released in 2006 to excellent reviews by Christiane Northrup, M.D., and Bernie Siegel, M.D, among other well-known experts in the women’s health field. She has traveled throughout the United States and globally to train countless physicians in breast surgical oncology techniques.Her numerous honors include the Clara Barton Humanitarian Award from the American Red Cross for her ongoing contributions to the treatment of breast cancer. She was selected by her peers for Philadelphia Magazine’s TOP DOCS in Surgery in 2016 and 2017.
Sarah, bereaved mom of Noah, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a practicing school social worker. Â Sarah received her B.A. in English from the University of Vermont in 1997 and her MSW from Smith College School for Social Work in 2000. For the past 20 years, Sarah has worked with children, adults, groups, and families, in a variety of settings, providing therapeutic intervention, crisis response and support. Â In her therapeutic work with those she serves, Sarah integrates expressive arts, mindfulness, and meditation. Â Sarah has been a facilitator and volunteer for the MISS Foundation for several years and in 2014 became a Certified Provider of Compassionate Bereavement Care. Â Sarah facilitates a MISS Foundation support group in Arizona for bereaved parents and grandparents.
Terri Waibel, MSW, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and a certified provider of Compassionate Bereavement Care®. She has been working and volunteering in the field of social work for more than 14 years. As the founder and owner of the private practice Center for Compassion, LLC she specializes in providing therapeutic support to individuals, children and families enduring traumatic grief after a sudden, unexpected, or out of order death of a beloved family member. She is simultaneously honored and heartbroken to be present with grievers and proud to call herself a grief activist. In October 2018, Terri was recognized with the prestigious Athena award in the Young Professional category with the Greater Phoenix Chamber, being honored for her commitment to leadership, community service, and mentorship. Terri’s civic engagement and volunteerism extend to several local community organizations as she is an integral volunteer with the MISS Foundation serving bereaved parents and families, Justa Center as an Executive Board member, and ASU School of Social work as a Community Advisory Board Member. She also teaches advanced direct psychotherapy practice courses at ASU. She is a bereaved mother and bereaved sister and facilitates a MISS Foundation support group in Arizona.
Matthew Klein, D.O. is a psychiatrist specializing in adolescent and young adult well-being. After graduating from medical school at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Klein completed a residency and fellowship from the Maricopa Integrated System in Phoenix in adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry. Prior to medical school, Dr. Klein worked for years in a youth substance abuse treatment center. During this time, he experienced the profound healing power of relationships and learned of the significant role relationships play in recovery and wellbeing. He continues to learn about and has become involved in integrative and alternative medicines to be able to provide as wholistic approach to care as possible.
Emotional Health & Wellness Advisors
Our Emotional Health & Wellness Advisors are well-respected professionals in the medical, mental health and social work fields who are often called upon within their specialties as advisors for our team.
Grace Jackson, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist who graduated summa cum laude from California Lutheran University with degrees in political science and biology, as well as a Masters in Public Administration.   She earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado in 1996, followed by specialty training in psychiatry while serving in the U.S. Navy. For more than eighteen years, Dr. Jackson has approached her work from the perspective of a clinical toxicologist in recognition of the harmful effects of prescription drugs.   An avid researcher and occasional writer, she is the author of Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent and Drug Induced Dementia: A Perfect Crime. Dr. Jackson’s professional experience has included national and international testimony as an expert witness, as well as clinical service in a wide variety of treatment settings.   As the interim director of the inpatient behavioral health unit at Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, Az, she acquired invaluable experience in geriatric psychiatry and dementia, experientially confirming the benefits of her philosophical approach known as PharmARRU: Pharmaceutical Avoidance, Reduction, and Responsible Use.  Dr. Jackson currently provides hospital and ER consultations to a wide range of healthcare systems across the country.
Gabor Maté, M.D. has worked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with patients challenged by hard-core drug addiction, mental illness and HIV, including at Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Site for more than twelve years. With more than 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience and extensive knowledge of the latest findings of leading-edge research, Dr. Maté is a sought-after speaker and teacher, regularly addressing health professionals, educators, and lay audiences throughout North America. He has written several bestselling books including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction; When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress; and Scattered Minds: A New Look at the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder. He is the co-founder of Compassion for Addiction, a non-profit that focusses on addiction. Dr. Maté  received the Hubert Evans Prize for Literary Non-Fiction; an Honorary Degree (Law) from the University of Northern British Columbia; an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Simon Fraser University; and the 2012 Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Mothers Against Teen Violence. He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Criminology, Simon Fraser University.
Beth DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S., A.B.O.I.M., is a board-certified general surgeon specializing in diseases of the breast, with additional board certification in integrative medicine. She is a nationally recognized breast cancer expert who has chosen to bring her 26 years of experience and surgical expertise to the Verde Valley. Dr. DuPree earned her medical degree from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and her undergraduate degrees in behavioral neuroscience and the history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her first book, “The Healing Consciousness: A Doctor’s Journey to Healing,” was released in 2006 to excellent reviews by Christiane Northrup, M.D., and Bernie Siegel, M.D, among other well-known experts in the women’s health field. She has traveled throughout the United States and globally to train countless physicians in breast surgical oncology techniques.Her numerous honors include the Clara Barton Humanitarian Award from the American Red Cross for her ongoing contributions to the treatment of breast cancer. She was selected by her peers for Philadelphia Magazine’s TOP DOCS in Surgery in 2016 and 2017.
Sarah, bereaved mom of Noah, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a practicing school social worker. Â Sarah received her B.A. in English from the University of Vermont in 1997 and her MSW from Smith College School for Social Work in 2000. For the past 20 years, Sarah has worked with children, adults, groups, and families, in a variety of settings, providing therapeutic intervention, crisis response and support. Â In her therapeutic work with those she serves, Sarah integrates expressive arts, mindfulness, and meditation. Â Sarah has been a facilitator and volunteer for the MISS Foundation for several years and in 2014 became a Certified Provider of Compassionate Bereavement Care. Â Sarah facilitates a MISS Foundation support group in Arizona for bereaved parents and grandparents.
Terri Waibel, MSW, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and a certified provider of Compassionate Bereavement Care®. She has been working and volunteering in the field of social work for more than 14 years. As the founder and owner of the private practice Center for Compassion, LLC she specializes in providing therapeutic support to individuals, children and families enduring traumatic grief after a sudden, unexpected, or out of order death of a beloved family member. She is simultaneously honored and heartbroken to be present with grievers and proud to call herself a grief activist. In October 2018, Terri was recognized with the prestigious Athena award in the Young Professional category with the Greater Phoenix Chamber, being honored for her commitment to leadership, community service, and mentorship. Terri’s civic engagement and volunteerism extend to several local community organizations as she is an integral volunteer with the MISS Foundation serving bereaved parents and families, Justa Center as an Executive Board member, and ASU School of Social work as a Community Advisory Board Member. She also teaches advanced direct psychotherapy practice courses at ASU. She is a bereaved mother and bereaved sister and facilitates a MISS Foundation support group in Arizona.
Matthew Klein, D.O. is a psychiatrist specializing in adolescent and young adult well-being. After graduating from medical school at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Klein completed a residency and fellowship from the Maricopa Integrated System in Phoenix in adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry. Prior to medical school, Dr. Klein worked for years in a youth substance abuse treatment center. During this time, he experienced the profound healing power of relationships and learned of the significant role relationships play in recovery and wellbeing. He continues to learn about and has become involved in integrative and alternative medicines to be able to provide as wholistic approach to care as possible.
Carefarm Team Members
Our amazing Carefarm Team Members include our interns, research assistants and fabulous volunteers who help us on a daily basis with our programs by providing physical, emotional, creative and administrative support.
Carrie Ostroski is the Executive Director of The Dorrance Family Foundation, a three-generation family foundation with presence and grantmaking in Arizona, California, and Hawaiʻi. The mission of the Foundation is to work to improve the quality of life in the community by supporting education and natural resource conservation. The Foundation launched the Dorrance Marine Conservation Initiative in 2022 to improve ocean health through the recovery, restoration, regeneration and protection of marine habitat and diversity, with a focus on coastal and nearshore ecosystems and the imperiled species they harbor.
Carrie grew up in rural Iowa, is an Arizona State University graduate and lived in Phoenix, Arizona for over 25 years. She now resides and works in Hawaiʻi with offices on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Carrie has over 22 years of executive-level experience in the philanthropic and not-for-profit business sectors. She has directed and managed teams of high-level and executive leaders, philanthropists, and community volunteers in strategic, business, and event management and planning, as well as high-level fundraising and board development. She has led the development of multiple strategic grant programs, including models for family engagement and decision-making for three generations and several multi-location foundation grantmaking initiatives and programs.
Carrie thoroughly enjoys and is passionate about her work and is dedicated to strategic philanthropy and relationship development that achieve results and positively impact the critical issues and organizations with which The Dorrance Family Foundation supports and is involved and invested. Carrie grew up with conservation and natural spaces as significant influences in her life and is personally engaged and supports many efforts in these areas and other community service interests.
Carrie’s professional and community affiliations past and present include; National Center for Family Philanthropy, Mission Investor’s Exchange, Southern California Grantmakers, including FFIX3 Family Foundations group, Biodiversity Funders Group, Hawaii Community Foundation Environmental Funders Group, Valley Leadership (Class XXIV), Central Phoenix Women, Arizona Endowment Building Initiative, Planned Giving Roundtable of Arizona, Madison United Preservation Committee, and the University of Arizona Master Gardener program. Carrie served as a board member of Soldier’s Best Friend for seven years and is currently a 21/64 certified advisor, a board member of the Literary Society of the Southwest, and volunteers in an advisory capacity for several non-profit and community organizations in Hawaiʻi and Arizona.
Shawna Devlin is our sanctuary manager and carefarm guide who has extensive experience in the field. She has worked in hospice, addiction treatment, and medical assistance for more than ten years. Shawna has lived in the Verde Valley most of her life and enjoys being outdoors, hiking, camping, and spending time with family.
Virginia Miller is a research assistant and grad student in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University. She is part of the research team and assists in data collection and analyses. Her thesis is centered on understanding the connections generated on the Selah Carefarm and what these connections mean to grieving families. She is interested in relationships between humans and nature and the interplay of impacts that humans, animals, and nature have on one another.
Terri DeMontrond is our amazing HOSPITALITY COORDINATOR. She is the owner of DeMontrond Wellness and Consulting, has been supporting others in their journey toward a balanced wellbeing for over 20 years. The skills she has accumulated include Life Coach training with Martha Beck and studying Holistic Nutrition with Clayton College. She is a Yoga Therapist trained by Phoenix Rising and has extensive experience with DBT practices.  Terri recently completed the certification for Compassionate Bereavement Care. Her personal experience as a bereaved parent has led her to passionately endeavor to repurpose her own traumatic loss and grief into a source of presence, love and support for other families on that same journey. Terri is also a Hope volunteer within the MISS Foundation. Personally, Terri continues to seek awareness for wellness and spiritual growth. She loves her daily yoga practice, painting and writing. She is an avid reader, hiker and traveler. Most of all she loves to be inspired by people and their life experiences and to share inspiration with others. If you are traveling to Selah Carefarm and would like help planning your visit, please contact Terri.DeMontrond@MISSFoundation.org
Martha is a volunteer who helps us give extra care to the equines two days a week. She received her BA in Psychology from Ithaca College, then moved to San Francisco for 3 years. She settled in  Boulder, CO where she lived for more than 40 years. The past 25 years, Martha ran a small horse property with 2 horses, Cheyenne and Hillary, for 20 years. She loved every minute of being in their company. Being at the CareFarm allows Martha to continue being around these wonderful creatures. It’s been so rewarding to her!
Carefarm Team Members
Our amazing Carefarm Team Members include our interns, research assistants and fabulous volunteers who help us on a daily basis with our programs by providing physical, emotional, creative and administrative support.
Carrie Ostroski is the Executive Director of The Dorrance Family Foundation, a three-generation family foundation with presence and grantmaking in Arizona, California, and Hawaiʻi. The mission of the Foundation is to work to improve the quality of life in the community by supporting education and natural resource conservation. The Foundation launched the Dorrance Marine Conservation Initiative in 2022 to improve ocean health through the recovery, restoration, regeneration and protection of marine habitat and diversity, with a focus on coastal and nearshore ecosystems and the imperiled species they harbor.
Carrie grew up in rural Iowa, is an Arizona State University graduate and lived in Phoenix, Arizona for over 25 years. She now resides and works in Hawaiʻi with offices on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Carrie has over 22 years of executive-level experience in the philanthropic and not-for-profit business sectors. She has directed and managed teams of high-level and executive leaders, philanthropists, and community volunteers in strategic, business, and event management and planning, as well as high-level fundraising and board development. She has led the development of multiple strategic grant programs, including models for family engagement and decision-making for three generations and several multi-location foundation grantmaking initiatives and programs.
Carrie thoroughly enjoys and is passionate about her work and is dedicated to strategic philanthropy and relationship development that achieve results and positively impact the critical issues and organizations with which The Dorrance Family Foundation supports and is involved and invested. Carrie grew up with conservation and natural spaces as significant influences in her life and is personally engaged and supports many efforts in these areas and other community service interests.
Carrie’s professional and community affiliations past and present include; National Center for Family Philanthropy, Mission Investor’s Exchange, Southern California Grantmakers, including FFIX3 Family Foundations group, Biodiversity Funders Group, Hawaii Community Foundation Environmental Funders Group, Valley Leadership (Class XXIV), Central Phoenix Women, Arizona Endowment Building Initiative, Planned Giving Roundtable of Arizona, Madison United Preservation Committee, and the University of Arizona Master Gardener program. Carrie served as a board member of Soldier’s Best Friend for seven years and is currently a 21/64 certified advisor, a board member of the Literary Society of the Southwest, and volunteers in an advisory capacity for several non-profit and community organizations in Hawaiʻi and Arizona.
Shawna Devlin is our sanctuary manager and carefarm guide who has extensive experience in the field. She has worked in hospice, addiction treatment, and medical assistance for more than ten years. Shawna has lived in the Verde Valley most of her life and enjoys being outdoors, hiking, camping, and spending time with family.
Virginia Miller is a research assistant and grad student in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University. She is part of the research team and assists in data collection and analyses. Her thesis is centered on understanding the connections generated on the Selah Carefarm and what these connections mean to grieving families. She is interested in relationships between humans and nature and the interplay of impacts that humans, animals, and nature have on one another.
Terri DeMontrond is our amazing HOSPITALITY COORDINATOR. She is the owner of DeMontrond Wellness and Consulting, has been supporting others in their journey toward a balanced wellbeing for over 20 years. The skills she has accumulated include Life Coach training with Martha Beck and studying Holistic Nutrition with Clayton College. She is a Yoga Therapist trained by Phoenix Rising and has extensive experience with DBT practices.  Terri recently completed the certification for Compassionate Bereavement Care. Her personal experience as a bereaved parent has led her to passionately endeavor to repurpose her own traumatic loss and grief into a source of presence, love and support for other families on that same journey. Terri is also a Hope volunteer within the MISS Foundation. Personally, Terri continues to seek awareness for wellness and spiritual growth. She loves her daily yoga practice, painting and writing. She is an avid reader, hiker and traveler. Most of all she loves to be inspired by people and their life experiences and to share inspiration with others. If you are traveling to Selah Carefarm and would like help planning your visit, please contact Terri.DeMontrond@MISSFoundation.org
Martha is a volunteer who helps us give extra care to the equines two days a week. She received her BA in Psychology from Ithaca College, then moved to San Francisco for 3 years. She settled in  Boulder, CO where she lived for more than 40 years. The past 25 years, Martha ran a small horse property with 2 horses, Cheyenne and Hillary, for 20 years. She loved every minute of being in their company. Being at the CareFarm allows Martha to continue being around these wonderful creatures. It’s been so rewarding to her!
Carefarm Advisors
Our trusted Carefarm Advisors include volunteers, bereaved parents, veterinarians and other professionals who offer their valuable talent and insight on topics including animal care, wellness efforts, carefarm programs, guest house operations, and more.
Sarah Hauer graduated from Bellarmine College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and attained her Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College.
She has earned a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine, a National Board certification in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. Â This board certification is awarded by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or NCCAOM. Â Sarah is also licensed by the State of Arizona to practice acupuncture. Sarah has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine for more than 20 years. She has owned two successful practices and has been practicing in Sedona, Arizona for the past 16 years. Â She treats each person individually, using well honed skills of pulse and tongue diagnosis. Sarah has been voted “Best” by her community in both practices. Â With 20 years experience and more than 18 years in private practice, she offers in depth, thorough, professional and caring treatment. The herbal pharmacy includes custom formulas, tablets, capsules, and granules. With over 1000 hours in Chinese herbal study, Sarah prescribes effective formulas that treat the branch (symptom) and the root (cause) of imbalance. In-depth interviews and follow-ups with herbal modifications are vital to continued healing. She practices with her husband of 33 years, Sig Hauer. They are an integral part of their community. Â They volunteer! Mental health clinics, veteran centers, geriatric communities. They traveled to India and treated in Tibetan refugee camps, and developed a non profit to support their work. Â Their experience is extensive. Â Sarah and Sig are passionate about their work and helping people!
Karla, bereaved mom of Theo, is a licensed professional counselor (LPC), internationally certified yoga therapist, (C-IAYT), registered yoga teacher (RYT), award winning author, and a certified Compassionate Bereavement Care Provider. Counseling and supporting those living with traumatic grief and bereavement is her main focus of work. Her book, Yoga for Grief & Loss, is a wonderful adjunct to any practice. Karla has taught the Compassionate Bereavement Care-Yoga provider certification course with Dr. Cacciatore several times. She facilitated the MISS Foundation’s Richmond VA support group for grieving parents for many years.
Jesse studied Human Development at Cornell University, and is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  She has spent the past decade working with babies and their parents, helping moms and dads enter into parenting feeling confident and supported.  Jesse also has masters degrees in both Non-Profit Management (Hebrew Union College) and Public Administration (USC). Her early career life was spent working within the Jewish community, strategizing and fundraising for numerous non profit and community organizations. Of all of her experiences, none has taught Jesse more about herself or the world than the sudden and tragic death of her youngest son, Gidi, at age 5.  Jesse lives in Los Angeles where she shares her life with her wonderful husband, her incredible two living children, and beautiful Gidi’s magical spirit.
Erin practiced as a primary care provider for 10 years and did her Physician Associate training at Yale University School of Medicine. She has a master’s degree in Integrative Medicine and is a former professor of health sciences and director of clinical education for a top PA Program.
An internationally certified mindfulness instructor who has been creating and teaching mindfulness based interventions since 2009, Erin is currently on the faculty of UMass Medical Center’s Center for Mindfulness. She developed content for an App which provides mindfulness meditations to healthcare providers.
Erin is a national speaker, retreat leader, workshop facilitator, and consultant on mindfulness topics, interconnection and compassion. She is passionately dedicated to the alleviation of suffering, especially among the most vulnerable. Her compassion practice and a growing awareness of the link between food production, social justice, and the climate crisis led her naturally to veganism and the mission of Selah House.
You can often find her gazing at the night sky, wandering slowly out in nature or dancing up a storm.
Carefarm and Animal Support Team
Shiloe is the Animal-Human Bond Coordinator. Shiloe is a lifelong animal lover that has worked as a veterinary technician for both equine & small animals veterinary practices. As an animal advocate rescuing unwanted & neglected animals, she specializes in behavioral issues & barriers to adoption to promote stability in their forever homes. Shiloe practices gentle methods in horse & dog training & believes in the autonomy of all animals. There is not a species of animal she has ever turned away in her rescue work.
After losing her best friend to a devastating battle with cancer she pursued a career in caring for the dead and serving their grieving families in the mortuary field. Coming along side those in their most difficult time, the death of a loved one is a duty she considers sacred.
At Selah CareFarm she found her heart’s calling sharing our beloved animals with clients on the farm in a gentle & intentional way to facilitate meaningful connection. To bear witness to the beauty of our bereaved families connecting with the animals on their journey with grief is a great honor she holds with immense gratitude & love.
Shiloe recently completed the MISS Foundation’s Compassionate Bereavement Care Provider Training at the Selah Carefarm.
Dave is a graduate of Bethel College and North Dakota State where he received, respectively, a BA in physics and BS in mechanical engineering. He is a natural empath with a deep love for children and animals, devoting many hours since 2010 to helping as a volunteer in support of the MISS Foundation’s important work and as the manager of Selah Carefarm. He enjoys working on classic cars.
Vincenzo Cotton was born January 14, 2023 and came to be a member of our working staff in mid-April, trained by Luigi and Athena, our other large guardian dogs. Vincenzo Cotton is an Italian Maremma who loves belly rubs, goofing off, chewing just about anything except tails, and he loves kisses. His middle name is in honor of a special dog named Cotton, so very loved by a young woman named Hayden, who still misses her Cotton to this day.
Carefarm Advisors
Our trusted Carefarm Advisors include volunteers, bereaved parents, veterinarians and other professionals who offer their valuable talent and insight on topics including animal care, wellness efforts, carefarm programs, guest house operations, and more.
Karla, bereaved mom of Theo, is a licensed professional counselor (LPC), internationally certified yoga therapist, (C-IAYT), registered yoga teacher (RYT), award winning author, and a certified Compassionate Bereavement Care Provider. Counseling and supporting those living with traumatic grief and bereavement is her main focus of work. Her book, Yoga for Grief & Loss, is a wonderful adjunct to any practice. Karla has taught the Compassionate Bereavement Care-Yoga provider certification course with Dr. Cacciatore several times. She facilitated the MISS Foundation’s Richmond VA support group for grieving parents for many years.
Sarah Hauer graduated from Bellarmine College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and attained her Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College.
She has earned a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine, a National Board certification in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. Â This board certification is awarded by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or NCCAOM. Â Sarah is also licensed by the State of Arizona to practice acupuncture. Sarah has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine for more than 20 years. She has owned two successful practices and has been practicing in Sedona, Arizona for the past 16 years. Â She treats each person individually, using well honed skills of pulse and tongue diagnosis. Sarah has been voted “Best” by her community in both practices. Â With 20 years experience and more than 18 years in private practice, she offers in depth, thorough, professional and caring treatment. The herbal pharmacy includes custom formulas, tablets, capsules, and granules. With over 1000 hours in Chinese herbal study, Sarah prescribes effective formulas that treat the branch (symptom) and the root (cause) of imbalance. In-depth interviews and follow-ups with herbal modifications are vital to continued healing. She practices with her husband of 33 years, Sig Hauer. They are an integral part of their community. Â They volunteer! Mental health clinics, veteran centers, geriatric communities. They traveled to India and treated in Tibetan refugee camps, and developed a non profit to support their work. Â Their experience is extensive. Â Sarah and Sig are passionate about their work and helping people!
Jesse studied Human Development at Cornell University, and is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  She has spent the past decade working with babies and their parents, helping moms and dads enter into parenting feeling confident and supported.  Jesse also has masters degrees in both Non-Profit Management (Hebrew Union College) and Public Administration (USC). Her early career life was spent working within the Jewish community, strategizing and fundraising for numerous non profit and community organizations. Of all of her experiences, none has taught Jesse more about herself or the world than the sudden and tragic death of her youngest son, Gidi, at age 5.  Jesse lives in Los Angeles where she shares her life with her wonderful husband, her incredible two living children, and beautiful Gidi’s magical spirit.
Carefarm and Animal Support Team
Dave is a graduate of Bethel College and North Dakota State where he received, respectively, a BA in physics and BS in mechanical engineering. He is a natural empath with a deep love for children and animals, devoting many hours since 2010 to helping as a volunteer in support of the MISS Foundation’s important work and as the manager of Selah Carefarm. He enjoys working on classic cars.
Shiloe is the Animal-Human Bond Coordinator. Shiloe is a lifelong animal lover that has worked as a veterinary technician for both equine & small animals veterinary practices. As an animal advocate rescuing unwanted & neglected animals, she specializes in behavioral issues & barriers to adoption to promote stability in their forever homes. Shiloe practices gentle methods in horse & dog training & believes in the autonomy of all animals. There is not a species of animal she has ever turned away in her rescue work.
After losing her best friend to a devastating battle with cancer she pursued a career in caring for the dead and serving their grieving families in the mortuary field. Coming along side those in their most difficult time, the death of a loved one is a duty she considers sacred.
At Selah CareFarm she found her heart’s calling sharing our beloved animals with clients on the farm in a gentle & intentional way to facilitate meaningful connection. To bear witness to the beauty of our bereaved families connecting with the animals on their journey with grief is a great honor she holds with immense gratitude & love.
Shiloe recently completed the MISS Foundation’s Compassionate Bereavement Care Provider Training at the Selah Carefarm.
Vincenzo Cotton was born January 14, 2023 and came to be a member of our working staff in mid-April, trained by Luigi and Athena, our other large guardian dogs. Vincenzo Cotton is an Italian Maremma who loves belly rubs, goofing off, chewing just about anything except tails, and he loves kisses. His middle name is in honor of a special dog named Cotton, so very loved by a young woman named Hayden, who still misses her Cotton to this day.