Doing Endings Well: A Joyful Journey of Remembrance and Renewal
Amid the vibrant week of Día de los Muertos, join a soulful celebration of life’s beautiful cycles. Through story, reflection, and ritual, we’ll honor the people, places, and moments that have shaped us. As we offer gratitude for what has been, we open to what is being born. This is not a somber farewell, but a joyful tribute to the living rhythm of remembrance, loving, and becoming. Let’s celebrate the beautiful rhythm of change and make space for more life to flow through us. As we become artists of transition, we discover wisdom, laughter, gratitude – and the sweet freedom that comes when endings are done well.
The Gift of Letting Go
Appreciating the best of what has been – the love, learning, and laughter – we spark new life filled with gratitude, creativity, and ease. Become an artist of transition as you practice releasing with grace, turning endings into beginnings, and memory into momentum. Through insight, guided reflection and simple rituals, we’ll discover how letting go can open the way to peace, vitality, and creative possibility. Together we’ll find renewal not by holding on, but by stepping gently into the unfolding mystery of what’s next.
The Art of Completion
Endings, done well, open the door to more vitality, health and renewal in our lives.
Completion is an act of wholeness, a moment to pause, gather the joy, lessons, and legacy of what’s come before. You’ll leave with a personal practice and simple ways to mark closure, carry forward what truly matters, and walk onward – lighter, freer, and more at peace.
Living Forward – The Heart of Renewal
A heart-centered way to embrace new beginnings with curiosity, courage, and trust in life’s unfolding rhythm. After every ending comes a stirring – the subtle thrill of what’s next. Living forward is to move through change with openness and trust, carrying the gifts of what has been – the delights, care, and wisdom, without clinging to the form they once took. It invites curiosity instead of certainty, creativity instead of control and the gentle courage to say, “That chapter was beautiful — and I’m ready for what’s next.”
Karen Wilhelm Buckley helps people live and lead with wisdom, love, and authentic presence. As an executive coach, consultant, and retreat leader, she guides individuals and teams to navigate change with clarity, compassion, and purpose. Her work invites a deeper awareness of how love and consciousness can shape a world where people flourish and nature thrives. A pioneer in transformation and global consciousness for over three decades, Karen has led leadership and wisdom programs across the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. She also co-founded a Waldorf-inspired elementary school, reflecting her lifelong devotion to whole-child education and human potential. When not teaching or coaching, Karen enjoys hiking Mt. Tamalpais with her fluffy dog, Stanley, tending her garden, practicing Pilates, and cooking delicious meals with her husband. Time spent playing with her grandsons tops her list of joys.
Baxley Andresen is an owner of a natural burial ground in Central California. Her journey in deathcare started with working for Alua Arthur of Going with Grace, then working as a Funeral Arranger at FRIENDS Funeral Home in Los Angeles. She found Creston Cemetery in 2021, an old pioneer cemetery in Central California, ready for some attention and an update. Baxley manages the land, trees, burials and other aspects of this small but revered cemetery alongside Ed Bixby of Destination Destiny Memorials. She serves as Vice President on the Green Burial Council and volunteers with the Valley Chevra Kadisha, a group that sits alongside the dead and performs ritual washings of the deceased. Baxley knows and believes that “though grief and loss is inevitable, being unprepared isn’t.”
Susannah Mars has been a theater artist for over 50 years. She grew up with actor Kenneth Mars, who passed of pancreatic cancer in 2011. Since then, Susannah’s work has woven in and out of her grief journey, from playing Diana in Next to Normal, to writing her one-woman show, Good Grief. She hosted the podcast “Adventures In Artslandia” for five years, culminating in one of her favorite episodes, which featured one of her father’s collaborators, Mel Brooks. She’s been an Arts Envoy to Cairo, Egypt, and now resides in Damascus, Oregon, with her husband and the sweetest dog ever, Shyla.
Julia Francis is a sound therapy artist, vocal coach and singer-songwriter. She believes in the power of the voice to create space in the body for emotional transformation and healing. A life-long disciple of the vocal and expressive arts, Julia has studied with wisdom keepers across the globe to understand the power of the unseen. With her voice, crystal alchemy bowls and guitar, Julia provides sacred sound experiences through public performances, retreats and private sessions. Her passion is facilitating the practice of sacred sound and story making for processing grief and working with the ancestors.
Dave Powers
Louis Tsamous (right) grew up in Cambridge, OH and began playing the drums at age 10. He has since become one of the most versatile and active musicians in America. He has toured Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean and has recorded and performed with jazz artists Stanley Turrentine, Etta Jones, Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, David “Fathead” Newman, Joey DeFrancesco,Pat Martino,Blue Lou Marini, Kevin Mahogany and Joan Rivers among others. Louis has also worked with Motown legend Mary Wilson.
John Scott Marrone has over 30 years of experience teaching in the New York area. In addition to Astronomy, Scott teaches Forensics, Environmental Studies, and Oceanography. He has been recognized by Ciba-Geigy Corporation for his work in promoting science literacy and received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 2007 from Manhattan College. In 1998, Scott was invited by the Aruban Government to substitute for astronomer Jay Pasachoff to lead the observation of the total solar eclipse. Most recently, Scott led the public observing session on Mauna Kea. Scott has also led observing on cruises in the Galapagos and Tahiti.
Dr. Erica Oberg, ND, MPH is an integrative physician, longevity strategist, and author of Healthy Hedonism: Why Feeling Good Is Good for You, a science-based reframe of pleasure as a biological driver of vitality.
When it comes to black music, Washington, D.C. produces its share of game-changers. That long list includes Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, Marvin Gaye, Shirley Horn, Roberta Flack, Bad Brains, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wale, and Oddisee. You can add Ben Williams to that venerated roster.
Billy Childs has emerged as one of the foremost American composers of his era, successfully marrying the musical products of his heritage with the Western neoclassical traditions of the twentieth century in a powerful symbiosis of style, range, and dynamism.
Tom Blue Wolf is a beloved elder, storyteller, and Earthkeeper whose life has been devoted to remembering humanity’s sacred relationship with the living Earth. For more than four decades, he has shared teachings drawn from ancestral wisdom, ecological stewardship, and the universal language if ceremony.
Laura Morris, CPT 
Jennifer Ventrelle, MS, RDN, CPT, is a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer, and co-author of 
Jake Rainey is an experiential educator, leadership specialist, and practitioner of human development dedicated to helping individuals and teams reach their sustainable peak. With a Master’s Certificate in Experiential Teaching & Learning and certification as a Life & Engagement Coach, Jake’s work is grounded in the belief that real growth happens when people are safely supported beyond their comfort zones. His commitment to holistic safety is reinforced by dual certifications as both a Wilderness First Responder and a Behavioral First Responder, allowing him to thoughtfully manage both physical and emotional risk in dynamic environments.
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Kim Ross, MS, RD, CDN is an integrative nutritionist with a holistic approach to health. Treatments are aimed at enhancing the body’s ability to heal and detoxify itself to prevent and reverse illness. Goal-oriented, Kim creates flexible nutrition programs tailored to the specific objectives of each individual and company. She incorporates a variety of modalities that enhance optimal health including cutting-edge testing, nutraceuticals, homeopathy and herbs. Currently, Kim lectures nationwide and consults to businesses and investors. Kim maintains a 
Dr. Janine G. Tabas is a practicing board-certified comprehensive ophthalmologist with a specialty in cataract surgery. She graduated Dartmouth College in 1985, and Medical College of Virginia with honors in 1989. During medical school, she was elected chapter President of AOA, the National Medical Honor Society. Dr. Tabas completed her residency at the prestigious Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia in 1993. She is an active member of the Wills teaching staff, as well as a surgical mentor each year to the residents. Dr. Tabas is the Founder of the Women of Wills Organization, which promotes leadership skills in women physicians. In 2022 Dr. Tabas became Co-Director of Cataract and Primary Eye Care Department at Wills Eye Hospital, and currently serves as President of the Wills Alumni Society.
Lisa Rafel
Juan Pablo Andrade, Juan Pablo Andrade is a renowned Costa Rican pianist with a dynamic stage and academic presence. He has earned top honors at international competitions and the Costa Rican National Prize of Music, and has performed widely as a soloist with various orchestras and at major festivals. A familiar ear with the Costa Rican National Symphony, he has toured the Americas and Europe, and his CD War to Peace received favorable reviews. In academia, he is a Professor of Piano at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and has taught at several prestigious universities. He also volunteers at international festivals and founded the La Frontera International Piano Conference in Brownsville, Texas, to foster musical exchange in the region.
Linda Chávez is a distinguished Mexican-American pianist with degrees from the University of Texas at Brownsville and Longy School of Music. A laureate of numerous awards and scholarships, she excels in both performance and education. She has performed at international festivals across Costa Rica, Italy, Aruba, Austria, Puerto Rico, and Lincoln Center, where she joined the Teaching Artist Program to inspire others. Currently the principal pianist of the Valley Symphony Orchestra, she founded the Brownsville Piano Studio, serving over 225 students weekly, and launched Ananda Music Experience, an online program for adult women learning music mindfully. Chávez continues to inspire and effect positive change through her music.
Kevin Mills is a cellist from Orange County, California who studied under Darrett Adkins at both The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory receiving his Masters in Cello Performance and Artist Diploma respectively. Kevin received his Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from California State University of Fullerton and has toured, taught, and performed nation-wide and abroad in Denmark, Korea, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Hungary.
Mark Wuttke is a Vistage CEO Coach and Chair, leadership advisor, and former global C-suite executive with more than 30 years of experience in wellness and beauty. Born in Australia and now based in Jupiter, Florida, he has led companies across five continents while championing sustainability and conscious leadership.
