Finding the right end-of-life guidance can make all the difference, offering not only practical support, but a sense of calm, care, and companionship during life’s most tender moments.
Our growing network of death doulas and end-of-life practitioners is united by a shared commitment to meaningful, compassionate care. From guiding families through the transition of death to helping navigate disposition options and integrating grief, we provide seamless support during one of life’s most profound passages. Many death doulas also honor and uphold autonomous end-of-life choices, including VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking) and MAiD (Medical Aid in Dying).
Want to know more about the role of a death doula? Read this article.
Don’t see someone in your area yet? Please send us an email and we’ll do our best to connect you with the right support.
Finding a Death Doula
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Christa Folkers
End-of-Life Coach & Medical Aide in Dying
I am a certified End of Life Coach helping clients and families navigate the unique challenges of dying. As a hospice volunteer, I hold space for the emotions that arise and honor each death as a sacred ending, as unique and meaningful as the life that was lived.
I specialize in Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) support and education.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Claudia Faerber
Trauma-Informed Grief Coach & Death Doula
My work centers on compassionate presence and transformation. As a death doula and trauma-informed grief coach, I support the dying and those who love them by gently tending to grief and unspoken trauma. I believe grief doesn’t disappear; it weaves into us as a sacred teacher as we learn to live alongside it.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Kara Hallett, M.Ed
Death Doula & Funeral Planner
I am a death doula, educator, and facilitator, creating spaces to explore grief, mortality, and the in-between. I offer in-person support in San Diego and online worldwide, working with people and their pets. I also lead workshops and rituals to help reclaim death as natural and sacred.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Melissa 'Mel' McClave
Death Doula, Educator and Advocate
My approach centers on love and connection. I specialize in creating space for meaningful, shared experiences during life’s final chapter, honoring your unique values, culture, and wishes. Clients worldwide, from all backgrounds, find comfort in my gentle, non-medical bedside presence and advocacy.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Penny Waugh
End-of-Life Guide & The Death Network Founder
I believe end-of-life experiences should be as unique as the lives we’ve lived. With respect for tradition and a creative approach, I guide individuals and families through the journey with compassion, helping them shape endings that reflect their values.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Rhonda LoPresti
End-of-Life Coach & Home Funeral Guide
As an End of Life Coach, I am passionate about holding and creating sacred space, personal ritual, spiritual practice, and creative choice throughout dying and deathcare. I believe we can learn to die - and in learning to die, we actually awaken to life itself.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Sara Comp
RN, End-of-Life Doula, & Trauma-Educated Yoga Teacher
As a Registered Nurse, Trauma-Educated Yoga Teacher and End of Life Doula, I have had the honor of being at the bedside of the dying both personally and professionally since attending high school. Currently, I am working as a hospice RN, an independent death doula, serving others through volunteerism, and connecting to the community with grief yoga classes & donation-based grief support.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person and online.
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Sara Grace Thress
Death Doula & LCSW
I’m a Death Doula and licensed clinical social worker in California with 10 years’ experience in medical and hospice care. I support patients and families facing terminal diagnoses, offering guidance, mental health support, and resources, with the goal of creating a compassionate, empowered, and meaningful end-of-life experience.
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Selena Jong
Death Doula
I guide individuals and their loved ones through the sacred transition of dying. I offer emotional, spiritual, and logistical support, creating space for peace, dignity, and connection.
My mission is to help families reclaim death care by honoring ancestral rituals and offering sacred tending guided by tradition.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Tara Novak
End-of-Life Guide & Death Doula
Death is universal, and I aim to create spaces that normalize conversation around it. I feel at ease with death as a part of life and consider it an honor to help clients achieve their wishes while giving loved ones the space to focus on being together.
Based in San Diego, I’m available in person or online.
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Trina Wacasey
End-of-Life Doula & Consumer Advocate
As an End-of-Life Doula, Guide, and Consumer Advocate, I partner with hospice, individuals and their care team to create an intentional, meaningful journey. Specializing in VSED (voluntary stopping eating & drinking) & MAiD (medical aid in dying) support.
Rooted in Texas & California, with the option to travel, I’m available in person and online.
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Willow Taraja
Death Doula & End-of-Life Guide
I provide compassionate and respectful end of life care to people advancing in age or individuals living with a terminal diagnosis. As your doula, I'm there with you to listen, to create a safe and calm space, and to gently help you explore what matters most to you as you approach your end of life.
Serving Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Bay Area. I’m also available online.
The Death Network Collective is for anyone doing death work — not just death doulas, but the educators, advocates, caregivers, practitioners, and changemakers who believe there’s a better way forward.
Rooted in San Diego and inspired by our vision of Doing Death Different, we’re building a connected community that we hope reaches all corners of the country, because this work is deeply needed and no one should have to do it alone.
Click here for more information about joining The Death Network.
End-of-Life guidance with The Death Network includes:
Rituals & vigils
VSED support (voluntarily stopping eating & drinking)
MAiD support (medical aid in Dying)
Funeral planning
Natural green burial
Living Funerals
Legacy planning & projects
Grief support & therapy
Death education workshops
Death Cafe discussion groups
Public speaking
Advance planning workshops
Funeral attire & etiquette