Conference Keynote Speaker on
Grief, Mindfulness, & Resilience
I’m a grief speaker, author, and mindfulness teacher, and I help you move beyond generic, outdated grief advice toward something more honest, compassionate, and useful.
As the creator of the Mindfulness & Grief System and recipient of the 2025 Clinical Practice Award from the Association for Death Education and Counseling, I bring together thanatology, mindfulness, and practical tools to help people live and work with loss in a more human way.
Whether I’m speaking to grieving audiences or the professionals who support them, my goal is to help you feel more supported, more skillful, and less alone.
Watch my remarks after receiving the 2025 Clinical Practice Award from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), honoring innovation and impact in grief support.
Keynotes and training for audiences navigating grief, caregiving, and emotional overload
I love speaking about grief because loss changed my life early. After my uncle died by suicide when I was seven, my family did the best we could with what we had, but I know now how much more support, language, and understanding would have helped. Part of why I do this work is to help other people navigate grief with more skill and compassion than many of us were given.
In every keynote or workshop, my goal is to help your audience better understand grief, care for themselves and others more skillfully, and leave with something meaningful they can actually use.
Bereavement & grief audiences
This work is especially close to my heart because I know how much it matters to feel seen, supported, and not alone in grief. Whether I’m speaking to bereaved communities or professionals gathered around grief-centered work, my talks are compassionate, practical, and honest, with topics including life after loss, self-compassion, journaling, rituals and remembrance, and support during holidays and anniversaries.
Healthcare & hospice professionals
When I think about the end of life, I think about the healthcare and hospice professionals who will one day stand beside me and the people I love. Speaking to these audiences feels like a way of paying it forward and honoring the care my own and my clients family have received. These talks offer grounded guidance on grief support, emotional regulation, compassion fatigue, and burnout prevention.
Grief-adjacent professionals
In times of loss, crisis, and major life change, the people someone encounters can make the experience more supportive or far more overwhelming. My own experience, including work on a suicide hotline, is part of why I care so deeply about helping elder law and estate attorneys, hotline teams, donor family programs, first responders, educators, and others respond with more compassion, confidence, and care.
Mindfulness & yoga communities
As a yoga therapist and meditation teacher, I know these practices can do more than help us relax. They can help us soften the protective layers that keep grief out of awareness until we are ready to meet it. In these spaces, I speak about mindfulness, embodiment, self-compassion, and resilience in the face of grief and change, including grief-informed guidance for meditation and yoga teachers.
As both a grief clinician, meditation practitioner, and a human shaped by loss, I know this work from the inside out.
Praised by experts in thanatology, healthcare, and mindfulness
I’m honored to be trusted by bereavement organizations, healthcare teams, retreat centers, and professional associations. My work brings together warmth, presence, and practical guidance in a way that resonates with both grieving people and the professionals who support them.
"In fall 2025, Heather Stang presented at the 16th Annual Conference on Grief and Loss in Cincinnati, Ohio. The topic for her all-day workshop was Walking the Talk: Caring for Others, Caring for Ourselves.
At the heart of Heather’s session was an invitation to walk the talk. She believes that when we engage in the same practices we offer, whether it’s mindfulness, movement, journaling, or ritual, we embody our work in an authentic, sustainable way. As one participant shared, 'Best conference I have attended. Very useful tools both personally and professionally.'
It was a delight to work with Heather. She was communicative throughout the planning process and event itself. Heather is genuinely present to others as she models the importance of walking the talk."
Teresa L. Dutko, M.A., FT
Instructor, Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science
Signature Keynotes and Workshops
Every keynote and workshop is tailored to your audience, setting, and goals. Depending on the event, I may include slides, a handout or resource guide, and, when appropriate, guided reflection, meditation, or other experiential elements. Book sales and bulk book orders are also available for conferences, retreats, and professional education events.
Walking the Talk: Caring for Others, Caring for Ourselves
A presentation for grief professionals and helping communities on practicing the same mindfulness-based tools we ask clients to use. Drawing from the Mindfulness & Grief System, this session explores practice and ritual as foundations for sustainable caregiving, with special attention to the ways personal and professional grief shape how we live, work, and care.
Living with Grief: Mindful Practices for Life After Loss
A presentation on how mindfulness, self-compassion, and practical grief support can help people care for themselves and adapt to life after loss. Based on Living with Grief and the Mindfulness & Grief System, this session offers grounded tools for emotional regulation, meaning-making, and resilience. It can be tailored for bereaved audiences, professional CE training, or retreat settings.
Self-Compassion as Self-Care: Soothing the Caregiver’s Heart
A practical and compassionate presentation for family caregivers and those supporting a loved one with dementia, serious illness, or a life-limiting condition. This session explores how self-compassion can help manage difficult emotions, reduce suffering, and support caregivers with the same kindness they offer others.
Grief Literacy 101: Supporting Grieving Clients with Skill and Compassion
An evidence-informed training for attorneys, educators, hotline teams, healthcare-adjacent professionals, and others who support grieving people through their work. This session replaces myths with a more current understanding of grief and offers practical guidance on communication, common missteps, and how to support others without causing harm.
Tending to the Grieving Body: Somatic Practices for Loss and Overwhelm
A body-based presentation on how grief lives in the nervous system and how mindful, somatic practices can help restore calm, reduce overwhelm, and rebuild self-trust. This session explores breathwork, conscious relaxation, body awareness, movement, and other embodied practices as self-compassion in action.
Navigating Loss: Non-Death and Disenfranchised Grief
A presentation on the often invisible losses that shape our lives, including divorce, estrangement, identity loss, betrayal, and other forms of disenfranchised grief. Based on Navigating Loss, this session offers practical tools for meaning-making, self-care, and adapting to life after non-death loss.
From Grief to Peace: Writing and Reflection for Meaning After Loss
A reflective and practical presentation based on From Grief to Peace. Through writing, guided prompts, and expressive practices, this session helps people process grief, deepen self-awareness, and connect with meaning, compassion, and inner support.
Hope During the Holidays: Planning for Meaning and Peace
A compassionate and practical presentation for navigating holidays, anniversaries, and other emotionally charged dates. Grounded in grief education, ritual, and mindful planning, this session helps people prepare with greater intention, self-awareness, and support.
Why Event Planners Book Me
Event planners book me because I bring together deep grief expertise, practical teaching, and real human presence.
I have a Master’s Degree in Thanatology, created the Mindfulness & Grief System, and received the 2025 Association for Death Education and Counseling Clinical Practice Award for innovation in grief support.
What makes my work different is how I translate complex grief theory into clear, usable guidance. My approach is grounded in mindfulness, self-compassion, and modern bereavement theory, but it never feels abstract or overly clinical. I want people to leave feeling understood, equipped, and more able to carry what life and work are asking of them.
I’m also known for being thoughtful, prepared, and easy to work with. I care about the experience behind the scenes as much as what happens on stage, and I bring that same level of professionalism and respect to every collaboration.
“Heather is a seasoned professional whose commitment and passion shines through her work and her presentations. Her half-day preconference seminar [at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Management and Leadership Conference] was well attended and participants rated the session highly”
BARBARA L. BOUTON, MA, FT
Vice President, Professional Development
National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
“Your willingness to engage our families on their terms was such a gift for our agency to learn from and most importantly for our donor families. Death and dying is not an easy subject to talk about, but you led the way and allowed for a new perspective on coping with their loss.”
YIE YIN FOONG
Family Services Outreach Coordinator
LiveOnNY (Organ Donation Network)
Bring My Books to Your Audience
My books, including Living with Grief, From Grief to Peace, and Navigating Loss, can help extend the impact of your event long after it ends. I have also contributed chapters to several professional textbooks, and those may be available as well. Attendees may purchase books individually, or bulk orders can be arranged in advance at a discounted rate for conferences, trainings, and retreats.
“When we are more firmly grounded in our bodies, as Heather Stang demonstrates, we are better able literally and metaphorically to find a new footing in the world, and to restore a life of meaning and coherence.”
ROBERT A. NEIMEYER, Ph.D.
Director, Portland Institute for Loss and Transition
“Heather Stang's Navigating Loss is a valued compass for navigating a wide range of life's losses. Grieving individuals will find it both informative and full of activities and exercises to assist in coping with grief. It is a wonderful resource for the bereaved.”
KEN DOKA, Ph.D.
Senior Vice-President
The Hospice Foundation of America
“Heather Stang offers those who are grieving a wise and practical guide. The stories, teachings and meditations in this book will help you find your own inner strength and awakening heart in the midst of great loss.”
TARA BRACH, Ph.D.
Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
“Navigating Loss is a clear and compassionate guide for people coping with various types of death and non-death losses. Heather Stang does a wonderful job weaving the evidence-based/research-informed current thinking about loss and grief with very relatable stories and practical tools to cope with and adapt to life’s unwelcome changes”
Darcy Harris, PhD, FT
Professor and Thanatology Department Faculty Member of King’s University College
Speaker Overview
If you’re planning an event and need quick details, here’s a snapshot of my background and work. My C.V. will be provided upon request, as well as program title, description, and learning objectives for CEs and CEUs. Download photos and my longer bio on my Speaker Asset Page.
Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT, is the author of Navigating Loss, Living With Grief (formally Mindfulness & Grief) and the guided journal, From Grief To Peace. She is the recipient of the 2025 Association for Death Education and Counseling Clinical Practice Award, holds a Master's Degree in Thanatology from Hood College, and is a Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. Her 8-step Mindfulness & Grief System that is featured in the Handbook of Grief Therapies, and is the foundation of a self-care focused online grief support group, Awaken. Heather also hosts the Moving Grief Podcast, the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, and offers private sessions and the Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification through her organization, the Mindfulness & Grief Institute.
- 2025 Clinical Practice Award Recipient
Honored by the Association for Death Education and Counseling for innovation and excellence in grief support - Featured in the Handbook of Grief Therapies
My 8-step Mindfulness & Grief System is included in one of the field’s leading textbooks - Author of Three Books on Grief and Loss
Navigating Loss, Living with Grief, and From Grief to Peace, along with textbook chapter contributions - Trusted for Bereaved and Professional Audiences
Presenting for healthcare, bereavement, mindfulness, and grief-adjacent communities across the country
“All said that the seminar 'The Relaxation Response for Dementia Caregivers' was excellent. From my point of view, the program was a gift to people who are stressed by caregiving.... Thank you Heather.”
LINDA RYAN
Arden Courts of Kensington
“Heather Stang is a very knowledgeable person.... She knows about grief, stress, relaxation and more. Heather helped over 120 people by speaking at the Western Maryland Dementia Conference; if you have a chance to work with her, I think maybe she can help you too!”
SUSAN DWYER LCSW-C
Alzheimer’s AssociationGreater Maryland Chapter
Meet With Me To Discuss Your Next Event
Our consultation call is a simple way to explore whether we are a good fit. We will talk through your audience, goals, event format, timeframe, and presentation needs, as well as availability for your date.
You do not need to arrive with everything fully planned. If you are still shaping the event, I can help you clarify the topic, outcomes, and format that will best serve your audience.
Heather is based in Frederick, Maryland, near the Baltimore-Washington metro area and is available for local, regional, national, and international travel, as well as virtual presentations.
Speaking fees are provided after we discuss the scope of the engagement, including format, location, customization, and any requested materials or book sales.
