Many people are unaware that there are two nonprofit entities to the GBC. The first is a 501(c)6 certification and business league; the second is a 501(c)3 educational organization. Both work together to make raise awareness and serve families seeking a natural ending. Board members share a strong commitment to volunteer service and dedicate their skills and experience to further the mission of the Green Burial Council.

Certification & Provider Support
​501(c)6 GBC

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 Ed Bixby, President, is the owner and operator of Steelmantown Green Burial Preserve in Steelmantown, NJ, as well as Purissima Natural Burial Ground in Half Moon Bay, CA.  Ed’s extensive background in land use and development includes being a licensed New Jersey real estate broker and the owner of Fox and Fox Builders, LLC. Ed’s experience in the development industry has provided keen insight into better land use practices and drives his passion for the natural burial movement and the benefits it provides to the present and future generations. Ed has led presentations on natural burial for numerous organizations and has provided educational training for both funeral directors and cemeterians alike. Ed resides in southern New Jersey with his two daughters Ava and Mina. Term expires June 2021
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Doug Renfield-Miller, Treasurer Following a long career in international finance, Doug now devotes most of his time to volunteer and philanthropic activities, especially GoodEnding, Inc., a nonprofit he founded to improve end-of-life outcomes and reduce societal costs. In addition to GoodEnding, Doug currently serves on the Board of and volunteers at Regional Hospice and Palliative Care. He has previously served as Board Chair of School Year Abroad, as a Director of Habitat for Humanity – New York City, and is a Trustee Emeritus of Connecticut College. Doug majored in French and Philosophy at Connecticut College, earned an M.A. in International Affairs at George Washington University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. In 2015, Doug was appointed an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University. Term expires June 2021
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Brad Angell, Secretary. Dr. Angell’s practice has demonstrated a strong commitment to progressive sustainability policy, practice, and scholarship. Since 2012, Brad has worked in advanced composting on the community scale; a movement that has grown from a simple backyard hobby to a serious environmental services industry whose business is driven by the opportunity to systemically reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, empower clients to achieve Zero Waste goals, and to provide individuals an option for healthy mortality processing. Brad’s interest in working on the Green Burial Council is focused on two goals: first, to advance green burial policies; and second, to support those involved in the certification process as they aspire to become a GBC funerary provider. Term expires June 2022
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Shawn LaValleur Adame, Director, is a wife, mother, Sacred Passages death midwife and funeral celebrant, notary public, licensed funeral director, and owner & founder of DIY DYING, a licensed funeral establishment in Long Beach, CA. Shawn started her career in the funeral industry in 2006. She began as a DC Specialist and office manager at the Omega Society, in Orange County, CA, where she worked for 6 years. She was then recruited to Area Manager for Smart Cremation, Accu-Care Cremation Centers, and Gateway Crematory serving So Cal. She then opened Argos Funeral Services, in Torrance, CA. Her current business, DIY DYING, offers before and after death care services, living & home funerals, green burials on land and at sea as well as cremation services. Term expires June 2020
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Kate Berdan, Director, comes to the GBC with experience in conservation with The Nature Conservancy, Woodstock Land Conservancy, Vermont Land Trust, Otsego Land Trust, and the Adirondack Land Trust, among others. She is currently earning her doctorate at the University of Vermont from the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Kate is committed to advocating for and supporting conservation burial. Term expires June 2023
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Steve Berkoff, Director, is on his second career as owner/operator of Memorial Reefs, a Hawian memorial service company that restores marine life similar to Eternal Reefs on the Eastern seaboard. Steve’s first career spanning 40 years has been in communications, giving him expertise in nonprofit management, business plan development, financial management, strategic planning, fundraising, public speaking, training and education. He is dedicated to helping heal the damage to the planet and embraces green alternatives. Term expires June 2022
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Darren Crouch, Director, is President and co-founder of environmentally responsible funeral product company Passages International, Inc., and is also the founder of agreenerfuneral.org, a website designed to educate consumers about alternatives for greening their funeral. He has been featured in The Director Magazine, The American Funeral Director Magazine, Funeral Business Advisor, The Cremationist, the ICCFA Magazine, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has spoken at several national and international conventions, including the Asia Funeral Expo, the National Funeral Directors Convention and the ICCFA Convention. Term expires 2021
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Dyanne Miller, Director,  has been a Cemeterian for the past 16+ years at Pine Forest Memorial Gardens and Gethsemane Memorial Gardens in North Carolina.She is a graduate of the ICCFA University, a certified celebrant, and has served as President of the NC Cemetery Association. She has also served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Cemetery Cremation and Funeral Association (SCCFA), as well as the ICCFA. Dyanne conceived and developed the Garden of Renewal at Pine Forest Memorial Gardens. This development has been recorded in the multi award winning documentary, “A Will for the Woods”, which has been shown around the world and all over the United States.
Dyanne resides in Wake Forest, NC and is mom to 2 sons and a daughter, and is Grandmama to Westley! Term expires June 2020
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Chris Gomez, Director, is a learning and development specialist at Passcare, a funeral Directors Life sister company. His primary function there is bringing products to funeral homes in relevant compelling, and accessible ways as their product marketing expert. He is also a nonprofit volunteer with lots of teaching experience, and a unique perspective on the funeral industry as one who works in it but is not a licensed FD. He is interested in supporting the GBC as a compliance specialist as well as a board member. Term expires June 2023

Education & Outreach
501(c)3 GBC International

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Lee Webster, President, is a career writer, editor and researcher, and frequent speaker and published author on funeral reform, including end-of-life support, home funerals, and natural burials. She is the Director of New Hampshire Funeral Resources, Education & Advocacy, former President of the National Home Funeral Alliance, a previous board member and educational consultant for the Green Burial Council, Int'l, and has served on the NHPCO End-of-Life Doula Council. She currently serves as a founding member on the Board of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance and with the Conservation Burial Alliance. She is a frequent speaker to local and national academic, health, and conservation organizations throughout the country, and published author, webmaster, and long time hospice volunteer. She lives in the foothills of the White Mountains. Term expires June 2020
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Anne Weston, Secretary, is founder of Green Burial Project, a 501c3 dedicated to educating and advocating in the community about the benefits—environmental, financial, and spiritual—of green burial. To accomplish her work she speaks through North Carolina on green burial and alternative body disposition practices and conducts workshops on advance directives at death expos, public libraries, graduate classes at Duke University and UNC-CH, churches, retirement communities, and civic groups. She also serves on the Orange County Dept. on Aging EOL senior resource team supporting education and policy programs, writes a death positivity column for The News of Orange, consults on green options for families at need, and supports 3 local Death Cafes. She is a member of NHFA and FCA of the Piedmont and is a graduate of Duke University with a BA in English and an MA in Liberal Studies. Term expires June 2021
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Darrell Hill, Treasurer, is Founder + CEO of EternityGardens.com – a technology platform that engages and educates cremation families about laying to rest cremated remains.  Darrell has a professional background in marketing and brand building, having spent more than 20 years as a marketing and branding leader in healthcare, financial services, and strategy consulting. He has served on the following boards:  Advocate Charitable Foundation, The English-Speaking Union of the United States, and Chicago Jesuit Academy.  After earning his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Darrell and his wife settled in Chicago with their three children. Term expires June 2021
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Dr. David O. Carter, Director, is Director and Professor of Forensic Sciences at Chaminade University of Honolulu. He brings extensive experience with the decomposition of remains in terrestrial habitats. Dr. Carter is particularly interested in the contributions that decomposing remains make to biodiversity and the cycling of energy of nutrients, all of which are crucial to a healthy planet. Dr. Carter joined the Green Burial Council because he is interested in the sustainable and respectful disposition of remains. Term expires June 2020
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Sabrina Dorfman, Director, is a copywriter and communications specialist for a hospital system in Los Angeles, CA. With a background in marketing and advertising, Sabrina is helping to find new ways to educate the public and relevant organizations about green burials. She holds a fiery passion for sustainability and environmental conservation. Sabrina volunteers her time for local trash clean ups and tree planting. She believes in the future of green burials and is excited to help create a shift in today’s culture and burial practices. Term expires June 2022
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Caitlyn Hauke, Director, holds a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, and a BS in Biology, with a concentration in Forensic Science. She is a biological safety officer with the Dartmouth College Office of Environmental Safety in Hanover, NH, and serves on her local town cemetery commission. Her extensive experience encompasses published work, public speaking, teaching, and environmental research, with which she aims to bridge scientific efforts related to green burial communication and dissemination to the public at large. Term expires June 2023
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Jeff Hodes, Director,  has forty plus years of experience in the cemetery industry, with key positions in major cemetery organizations, and has provided consulting services to cemeteries across the US for over ten years. As an active leader in cemetery development, training, and volunteering with multiple industry associations, Jeff has served in leadership roles on the boards of directors for six different cemetery associations, and earned the Certified Cemetery Executive (CCE) and the Certified Supplier Executive (CSE) distinction from the International Cemetery Cremations Funeral Association (ICCFA), and a Master of Science degree with an emphasis in environmental studies. Term expires June 2022
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Adrian Jach, Director, worked in graphic design and marketing for 30 years. Her lifelong interest in organic gardening and all things natural inspired her to become a certified horticulturist and an LA County Master Gardener, and to complete a certification course in the Art of Death Midwifery and funeral celebrant training. She has volunteered for numerous non-profits over the years, designing graphics and gardens, staffing information tables at public events, teaching gardening and nutrition, and recruiting donors and volunteers. She is adamant about spreading the word about green burial and home funerals since she learned about both in 2012. Term expires June 2022
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Steve Johnson, Director, is a licensed funeral director with an MA in Business Administration. He is an experienced funeral service instructor and adjunct faculty member in the State University of New York College of Technology at Canton in New York, and a skilled public speaker with more than years of nonprofit board leadership with several community organizations. He is interested in assisting other funeral directors with practical information to help serve families choosing green burial.  Term expires June 2021
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Hannah Palko, Director, is a doctoral student in the ​Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with a specific research interest in sustainable funeral practices and management of urban burial grounds. She holds an MA in Ecology and a BA in Biology and has served as a science and environmental educator and research assistant. She is interested in completing a comprehensive survey of green cemeteries and aiding in research development. Term expires June 2022
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Roxanne Walsh, Director, currently lives in the foothills of the southern Canadian Rockies. Roxanne has always been an environmental advocate.  She spent eleven years campaigning for the cleanup of a leaking sour gas processing plant into the Sheep River, and it’s associated industrial landfill. During that time, Roxanne championed three cases before the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board, which prompted the town, the province, and industry to address issues of the past and protect the drinking water for the town. Now, as an End of Life Educator — and Nature Advocate — Roxanne encourages people to consider body disposition options that protect groundwater, rivers, and drinking water for downstream users. She helps people explore options, know their rights, and promotes leaving a gentler environmental footprint as one of their life legacies. Roxanne is the author of the books: "Planning for a Good Death – User’s Guide and Workbook." She is a Certified Funeral Celebrant and A Commissioner for Oaths, in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Term expires June 2020

​With deep gratitude to all who have served the Green Burial Council

Former Board Members

Volunteers

Advisory Council
Matthew Alcide
Paul Bauman
Katey Bean
Sara Brink
Billy Campbell
Rob Caughlin
Holly Chan
Stephen Christy
​Ernest Cook
​Candace Currie
Bob Fertig
​Brian Flowers
​​Sharon Hermanson
William Jordan III
John Lovasco
​Mike Mitchell
Barb Milton
Father Charles Morris
​Stephen Olson
​Robert Prout
Joel Rabinowitz
Paul Rahill
Jon Eric Rolfstadt
​Merilynne Rush
Joe Sehee
Joshua Slocum
​Joe Smolenski
​Kim Sorvig
Lindsay Soyer
Shari Wolf
​Juliette Armstrong
Sam Bar
Jim Betino
​Matt Dolkas
Kate Kalanick
Donna Larsen
Sam Perry
Shannon Shoup
Monica Varona
Billy Campbell
Brian Flowers
Elizabeth Fournier
Suzanne Kelly
Sam Perry
Joe Sehee
Mary Woodsen