Monique B. Mitchell, PhD, FT is a nationally recognized authority on children, teens, and young adults who are grieving in foster care, and is the National Director of the L.Y.G.H.T. program. Dr. Mitchell has trained and researched extensively on the lived experience of children and youth in the foster care system, taught undergraduate and graduate courses on loss and grief, and developed youth-centered curricula. She is the author of The Neglected Transition: Building a Relational Home for Children Entering Foster Care (Oxford University Press, 2016), co-author of The Dougy Center Model: Peer Grief Support for Children, Teens, and Families (Dougy Center, 2021), among other publications. She has worked directly with children, youth, and young adults who have been impacted by death and non-death losses in Canada, Honduras, and the United States.

Donna L. Schuurman, EdD, FT previously served as Dougy Center’s Executive Director from 1991–2015 and is an internationally recognized authority on grief and bereaved children, teens, and families, and the author of Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent (St. Martin’s Press, 2003), co-author of The Dougy Center Model: Peer Grief Support for Children, Teens, and Families (Dougy Center, 2021), among other publications. Dr. Schuurman has worked directly with families and communities impacted by large-scale tragedies and natural disasters, including as a trainer for the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board family assistance staff. She is a national trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and co-authored Children, Teens, and Suicide Loss, a joint publication of AFSP and Dougy Center.

Cristina M. Chipriano, LCSW-S, FT, has been in the field of childhood bereavement since 2015. Her work has focused on overseeing the programming for and outreach to historically marginalized children, teens and families. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the states of Oregon and Texas. She currently contributes to the National Alliance for Children’s Grief Membership Committee, and the Multnomah County Youth Suicide Prevention Coalition, among others. Her previous roles include serving as a grief professional for Sesame Street Community Grief Project, she served on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief and the Executive Board of Latino Social Workers of Greater Houston.