ABOUT US

Catherine Birdsall RN CRNP (she/her) grew up in a rural community in NH where birth, aging, and death were intimate experiences for her. A beautiful home funeral for a stillborn baby of family friends, a grandfather who lived with her family in the last years of his life, a home funeral for her beloved aunt- these were among the moments that shaped her view of aging and death and dying. In addition, Catherine had a number of elderly neighbors and teachers as mentors throughout her childhood; consequently she regarded aging as an important and very natural chapter of life’s journey.

These early impressions of aging and death remained central as Catherine pursued a path in healthcare, starting at The Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies in Boulder, CO in 2000, where she specialized in geriatric herbal medicine. She continued her healthcare studies at Drexel University and graduated in 2009 with her RN/BSN.

As an RN, Catherine worked in Hospice and Public Health; she traversed the greater Philadelphia area as well as Southern NJ, caring for people in their homes. In 2015, she graduated from The University of Pennsylvania as an Adult and Geriatric Nurse Practitioner. She then worked for five years as a Primary Care, Long-Term Care, and Palliative Care NP in a large and well-established Continuous Care Retirement Center.

Catherine received her Death Midwifery and Home Funeral Guide certification from Sacred Crossings Institute in 2020. She completed a nine-month meditation course with The 3 Doors of Compassion and Level 1 of her Reiki training. She is currently working towards becoming a grief counselor, and she holds certifications in Dementia Care, Wound Care, medicinal cannabis use, and Ketamine Assisted Therapy. Catherine is enrolled in a course with Education for Racial Equity to support her in her commitment to anti-racist practices.

Catherine lives in Philadelphia with her husband, their hilarious eight-year-old daughter, and two cats in The Maas Building, a vibrant arts and music space they created out of a dilapidated factory building. She identifies as white, cisgender, and able-bodied.

Rebecca Maury MD FACP (she/her) is board certified Internist and Hospice/Palliative Care physician with over 20 years of clinical experience.

Rebecca had her first intimate encounter with death as a child when she spent many hours at the bedside of her grandmother, who wanted to talk about her experience as she slowly died from cancer. Rebecca became fascinated by the body’s rhythms and inherent wisdom, and after finishing highschool in the ‘80’s in Washington DC, she moved to New Mexico to study with an array of leaders in the alternative medicine movement. She graduated from New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics in 1990 and the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine in 1992. It was during those years of learning that she decided to become a physician. After obtaining a BS in Biology and Chemistry at University of New Mexico, she attended medical school, also at UNM.

She moved to Philadelphia and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and then pursued additional training in Hospice and Palliative Care at Harvard Medical School (PCEP), eventually helping to found the Palliative Medicine consultation service at TJUH.

She is a graduate of the 3 Doors North American Academy, a 3 year long meditation training program founded by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and has maintained a daily meditation practice for over 10 years. She is committed to the anti-racist practice of somatic abolitionism, which she practices with the support of the community at Education for Racial Equity. She has completed an MDMA- assisted therapist training with MAPS through Naropa University, and both a death doula and home funeral guide certificate program with Sacred Crossings Institute.

She is the founder of Herbal Care Rx, which provides low-cost medical cannabis cards and consultations for cannabis based symptom management.

Rebecca is mom to one wonderful son, and lives near the Wissahickon wilderness, where she loves to hike with her dog, Elsie. She identifies as white, cisgendered, queer, and able bodied.