Committee

Rebecca Lyons, mother of one, hails from the Blue Mountains in NSW. She started her working career in Sydney before making the move to Tasmania in late 2006.

Over her career she has worked in various industries including finance, real estate and the law but in 2011, she found her path into the funeral industry and stayed there until mid-2017 working across the many roles offered in the contemporary funeral industry; including pre planning, administration, mortuary, funeral arranging and directing. Retraining as an End of Life Doula and becoming an independent Funeral Director she has worked in home based death care and family led funerals ever since.

Bec has also been actively working to advance the mission of You n’ Taboo which is the education and advocacy service she co-founded with her partner in 2016.
Most recently Bec was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake international research and report on changes and disruptions in the end of life space which saw her travel through 6 countries exploring alternatives to contemporary ceremony and body disposal. A link to her report can be found by clicking here.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, photography, camping and travel but what makes her most contented is time with her family. The subjects of death and dying, natural burial and the DIY approach to death care are her passion and she loves being out in the community raising awareness and promoting good honest conversations, she is a dedicated advocate for positive change.

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.yountaboo.com

Fiona has volunteered and worked for a number of marine conservation and environmental organisations throughout her property career. She has a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University and a Master of Property at UTS.

After moving down from Sydney to the South Coast of NSW in 2016 she started the journey of establishing Australia’s first 100% natural and conservation burial ground – inspired by a documentary called Will for Woods where an Australian documentary maker called Amy Browne followed a man in America who was dying of cancer and his pursuit of finding a natural burial ground. Fiona says “It seemed like the best way to protect habitat for wildlife and also provide a beautiful place to visit loved ones, a gift to the planet.”

Walawaani Way Conservation Burial is an 18-hectare site that will provide habitat for glossy black cockatoos, koalas and lyrebirds. Walawaani Way aims to establish world’s best practice alongside NDAN’s guidance and mentorship. Fiona is striving to make conservation natural burials the number one choice for all Australians by communicating that this is what humans have done for 99% of our existence as is simply a part of the cycle of life. 

Fiona would love to hear from you, so please reach out!

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.walawaaniway.com

Phone: 0402 892 759

Anneke Barnes is a community minded person, arts facilitator, and connector. Having worked across theatre, events, government and not for profit sector for 20 years Anneke’s interest in contributing  of the end of life space began like many people when a loved one died. 

Through Death Curious Darwin in Darwin, Anneke aims to shed light on the topic of death and dying by providing a welcoming space for open discussion and learning. Aligning with NDAN Anneke’s goal is to share information with people to better understand their options at the end of life so they can make informed decisions about their health, body care, and ceremonies. 

Anneke shares her life with lots of people she loves. On a daily basis that includes a supportive husband, and their four legged friend Jen who features in most of Anneke’s selfies. 

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Death Curious Darwin

Heidi has worn many hats in her working life: nurse, Auslan interpreter, teacher, and counsellor for rural youth. During the 2019/2020 bushfires on Kangaroo Island Heidi witnessed the raw strength and capacity of community. Tired of the endless treadmill of outsourcing services to the mainland, Heidi saw a deep need to bring death care back into the community’s embrace – and founded KI Doula Services in response to the existential crisis that was all around her.

After further study with Griffith University, and intensive training as an end-of-doula and holistic funeral director, Heidi now works closely with the palliative care team at the Kangaroo Island Community Health Service, specialising in home death care and family lead funerals on private land in SA.  In response to community demand, she quietly manages a private conservation burial ground on the remote western end of Kangaroo Island and is thrilled to be involved in NDAN, an organisation she sees are clearly leading the change in Australia.

Website: www.kidoulaservices.com.au

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jess has worked on communications, advocacy and fundraising campaigns in environmental and humanitarian organisations for over seven years. She enjoys combining storytelling with research to connect people to ideas and with one another, and to bring about positive change in the world.

Jess is currently completing an Honours in Communications, exploring - via podcast and radio - the ways in which holistic approaches to death and dying both reflect and shape ecological sensibilities and affirm our relationship to our more-than-human kin.  She’s delighted to be part of NDAN, to promote meaningful choices at end of life for communities and families.

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Karen has a diverse portfolio of professional experience rooted in community service and advocacy. She spent ten years working in the union movement, where she specialised in industrial law, advocacy, and community campaigning Karen continues to be committed to justice and to giving a voice to those who need it most.

Karen also worked as a primary school teacher for eight years. Her teaching experience is as diverse as the landscapes she worked in, from a parent-run community school on the mid-north coast of New South Wales to a remote Northern Territory Indigenous Community school. In every classroom, Karen fostered curiosity, resilience, and kindness to help students grow both academically and emotionally.

Beyond her professional life, Karen is an avid reader and movie enthusiast (she has even jumped solo out of a plane a dozen times)! She shares her home with Amber, her 6-year-old rescue dog from Darwin, whose companionship brightens her days.

Karen has successfully completed specialised Funeral Celebrancy training with Sally Cant, in addition to a Certificate IV in Celebrancy through Box Hill TAFE. Now, as an Independent Funeral Celebrant, she is passionate about death literacy and navigating the evolving landscape of death care.

Karen is a newly appointed NDAN ordinary committee member.

Estella is a committed advocate for consumer choice at end of life and beyond, she is an End of Life Doula and Grief Counsellor based in Canberra. Her passion is death literacy education to ensure everyone knows their options. Estella has over 20 years experience supporting clients, their families and friends at end of life and during bereavement.

DIY Industry disrupter, Aged Care Worker, Funeral Planner, Celebrant

Co-founder Queer As Death

Electro-Punk Musician

Learn more via: Instagram or Website

As a socially engaged artist, Hayley West focuses on themes of death and memorialisation. Her work spans performance, sculpture, video, and installation to explore the realities of grief, the inevitability of death, and the acceptance of mortality. Working in the public realm, Hayley is committed to empowering communities through sharing practical knowledge and fostering generosity. With over 20 years of experience in research, exhibitions, and residencies both nationally and internationally, her practice continues to evolve and engage audiences globally.

Hayley has hosted DEAD AIR a weekly, live radio show on 94.9MAINfm since Nov 2021 and is Vice-President on the committee; previously co-hosted Death Cafés 2013-23 and was on the Historical Castlemaine Cemetery Trust. She is an active supporter of the Australian Home Funeral Alliance and the Queer as Death Collective.

Living and working on Djaara country, Hayley is a single parent to a teenager and staffy. She currently works as an academic librarian, aspires to be a doom metal vocalist and is soon to branch out in her regional community as an independent funeral consultant.

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

insta: @the.departure 

website: thedeparture.com.au 

Annie is a dedicated advocate for informed end-of-life choices, bringing her financial acumen and passion for natural death care to her role as Treasurer of the Natural Death Advocacy Network. Based in Meanjin (Brisbane), Annie works as a Funeral Director, Funeral Celebrant, and Death Doula, supporting individuals and families to create meaningful, personalised ceremonies and rituals that honour their person who has died.

With a deep commitment to demystifying death, Annie believes in fostering open conversations about dying and advocating for sustainable and eco-friendly burial options. Her professional background equips her with a unique perspective on the emotional and logistical complexities of end-of-life care, and she uses this expertise to contribute to NDAN’s mission of empowering communities with knowledge and resources.

Beyond her work, Annie is a creative spirit, with a love for performance art, visual storytelling, and immersive theatre. She combines her artistic sensibilities with her passion for advocacy to create engaging spaces where people can explore death and dying with curiosity, respect, and even humour.

website:https://grassrootsdeathcare.com.au/

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Insta:https://www.instagram.com/grassroots_deathcare/

With over 40 years of nursing experience and post-graduate qualifications in palliative care, I have a great passion for supporting those at the end of life and have long nurtured a deep desire to open up discussions around death, dying, and end-of-life issues, believing that this contains enormous possibilities for living more fully and richly. I work now in the field of Palliative Care in North East Victoria.

The past few years have provided several personal experiences for end of life support, culminating in the death of my husband in June 2019. This deeply personal exploration of the mystery of dying, death and grief have given me great insight into the challenges, nuances, and opportunities in this space.

Along with my colleague Nicole Stephens at End Stage Matters, we offer End of Life Doula services, Advance Care Planning workshops, and other events such as Death Cafes, podcasts and a theatre piece about ACP.

NDAN provides me with an opportunity for me to have a positive influence and contribute to our cultural reclamation of natural dying and natural death.

Phone : 0422318149

Website : endstagematters.com

Email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.