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Manager at the Highmark Caring Place, Erie PA; Moderator

Kristie Nosich became the Manager at the Highmark Caring Place facility in Erie in 2018. Prior to that role, she served in the Erie Caring Place as Family Services Coordinator, and then School Services Coordinator. Before coming to the Caring Place, Kristie spent more than 16 years advocating for children and families in the fields of child welfare and mental health. Kristie graduated from Edinboro University with her Masters in Counseling, and became a licensed professional counselor in 1999; she is also a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and is certified in thanatology. Her passion is supporting the needs of grieving children and families in her community. Kristie lives in Erie with her husband along with three puppies. She is the proud mom of two children—her son, in Austin, Texas, and her daughter, a student at West Virginia University.

LCSW; Grief Coach

Pamela Presler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Private Practice in Erie, Pennsylvania. As a board member, she helped develop the “You Are With Me” peer support group for Emma’s Footprints, and is passionate about guiding parents through their grief in healthy ways. She also serves as a family mediator and educator and specializes in helping children who are experiencing conflict in their families. In addition, Pamela is the Vice President of the Collaborative Professionals of Northwestern Pennsylvania. She devotes her time away from work to her husband and three teenage children.

Associate Professor, HR/MIS, Shields School of Business at Saint Francis University

Dr. Kent Tonkin teaches HR, management, and management information systems at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA. Since 2014, he has built significant experience in teaching working/non-traditional students as an instructor in Saint Francis University’s online Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs. In addition to his classroom work, Dr. Tonkin also regularly consults with business and industry through his company, Tonkin to You, LLC. Areas of consultation include communications training, conflict management techniques, time management, and peer to manager transitions. 

Dr. Tonkin has been involved in grief work since 2008, beginning as a volunteer and fundraiser for a children’s bereavement group (The Healing Patch) and then moving into associated research. His dissertation “the Effects of Practical Consideration of Grief in the Workplace,” was published in 2021, followed by an article about the impact of management on bereaved employees in Omega in 2022 (It IS Who You Know: The Power of Supervisors in Awarding and Administering Bereavement Leave. Omega (Westport). 2022 Sep 22:302228221129423. doi: 10.1177/00302228221129423.). He has presented his findings and best practices to the International Death, Grief, and Bereavement Conference at the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse, Highmark Healthcare, Northcentral University, the Humana Caregiver Network, the Great Things, LLC podcast and other national groups. 

Dr. Tonkin currently has a chapter on grief and identity in process as part of a compilation of essays; he’s also in process of developing a larger quantitative study to expand his qualitative dissertation work. Since 2011, a nonprofit he co-founded, Patched Together, Inc., has raised over $160,000 to ensure that bereavement services for children remain available free of charge in Central Pennsylvania.

Presenter

Senior Grief and Clinical Services Specialist, Outreach and Education Coordinator; The Highmark Caring Place—Warrendale 

Janet is a nurse as well as a licensed clinical social worker, and she earned certification in Thanatology (the study of death and bereavement) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Janet serves as a Senior Grief and Clinical Services Specialist at the Highmark Caring Place in Warrendale, PA, where she oversees peer support groups for grieving children and their families. Additionally, in her role as Outreach and Education Coordinator, Janet works to heighten awareness of the impact of grief on children and families through consultations, presentations, and trainings for professionals and community groups. When she is not at work, Janet loves spending time with family, especially her three young adult children.

Presenter

Tracy Dailey is Co-Founder and Board President of Emma’s Footprints. Tracy and her husband, Bryan, lost Emma Kathryn Dailey on May 30, 2007; six years later she felt a tugging on her heart to “climb into the trenches” with families suffering pregnancy and infant loss. In 2013, Emma’s Footprints was born.

They have three handsome boys that also keep them busy, own two businesses, are very active in their church and love being able to bless others. 

Presenter

As executive director, Julie Swanson is responsible for Emma’s Footprints’ day-to-day operations, fundraising, grant writing, and event planning. While she was appointed to the position in October 2018, she is not a stranger to the organization. Julie and her husband, Mike, were served by Emma’s Footprints when they lost their 4-month-old son Gus to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in June 2016. Julie and Mike understand all too well the emotional, social, and financial challenges that families face after losing a child. Julie began actively volunteering and fundraising for Emma’s in honor of Gus soon after his death and is now honored to be serving in this new role. Julie and Mike are also the proud parents to two healthy boys; Walter(7) and Chuck(2).

Presenter

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, she lives in Gibsonia with her husband and best friend, Ken. She is the earthly mother of four handsome grown sons: Christopher, Corey, Chad, and Cody. She is also the angel mother of the beautiful Courtney, her third child, who was stillborn at 42 weeks on June 14, 1991. Honoring her only daughter for the past 33 years has given her purpose in her walk of pain. She has advocated for and helped pass Pennsylvania Senate Bill 326 in June 2007. This bill acknowledges their children in vital statistics and provides every family with a CBRS (Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth). Additionally, she is a proud doodle mom to Bennie, her Sheepadoodle, and a grandmother to three beautiful grandchildren: two granddaughters, Ophelia and Nora, and one grandson, Nolan, who was born on her birthday. When she is not in PA, she enjoys the lake life in Ohio at their lake house, boating, kayaking, and savoring almost-retired life with her husband and dog in her happy place by the water.