Keynote Speaker: Cal Cates
Cal Cates is an award-winning writer, published researcher, international speaker, and the founder and Executive Director of Healwell, a non-profit whose mission is to teach massage therapists how to work effectively with people affected by serious illness, to provide that care and to advocate for a broader role for the discipline of massage therapy in serious illness care.
Cal is an inspirational change facilitator.
They have trained thousands of healthcare providers in skills of resilience, self-awareness, communication, and forgiveness. They have dedicated their career to advocacy in healthcare, massage therapy as social justice, and to revolutionizing education for healthcare providers. Cal has trained with Roshi Joan Halifax, Ram Dass, Frank Ostaseski, and other leaders in the field of contemplative care and has created curriculum and written for trade journals on topics ranging from end of life care to interdisciplinary education to racism and the endless ways that humans make it hard to live in successful, equitable harmony.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Elena Prendergrast
Dr. Elena Prendergast is a healthcare leader with expertise in palliative and end of life care. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice and is nationally certified as a nurse practitioner in both family and advanced hospice and palliative care nursing. She currently serves a palliative care consultant at a local teaching hospital and is a part-time Assistant Professor of Nursing. In addition to her palliative care expertise, she has sought training as an End-of-life Doula, functional medicine, and trauma/resilience. Her dedication to improving the healthcare experience extends to serving in her local community and on the national stage as a clinician, educator, and advocate. A natural storyteller, she is a sought after speaker, drawing from her experiences to relate to her audience As the owner of Tree of Life Health Consultant, she assists clients in navigating the complexities of serious-illness with a focus on defining and achieving their individual quality of life goals.
Dan Morrow
My name is Dan Morrow. I graduated from Midwestern University School of Pharmacy in Chicago in 2014. I am a pharmacist that has been working in the hospice space for 10 years. I have been in my current role with Enclara for 6 years as a clinical manager that includes educating nurses and physicians on medication topics that affect hospice patients. I am also a member of the NHPCO Next Gen Leadership Counsil to ensure our future healthcare providers are educated on important topics involved in hospice and palliative care.
Andrew J. Vitale
Andrew is a globally recognized Thanatologist and Spiritual Counselor, specializing in death, dying and bereavement. Coauthor of impactful books, including “Children Surviving Traumatic Death,” “Promoting Resilience,” and author of “Grief Work Activities.” As a certified Thanatologist, he plays a key role on the steering committee for the International Conference for Death, Dying and Bereavement. In 2022, Andrew received the Dr. Robert Fulton Founder’s Award for his exceptional contributions. Invited to join the prestigious International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWGddb), Andrew collaborates with global leaders to shape international discourse. His commitment to excellence and compassion makes him a sought-after figure in the field.
Lisa Phillipson
Lisa Phillipson, a lifelong resident of the metro-east region in southwestern Illinois, started her leadership journey as a young adult by assuming a managerial role at McDonalds, proudly graduating from Hamburger University. She furthered her education at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, earning a degree in communication. Her career path led her to work with children with speech disorders in the St. Louis Public Schools, followed by serving as the executive director of Easter Seals Southwestern Illinois. For the past 22 years, she has been the Community Relations and Education Director for Hospice of Southern Illinois. Recently, Lisa launched her own brand, Positively Speaking with Lisa, where she shares insights learned from her leadership career, including the triumphs, setbacks, and invaluable lessons learned along the way.
Dr. Margaret Putman
Dr. Putman is a board certified Hospice and Palliative Medicine physician and Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago. She is also an Emergency Medicine Physician, which she practiced for 9 years before completing her HPM fellowship, and a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator
Kelly Kalseth
Kelly Kalseth is the founder of Momma Gourmet, a company specializing in nutritious and delicious pureed meals for individuals with swallowing difficulties. Her journey began with her premature son, whose early challenges with feeding inspired her to create balanced, appealing purees that were both medically appropriate and loved by her son. What started as a deeply personal mission grew into a broader passion for helping families facing similar challenges.
Kelly’s experience deepened when her father was placed on a pureed diet following neck surgery. Her ability to provide flavorful, nourishing meals for his recovery highlighted a critical gap in adult nutrition care—and sparked the next evolution of Momma Gourmet. Today, the company delivers thousands of pureed meals across the United States and supports organizations like Meals on Wheels of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools.
With a degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition and a background in hospitality sales and marketing, Kelly combines scientific knowledge, culinary creativity, and heartfelt care to elevate the puree experience. She also offers consulting services to hospices and care providers, training staff to prepare in-house purees that are customized, safe, and satisfying.
From her kitchen to your care team, Kelly’s mission remains the same: to nourish with dignity, one delicious spoonful at a time.
Dawn Jelley
Dawn is a distinguished certified hospice nurse with over 35 years of experience, spanning from bedside care to EMR product strategy. Originating from England, she now excels as a Product Strategist at Curantis Solutions in the US, where she leverages her extensive hospice and palliative care background to innovate hospice software.
Dawn’s unique perspective is informed by her varied roles in patient care, program management, and software development, alongside her firsthand experience with the challenges clinicians face. She has presented at many hospice and palliative conferences at both regional and state level. Among her speaking engagements in 2025 she presented at the NHPCO conference in Denver Colorado and was the closing keynote speaker at the Massachusetts Federation Hospice and Palliative Conference.
An author of three books inspired by her hospice work, Dawn’s writings reflect her deep engagement with life, death, and bereavement, including pet loss. Her career in the US began in 1994 in Boston, Massachusetts, evolving into roles that significantly contributed to her expertise in hospice care technology and patient support.
Her passion for making hospice and home care work less burdensome through improved technology defines her mission. Dawn continues to be a guiding force in reimagining hospice care, striving to blend empathy with innovation for better patient and caregiver experiences.
Rev. Joe Green
Rev. Joe Green, MABS, is Corp. Director of Spiritual Care and Bereavement at Unity Hospice and Palliative Care. Joe completed his Clinical Pastoral Education at Rush University Medical Center. He has since had extensive experience in Hospice and Palliative care with a focused interest in improving the care of those with ALS.
Judith Wood Mintz
Judith Wood Mintz, MSW, LCSW is the Director of Social Work for Unity Hospice and Palliative Care, providing support and guidance to Social Work teams in seven offices across five states. She is also Core Faculty and Head of the Social Work Division for the Coleman Palliative Medicine Training Program, an interdisciplinary, city-wide endeavor training health care professionals in the provision of quality primary and specialty level palliative care. Judith has a key leadership role in a fast-growing hospice caring for patients in urban, suburban, and rural communities. She is the author of a chapter in the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work 2nd edition, addressing the role of social work with ALS patients. Her specific areas of expertise are the treatment of ALS patients in palliative and hospice care and in the provision of quality hospice and palliative care to an underserved, marginalized, urban population.
Laura Supanavongs
Laura Supanavongs is the Director of Clinical Education at Lightways Hospice. Before this position, Laura was a hospice case manager for eight years, participating in numerous IDT meetings. She truly believes that each interdisciplinary team member’s role is integral to the successful care of each patient in hospice. Laura is currently working on her master’s in nursing at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, with an anticipated graduation in August 2025. Laura lives with her husband, Deo, 15-year-old son, Max, 11-year-old daughter, Maia, and their two dogs, Oreo and Wheatie.
Matt Wolf
Matt Wolf is a Field Chaplain at Lightways Hospice. Previously he served as a church minister and continues to work part-time as a hospital chaplain. He attends and participates in weekly IDT meetings. Matt highly values every person’s input and believes that the voice of each discipline blends with the others to form a unified team. He also wants to answer the question, “Who takes care of the caregivers?”
Patrice Martin
Patrice Martin has 21 years of experience working in the hospice field, and 9 years of experience in foster care system, facing multiple circumstances when children and families experience separation and loss. Patrice earned her LCSW in 1999 and has provided counseling and clinical supervision to both interns and Social Workers and Counselors since that time. Patrice Martin is currently the Director of Grief Support at Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness, which provides a comprehensive grief support program to both hospice and community families before and after a death in the family.
Allison Gunnink
Allison Gunnink, MBA, LPMT, MT-BC (she/her) received her undergraduate degree in Music Therapy from Western Illinois University in 2010, and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Health Services from the University of St. Francis in 2013. She obtained the Hospice & Palliative Care Music Therapy certificate in 2015. Allison has worked in hospice for 15 years and is passionate about keeping humanity at the center of the work.
Dr. Michelle Mikus
Dr. Michelle Mikus is a 2013 graduate from the Duquesne University school of pharmacy and since then, she has worked at Dragonfly Health (formerly Delta Care Rx), joining the team as one of the first hospice consultant pharmacists. In 2019 she was promoted to her current role of Vice President of Pharmacy Operations for a team that has grown to over 60 pharmacists and hundreds of hospice partners. In this role, Dr. Mikus oversees both the clinical consulting and dispensing operations of the company and serves as an information resource for pharmacists at both Dragonfly Health and client hospices. She also travels to client hospices to train nurses and providers on evidence-based drug information and interdisciplinary teamwork. Dr. Mikus has presented for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, Project ECHO, numerous state hospice and palliative care organizations, the Pennsylvania Pharmacist Association, Duquesne University and a number of hospitals. She is working on a Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts and is an adjunct faculty member at Duquesne University as well as a field instructor, helping to ensure the success of the next generation of pharmacists.
Rev. Dr. Wanda Cheryl Henry-Jenkins
Rev. Dr. Wanda Henry-Jenkins is bi-vocational. She is a minister on the staff of Mayo AME Church in Matteson, Illinois and a member of the South District of the Chicago Annual Conference of the AME Church. She is also the Bereavement Services Manager (BSM) in the Chicago Central and Chicago Northwest Offices of VITAS Healthcare Chicago Region for the past 25 years.
Rev. Dr. Henry-Jenkins is a fourth-generation member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She entered the ministry in 1972. She is an Itinerate elder. She served as a pastor and on ministerial staffs in the First, Fourth, and Third Districts. Rev. Wanda has served as the AME/ WIM Coordinator, and President of the Non-Pastors’ Association in the First Episcopal District and Director of Grief Ministry. While in the First District, she developed a Christian education Board game “The AME Game” to help parents and children spend time together while learning about the AME Church, Church History and Black History. As a pastor’s wife, she has been an advisor for the WMS, worked widely with Youth in the Church, Women’s Ministry, and with the Spouse and Widows Organization. She compiled and edited the South District’s Lenten Devotional. Dr. Henry-Jenkins has trained ministers and laity on grief in the First, Fourth, and Eleventh Episcopal Districts. She believes the need is great to comfort and compassion people lamenting a death and all types of losses.
Dr. Henry-Jenkins received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education from Olivet Nazarene University, a Master’s in Human services from Lincoln University, a Master of Arts degree in Spiritual Formation from Lincoln Christian University, and a Doctorate in Ministry in Spiritual Formation from Lincoln Christian University and Seminary. She has received an Advanced Certificate in Cultural Competence in Human Services from Temple University School of Social Sciences, a Certificate in Bereavement and Grief from Widow and Widowers Counseling and Referral Services and graduated from Christos Center and is a Certified Spiritual Director.
Dr. Wanda has worked in human services, healthcare, Christian Spiritual Care for many decades, as a nurse, educator, social worker, bereavement manager, and minister. She is a published author of three books: “Just Us: Understanding Homicidal Loss;” Hard Work: A Grief Journal,” and “My Story, My Song, Daughter of a Murder Victim; Grief, Grace, and Growth after Loss. She was an editor for Bereavement Magazine and has written several publications for VITAS Healthcare on Bereavement and Grief, including “A Time to Remember Mom (a journal for adult motherless daughters),” “Remembering Momma (a journal for teenage motherless daughters),” A “Spouse Loss Workbook”, and An Adult Parental Workbook”. Rev. Wanda speaks internally, nationally, and locally on topics in bereavement, cultural diversity and spiritual formation. She has worked at VITAS for 25 years.
Rev. Dr. Wanda has been filmed in the following published videos: At Death’s Door, Paraclete Video, Beyond Death’s Door, Paraclete Video, and Children Grieve Too, Centering Corporation. She has been a Radio and Television Guest Consultant on the following shows: Phil Donahue Show (ABC) Children Related to Homicide Victims: Family Focus (ABC) Families and Friends of Murder Victims, CNN Documentary: Counseling at the Morgue, and the Edie Huggins Show, Book Review: Just Us: Understanding and Overcoming Homicidal Loss and Grief (CBS). She been a Workshop/Seminar Keynote Presenter, locally, nationally and internationally at NHPCO Conference in New Mexico, Hospice Foundation of America’s Teleconference for three years as panelist, and twice for the International Conference for the Bereaved, and a Web Seminar for HFA of America.
Rev. Dr. Henry-Jenkins is the widow of Reverend Samuel L. Jenkins, Jr., the mother of two young adults, Joshua and Jazmine, and is the grandmother of Sanaa, Nahla, Jaleel, and Jade Jenkins.
Reverend Dr. Wanda believes that learning opens many doors. She also believes that caregivers deserve to receive empathy and companionship through the End of life and beyond. Healing from her perspective is life-time process and is a choice! God truly is the center of her life and the reason for her joy.