WHO WE ARE

AMELIA BIRD

Amelia Bird is the Operations and Admin Director at Sprout. She comes to Wake's work as a former hospice volunteer, the daughter of an end of life home healthcare nurse and an artist who carved skulls out of cypress. Amelia has a background in teaching, state parks, and print media, and her hand-made artist's books are collected in university libraries and private collections across the country. She has spent the last decade contributing to New Orleans area nonprofits with design, writing, project management, communications strategy, and fundraising. Amelia holds a BA in Environmental Studies from the New College of Florida, and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing and graduate certificate in Book Arts & Technologies from the University of Iowa.

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JULIO CLOTTER

Julio Clotter is the Founder of Raices Nuevas, a nonprofit supporting Garifuna youth in New Orleans. Originally from La Ceiba, Honduras, Julio has been a resident of New Orleans since the age of five and is a dedicated non-profit professional with over a decade of experience in programming, project management, and facilities coordination. Julio’s career includes impactful roles with organizations such as Son of a Saint and Groundwork New Orleans and as a member of New Orleans Youth Alliance Fellowship Alumni Advisory Council. Deeply committed to civic engagement, he is active in fundraising, operations consulting, and event planning. Julio strives to create equitable opportunities for New Orleans youth through community partnerships and public policy involvement, continually seeking to learn and volunteer with diverse organizations.

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ALLISON DURANT

In 2012 Allison Durant followed her passion and returned to school to pursue a Master of Education in Counseling. Propelled by the loss of her mother at the age of 18, Allison shifted from the world of accounting and managing physician practices to creating a space that promotes healing and wellness around all things grief. Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor in 2020, Allison founded The New Orleans Grief Center to open up dialogue, provide psychoeducation, and assist not only clients but other counselors to gain a better understanding of the process of grief. Allison’s previous career as a Certified Public Accountant gives her insight into the financial aspects of organizational management. She brings this unique combination of knowledge and service to the Wake Board of Directors, connecting a desire to support the community with an understanding of the financial requirements of running an organization. When not working, Allison can be found needlepointing or playing pickleball. She is also the mother of three amazing daughters. 

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MIRANDA GANZER

Miranda Ganzer is a New Orleans resident by way of New York City, working remotely for a San Francisco based law firm; her day regularly spans four time zones. Miranda has over ten years of professional and volunteer experience in various nonprofit fields, including museums, public art institutions, independent bookstores, women’s healthcare, and animal welfare. Locally, she volunteers with the Louisiana Abortion Fund and Heart of Hospice. Miranda holds a BA in English and Women’s Studies from Hampshire College and an MA in English & American Literature and Women’s & Gender Studies from Brandeis University.

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MOIRA GLACE

Moira Glace is currently the Director of Marketing and Communications at Stuart Hall School for Boys. She attended Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia before moving to New Orleans. Upon settling in New Orleans she traveled around the United States working in the film industry. During this time she took breaks to train to become a birth doula and learn back-end coding. After leaving the film industry, she worked with the local non-profit Electric Girls as their Operations Manager and Social Media Manager. Throughout her adolescence and adulthood, Moira has felt grounded by doing service work within her community. She has focused her time on reproductive justice, birth justice, and equity in education. Through her service work and lived experiences she has come to care deeply about one's personal choices when dealing with death.​ 

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SAM KANELLOS

Sam Kanellos was born and raised in New Orleans, instilling in them a deep dedication and connection with the city. They earned their Bachelor's in Environmental Science with a concentration in Biology from Loyola University. Sam has been working in the New Orleans' nonprofit scene for 8 years, providing residents with flood management resources, environmental education, and outdoors experience. They believe everyone has a right to outdoor spaces and should be provided the opportunity and tools to explore nature in a safe and curious manner. Sam joined Wake's board because they want to live in a death positive society that honors empathy, autonomy, and love above all else. This means enabling people to choose the death ritual that most honors their life, providing equitable resources for best practice end-of-life care, and fostering a harmonious relationship with life, death, and nature.

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AMIYAH KING

Amiyah King is a death doula, funeral celebrant, and wellness practitioner with a passion for culturally grounded, community-centered end-of-life care. She holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism, Communications & Film from Howard University and a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Buffalo State University. Amiyah’s work integrates trauma-informed care, ancestral practices, and land-based healing to support individuals navigating death, grief, and major life transitions through their personal testimony and memorialization. She serves on the educational committee of the Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization and advocates for the inclusion of death doulas in hospice settings. In addition to her service with Wake, Amiyah is also a board member of The Wellness Project, where she helps expand access to holistic and equitable care. She is also the creator of The Afterwords, a podcast and consulting platform helping people reimagine their lives through grief and transformation.​

 

JAMILLIA STEVENSON

Jamillia Stevenson is an Attorney and Counselor at Law in the State of Louisiana, specializing in personal injury, estate planning and succession, and family law. Jamillia has served as a document review and trial-preparation attorney for law firms in the Greater New Orleans area, and provides pro bono legal counseling through the ProBono Project. She currently operates the Law Office of Jamillia Stevenson, LLC which helps low and middle income clients to access justice and the court system. Jamillia holds a JD from Southern University Law Center and an undergraduate degree from Centenary College of Louisiana.

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BLUE TAYLOR

Blue Taylor is a Board Certified Music Therapist whose practice centers individuals at the end of life, and those living with Neurodegenerative Disease. After the completion of his Bachelor's in Music Therapy from Loyola University New Orleans and his internship in Hospice & Palliative care, Blue has gone on to provide Music Therapy services relating to the processing of terminal diagnosis and supportive care for those approaching end of life, care and consultation for those living with dementia and their care partners, creation of legacy and memorial projects, funeral music planning and performance, and bereavement and grief support. Blue approaches his work through an ecological and trauma-informed framework, using music as a tool to identify, honor, and witness the interconnectedness of his clients and their care partners to their own histories, relationships and communities as they journey through transition. Blue is deeply invested in making meaningful and equitable deathcare accessible to those to whom it is most systematically denied.

 

JAVELYNN TYLER

Javelynn Tyler moved to New Orleans from her hometown of Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2011, to work in the entertainment industry. Since then she has balanced free-lance work as a television producer with community engagement, volunteering for the past three years to support Wake initiatives. Javelynn credits her abiding interest in deathcare rituals to her Mexican heritage and believes strongly in the power of memorialization and the right of individuals to choose how they are celebrated after death. Javelynn considers herself a life-long learner who loves to travel and visit cemeteries and learn about deathcare traditions around the world.