After moving with her husband and three children from Germany to Iowa City in 2000, she became a licensed massage therapist and earned a degree in nursing. After her father’s death, it became clear to her that she wanted to dedicate herself to this sacred time and provide support to patients and their families at the end of life. She found her calling as a hospice nurse and has been working for Iowa City Hospice for over a decade, while continuing her practice as a massage therapist and energy worker.

She graduated from “The Doulagivers” program in the spring of 2024 and enjoys her role as a death doula in providing comfort with massage and energy work and helping with advanced directives.

Hayley came to the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa following her husband Mike’s death from pancreatic cancer. They were two thirty-somethings with a baby, unprepared to stay connected to one another and their core wants and wishes in the face of a terminal diagnosis. She believes above all else the power of community and hopes to provide compassionate, kind, and informed support to others who are suffering - the type of support she and Mike desperately needed after his diagnosis. 

As Nick Cave says in response to the question all grieving people ask - does it ever get better? “We become different. We become better.”

Jordan lives in Iowa City and is an active participant in the community's arts scene. He enjoys reading, music, biking, and playing basketball. He currently works as the Employee Engagement Coordinator at Iowa City Hospice where he helps with various administrative tasks and the orientation of new employees into the agency. He's especially interested in community building toward a more supportive local culture around all aspects of end-of-life. Jordan completed INELDA Death Doula training in November, 2023.

Kate’s interest in end-of-life work began in 1994 when she became a certified nurse aid at a nursing facility. Before Kate became a nurse aid, she had never been in close contact with anyone in the dying process. She found the work to be fulfilling and meaningful. Later, Kate came back to end-of-life work as a volunteer for the Iowa City Bird House until COVID. She currently volunteers for the No One Dies Alone Program (NODA) at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Kate has a PhD with a scholarly background in the history of medical education and works as an academic advisor and Pre-Health studies coordinator at the University of Iowa Academic Advising Center. She currently teaches a class on how values, mindsets, and emotions intersect in the experiences of healthcare professionals.

Kate has particular interest in vigil work and ritual. Death is a sacred transition, and she consider it an honor to be with the dying and their friends and families during this important time.

Between alchemizing my curiosities of death and life with my education and training on how the body moves, emotes, changes, and ages, I find myself a forever student to all things; death/life and our body.

I hope to offer services for the whole self of the dying and the living around those dying. Through the ancient movement practices of yoga, dance, restorative rest as well as in meditation, intention setting, and the ancient energy work of reiki.

I am currently volunteering at hospice as a companion care and support in the eleventh hour. I hope to continue supporting those who look for spiritual guidance, creative expression, companionship, and non medical support in end of life care.

No one should die alone unless they choose to. Let’s walk each other home.

kimberly jaeger- arjes (she/her/hers)

For over 40 years, Mary has supported people and families with end-of-life care informally. Professionally, Mary earned a PhD in Human Development and Aging, with a focus on aging in different societies and social policies that could support marginalized seniors. She taught at a college, while doing community-based research and service with students and colleagues. After retiring from teaching, Mary began volunteering at the Senior Center in Iowa City, facilitating groups on death, end-of-life, and caregiving.

Mary's specialty is family communication and values-based decision-making. By clarifying and articulating values about what is most important for each family member or caregiver, as well as the dying person, decisions can be made and communicated clearly, reducing stress, easing the passage through death, and avoiding conflicted grief and bereavement. Through close listening and reflection, and the development of clear communication skills, Mary strives to support all those involved in the dying process to feel a sense of peace.

When you sit staring at others long enough in meditation and have ongoing reading discussions on death and dying, in hindsight the resulting formation of the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa seems predictable enough. Such causes and conditions, alongside a history of volunteering with a hospice organization while living in California, brought Nathan to the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa. Nathan came to Iowa City in 2022 from Vermont with his partner Stephanie Krzywonos when Steph was drawn as a student to the graduate nonfiction writing program.

He works for the international Quaker nonprofit, Right Sharing of World Resources, volunteers with the Alternatives to Violence Project on the local and international levels, and enjoys the community of the Iowa City Friends, the local Quaker meeting.

He also enjoys reading, playing board games, making homemade tortillas, and otherwise being a homebody.