STAFF MEMBERS
Christin Ament
Christin (DNP, BSN, BS) is a hospice and palliative care provider with over
15 years at the bedside. She is also a death doula, integrative medicine practitioner and grief facilitator who has trained to guide psychedelic experiences with the dying and grieving. She has studied wisdom traditions at their places of origin around the globe and reveres Nature as her wisest teacher. Christin practices Cha Dao, the way of tea and has been serving
tea globally for nearly a decade. Locally, she leads Grief Tea Ceremonies at Lakewood Cemetery and has hosted the Twin Cities Death Cafes for the past 6 years. At the Bardo, Christin is the Executive Director: she also writes curriculum, serves tea, cares for the animals and honors the plants and those we cannot see. Email Christin
J Johnson
J (they/them) is a versatile “J-of-all-trades” whose diverse skills and experiences are a perfect match for The Bardo’s mission. With over a decade of experience as a bedside nurse in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, J has also brought their expertise to the outdoors as a summer camp nurse and to the classroom as a public school nurse.Beyond nursing, J is an avid woodworker and deeply passionate about farming, gardening, and sustainable living. They find joy in building connections, fostering collaboration, and creating community.
Sybil Levine
Sybil (she/her) is the Development Coordinator here at The Bardo. On any given day she may be developing a grant application, a new walkway, a relationship with a patron of The Bardo, or a therapeutic art project. Sybil
is passionate about movement as medicine and getting hands-on with processing. With a rich and varied curriculum vitae, Sybil fits in well as a new addition to The Bardo, taking on whatever the project the day requires. Email Sybil
FACILITATORS
Randine Anderson Lewis
Randine (PhD, LAc) is a renowned educator, speaker and scholar translating the classical/Taoist lineage of Chinese medicine into modern life. After studying both Western and Eastern medicine, Dr. Lewis founded numerous clinics and educational programs and authored several pioneering books including The Infertility Cure, The Way of the Fertile Soul, The Spirit of the Blood, Birthing the Tao and Pharmaceutical Energetics. She lectures internationally and conducts intensive retreats and educational workshops for patients and practitioners utilizing ancient healing approaches. She is on faculty at Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts, where she teaches in their integrative medicine doctoral program using curriculum she helped develop. At The Bardo, Randine shares her wisdom and expertise through programs based on her forthcoming book, Finding Yourself in the Death Canal, the first manual providing a philosophical and practical guide for incorporating classical Chinese medicine at death.
Katri Balfanz
Katri (ChFC, CDFA) is a financial advisor who focuses her practice on helping clients use their resources to live more fully and with greater purpose: aligned with their values and contributing to the greater good.
At The Bardo, Katri helps families anticipate and navigate the many financial details that accompany end of life–relieving stress and bringing greater ease and meaning to the process. Katri has a BS in economics and Spanish from the College of Saint Benedict and has earned her Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) designations. She has owned her own company, KB Financial,
since 2008. Email Katri
Veronica Barnes
Veronica Barnes (MOT, OTR/L, CHT) is a Holistic Occupational Therapist with a deep interest in post-traumatic growth. She draws upon years
of experience as a Certified Hand Therapist, where she guides people through rehabilitation after injury or disease, including traumatic losses and chronic pain. Her goal is to help others navigate the grief that arises with loss, by exploring personalized self-care practices that reconnect individuals to their whole Self.
As a grief worker, she draws from a rich tapestry of modalities to facilitate insight, healing, and growth.These modalities include Craniosacral
Therapy, Daoist stone medicine, Therapeutic Neuroscience Education, HeartMath tools, somatic experiencing exercises, sensory integration, connection to Nature, sharing cacao and nurturing creative self-expression. She believes that through a gentle process of personal “meaning-making” we share our stories, are witnessed in our deepest emotions, and transformation occurs. From there, we are empowered to compost our pain into fertile ground, where new life blooms. At the Bardo, Veronica will host several of the Bardo Basics courses as well as facilitate several grief experiences.
Joel Carter
Joel (MD) is an accomplished palliative care specialist, author, storyteller and artist. In 2002, he transitioned to palliative care after being awarded
a Bush Fellowship to pursue his interests in end of life medicine and physician leadership. At The Bardo, Joel will bring the tools of storytelling, narrative and dignity therapy to address the psychosocial needs of dying patients and their families. He is an established writer and has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Reader’s Digest and the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Born in Winnipeg, he received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada, specializing in Family Practice and Emergency Medicine and subsequently worked as an ER doctor in Duluth, Minnesota.
Deb Fee
Debs’ story takes root as the oldest daughter of ten children in a household that was bustling with the rhythmic joy of new babies coming home from the hospital. Also born in these cherished days was her
delight in the art of “sacred hospitality” - a welcoming home. With innate devotion, Debs cheerfully accepted the responsibility that accompanied caring for many, which was always made lighter by the laughter that filled their home. Her profound love for babies led Debs to a vocation as a neonatal intensive care nurse where she spent countless hours with her hands inside incubators, gently nurturing the most fragile lives into the world. It was also here that she first witnessed the profound interconnectedness between love and grief.
Today Debs brings this same loving touch, understanding and compassion to her current projects. She finds deep joy in gathering wisdom keepers together to collectively breathe life into shared dreams that continue to awaken and take shape before her eyes. With profound reverence, deep awe and unfaltering trust, Debs holds and nourishes Mend and all that grows from it. She is a steadfast believer in the power of the present moment, always keeping her eyes open to the wonders of now.
Welcoming home all who arrive to the land allows Debs to create with the wisdom of an ancestor in the making. Her ultimate goal is to be a beacon of insight, support and guidance - creating a world that she would be proud to welcome her great grandchildren to. The foundation of familial bonds has been a constant, blessed support throughout her life’s journey, and it is a legacy she continues with her husband Tom, their four children, eight grandchildren and the twinkles who have yet to arrive earthside.
Ben Flattum
Ben is driven by a deep calling to guide others in uncovering their life’s meaning and purpose. With a focus on existential psychology and the insights provided by the natural world, he tackles life’s most enigmatic questions, especially those surrounding death and dying. As a counselor
at The Bardo and The Center for Conscious Alchemy, he helps individuals find significance in their triumphs and trials. His work is enriched by his expertise in mindfulness and psychedelic-assisted therapies– innovative approaches that enhance our exploration of meaning making. He is on
the board of the Psychedelic Access Project and completing his M.A. in Counseling and Psychology at Saint Mary’s University. At The Bardo, Ben
is committed to facilitating courageous conversations and transformative journeys that illuminate the essence of our human experience.
Moon Rabbit
Linda Zlotnick began studying astrology in 1970 after having a profound spiritual experience. In 1978 she began her full-time astrology practice. Over the decades astrology taught her that what happens in the heavens mirrors what we experience here on earth, and that we’re far more connected to the universe than we imagine. Because of that, when her identical twin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005 and died five months later, she found answers in the stars. During her long descent
into grief one of the things that brought a deep level of acceptance
was studying her Death Chart. A horoscope she cast for the date, place and time of her death. It showed clearly her reason for leaving, why it happened then, and her soul’s journey forward without her. Over these last ten years she's worked with many more grieving people, using astrology
to help them to find peace, understanding, and clarity through their loss.
At The Bardo, Moon Rabbit is a resource for individuals looking to explore in astrological terms, the meaning of loss. Moon Rabbit website.
Anne Murphy
As a celebrant, death educator and home vigil guide, Anne offers a path toward remembering death as a natural and normal part of life through community conversations, nature-based ceremonies and embodied practices. Respecting and drawing upon individual cosmologies, cultural practices and ancestral connections, Anne's relational approach to death invites curiosity, creativity and compassion. Anne is a Founder of the Minnesota Death Collaborative as well as a past board member of the National Home Funeral Alliance. She is also a National End of Life Doula Association volunteer and a member of the Minnesota Threshold Network leadership circle.
Kelly Shay
Kelly Shay has an extensive community and social services background with over two decades spent on enriching the lives of others and advocating for marginalized communities. Her career has been focused
on the teaching of self-sufficiency skills, environmental sustainability, youth development, family and community engagement, artistic expression, and mind/body wellness. She has developed workshops for girls, women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ communities, in addition to being trained in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) which has been used in her work with teen parents. She has a rich background in herbalism and regenerative health coaching. For The Bardo, Kelly will
lead yin yoga for the Cocoon, offer body work, and aid with herbalism
and regenerative health approaches to all that is created on The Mend land and The Bardo services.
Tenzin Namdul​
Tenzin (PhD, TMD) is a medical anthropologist, scholar and Tibetan Medicine doctor. His work focuses on death and dying, end-of-life care
and resilience. Tenzin incorporates his diverse training into his research and teaching to examine how cultural values and contemplative practices shape the ways individuals age and die and care for others who are dying. He received his PhD in Medical Anthropology from Emory University, trained as a Doctor of Tibetan Medicine (TMD) in Dharamsala India. Tenzin is an assistant professor of Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing and the Director of Tibetan Healing Initiative at the University of Minnesota.
At The Bardo, he is our resident expert on Tibetan death practices and
the Bardo, a Buddhist concept that refers to an in-between state that
gives us the opportunity to prepare for the next stage with full presence and spacious-compassionate mind.
Jody Slaughter
Jody is The Bardo’s resident spiritual counselor offering therapeutic support and is core support for the Cocoon, The Bardo’s monthly membership program. Jody brings more than 30 years of practice in spiritual care, counseling and chaplaincy–guiding individuals and communities toward healing and restoration through reconciliation
with self, others and the Divine. Jody has a particular expertise in areas of self-compassion, grief counseling and death and dying. She is a skilled communicator with extensive experience facilitating groups on life, grief, relationships and spirituality. Jody has a BA in Social Work; a MDiv in Pastoral Care and Counseling; is a Fellow with American Association of Pastoral Counseling; is Certified as a Hypnotherapist; and has completed multiple trainings in Midwifing Death.
Selma Sroka
Selma (MD) earned her Medical Degree from the U of MN, completed Family Medicine Residency Training and, in 1994, joined the faculty at Hennepin County Medical Center. During her decades of practice and teaching, she expanded her experience and knowledge base with an Integrative Medicine Fellowship (U of AZCIM) and the study of multiple modalities considered "alternative," as well as by immersing herself in traditional healing with healers in North America, including Mexico. No longer working inside the medical system, Selma leads a Traditional Healing Training Program, stays involved with a variety of community healing projects and is learning to facilitate Family Systems Constellations. Selma has passion for working with life's many transitions, and is honored to be part of the team at The Bardo–offering traditional limpia sessions and helping to "birth" a better, more reverent way to live and die.
Romina Takimoto
Romina's love for plants, nature and heart-centered connections led
her to the Bardo, where the land and the dream drew her in with a warm embrace. After 8 years as a hospital-based occupational therapist, and
8 years of herbalism study, she began crafting herbal skincare that is sold across the country. Her interests live at the intersection of biology and spirituality, self-ceremony and co-ritual, waking and dreaming, and daily human and non-human interactions. Romina is honored to bring her
years of experience as a trained herbalist, natural skincare formulator and apothecary business owner to the Bardo community, as the potential for this program and the lives it can touch is profound. She hopes to foster in others a deeper connection to Nature and that beautiful yet fleeting feeling of wholeness that one can find at any moment if we just listen.
"For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."
- Kahlil Gibran