Larry Burk, MD, is a retired Duke University Associate Professor of Radiology and co-founder of Duke Integrative Medicine. He is a Certified Energy Health Practitioner (CEHP) and online health coach specializing in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), hypnosis, and dreamwork, with two banned TEDx talks, including The Spiritual Alphabet Soup of Death and Dying. At the 2005 IANDS Conference, he presented a workshop on the use of EFT for PTSD after a near-death experience. He is a former board president of the Rhine Research Center and guest trainer at the Monroe Institute. He has written two books: Let Magic Happen: Adventures in Healing with a Holistic Radiologist and Dreams That Can Save Your Life: Early Warning Signs of Cancer and Other Diseases. His website is www.larryburk.com.

Alinaghi Ghasemiannejad (Ali Ghasemian), PhD, is a psychologist in Isfahan, Iran, with extensive experience in research and relationship therapy. His expertise spans areas such as near-death experiences (NDEs), spiritualty, and Imago Relationships Therapy (IRT)—a transformative approach to strengthening relationships. Ali’s academic journey has taken him beyond Iran, including a stint as a visiting scholar at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton in 2015 to complete his doctoral dissertation comparing the phenomenology of Iranian Shi’ite Muslim NDEs to that of people in the US. This experience enriched his perspective and deepened his commitment to cross-cultural understanding of NDEs. Now, he is the leader of the IANDS Iran affiliated group.

Janice Miner Holden, EdD, LPC-S, ACMHP, retired from the University of North Texas in 2019 as Professor Emerita after 31 years on the Counseling Program faculty. Her primary research focus was and is counseling implications of near-death and related experiences—topics on which she has numerous professional publications and presentations. She remains professionally active, including as journal editor for, and president of, IANDS. www.janholden.com

Debbie James, MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN – Driven by the art and science of nursing practice and education, Debbie’s career has focused on safe, evidence-based, patient-centered care. Her passion and commitment to exemplary end-of-life care of patients and significant others in combination with her research and understanding of near-death experiences has resulted in intense global collaboration. She has provided diverse training and education in various aspects of bereavement and bioethics throughout the US—including at Vanderbilt University, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and San Antonio, and Parkland Hospital in Dallas—and Canada to address critical care nursing, death and dying, bioethics, and palliative and end-of-life care. To enhance nursing best practices, she analyzed and published data while holding leadership roles to influence practice standards. She served as a nursing representative in Texas Medical Association efforts to improve and implement policies regarding advanced directives, a profound end-of-life concern.

J. Scott Janssen, MSW, has been a hospice clinical social worker for 33 years and has published over 100 academic and popular articles on issues related to end-of-life social work practice. He is a member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Associations Trauma Informed Work Group and an editorial advisor for Social Work Today. In addition to his publications, Scott has presented to professional audiences including at IANDS conferences, the Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University. He has been the invited speaker on numerous podcasts, recently Bright Lights Beyond #23: The Meaning of Closure, Part 1, where he discussed such Symposium topics as after-death communication and terminal lucidity.

Norman Klaunig, MA, NCC, LPC Associate, is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate in Texas who is currently pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at the University of the Cumberlands. His interest in near-death and other transpersonal experiences started during his youth. Now, Norman identifies as a transpersonal counselor, integrating the spiritual dimension into the counseling process. He has a virtual counseling practice serving all of Texas. Norman extensively studied and continues to study the near-death experience / spiritually transformative experience / transpersonal experience literature and has contributed to the Journal of Near-Death Studies and the IANDS magazine Vital Signs.

David Maginley, MDiv, CSCP, is a psychospiritual specialist at Optimal WellBeing in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the award-winning author of Beyond Surviving: Cancer and Your Spiritual Journey and Early Exits: Spirituality, Mortality and Meaning in an Age of Medical Assistance in Dying. David has also survived cancer four times, which resulted in a profound near-death experience and explorations in the nature of consciousness and the connection of body, mind, and spirit. He knows what it’s like to have cancer from both sides of the hospital bed and has a sense of this life from both sides of the veil. David is ordained with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, a specialist with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care, member of Canadian Association for Psychosocial Oncology and the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and is featured in the documentaries Here Right Now and When You Die.

Ginette Nachman, MD, PhD, holds doctorates in medicine and clinical psychology. For over 30 years, along with a mainstream career in the pharmaceutical industry, she has been involved in research and education related to non-local aspects of consciousness. Since 1995, she has been affiliated with the Rhine Research Center in Durham, NC, where she has served in various capacities, including Board Member, Director of Education, Research Team Coordinator, and Research Associate. Dr. Nachman also served as the Director of Research for the International Association for Near-Death Studies and is currently co-chair of the IANDS Education Committee. She has a long-standing interest in educating medical and mental healthcare professionals regarding non-local aspects of human experience and has a particular interest in reducing the stigma associated with these experiences.

Rebecca Valla, MD – Since completing her Psychiatry Residency in 1990 through the University of California – Irvine and Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, Dr. Valla has been a full-time practicing psychiatrist for adult populations. Her mostly-outpatient clinical work included six years as Medical Director for a Pastoral Counseling Center where she supervised 20 counselors who delivered spiritually inclusive psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and groups. In 2002, after beginning independent private practice, Dr. Valla’s focus became more intensively transpersonal. Dr. Valla has provided workshops and live-streamed presentations for IANDS on the topics of “Self-Love” and “Inner Child Healing.” She served on the IANDS Board of Directors for six years, and she is currently founder and co-chair of the IANDS Ethics Advocacy and Resolution Team. Her website is www. rebeccasvallamd.com.

Kathy Winings, EdD, MDiv, is professor emerita of Religious Education and Restorative Justice at Unification Theological Seminary and a near-death experiencer. She serves currently as President of the Board of Directors for the International Relief Friendship Foundation, Inc., an international disaster and sustainable development agency, after having served as its executive director. She also is President and Founder of Educare, an educational consultancy with expertise in curriculum design and programming, brain-based teaching and learning, and service learning. Dr. Winings is the author of numerous articles on neuroeducation, interfaith ministry, and service learning as well as the book Building Character Through Service Learning.