Treasurer

I believe in the inherent wisdom in each of us as part of nature. I believe that living 

presently, in alignment with our values allows for a more peaceful death. I believe in the 

power of connection and being witnessed in community. I believe that death is a sacred 

act that should be honored and approached with attention and intention. 

Until I began working as an End-of-Life Guide, I didn’t consider that my body, after life 

has left it, could be an offering, could continue to sustain life, or that it was anything more 

than something my loved ones would need to dispose of respectfully. I viewed my options 

as conventional burial or flame cremation, and I had chosen flame cremation for myself 

because it seemed the more environmentally friendly option. As I was learning more 

about the variety of alternative disposition options available, my path crossed with Becky 

and Jenni, who were involved with Back to Ground. I began researching conservation 

burial and all it entails and eagerly awaited an opportunity to become more involved. 

When Jenni reached out with an invitation to apply for a position on the Board, I had to 

refrain from submitting it immediately so as not to appear too eager. My application 

was accepted, and I joined the board in September 2024. I am honored and humbled to 

be part of this endeavor, tending to the earth and grief in ways that are mutually beneficial. 

It is my commitment, as a board member and tender of grief, to continue to educate myself 

on the benefits and best practices of conservation burial and to share that knowledge with 

the greater community to help steward the land and our collective well-being. Working 

with this group of passionate, compassionate and dedicated humans, has brought me joy 

and reminds me of the power of grassroots efforts. The time to return to those roots is 

now. Please consider returning your body to the earth when you’re done. Thank you.

I recall that at a fairly early age I was fascinated by the natural world. Like many children of my generation, I played in the woods, plodded through streams and carried all kinds of creatures home. As an adult, I have supported conservation efforts, including serving on the board of the the Bur Oak Land Trust. I have long wondered if there weren't a more ecologically friendly way to bury ourselves and our loved ones. In 2017 at a presentation at the Unitarian Universalist Society I learned about conservation burial practices. Over the next couple of years I worked with the Bur Oak Land Trust to develop a proposal for a conservation cemetery. When Covid struck, I shelved the project. In 2022 Becky Hoffbauer called me and said she was interested in conservation burial, and that she would like to talk with me. Would I meet her for coffee? I did and over a couple of conversations we agreed to work together to establish a conservation cemetery in Johnson County. It is my hope that conservation cemetery practices will not only become the norm, but that conservation cemeteries will draw individuals back to the natural world and the importance of preserving it. 

Two parallel paths converged to create this conservation cemetery project. In one, I was hitching a ride along with some others in a Bur Oak Land Trust truck after a land tour of the Coriell Preserve with Jason Taylor, its Executive Director. I’d been interested in the natural burial movement for about a decade so asked Jason if this was something that Bur Oak would ever consider getting involved in. There was no clear yes or no answer, but he was personally interested in the idea and agreed to meet with me to have a conversation about it. A couple of meetings later I was able to bring along a mortician from a local funeral home, and we began more serious discussions and strategizing to figure out how to get something rolling.

Inflamed by a passion for the project and a hope that something could be made here in Johnson County, I’d already begun talking incessantly about it to friends and strangers and was trying to find others to agree to get involved. As a hospice caregiver and Death Midwife I knew a lot of people who are in death work, but wasn’t getting anywhere until someone suggested I get in touch with Jeffery Ford. By then I’d lost my mortician due to personal changes in her life. I called Jeffery, who agreed initially to share his papers from an earlier endeavor he’d made around 2018 to fan the fires of interest himself. When we met for a coffee chat, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t interested in stepping into any active role, but generously agreed to help me work a table at a local environmental group educational event put on by Bur Oak every spring, called Prairie Preview. He was knowledgeable and able to help me answer questions from many curious people who came by our table, perhaps drawn by two educational Barbie dolls dressed up to represent conventional burial and Natural Burial.

We talked all through the event and signed up over twenty-five people to our mailing list, including Bur Oak’s now Board President, Chris Jensen! This event (and the Barbies) showed Jeffery that I was serious about the project and he agreed to another meeting, where we began to pick up where I’d left off with Jason and the mortician.

The universe rained down all kinds of connections after that and I began to take every opportunity I could to use them to talk to people who might be interested. A presentation at the Iowa City Senior Center by Ken Holmes from Lensing Funeral Home garnered a few more signers to our mailing list, and one voice especially asking astute questions caught my ear. I kept looking back to make sure she didn’t leave at the end so I could talk with Jenni Rose, another Death Midwife, who became the third member of our cemetery group! 

Jeffery soon brought in Jennifer Wendt-Geisler, and later Pete Brokaw, but that is his story to tell. The universe soon nudged Bill Evans our way, an entrepreneur who runs Open Gates Group of Kalona. Then Michell Morrow, a Funeral Director from Cedar Rapids was linked to us through an appearance by her colleague, Trey Wentzien at a Conservation Burial Alliance start-up meeting that I reached out to. Shortly thereafter, Jenni asked Annie Brownberger, a Death Doula and non-profit Director to consider us and she did, much to our enrichment. We are blessed with a wonderful eclectic Board of passionate people!

Growing up with a residential camp director for a mom, I learned the value and fragility of the natural world at an early age. The smell of the soil, decomposing leaves, and new green plant growth, the feel of rain, sun, and wind on my face, these are the things that bring me joy. Throughout my life, I have nurtured this deep love for the earth, which has been passed down to my children and grandchildren.

After working as a graphic artist for a major corporation, and at an age that most folks are on the backside of their careers, I chose to reinvent myself and went back to school. I obtained my degree in Mortuary Science, a profession that allows me to provide compassionate care and support to families during their most challenging moments. Along this journey, I found an exceptional group of folks dedicated to creating Back to Ground, a conservation cemetery that combines my passion for the environment with my unwavering compassion for the families I serve.

When I was "fished from the stream," to join B2G I was caught by Becky Hoffbauer at an Iowa City

Senior Center community program. I raised my hand during the Q & A to ask Ken Holmes, from

Lensing Funeral Home a question. Becky knew she needed to intercept me at the end of the

program to add my name to her clipboard email list. At that time Becky couldn’t be spotted

without her clipboard. A true mover & shaker.

By the time we left the Senior Center, we had plans to tie in about taking a roadtrip to Casper

Creek Natural Cemetery near Galena, IL. As we pulled into Iowa City at sunset I was in an

excited trance & knew I needed to be a part of the movement to create the 1st Conservation

Cemetery in Iowa.

During the Summer of 2023, I met up with Becky & Jeffery at Press Coffee, on Dodge Street, to

continue getting to know each other and discuss next steps. We agreed to keep momentum and

look for more future members to eventually be a part of the Back To Ground board. In the

months to come Jennifer & Pete joined our round table discussions at Jeffery’s home. We met

like this for roughly a year, until we had the opportunity to meet and add Michell, Annie, & Bill

in 2024. At the beginning of 2025, things began to take the shape of working groups & the

current quickened as we continued to be in conversation with Bur Oak about a future Partnership.

Vice-President