Recognized as one of today’s foremost experts on grief, Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist, international speaker, and the author of five books published in 22 countries. Led by her own experience in grief and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of loss.

Claire has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Scientific American, CNN, Oprah and many more outlets. Her most recent books Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief and Conscious Grieving have provided groundbreaking approaches to the process of grief. Learn more at clairebidwellsmith.com.

Steve Leder is the Senior Rabbi Emeritus of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and the author of such critically acclaimed books as The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things and More Money Than God: Living a Rich Life without Losing Your Soul. He is a graduate of Northwestern University; studied at Trinity College Oxford; and was ordained at Hebrew Union College.

His third book More Beautiful Than Before; How Suffering Transforms Us reached #4 on Amazon’s overall best-sellers list in its first week. His book The Beauty of What Remains; How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift was published in January, 2021, quickly became a national bestseller.  Rabbi Leder’s most recent book For You When I Am Gone; Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story, is a New York Times Bestseller. He recently served as the consultant for Netflix’s #1 new show “Nobody Wants This,” and is at work on yet another Network series tentatively called “The Good Ones.”

Newsweek Magazine twice named him one of the ten most influential rabbis in America but most important to Steve is being Betsy’s husband and Aaron and Hannah’s dad.  He is also a Jew who likes to fish.  Go figure. steveleder.com 

Amanda Kloots, a native of Ohio and a former Broadway dancer and Radio City Rockette, Amanda Kloots now hosts CBS’s “The Talk” and radiates boundless inspiration in all her pursuits. In 2020, she faced the devastating loss of her husband, Nick Cordero, to Covid-related complications. Raising their son, Elvis, she grapples with enduring grief. Amanda courageously shares her journey in her debut book, co-authored with her sister Anna, titled “Live Your Life,” offering a poignant testament to resilience and hope.

Omar Gudiño, PhD, ABPP, is the Deputy Clinical Director, San Francisco Bay Area, and a senior psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. He has dedicated his career to advancing evidence-based and culturally responsive services to meet the needs of children, families, and communities. He is a board-certified child and adolescent psychologist with particular expertise in anxiety and related disorders, mood disorders, and trauma- and stress-related disorders. He values partnering with families to develop a collaborative understanding of their unique strengths and challenges. He has published more than 45 scientific articles and chapters and has given hundreds of presentations and workshops to professional and community audiences. His research focuses on understanding and improving children’s mental health services as well as understanding patterns of risk and resilience in youth exposed to trauma. He has served president of the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and associate editor for the Journal of Traumatic Stress. He is committed to clinical innovation, improving the effectiveness of services, and disseminating effective practices that meet the needs of children and families.