Dr. Pasik is the founder of Atlantic Rheumatology and Osteoporosis where she practiced for 33 years before retiring in 2020. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College and her medical degree from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Her post doctoral training included an internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City followed by a rheumatology fellowship at New York University Medical Center.

Starting early on in her medical career, Dr. Pasik always supported humane end-of-life practices as they slowly evolved over the decades. Finally, in 2019, she joined the team of advocates in New Jersey to passionately lobby the legislature, which ultimately passed the New Jersey medical aid in dying law. She testified before the Senate Health Committee and was present at the Governor’s signing of the bill into law. Dr. Pasik then joined a team of professionals at Atlantic Health System to develop policies and processes in preparation for the law when it came into effect later that summer. She currently serves as co-chair of that Medical Aid in Dying Workgroup where the focus is to educate healthcare professionals by discussing cases, arranging and conducting focused teaching seminars, as well as mentoring physicians who wish to become involved.

The new nonprofit organization, New Jersey Death with Dignity, is the brainchild of Dr. Pasik, which developed when it became evident there was a need for a centralized, New Jersey-based platform for medical aid-in-dying education and access for the terminally ill, their loved ones, physicians, and the community. Dr. Pasik and the other members of the team intend to fulfill this need to the best of their abilities.

Dr. Baker is an associate director of Overlook Family Medicine Residency Program and Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and her Medical Degree from Chicago Medical School - University of the Healthy Sciences. She completed her residency at Overlook Medical Center where she also served as chief resident.  She has maintained a clinical practice at Chatham Family Medicine for the past 25+ years.

Having developed a passion for hospice and end-of life care as well as geriatric medicine, she is also a Medical Director for Atlantic Hospice, and was the first physician at Overlook Medical Center to become a diplomat of the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  She mentors Overlook Family Medicine residents in the Overlook’s Hospice Home Visiting Program, a program developed to provide home hospice care to a diverse patient population throughout the four counties that Atlantic Hospice serves.  She also coordinates the geriatrics curriculum and supervises residents’ care of patients at Autumn Lake Healthcare at Berkeley Heights. 

Most recently, Dr. Baker has become an active advocate of New Jersey’s new medical aid in dying law, and is a co-chair of the Atlantic Health System’s Medical Aid in Dying Workgroup.  Becoming a physician active in this process has been a natural, yet challenging process which supports her strong belief in compassion and dignity at the end of life. With her background in family medicine, hospice and teaching, she is looking forward to the next chapter of educating and aiding patients and their families to help them with end-of-life choices which are appropriate for each individual.

Yvette Vieira is the manager of Palliative Care and Bioethics at Atlantic Health System. She completed her Bachelor of Science at McMaster University in Canada and then completed her Master’s in Medical Humanities at Drew University with an additional Certificate of Bioethics form Montefiore/Yeshiva University. She is nationally certified by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities as a Health Care Ethics Consultant. and worked in a number of not-for-profit organizations that mobilized healthcare access/advocacy, community support and education for individuals in vulnerable populations.

Most recently Yvette has been involved in the 2019 NJ Medical Aid in Dying law, assisting in policy development, processes and patient and physician advocacy both within the healthcare system and outside. In 2020, she was responsible for helping to inform ethical pandemic planning for the Covid-19 pandemic in New Jersey. She sits on the Medical Society of New Jersey’s Bioethics Committee, the ARC of New Jersey’s Human Rights Committee, acts as an advisor to Kent Place Ethics Scholars Program, Goals of Care Coalition and other community organizations around end-of-life options. She serves as a liaison between Atlantic Health System and Drew University’s Graduate Medical Humanities Program, as well as holding a position as an adjunct at the University.

Yvette currently serves on the American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying Ethics Consultation Service.

Janie Rakow is the cofounder of Farewell Doula, LLC. As an end-of life doula, she journeys with the dying person and their loved ones through the end-of-life process. She fills the gaps in hospice care and helps create legacies, memories, conduct rituals, plan vigils and create guided visualizations.

Janie has been a hospice volunteer since 2001, providing emotional and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones through the end-of-life process. She also works as an end-of-life doula privately in her community to raise awareness of the end-of-life doula field and to educate others about the dying process. To date, Janie has worked with hundreds of patients and their loved ones as they journey through their terminal diagnosis.

In 2015 Janie’s passion for doula work led her to co-found the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA), the largest end-of-life doula training program in the country. During her tenure at INELDA, she helped form and develop INELDA’s vision to provide education, certification credentials, and program development for the end-of-life doula field.

As an educator, Janie has trained hundreds of doulas, as well as hosted numerous webinars pertaining to the end-of-life field. She has helped several hospitals and hospices create an end-of-life doula program. During her term as President, Janie also served on INELDA’s Board of Trustees.

Janie’s work as a doula is complemented by her years of experience as a certified Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner, hypnotherapist, and Reiki Level II practitioner.

Janie has been featured on CBS affiliate, WBTV, and quoted in numerous articles in the Huffington Post, AARP, Vox, Mother Nature Network, Parade, Home Health Care Network and others. She is a contributor to the book “Empower Your Life” by Sue Urda and Kathy Fyler.

Michelle Thornhill is the Founder and CEO of Legacy & Hope, LLC, a boutique consultancy specializing in grief, loss, bereavement, and end-of-life care. As an Advanced Certified Grief Specialist and End-of-Life Doula, Michelle is recognized for her compassionate and integrative approach to guiding individuals and communities through life’s most challenging transitions.

At the University of Vermont in collaboration with the Osher Center for Integrative Health, Michelle teaches the PACE End-of-Life Doula Certification Program. She is Vice President of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) and has been a member of NEDA’s Board of Directors since 2020, serving as chairperson of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Committee to advocate for equitable end-of-life practices for all.

Michelle’s dedication extends to her roles as an Advisory Board member for Girls Leading Africa, an Advisory Council member for Greater Hope Medical Center, and a collaborator with the University of Alabama on the Living Justice Project. As a consultant for Historic Eden Cemetery, the nation’s oldest continuously operating African American cemetery in the North, Michelle is a sought-after speaker, supports communities in crisis, and promotes the dignified treatment of human remains.

Drawing on her leadership experience in such roles as Managing Director of historic cemeteries, Philadelphia Chapter President for the International Association of Women, and Family Readiness Program Instructor for the U.S. Army, Michelle empowers communities and organizations to navigate grief, end-of-life transitions, and uncertainty with resilience. A graduate of Eastern University and a VITAS Hospice volunteer, Michelle firmly believes that individuals can reach a level of satisfaction when given specific tools to maneuver their way through three transitions; preparing for life’s certainties and uncertainties, moving beyond the pain that comes with grief and loss, and living their best life.