Your Body Your Choice (Even After Death): Declaring Deathcare Decisions with Tawnya Musser

Join us for a lunchtime educational workshop. Meet empowered professional women like you and grow personally and professionally at this dynamic educational event!

Ditch the elevator pitch- our events support connection and collaboration! At She Goes High, we don’t blindly pass out business cards or ask, “so, what do you do?”

You’re invited to have fun, participate, and support women leaders at this interactive event!

About Our Presentation:

Have you or someone you know had to plan a funeral not knowing what the departed would’ve wanted? Do you have hard yeses or no’s around how (and by whom) you would like your own body cared for after you die? Do you know someone whose yeses and nos weren’t honored in death? Are you estranged from your family of origin and/or do you have concerns about who would be appointed as your default deathcare decision-maker based on the state’s next-of-kin succession laws if you don’t have the proper paperwork in place?

Join us for this lunch and learn to:

• Explore Declarations of Disposition and why they matter in order to 1) maintain your bodily autonomy in death, 2) choose who gets a say, and 3) take both the guesswork and the potential for conflict out of decision making for the people you leave behind.
• Gain insight into some of the lesser known options available in Colorado like home funerals, water cremation, and composting.

About Our Presenter:

Tawnya (she/her) is a death and grief worker who strives to lighten the load and brighten the road for those she serves. She works hard to make sure that individuals and communities know what’s available to them in the world of death and dying by advocating for choice. She is an emeritus board member of the National Home Funeral Alliance and co-authored the organization’s Home Funerals Guidebook which teaches people how to be with and care for their departed themselves in the privacy of their own home or space. She also co-authored an end-of-life planning guide for the non-monogamy community.

As the founder of Dear Departures Tawnya offers services as a death doula, life-cycle celebrant, and grief companion. At any given moment you might find her crafting a custom ceremony for a celebration-of-life, working on a legacy project with a dying person, leading a grief group for people who had a complicated relationship with the dead, or giving a community presentation like this one!

She balances the heaviness of her deathwork with, gardening, hiking, hot springs, laughter, and live music!

Event Flow:
Please note that this is an estimated timeline. Some times might be shorter or longer depending on group size or participation.

• 11:30 – 11:40p Get settled/ networking (10 minutes). If you don’t show up at 11:30, it’s ok. You’re welcome to show up just how you are, even if that’s late or in your loungewear. We want to see you!
• 11:40 – 11:50p Welcome/ intro (10 minutes). We’ll go over why this community was started and recognize our sponsors who help us to provide 2 free events each month so we can support you wherever you are in your professional and financial journey.
• 11:50 – 12:10p Attendee intros (20 minutes). These are not elevator pitches. Yay! You can choose to participate at whatever level you’re comfortable with, including skipping your intro.
• 12:10 – 12:50p Workshop (40 minutes). Our presenter will present on their topic. Feel free to ask questions as they relate to the talk.
• 12:50 – 1:00pUpcoming events/ close/ goodbyes (10 minutes). Find out about our upcoming events and connect with any of the women you thought were interesting.

About Our Location:

The Chamber of Commerce is located in Old Town Fort Collins, west of College. Free parking is available. Depending on where you park, you can stay for 2 hours or without a time limit. Handicap parking is available right next to the building. There are wide sidewalks leading to the building and wheelchair accessible ramps on the sidewalks. The entrance of the building is level with the sidewalks.

Inside the space, you can find us in the boardroom. Once you come into the building it is the big room with the double doors between the two hallways. The space is set up with long tables in a circle. There are regular height chairs with soft backs and seats positioned on the outside of the circle at the table. As you go towards the back of the room, you’ll find a window that connects the kitchen to the boardroom. You can get complimentary coffee and tea by moving through the open doorway to the kitchen.

Restrooms can be accessed by continuing to the back, past the kitchen. Once you can’t go back anymore, turn to the left, and bathrooms are on the right. They have doors that push open. There is 1 ADA accessible toilet and 1 non-ADA accessible toilet.

SIGN UP LINK
https://www.meetup.com/shegoeshigh/events/306142489

We look forward to meeting you at the event!