About Good Grief

As the Director of Development, Joanna works with the team to move Good Grief’s mission forward by connecting with our community and raising funds through a variety of different avenues. Joanna’s non-profit career has been centered around mental health where she believes passionately about building resiliency through growing programming for children navigating adversity. Joanna is excited to be a part of such a dedicated team working to change the lives of so many children experiencing grief.

Evelynn is responsible for Good Grief's education programs in the external community. Through education and advocacy, Good Grief is working to transform the environments that grieving children inhabit on a daily basis like schools, community and faith organizations, other nonprofits, and more. Good Grief uses workshops, curriculum, and coaching to increase community awareness and competency in providing support to grieving children and their families.

Evelynn grew up in New Jersey and she is a third generation Rutgers graduate where she studied Anthropology. She received her MA in Educational Theatre from New York University. Prior to arriving at Good Grief, Evelynn worked in the creation, training, and implementation of Social Emotional Learning, Mentorship, and Comprehensive Sexual Education programming in schools throughout the state of New Jersey and beyond. When not at work, Evelynn can be found spending time with her partner and their daughter or working on her parenting podcast.

Jesse is responsible for Good Grief's education programs in the external community. Through education and advocacy, Good Grief is working to transform the environments that grieving children inhabit on a daily basis like schools, community and faith organizations, other nonprofits, and more. Good Grief uses workshops, curriculum, and coaching to increase community awareness and competency in providing support to grieving children and their families. Jesse grew up in Washington state and made his way out to New Jersey for graduate school, earning a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. While at PTS, Jesse focused his studies on ethics, spirituality, and counseling. Jesse joined Good Grief after completing a graduate internship, working first as a Program Director before taking on this educational role. Jesse's favorite thing about Good Grief is the incredible community of families, volunteers, and staff who inspire him with their stories and desire to wrestle with life's big questions.

Ariana has a B.A in Family and Child Studies with a concentration in Family Services from Montclair State University. Ariana is a Certified Child Life Specialist and comes to Good Grief with experience in the hospital setting and mental health setting. Ariana was a previous facilitator at Good Grief and holds a safe space as she welcomes all new families to Good Grief.