General & Concurrent Sessions

In order of appearance during the Convention Schedule

General Session: The Heart of Connection | 1 CEU
Speaker: Jeff Butler

In his presentation, Jeff Butler unravels which technological changes to anticipate and how their integration impacts the workforce; not only from a business perspective but sociological, psychological, and existential as well. How might this wave of change affect industries—and us as the people that work for them—faster than experts originally anticipated? While inevitable, one of the most important things that people can do now is learn what areas still continue to have the necessity for human connection.

General Session: Cremation - It's Not About the Price | 2 CEUs
Speaker: Angelique Simpson, Professional Development Director, Matthews Aurora

It’s not shocking when we say that there is often a gap between the revenue generated from casketed burial to direct cremation. Do you know however just how big that gap is and why you should know it?

You should know it because it matters for your business survival. If your cremation rates continue to grow year over year, is your business poised to grow with that growth? The real question here is, is cremation the problem or is it how we typically serve families that choose cremation? We will share how information and knowledge of ALL THE OPTIONS is key. Let’s move away from the focus on price and instead, focus in on providing value and insight so that families can make informed decisions every time.

General Session: The Surprising Productivity of Self-Care: Using Mindfulness to Combat Burnout and Compassion Fatigue | 1 CEU
Speaker: Johnny Crowder

48% of the U.S. workforce struggles with compassion fatigue. The result? Burnout, absenteeism, mental and emotional distress, poor sleep, unhealthy diets, and high turnover, particularly in caring professions. Empathetic and compassionate people are invaluable on any team. But when compassion makes it feel as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders, genuine empathy can devolve into unhappiness, unproductivity, and an inability to help the very people you care about in the first place. Mindfulness is one of the simplest and most practical tools for self-care, and Johnny shows audiences how to gradually make it an important part of anyone’s daily routine. Your audience will learn how to:

• Identify the sources and symptoms of compassion fatigue
• Rethink the assumptions that trigger impostor syndrome and guilt
• Implement self-care strategies that drive a renewed sense of energy and purpose in the workplace and beyond

Concurrent Session: Modern Applications of Historic Restorative Art Methods
Speaker: Dominick Astorino

This truly unique presentation explores historic lessons from pioneers in restorative art and applies those techniques to modern trauma restorations. Using written records from out of print textbooks and rate articles from minds like Joel Crandall, Albert Worsham, and Lena Simmons, attendees will learn how to implement rarely used century old techniques to solve the restorative art challenges of today's embalmer.

Concurrent Session: What Cremation Families Really Want 
Speaker: Doug Gober

Cremation is not going to be significant to funeral service, it is significant today. Fighting this dramatic change has and will prove to be unproductive and ineffective. The demand for broader choice and a more individualized remembrance forces us to rethink old methods of our product and service offer.

In this session, Gober will examine how innovative merchandising and marketing approaches allow us to, at least, stay on pace with the cremation consumer and their desires. He will share ground-breaking research on what today's cremation consumers are looking for and what you an do to meet and exceed their expectations. He will also look at the effect of these new techniques on making funeral arrangements and compare it to consumers' expectations of this process.

Concurrent Session: Care for the Caregiver
Speaker: Joanne Harpel

This course will lead funeral directors through a psychoeducational exploration of the impact of working with families in the tragic aftermath of sudden, violent, and traumatic losses - often involving the death of a young person - including from the opioid epidemic, rising suicide rates, and domestic or gang violence.

Running Your Business: A Peer-to-Peer Forum
Facilitated by Mark J. Nolan, Nolan Funeral Home, Inc. and Danford Baxter, N.F. Walker, Inc. Funeral Home

This forum is designed to foster open, candid, respectful dialogue between funeral home owners and managers representing all corners of NYS. The goal is to share experiences, ask questions, and learn from one another. 

Start the conversation now! Please email Mark (mark@nolanfh.com) and/or Danford (treefarmerbr2020@gmail.com) with specific topics you’d like to discuss. Everything’s open for discussion – no topic is too big or too small.

Concurrent Session: Student and Newly Licensed Embalmers Workshop
Speaker: Dominick Astorino

Tailored specifically for newly licensed embalmers and students, this workshop offers insight and guidance in the safe company of peers who all have similar experience levels and goals.  This lecture will boost confidence while specifically targeting topics that newer embalmers often silently struggle with such as appropriate chemical selection, injection and drainage strategies, autopsy embalming, soft tissue repair and suturing techniques.

Concurrent Session: The Value of Viewing
Speaker: Amanda Marie Eilis King, CFSP, MBIT, & MSP

This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the process of a full cranial reconstruction for viewing, utilizing the real-life case of Marketta, an eight-year-old girl who tragically passed away with severe facial and head trauma in front of her family and siblings. The focus will not only be on the technical aspects of cranial reconstruction, but also on the crucial interpersonal dynamics with the funeral home as a trade reconstructionist and with the family during the arrangements. We will delve into effective communication strategies and explanations of the restorative process for families, along with practical guidance for supporting the family during their initial viewing after such a traumatic experience. Additionally, we will highlight how this service adopted a "child-centric" approach, as Marketta's parents aimed to shape the perception of death for the children in their family and community through their decisions for Marketta's funeral service.

In the spirit of generosity, Marketta's parents advocate for sharing her reconstruction to provide other families with the opportunity to view their loved ones when it might otherwise seem impossible.

Concurrent Session: Mortuary Law Questions and Answers | 2 Law CEUs (Offered twice)
Speaker: Stephanie Gilman

This program features a wide variety of questions and answers on topics of Mortuary Law in New York State including funeral directing practices, residency, preneed, and forms compliance. The Bureau compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions we receive and tailored the presentation to cover the current relevant topics.

Concurrent Session: Assisted Dying: How a Choice of Dying Impacts Funeral Arrangements | 1 CEU
Speaker: Marc Markell

This session will examine end-of-life decisions that allow eligible individuals to legally request and obtain medications from their medical doctor to end their life in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner. The presentation will also examine how funeral arrangements are impacted by this choice of death.

Assisted dying is known by several different terms such as death with dignity, physician-assisted dying, physician aid in dying, and medical aid in dying. Some refer to assisted dying as assisted suicide; however, where assisted dying is legal, it is not suicide as people typically think of this act as ending one’s life.

Funeral directors in states and countries where assisted dying is legal will be able to use information from this session in their daily interactions with families; funeral directors where assisted dying is not yet legal can prepare for situations that may happen in the future.

Concurrent Session: Green Burials | 1 CEU
Speaker: Amy Cunningham

Green burial is gaining steam with Baby Boom families wanting their loved one's physical remains to blend back into the natural world. This trend isn't "anti-industry," rather it may bring you, the funeral director, attractive products to place in your showroom, great press and attention, higher regard from members of clergy, and great reviews from the grateful grieving families themselves. Join Brooklyn funeral director Amy Cunningham to see how you can adapt your services to serve the families who are worried about the planet's health and ardently wish to limit their carbon footprint down to the very last. If more of your families are inquiring about green products and services, this is the workshop for you.

General Session: The AI Revolution: Transforming Funeral Care with Compassion and Technology | 2 CEUs
Speaker: Chuck Gallagher

Are funeral service professionals genuinely ready to harness the transformative power of artificial intelligence in a way that enhances service, deepens compassion, and preserves dignity?

In this tailored session, we'll explore the intersection of AI innovation and funeral service tradition - not as a replacement for human care, but as a strategic, ethically grounded enhancement of your mission.

This program brings clarity to how AI can be thoughtfully integrated into funeral operations, family care, daily workflow, and community outreach while keeping human empathy at the center of every experience.

* As of May 1, 2026; subject to change.