Vedna has been involved in various forms of community service, advocacy, and social activism. Her exposure to mission trips and her family’s influence helped shape her commitment to making a positive impact. 

Her background as a Surgical Trauma ICU nurse and her work in implementing a trauma program for students after the Parkland shooting demonstrate her commitment to making a difference in people’s lives. 

After the loss of two children during late pregnancy, she became certified in Thanatology. Her focus on supporting those who have experienced trauma and loss shows her compassion and dedication to helping others during difficult times. She was a bereavement specialist for BMC Child Loss Center, often going into people’s homes after the loss of their children and she co-leads a Perinatal & Infant loss group at Hope Floats. She credits this work to assisting in her healing. She is currently pursuing her MSN degree in the Simmons Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. 

Vedna enjoys being civically engaged and her involvement in the League of Women Voters in D.C. as a national board Director and Trustee showcases her dedication to promoting democracy and civic engagement. In this role, she serves as the Advocacy and Litigation Co-chair and U.N. Observer Liaison, amplifying the voices of women and the underserved in the political process. 

In addition to her work with the League of Women Voters,  She is also an elected school board member in Plymouth, chairs the Engagement Committee at Beth Israel Lahey Hospital in Plymouth, and sits on the Community Advisory Benefits Committee and the Advisory Board. 

Her leadership and community service have been recognized with multiple state and local awards, reflecting her dedication to improving various aspects of society.

Teresa joined the Hope Floats family in 2010. A Master of Acupuncture, she maintained a private practice here for many years before retiring. In 2014, she unexpectedly lost her son, Michael, and came to understand that she had been led to this wonderful place of healing not just to help others, but to be supported herself in her grief journey.

Teresa has co-facilitated various support groups for other moms and parents who have lost children over the years and volunteers at other events, especially enjoying playing her harp at the different retreats held throughout the year.

An avid animal lover, she also volunteers with a local dog rescue that works to place abandoned dogs from the south to forever homes in the Massachusetts area. She and her husband continue to honor their son with an annual motorcycle ride that raises funds for scholarships and charitable donations in his memory.

Her free time is spent reading, writing, traveling, walking her three rescue dogs and spending time with her new granddaughter.

Denise has been the co-founder and Executive Director of Hope Floats since 2008. After the devastating loss of her oldest son Michael, she and her husband Ken, founded the nonprofit bereavement and education center as a way to support other families and adults who are dealing with loss and grief.

She is responsible for over-seeing all support programs, events, and workshops at the center. She a contact person for individuals seeking support services and counseling and for doing the delicate work of in-takes, both over the phone and in person, for individuals and families who wish to attend support groups, retreats, or our family program, Mike’s Club. She also organizes various fundraisers, seeks out strategic partners and sponsors. She overseas financial operations and manages correspondence with private donors, business sponsors and grant providers.

Denise holds a Master’s Degree from Lesley University. She is a long-time educator and entrepreneur. She taught elementary school, primarily as an inclusion teacher, for 13 years and while she has left public schools, she continues to teach in new ways at Hope Floats. She strives to apply her skills and her life experience to support adults, children and their families who are grieving.

Liz is the Managing Director and Board Member at Hope Floats. She found herself seeking support at Hope Floats after experiencing a significant loss of her own. After years of volunteering as a co-facilitator for the Pregnancy, Infant, Toddler Loss Support Group, she was very eager and excited to accept her position as Managing Director.

Volunteer work is Liz’s passion. She has experience with kinship foster care, adoption, and supporting friends and family through loss, mental illness, and addiction. Liz understands that life isn’t always straight and narrow, and people need to be met where they are on their journey through healing.

Liz graduated for UMass Amherst with a double major in sociology and psychology with a minor in education. She worked in the medical insurance field for 16 years before joining the Hope Floats team. She currently volunteers as a co-facilitator for the Mike’s Club teen group at Hope Floats.

Mike and his wife learned of Hope Floats after the loss of their twins Caden and Colby in 2015. It was here that they found like minded parents who, like them, were learning the process of grief. Mike felt that he had received an amazing gift when he learned how to take control of his grief process with the help of Hope Floats. In 2019, Mike was invited to join the board and knew it would be the perfect way to give back and be a part of this wonderful organization.

Mike graduated from New England College where he earned his undergraduate and master’s degree. He is now owner of the residential appraisal company Pilgrim Property Group

Regina credits Hope Floats for lifting her out of the darkness after the unexpected passing of her youngest son from an undetected heart condition in 2015. She and her husband Mike sought the support of Hope Floats Healing and Wellness Center as a place to find answers. Although they could never find an “answer”, what they did find was a group of parents like themselves who could relate to their pain. Led by compassionate, caring individuals who have walked in their shoes; Hope Floats is filled with parents who are on the same road but at different mile markers.

Regina learned through her years spent at Hope Floats that you don’t get over a loss of this magnitude, you learn how to cope. These skills, resources, and techniques are something that Hope Floats provides to the community and Regina is passionate about helping to expand and support the programs that are currently offered.

Regina is an Independent Financial Advisor who has been in the financial services industry for over twenty five years. She and her husband Mike own a financial service practice in Norwell, Massachusetts. She is committed to helping others through a holistic approach to financial planning and strives to be a trusted partner in each of her client’s unique journeys.  Her own life experiences have helped her to best understand the challenges that face individuals through the many stages of life and loss and how to navigate them.

Regina has served on many boards in her community and is currently the President of The Rockland Education Foundation; dedicated to improving the education in the Rockland Public Schools.  Her hobbies and interests include volunteer work, travel, gardening, snowmobiling, golfing, music, and spending time with her family on Cape Cod. Regina, her husband Mike, and their son Ryan are committed to keeping her son Jared’s memory alive through his memorial scholarship.

Ken supports Hope Floats’ outreach and operations as board president and also as caretaker of the grounds and buildings. Alongside Denise, he spearheads financial planning, grant writing, and networking. Since 2018, Ken has also helped facilitate a support group for Dads who have lost a child.

A nonfiction author who has also worked as a journalist, in business publishing, and as a teacher, Ken has a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Northeastern University. He taught high school English at TechBoston Academy in Dorchester, Ma.

His second book, Especially For You, tells the uplifting stories of people who find a new purpose after unspeakable loss and how people grow through their catastrophic trials. He also wrote Closer By The Mile, the story of the Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon for cancer research. Ken contributes a blog for Psychology Today’s website and on his author’s site, http://www.kenbrack.com.

Janet grew up in South Boston as part of a large family. She attended Boston State College and then moved to Kingston to raise her kids in this community. She has always been involved in youth sports, the local schools and community issues and she loves Hope Floats.

She has raised five great kids, one who is a Paralegal, an FBI Agent, Graphic Designer, Special Needs Behaviorist and a Sales Rep. She is currently a sales manager at Macy’s in Kingston and she loves that Macy’s is involved in supporting Hope Floats.

Janice Christo was invited to Hope Floats in 2012, shortly after her husband died un-expectantly. At Hope Floats she was surrounded by people who had suffered a similar loss
and who knew exactly what she was feeling. Being in that tranquil and peaceful environment, she was able to catch her breath knowing that she wasn’t alone. She will never forget how much Hope Floats part of her healing process was.

Janice was a finance major in college and is the owner of her own insurance agency in Belmont Massachusetts, one that she shared with her husband. She is busy managing the business and caring for her three daughters. She enjoys running, volunteering, and taking quiet walks in the woods with her Cavalier King Charles, Tilly.

She is honored to serve on the Board at Hope Floats and especially looks forward to the memory walk each year.

Elizabeth Binari has been involved with Hope Floats Healing & Wellness Center shortly after its opening in 2008. Having recently graduated as a massage therapist, she was looking for an environment in which to offer massage that was holistic and healing. During a snowy, Luminary, night in Kingston she was walking down Elm Street and looked up to see Hope Floats for the first time. She felt an immediate connection. Shortly after, she met with Denise who offered her a practitioner position at the Center. Elizabeth knew that this was the beginning of a life changing journey. She is often heard saying she receives much more from Hope Floats than she could ever give back.

Elizabeth provides individual massage therapy sessions at Hope Floats, in addition to being an ad hoc practitioner for our retreats. As a practitioner, she offers her time to the Healing Circle. She is also a co-facilitator for the Pet Loss Support Group. She is an active member of the Fundraising Committee and has been involved with the annual Memory Walk and Barn Sale. Having recently obtained certification in Equine Massage, she also volunteers at the Bridge Center, in Bridgewater MA, where she provides massage to horses in the in the equine assisted therapy programs.

Elizabeth is a Registered Nurse, who also earned a BA from Suffolk University and a Masters in Health Care Administration from Simmons College. Having spent 30 years in the health care industry, she has held positions in both the business and hospital setting; to include PricewaterHouseCoopers, McKesson Corporation and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is currently employed as a Program Manager at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Plymouth.

Jane Corr became involved with Hope Floats Healing & Wellness Center several years ago when a sudden, personal loss affected her life. The caring, compassionate atmosphere at Hope Floats, as well as the staff and practitioners with whom she came into contact, impressed her so much that Jane was eager to give back. Jane knew from her own, first-hand, experience the positive impact that Hope Floats could have on a person’s life.

A retired Boston Public School educator for thirty-six years, Jane also served on several educational leadership teams. During her many years in Boston, she served as a mentor to aspiring teachers. She holds a Bachelor degree, in Education and Psychology, from Emmanuel College and a Master in Education and Administration, from the former Boston State College.

In addition to her work with Hope Floats, Jane volunteers at the Kingston Elementary School, attended by her grandchildren. She also volunteers with the Kiwanis Club of Kingston and Duxbury who service many community projects throughout the year.

Kingston has been Jane’s home for seventeen years. She has a great love for the ocean and spending time with her children, Amy and Tim, and their families. Jane enjoys traveling and watching her grandchildren play sports.