Since completing her master's degree from NYU, concentrating in Judaic Studies, Bioethics, and Social Work, Arielle Friedtanzer has been traveling around the country with her husband, both for the sake of exploration and to engage individuals and communities of all shapes and sizes in value-based end-of-life conversations. She has also completed two 400-hour units of Clinical Pastoral Education at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Arielle believes that individuals can write the ending to their own stories by preparing themselves and their loved ones for their eventual deaths. She is pursuing a career in interfaith chaplaincy and has come to see the conversations she has around the country as an early and proactive form of chaplaincy, helping individuals to determine their values for the end of life and act on them, before the moment of crisis. She hopes that early and frequent conversation will reduce the stigma around aging and death. Since death isn't optional for anyone, Arielle strives to support those who are bereaved, confused, or unsupported find the means they need to cope and continue.