About Rhyena
Rhyena Halpern is a professional End of Life Doula, Death and Dying Educator, and board-certified Wellness Coach.
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Rhyena received certification from the University of Vermont’s Lasher School of Medicine Professional End of Life Program in 2020. She earned board certification as a Wellness Coach from the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches in 2019 and was trained by the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. She is also a crisis counselor for the national Crisis Text Line.
Rhyena leads weekly, virtual Death Cafes for the Elizabeth Kubler Ross Foundation and Mission Hospice. The Cafes are free and open, supportive conversations about anything related to death and dying.
She also teaches classes including “Spiritual Dimensions of Nearing Death” and “End of Life Intentions for Dummies, Seekers and Pragmatists” and leads study groups on classic books such as Frank Ostaseski’s “The Five Invitations.” She loves giving presentations about doula work and conscious dying.
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Rhyena is a member of the Chochmat Halev’s Chevra Kadisha and is especially interested in serving the Jewish community in the East Bay where she resides. She works with other Chevra Kadishas and does home taharas.
Her work is an expression of her spiritual path and she is most inspired by people who want to live and die with intentionality.
In the last five years of her professional career in arts management, Rhyena began designing her own Third Act. A seed of an idea developed into an exciting plan that continued to germinate. At retirement she embarked on her Third Act full of anticipation and excitement and is now living her dream of becoming a Doula and Coach. Having her plan in place made all the difference and she is happy to work with other people to design their Third Acts.
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She identifies as a JewBu, a proud ally of the LGBTQI community, and a committed social justice advocate.
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Rhyena actively volunteers, studies, teaches, facilitates groups and gives presentations on the End of Life community. She writes on Medium and LinkedIn on all things related to end of life, navigating life’s transitions, dating and sexuality later in life, spirituality, and holistic health and wellness.
She is a former documentary filmmaker, public television producer, adjunct faculty member, and an arts manager in the public sector advocating for the arts and artists. In earlier years, she also worked as an artist and therapeutic massage therapist.
