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About Dr. Oliver, Life Transitions Educator | Chaplain
Lisa Caraway Oliver, EdD
A life transitions educator, chaplain, and expert witness, Dr. Lisa Caraway Oliver educates individuals about life transitions and their residual effects: grief, mourning, and bereavement. Through this education, individuals are guided toward comprehending the feelings and actions that may occur due to loss. Believing that education empowers one to make informed decisions, Dr. Oliver provides seminars on palliative care vs. hospice care, advanced-care plans, and funeral planning. The passion for this work emanates from a desire to mitigate the generational dysfunction that can occur when families postpone discussions on these inevitable topics.
Dr. Oliver earned her Doctor of Education in Adult Education from the University of Georgia, where, within the framework of death and dying, emotion work, and informal learning, she researched the work of hospice care professionals. She earned her Master of Science in Instructional Technology from Georgia State University and her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Howard University. Dr. Oliver is a Level I Chaplain, having received her Clinical Pastoral Education certification via Grady Healthcare, the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. Grady is the tenth-largest public hospital in the United States, and one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in the country.
Dr. Oliver facilitates, with fellow parishioner Sharyn M. Hailey, the Life Transitions Education ministry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. In addition to presenting workshops and seminars related to life transitions, the ministry facilitates a 7-week Trauma Healing Group and an 8-week, grief ministry, Walking the Mourner's Path. In the community, she has facilitated Death Cafes and a Life Transitions Education Series via the Fulton County and Gwinnett County Library Systems. Dr. Oliver has also coordinated, with other like-minded parents and grandparents, a “Free Hugs” campaign at the Black Atlanta Pride Community Festival and the Atlanta Pride Parade. She is a board member of The Liminal House, a Georgia 501(c)(3) nonprofit, whose mission is dedicated to encouraging people to see end of life as a natural, inevitable milestone to proactively learn and prepare for. Through inclusive, nonjudgmental, modern, reflective, and comfortable death positive experiences, The Liminal House seeks to minimize the stress, pain, confusion, burden, and regret that can be associated with end of life.
A native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dr. Oliver and her family reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
Why Talk About Life Transitions?
Because we NEED to have these talks with our families and loved ones before we HAVE to have them.
Think about this: not everyone can (nor wants to) be pregnant and give birth; however, if I were to ask 10 people to tell me something about being pregnant or giving birth, I would guess 9 out of 10 people could provide me with some information: only females can get pregnant, it usually take 9 months to birth a baby, etc.
Conversely, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TRANSITION FROM LIFE TO DEATH. Most of us don't even think about all the things that are associated with this transition, until we or someone we love is in an Intensive Care Unit and decisions on type of care must be made.
Make the decision to leave a legacy of peace and order; talk about (and more importantly DOCUMENT AND DISTRIBUTE) your life transition decisions. I am here to assist and guide you through the process.
Let's Connect!
- I can meet with your group in person or via Zoom to talk about how to prepare for a good end of life, or any of the other topics of my Life Transitions Series.
- We can hold a Death Cafe. It will be FUN (OK, maybe not "fun," but it will not be as bad or weird as you think).