About Us
Since the Grief Recovery Institute was founded in the mid 1980s, we have expanded our staff to provide training coast-to-coast, border-to-border in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In addition, we have affiliates in Sweden, Australia, Mexico, and most recently, Hungary. We are very proud to introduce you to The Grief Recovery team.
Our Story
Current Staff
Cole James
President, The Grief Recovery Institute
Cole W. James is the President of the Grief Recovery Institute. He grew up in Southern California and, as the son of the founder John James, was encouraged to be “a heart with ears” from a very early age on.
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Ed Owens
Vice President, The Grief Recovery Institute
Ed’s journey to the Grief Recovery Institute ® began after the devastating loss of his 3 year old son, Eddie Ryan, in 2010.
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Ashley James
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Director of Operations
Ashley received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of San Diego with a minor in Fine Arts.
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Brittany Johns
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Director of Specialist Relations and Events
Brittany’s background includes over 13 years working in healthcare. She began at the Grief Recovery Institute in 2015 as an Executive Assistant.
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Mike Strick
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist®- Enrollment and Outreach Coordinator
Mike comes to The Grief Recovery Institute having witnessed exceptional outcomes for 15 years leading The Grief Recovery Method® as a Bereavement Coordinator at a hospice from 2007 - 2021.
Read moreCurrent and Past Trainers
Sandi Derby
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer - GRM Marketing Coach
Sandi personally experienced the GRM in 2006 after ending a three and a half year meth addiction. Her most devastating loss experiences happened during her young life.
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Lois Hall
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
Lois Hall’s career has been in the field of Public Health, having held several positions with the Ohio Department of Health, and serving as the Executive Director of the Ohio Public Health Association.
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Susan Dindinger
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
Susan’s deep desire to help people led her to study Psychology at UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude. However, after the devastating loss of her only sister, Susan discovered the Grief Recovery Method in 2002.
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Jocelyn Jackson Williams
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
Upon completion of her Grief Recovery Certification training in 2010,
Jocelyn realized that she now had the tools to match her passion for
helping people deal with the grief that was draining their energy and
restricting their life choices.
Mike Wadel
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
My name is Mike Wadel and I have been a Grief Recovery Method Specialist since 2004. I was trained and mentored by former National and International Grief Recovery Method Trainer, the late Dr. Nancy Martin.
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Bobbie RIll
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
Bobbie is a Licensed Professional Counselor with degrees in Psychology and Counseling.
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Gwen Russo
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
Gwen's introduction to GRM began back in 2017.
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Anders Magnusson
Executive Director Scandinavia
http://www.sorg.se/
Anders, who is based in Sweden, first came in contact with Grief Recovery shortly after his mother died from lung cancer.
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Arturo Albin
Executive Director Mexico
http://metodogriefrecovery.com/
Arturo became involved with grief work when he volunteered at his parish to become part of their bereavement team. It was very rewarding, but he was not satisfied.
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Amanda Lambros
Executive Director Australia
http://www.griefrecoverymethod.com.au/
Amanda has been providing counseling, education, and training services in Australia since 2002.
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Catherine Best
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer - Director of UK Operations
Catherine Best is an Advanced GRMS and GRI Trainer based in the UK has 30+ years of experience in Early Years, Primary and University level education as a teacher and university lecturer, with Masters in Autism and Ne
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Tammy Fleming
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist® - Trainer
My name is Tammy Fleming. My career for thirty years was in Christian ministry, serving mostly as a missionary in Northern and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and the UK.
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Laura Rodas
Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist®- Trainer
Laura's husband was murdered in 2007. Her world crumbled, and it was a time of darkness, suffering, and loneliness.
Read moreOur Founders
John W. James
February 16, 1944 – August 10, 2021
“When you die, what matters most is your relationship with your family and that you were a person of your word.” -John W. James
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Russell Friedman
January 4, 1943 - November 26, 2016
On November 26, 2016, Russell passed away surrounded by his family. Russell will be greatly missed and his legacy will continue on in the work of all the people's lives he touched.
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Legacy Specialist Database
We encourage you to use the main search off of our GRM Homepage to locate and connect with confirmed active GRM Specialists. You can also search our Legacy GRM Specialists Database. Please note, the Grief Recovery Institute cannot confirm that some historically trained over 40 years are currently active or not.