ADVISORY COMMISSION

 Founder, Committee Member, Cemeterian, Eco-Friendly Funeral Expert, and Media Relations Expert

Ed Bixby joined the green burial movement back in 2007 when he developed his first green burial preserve, Steelmantown Cemetery. In the time since, he has established green burial preserves all across the United States, running natural cemeteries in New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Minnesota, and Arizona as Destination Destiny Memorials. Ed is also the owner of Eternally Green Funeral Solutions, an eco-friendly casket company that specializes in biodegradable funeral products. 

Ed served as the president of the Green Burial Council for ten years and was on the board for fifteen. With his experience in and knowledge of the eco-friendly funeral industry, he was inspired to create the Global Green Burial Alliance, an international community of eco-friendly funeral professionals. Ed's intention with the GGBA is to bridge gaps between all eco-friendly funeral professionals, processes, and products. In doing so, he hopes to provide a space for open communication, promoting understanding and global changes.

Committee Member, Pledge Coordinator, and Community and Funeral Industry Relations Expert

Gretchen is a business owner, home funeral guide, green burial consultant and presenter. She has experience working with the funeral industry assisting and supporting those who want to incorporate green burial services into their business. She is available for green burial presentations to local community groups and always available to support and answer questions from the funeral industry or those seeking to learn more about green burial options. Currently she is pursuing her California funeral director’s license. 

Committee Member, Cemeterian, and Natural Organic Reduction Specialist 

Walt Patrick leads a non-profit sustainability research center that studies how to feed, fuel, and clothe people on marginal land. This work is done on 120 acres of high-land forest on the eastern edge of the Cascadian wilderness some eighty miles east of Portland, OR. For more than three decades, Walt has been using the natural organic reduction of large mammals to rejuvenate the productivity of marginal forest land.

In 2015, a portion of that stewarded land became the Herland Forest Cemetery which is exploring the role of human interment as a way to prevent the clearing and development of forest land. The Herland name is a reference to a 1915 novel that dreamed of using the forest to sustainably provide for a community's needs without relying on fossil fuels.

In 2017, Herland began the development of enhanced natural burial as a way to facilitate the growth of nut-bearing trees such as oaks and honey locus to feed birds, bees, and deer. Another goal is to decrease the methane emissions associated with the anaerobic decomposition of human remains through the creation of an in-ground aerobic chamber.

In 2019, when Washington passed legislation permitting the natural organic reduction of human remains, Herland worked with the Washington Cemetery Board and became the first facility in the country to be licensed to offer NOR for human remains. Walt also became the first person to be licensed to operate a NOR facility.

In 2022, the IRS granted Herland Forest 501(c)(13) status as a tax-exempt, non-profit cemetery.

In Washington State, individuals may only be buried in licensed cemeteries. Above ground reduction allows remains to be buried on private land. Below ground reduction facilitates the transformation of a person's remains into a tree. Currently, Herland is the only facility that is licensed to offer reduction in either above ground or below ground formats.

 Committee Member, Cemeterian, and Cemetery Land Use and Regulatory Management Expert 

Matt Connell is the co-owner of Loving Earth Memorial Gardens, a green burial preserve in Barnum, Minnesota. Here, people are buried naturally along eco-trails in a beautiful meadow. Matt has acquired vast knowledge and understanding of the regulatory process while developing Loving Earth Memorial Gardens. Back in 2022, Matt and Ed Bixby created the Better Death Collective, an online platform dedicated to educating all about all things deathcare-related. Prior to becoming a cemeterian, Matt worked in marketing and advertising, having years of experience in the field. Matt currently lives in Minnesota with his wife Kristen and two sons Egan and Jonas.  

Committee Member, Eco-Friendly Funeral Director, and Best Practices Coordinator 

Bob Fertig became a licensed funeral director at age thirty-six; it was the culmination of a calling he felt early in life, following the loss of his father and brother. For several years, he worked with a number of funeral homes, gaining experience and practical knowledge, as well as the desire to open his own funeral home. Bob did just that in 2004, when he established Fertig Funeral Home in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. At last, he was able to serve his hometown and its surrounding communities in his own name, rather than on behalf of someone else. 

Fertig Funeral Home is a full-service funeral provider, committed from its inception to offering every type of funeral service, to help each family in need plan the service best suited to its members’ particular preferences, traditions, and beliefs. In 2008, Bob began offering natural burial and home funerals, in response to burgeoning interest in green funerals. He discovered an amazing resource in Ed Bixby and Steelmantown Cemetery. Fertig Funeral Home then strode to the forefront of a small cadre of funeral providers offering green and natural funeral options. Each natural burial brought a unique perspective, new challenges, and more experience with, well, the actual experience of the “green burial experience.”

 And quite an experience it is! Bob and his wife, Denise, have assisted many families with green burial. Fertig has been able to arrange with families from many states to bring their loved ones to New Jersey and Pennsylvania for the simple, natural green burial they desired. They have gained a wealth of knowledge, as well as an abiding reverence and passion for natural burial methods. In Bob’s words, “It has been an awesome experience, and a sacred trust, that families have chosen me to facilitate green burial for their loved ones, to help them create a profound memorial. Not only is it beneficial to our planet, it’s a uniquely healing experience for us.” Indeed, green burial is the Fertig’s choice for themselves.

Bob is a graduate of Gloucester County College, and Mercer County College Mortuary Sciences Program. Licensed in 2001, he is looking forward to attaining the CFSP (Certified Funeral Service Practitioner) designation for excellence in funeral service and is a 3rd Degree Knight of Columbus. Bob and Denise have presented to community groups and healthcare professionals informative talks about green and natural burial, and continue to do so. 

Bob is excited and honored to be forging into this new venture with the GGBA and is looking forward to the opportunities which will be presented. The Fertig family makes their home in Mullica Hill, New Jersey.

Committee Member and Eco-Friendly Cremation Specialist 

Steve Berkoff is the Managing Member of Memorial Reefs, International LLC and Pet Reefs, memorial service companies that build artificial reefs worldwide to help restore coral reefs and marine life lost to the impact of Global Climate Change. The reef structures incorporate cremated remains during construction. This creates a permanent memorial that honors a loved one with a Living Legacy that produces new life for many years to come. Pet Reefs recently built the first artificial reef dedicated exclusively to pets. Steve and his family-run organization are dedicated to helping heal the damage to the ocean and embrace all efforts to bring greener alternatives to death care. 

Committee Member and Eco-Friendly Funeral Director

In 2007, Mike became a licensed funeral director in Michigan, bringing ten years of environmental work experience, including work as a Naturalist Assistant at Old Faithful Station, Yellowstone National Park. Mike has a passion for Green Burial and is one of the only licensed funeral directors with an environmental science degree. For the last 17 years he has assisted families with Green Burial and in-home funeral services in Michigan and consulted throughout the Country.

He attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and Michigan State University. Michael served three years on the Board of Directors for the Green Burial Council and assisted with many of their existing standards for funeral homes and cemeteries.

Michael and his wife Stacey reside in Chelsea, Michigan where they have raised their two sons.  Mike is passionate about fly fishing, floating the rivers of Michigan in his drift boat, bird hunting with his black lab Lily, hiking in nature with Stacey, birdwatching, and the environment.

Committee Member and Eco-Friendly Cremation Expert

Laura Boehm is the co-founder and general manager at Memorial Reefs International and Pet Reefs. She is the former professor of nursing at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as the former chief nursing executive at North Hawaii Community Hospital. She has a Masters degree in Nursing Leadership and Management and a PhD in Nursing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Currently, she directs Memorial Reefs’ worldwide operations and was instrumental in creating Pet Reefs—MRI’s newest reef site developed exclusively to memorialize beloved pets. As an avid surfer, Laura is committed to help restore coral reef habitat damaged by global climate change.

Committee Member, All Faith Funeral Consultant, and Eco-Friendly Funeral Director

Reuben Houston is a licensed funeral director, a cremation specialist, and managing partner for Colma Cremation and Funeral Services in Colma, California. Reuben has years of experience in all kinds of mortuary services, including green end-of-life-care. In the last five years, Reuben has assisted hundreds of families in having natural burials at Purissima Natural Burial Preserve in Half Moon Bay, California, alone. He is an expert in the natural burial process and experience, from preparing for such funerals to conducting the services themselves.

Committee Member, Eco-Friendly Mortician, Green Cemeterian, and Green Burial Educator

 Cleopatra Hughes is the founder of the Alabama Green Burial Association, an apprentice funeral director, and the owner of Eternal Garden Sanctuary, a green burial cemetery and funeral home scheduled to open in 2025. Cleopatra is a mortuary graduate from Jefferson State Community College and holds certification in Green Burials and Disposition. Cleopatra is passionate about serving her community and is at the forefront of the green burial movement in the South.   

Committee Member and Consumer Advocate

Helena is the co-owner of Eternally Green Funeral Solutions and the administrative assistant for Destination Destiny Memorials. She travels across the country restoring historic burial grounds, transforming them into green burial preserves. She has years of experience in sustainable landscape design and land restoration. Helena also has a long history in customer service, helping families navigate end-of-life processes in a friendly and comfortable fashion. Helena resides in southern New Jersey with her husband and four children. 

Committee Member, Cemetery Specialist, and Technical Advisor

Rich works in studio production for Fox Sports. He is an expert in videography and video editing. He is the technical advisor for both Destination Destiny Memorials and the Better Death Collective, in charge of managing their digital operations. Rich also serves as a sales representative for Destination Destiny Memorials, tending to customers and arranging services to fulfill their needs. He lives in southern California.