Martha Thayer is the founder of Mortuary Training and works with funeral homes and associations on communication, training, policy, and professional practice. A longtime mortuary science educator with emeritus status, she pioneered the first fully accredited online mortuary science curriculum in the United States. She presents nationally on topics including AI, workplace challenges, and the evolving demands of funeral service.

AI in Funeral Service: Balancing Innovation with Compassion

Wednesday June, 3 • 9:30 AM

Session Description: Artificial intelligence is already influencing daily work across funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries. This session explores practical ways funeral professionals are using AI today, key risks related to accuracy and confidentiality, and simple strategies for adopting new tools while preserving professional judgment and compassionate service.

Learning Objectives

• Identify practical ways artificial intelligence is currently being used across funeral service operations, administration, and family-facing communication.
• Recognize potential risks related to accuracy, privacy, tone, and professional responsibility when integrating AI tools into daily work.
• Apply simple strategies for using AI as a support tool while maintaining authenticity, professional judgment, and service excellence.

 1 C Hour

Funeral Pricing Ethics in the Age of Transparency

Thursday, June 4 • 9:45 AM

Session Description: Funeral pricing is being viewed through a new lens as consumers access more information, compare providers more easily, and arrive better prepared for pricing conversations. This session explores the ethical challenges and opportunities created by increasing transparency and offers practical strategies for presenting pricing in ways that build trust, reduce confusion, and strengthen professional credibility.

Learning Objectives:
After attending this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify ethical considerations that influence how funeral pricing is communicated and understood by today’s consumers.
2. Recognize common sources of confusion or perceived pressure related to pricing structures and arrangement discussions.

Apply practical strategies to improve clarity, consistency, and confidence when presenting pricing information in modern funeral service environments.

 1 C Hour

Marnie Schubert is the CEO of Worthy Communication, a communications consulting firm based in Gilbert, Arizona. She has nearly 30 years of experience leading communication efforts for public and private sector organizations.

Prior to starting her company in 2024, Marnie served as Community Services Director for the Town of Queen Creek, AZ for nearly 17 years, where she was responsible for a wide range of nationally recognized communication, recreation, volunteer and tourism programs, special events and activities. She has also served as Director of Communications for the community of Celebration, Florida, recognized as “the town that Disney built,” and as Product Marketing Manager for Florida Today/USA Today.

In 2013, Marnie represented the State of Arizona in the Incident Command Center for the Yarnell Hill Fire/Granite Mountain Hotshot Memorials, focusing on international, national and local media, as well as communications designed to help residents better process and recover from the tragedy.

She has earned numerous awards from the City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), American Planning Association (APA) and others, including the 2019 Communications Team of the Year from PRSA Phoenix. Marnie served as President of 3CMA in 2022.

She earned her MBA from Benedictine University and has a bachelor’s in radio/television from the University of Central Florida.

When Emotions Run High: Practical Communication Strategies for Funeral Professionals

Wednesday June, 3 • 10:40 AM

When working with families navigating end-of-life situations, every interaction carries emotional weight. People are grieving, overwhelmed, and often managing complex family dynamics. In these moments, communication shapes the entire experience.

This session provides practical strategies to navigate emotionally charged situations with clarity, empathy, and professionalism. Learn how to de-escalate conflict, communicate effectively with overwhelmed families, and maintain compassion while avoiding burnout.

We will also address a key challenge across the profession: most complaints stem from miscommunication, not intent. Leaders will gain simple, realistic ways to strengthen communication and customer service across all staff, even in busy, resource-constrained environments.

Families do not see departments or divisions, they experience one organization. Clear, consistent communication across teams is essential to building trust during life’s most difficult moments.

Participants will leave with tools they can implement immediately to support their teams and serve families with confidence and care.

 1 C Hour

Erin Creger
Chief Sales Officer
Security National Financial Corporation:
Funeral Homes and Cemeteries Division

With more than 20 years of experience in sales leadership, Erin Creger is a dynamic force in the deathcare profession, known for building high-performing teams, driving sustainable growth, and inspiring those around her to lead with purpose and heart.

Her career is marked by a deep commitment to developing people. Erin has led, trained, and supported sales teams at more than 150 funeral homes and cemeteries nationwide, equipping both new and seasoned professionals with the tools, mindset, and structure needed to succeed. From revitalizing underperforming locations to creating scalable coaching systems, she brings a strategic yet personal approach to sales leadership.

As Chief Sales Officer at Security National Financial Corporation, Erin continues to champion a culture of excellence, growth and intentional success. She believes that when leaders light the way, clearly and consistently, teams don’t just perform… they thrive.

Erin serves on the ICCFA Sales & Marketing Committee and is a proud co-founder of the Death Care Collective, a national group devoted to supporting and uplifting women in the profession.

When she’s not coaching her team or on stage presenting, you can find Erin recharging in the Utah mountains or travelling with her husband and son; her favorite way to reflect, reconnect, and keep her own light shining bright.

Sales as Service | Connecting Through Community, Care, and Education

Wednesday June, 3 • 1:30 PM

 1 C Hour

This Little Light of Mine… and Yours | Be the Lantern, Not the Spotlight

Thursday June, 4 • 9:45 AM

 1 C Hour

Autumn Rentmeester’s energy and passion provides a fun and engaging learning environment for all ages. She brings over 20 years experience as a professional facilitator, trainer, and leader to your school or workplace. Every presentation will teach your audience something new about the practice of kindness, whether you are new to the Ben’s Bells mission, or have followed our progression for the last 20 years. Autumn is a local Tucsonan and enjoys supporting her community by volunteering with various non-profits, serving on multiple boards, and helping at her daughters’ schools.

A Conversation on Kindness

Thursday June, 4 • 12:15 PM

In the funeral profession, teams navigate emotionally charged situations every day while often balancing understaffing, high stress, and the constant responsibility of caring for grieving families. In an environment where compassion is extended outward so consistently, extending kindness inward to colleagues and staff is just as essential.

Join Ben’s Bells for an engaging session exploring the science of kindness and how intentional kindness in the workplace can strengthen team culture, reduce burnout, improve communication, and support resilience in one of the most emotionally demanding professions. Attendees will discover practical, evidence-based strategies to foster connection, empathy, and well-being within their organizations—helping funeral professionals better support one another while continuing to serve families with compassion and care.

This inspiring conversation will provide actionable tools to create healthier workplace environments, strengthen teams, and reinforce the human connection at the heart of funeral service.

 1 C Hour

Michelle graduated from Mesa Community College in 2001 with an Associates Degree in Mortuary Science. As a licensed Embalmer & Funeral Director, she has gone over and above helping those in need. In the eyes of a Mortician, she has the responsibilities of embracing family members as well as communities with emotional care and delivering quality, state-of-the-art attention to people of natural deaths as well as victims of tragedy. Decision-making and controlled emotions are of utmost importance when dealing with loved ones, victims of disasters, communities, etc.

Michelle has her own Trade Embalming business, is a member of DMORT (Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams) and is Prep-Room supervisor at Messinger Indian School Mortuary, Scottsdale. She loves all things associated with her job but Restorative Art is her favorite stronghold making the “dead look alive.”  She has dealt with many bodies such as homicide and suicide cases (intentional and accidental), decomposed bodies, motorcycle & auto accident fatalities, infant drownings, helicopter and small plane crashes, autopsied cases, and many more indescribable losses of life.  She has repaired heads with open bullet wounds, crushed skulls, facial lacerations, and removed large facial tumors, bringing back to normal life-like appearance all with “open casket” viewings.

Michelle exercises the application of specialized techniques and processes of pre-embalming, embalming and post-embalming practices which makes her quite knowledgeable for any disaster as well as an accredited Restorative Artist.

Recovering Sunken Treasures: Restorative Arts for an “Open” Casket

Thursday June, 4 • 12:15 PM

 1 A Hour

Jared Alvarado is a Clinical Anatomist, Funeral Director, and Embalmer with the University of Arizona College of Medicine’s Willed Body Program, where he plays a vital role in supporting anatomical education and honoring whole-body donors and their families. An Arizona-licensed funeral director and embalmer, Jared has been involved in funeral service since 2003 and brings more than two decades of experience to his work in both traditional funeral care and academic medicine. He graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service and specializes in anatomical embalming and hands-on training for medical students and healthcare professionals. Known for his compassionate approach and ability to bridge funeral service with medical education, Jared helps ensure donors are treated with dignity while contributing to the training of future physicians and healthcare providers

Embalming Through the Eyes of an Anatomist

This presentation offers an in-depth look at why anatomical knowledge is essential to effective embalming. Through cadaveric dissection, it explores vascular pathways, anatomical variation, vessel selection, and common landmark errors that can influence distribution and technique.

Wednesday, June, 3 • 1:30 PM

 1 A Hour