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Our staff has a strong commitment to helping the members and families who need our services. 

 

  • Casey Husseman, Executive Director
    Casey Husseman, Executive Director

    Though Casey is an Oregon native, they’ve been calling Seattle home since 2015. With a bachelor’s degree in math and a background in IT, business operations consulting, and customer support, they are excited to join TCFH as Executive Director.

    Casey comes to us from the Seattle CityClub, where they started in a customer-facing front-line admin role, ultimately becoming the Operations Manager. They are especially proud of the work they were able to do to help the Seattle CityClub navigate the transition of their events-based model to virtual programs.

    Outside of work, Casey volunteers weekly at the Washington Crisis Connections Warm Line, an alternative to the Suicide Prevention hotline that is aimed at sitting with Washingtonians through their stress, loneliness, and grief. To unwind, Casey enjoys brewing beer, playing many instruments, and spending time outdoors often identifying birds. They are an avid board game player, bicyclist, and doughnut connoisseur.

    Casey is gender nonbinary and uses the pronouns they/them, as well as the honorific Mx. (pronounced “mix”).

  • Kimberly Forsythe began her career with The Co-op Funeral Home as a funeral director intern during its inception in 2007. She then received her funeral directors license and had the honor of assisting families with their loved ones arrangements for over 15 years. She is now The Co-op's new Business & Finance Director, following new and evolving interests, while still having the honor of working for the same organization that she has grown to love.

    After receiving a Bachelor's degree at Western Washington University, Kimberly had originally planned for a future in art therapy. That direction began to shift after her Grandmother mailed her a Seattle Times article about green burial. With a deep passion for sustainable death care she loves being part of an organization that strives for transparency and choices in end-of-life options. She recognizes that these times can be difficult and works hard to help families find the right plan for their individual needs.

    Kimberly lives in Kirkland with her husband, 2 children, and 3 cats. When she is not busy at work, she loves exploring the woods and tending to her herb garden.

  • Born and raised on California's beautiful Monterey Peninsula, Chris moved to Seattle in 2000 to study sociology at Seattle University. After earning his bachelor's in 2004, he went on to study and train in funeral service with the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. After serving an internship at The Co-op Funeral Home of People's Memorial, he returned to Seattle University for the Masters in Pastoral Studies program at the graduate School of Theology and Ministry. “Studies in spirituality and pastoral companionship only made sense as my ‘next step,’” he says. “Pastoral counseling was never my aim, but I was seeking to work on a similar set of skills.”

    Having worked in funeral home settings varying from corporate to non-profit, he feels passionate about contributing to The Co-op Funeral Home of People's Memorial. "It's an honor to serve each family," he says. "Every family should have access to the widest possible variety of options. I'm grateful to be able to offer that."

    In his free time, Chris enjoys domestic travel and local casinos. He does not enjoy spiders or mushrooms. Read more about Chris here.

  • Aryana comes to death care as a fourth career, a deepening of lessons learned while teaching comparative religions and cultural anthropology to college students in several states, and later serving as a librarian and then administrator in the Washington state community college system. Before all that she did a decade or so of world traveling with adventuresome parents as a child and then a bit as an adult citizen of the world. Aryana's first and most memorable encounter with human care of the dead was witnessing as a young one the funeral pyre of a monk in Nepal. Although coming to funeral directorship as a profession took another 50 years, that key moment struck the original spark.

  • Kaileigh Whiting, Funeral Director Intern
    Kaileigh Whiting, Funeral Director Intern

    Kaileigh grew up in the Dallas, but escaped the Texas heat to move to Seattle in mid-2015. After working in a variety of customer service roles, she finally found her calling in the deathcare industry. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was the perfect time to start school. She graduated in winter quarter 2022 & is now working towards her Funeral Directing license.

    Kaileigh lives in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle with her fiancé, their dog Beethoven, and cat TJ Hooker. When not in the office, you can find her going on walks with Beethoven, snuggling on the couch with TJ Hooker, or helping her partner Gomez at one of his 2 businesses.

  • Brendan Dieffenbach, Administrative Assistant
    Brendan Dieffenbach, Administrative Assistant

    Having done just about every job related to wine over twelve years in the beverage industry, Brendan (they/she) is excited to join The Co-Op Funeral home as Administrative Assistant. They bring a long history of excellent customer service, a deep sense of empathy, and a great deal of personal warmth to this position as the first person many families will interact with. After a long period away from the non-profit world, Brendan is thrilled to have found a home working for an organization devoted to making sustainable and affordable death arrangements accessible to all Washingtonians.

    Outside of work, Brendan is a writer, avid home cook, and plays in more table-top roleplaying games than one would think possible. They live in North Seattle with their chosen family and glamorous Maine Coon cat, Boo.


Our board represents a cross-section of our community and has a passion for our organization and those we serve. The members work hard to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization and oversee that the mission and vision of People's Memorial are followed.

 

2023-24 People’s Memorial Board of Directors

Ann Norman - President
Katy Roberts - Vice President
Kirsten Kauffman - Treasurer
Meghan Walker - Secretary

Members-at-Large
Cheryl Jennings
Carrie Andrews
Dennis Barnes
Laurel Sexton

Alternate Board Members
Erika Campbell
Janice Jackson-Haley