Rachael D. Nolan, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine and an Advanced-Certified Grief Recovery Specialist® whose work bridges academic research, policy, and compassionate practice. Her scholarship focuses on grief across the lifespan, with particular attention to how loss is experienced and expressed within healthcare settings, chronic illness, and community life. Rooted in both evidence and lived experience, Rachael approaches grief not as something to be fixed, but as a sacred, relational experience to be witnessed with tenderness and care.