Through Loss to Life

Khris Ford has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to the work of supporting those who are experiencing grief and/or trauma. Khris believes passionately in the transformative potential of grief. Fueled by her own experiences of the death of her teenage son, Stephen, and more recently, her husband, John, Khris founded the Austin Center for Grief and Loss in Austin, Texas. Khris is also a trained Spiritual Director with more than 30 years serving in this ministry. She has created and given many grief retreats for bereaved parents, as well as other losses, and trained hundreds of counselors, Spiritual Directors, and social workers in how to guide grieving adults through a transforming grief process. Today Khris lives in North Carolina where she serves as a Spiritual Director and supervisor for Spiritual Directors. 

Janie Cook is an educator with experience ranging from teaching children with visual impairment to teaching theology to high school students. She is a life-long member of the United Methodist Church and has served in a variety of ways on church staffs and as a volunteer. She is currently retired and lives in Austin with her husband, Gareth, near their daughter and her family. Since the death of their son, Matt, in 2007 she has been deeply grateful for her involvement at The Austin Center for Grief and Loss where she has facilitated support groups for bereaved parents since 2009. She is privileged to work with parents whose lives, like hers, are forever changed by the death of a beloved child. Together they create a safe and loving place where grief can be expressed and transformed.