Ava Quissy

Ava is an SFU graduate who is passionate about death and grief care in both a research and practitioner capacity. After encountering the concept of death anxiety in an academic setting, this put name to a feeling that felt all too familiar, and revealed to her a giant, glaring gap in care, community, and conversation around topics of death and grief. From her interest in understanding the role community plays in shaping our relationship with death, Ava began hosting death cafes in the East Vancouver area, originally just amongst friends, but then eventually opening them put to the public. She is passionate about expanding our conception of grief and creating intergenerational spaces of connection where we can challenge our alienation from death, and from each other. She is currently planning on completing a Masters degree specializing in topics of grief and death care, but in the mean time continues to seek connection and education though various local, community based initiatives.