Do You Have an Ethics Question?

If you have an ethical concern that affects home funeral guides, please contact the NHFA Ethics Committee. The four-member committee, led by a board liaison, will hear ethical concerns, resulting in additions and clarifications to our Code of Ethics, Practice and Conduct. The Ethics Committee will make non-binding suggestions, without legal authority.
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All communications will remain confidential. Please send your concerns to ethics@homefuneralalliance.org. An Ethics Committee member will respond as soon as possible with suggestions for how you and the NHFA can help.

Thank you for helping keep home funerals aligned with the NHFA Code of Ethics, Practice and Conduct.

MICHELLE ACCIAVATTI, MS | ETHICS COMMITTEE LIASON

Montpelier, Vermont (she/her)
Michelle is passionate about building community resources for people facing the end of life, caring for their own dead, and exploring ecologically sensible disposition options. In her daily work, Michelle seeks ways to positively integrate community death care and conventional funeral home offerings for families who want to stay hands-on, while actively confronting bias and privilege in both settings in order to promote decolonized and human-centered death awareness education and support to individuals, communities, organizations, and institutions. Michelle has trained as a funeral director, advance care planner, end of life doula, home funeral guide, green burial advocate, neuroscientist, and ethicist. She has practiced death work with people of all ages, including those dealing with death during pregnancy. Her work has found her in setting as varied as Boston Children’s Hospital, community spaces, people’s own homes, and the funeral home.

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Our Ethics Advisory Committee

ZALANE COREY

Zalene Corey has been an active supporter of the National Home Funeral movement since 2011. She took a certification course with Donna Belk, Beyond Hospice, and served on the NHFA board for three years from 2013-16. She has given workshops and talks at the local Green Team and Library in Phoenixville, PA. She has attended NHFA conferences since 2011. She has supported friends and family to reap the benefits of a home funeral. She is the President of Gentle Passages, Inc. Zalene is a lifetime member of the NHFA.

JIM BATES

Jim Bates is a research and development engineer and hypnotherapist with university degrees in Sociology and Psychology. He has 25 years of experience with the FCA in Texas and nationally, 35 years of leadership with the United Methodist Church at all levels. Jim has been an active leader in legislative lobbying and Democratic campaign management.

AMY CUNNINGHAM

Amy Cunningham serves on the NHFA Ethics Committee. She is a licensed funeral director and owner of Fitting Tribute Funeral Services, a Brooklyn-based firm that specializes in green burials, home funerals, and cremation services. Amy was profiled by the New York Times in March 2014, then named one of nine top funeral innovators by FuneralOne. She is a trained funeral celebrant and home funeral guide.