Who's Behind Grief Sucks

GRIEF SUCKS was built with generous help from the Experience Camps' Youth Advisory Board, pre-teens and teens who care deeply about helping the public understand how to better support grieving children.

Click on a photo below to learn more about each YAB member.

Grayson, age 16

My brother died from a skiing accident when I was 10.

Tina, age 17

My mom died of a heart attack when I was 12.

Javier, age 14

My dad died of cancer when I was 10.

Janiyah, age 17

My dad died of cancer when I was seven.

Lola, age 13

My dad died of heart issues when I was six.

Aryn, age 15

My dad died from an accident when I was six.

Sarafina, age 15

My dad died from suicide when I was five.

Amber, age 16

My dad died of a heart attack when I was 10.

Annika, age 13

My dad died of cancer when I was 11.

Ann, age 13

My brother died from respiratory failure when I was four.

Erin, age 16

My dad died in the line of duty when I was 14.

Olivia, age 17

My dad died from a motorcycle accident when I was nine.

Gabi, age 16

My dad died of cancer when I was 12.

Teelin, age 15

My father died of heart attack when I was four.

Gracie, age 13

My mom died of cancer when I was seven.

Leila, age 16

My mom died from lung cancer when I was 12.

Simone, age 16

My dad died in a motorcycle accident when I was 11.

Riya, age 14

My dad died of cancer when I was two.

Jaymul, age 16

My dad died from a crocodile attack when I was seven.

Giovanni, age 13

My dad died of a stroke when I was 11.

Alexander, age 15

My dad died from a car accident when I was six.

Valentina, age 14

My dad died from a heart attack when I was nine.

Zoe, age 14

My mom died from cancer when I was 10.

Nico, age 15

My dad died by suicide when I was seven.

Ethan, age 16

My dad died from Covid when I was 13.

Lexi, age 14

My mom died from overdose and my dad died from septic shock.

Les, age 17

My dad died from a heart attack and my mom died from cancer.

Bella, age 16

My dad died by suicide when I was 13.

Dom, age 16

My brother died from Edwards Syndrome when I was three.

Niko, age 12

My sister died in a farming accident when I was five.

Leila, age 15

My brother died when I was 11.

Andre, age 17

My mother died of cancer when I was 12.

Quincy, age 17

My mom died by overdose and my dad died by heart attack.

Jesse Moss

is the Director of Marketing at Experience Camps, in charge of developing strategies and content to create a more grief-sensitive culture and advocate for grieving children. She's the voice and creator behind the Experience Camps TikTok (over 45 million views). Jesse has been featured talking about grief on outlets like Vogue, ABC, The Huffington Post, and Hey Alma. Jesse was also a speaker at SXSW 2023 on the panel, #Deathtok: How Gen Z is Reimagining Grief and Loss. Before diving into the world of grief, Jesse worked as a Digital Strategist in the Obama Administration, a Social Media Manager at Warner Bros.Television, and an Associate Producer at E! Entertainment.

Jesse experienced the death of her younger brother when Jesse was 22 (he died by suicide) and the death of her mom in 2021 from a seizure.

jesse@experiencecamps.org

Michelle Cove

is the Director of Communications at Experience Camps, in charge of making content across multiple platforms to build a more grief-smart culture. She’s the author of three nonfiction books, including national bestseller I’M NOT MAD, I JUST HATE YOU; director and producer of two documentaries, including "Seeking Happily Ever After" (distributed by Lionsgate); and a long-term journalist for numerous national publications. In 2009, she founded the award-winning nonprofit MEDIAGIRLS, which teaches girls and young women how to uplift one another and speak up for what they believe. She was Executive Director there until 2014.

Michelle experienced the death of her father when she was 20 (he died from a car accident) and the death of her mom in 2019 (she was ill for a long time). Both sucked.

michelle@experiencecamps.org

Brie Overton, FT, LPC, NCC

is the Chief Clinical Officer for Experience Camps. She is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri – St. Louis in the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy, where she educates and supervises master and doctoral level students on grief-specific issues in counseling. Brie is a Licensed Professional Counselor and specializes in anticipatory loss, grief and bereavement, life transitions, and working with underserved populations. She is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and has worked as a clinician and Clinical Director for Experience Camps since 2016.

brie@experiencecamps.org

Lauren Fernandez

joins our team with a lifetime of experience using social media plus three years of experience managing and creating content and strategy professionally. Before diving into the world of social media, Lauren was a public servant for the city of Chicago, where she worked tirelessly to support and advocate for her constituents. In her spare time, you’ll often find her baking her way through a cookbook or working on a New York Times crossword puzzle.

lauren@experiencecamps.org