Speaking & Workshops
Speaking on grief, bereavement, and the systems that shape how we live through loss
Cassidie Carmen Bates, MPP, is a published researcher on grief and bereavement leave, TEDx speaker, public policy practitioner, and certified grief support specialist.
Through keynote talks, workshops, panels, and guest lectures, Cassidie helps conferences, organizations, universities, and public audiences engage with grief, bereavement, and loss with greater clarity, credibility, and care.
Her work brings together original research, lived expertise, public policy experience, and a deeply human approach to one of the most universal experiences we all share.
PARTNERED WITH
Signature Talk
Death Is Inevitable. Grieving Is Universal. Bereavement Leave Is Neither.
Grief touches every workplace, but most bereavement policies fall short in providing adequate, grief- informed support when their employees experience this inevitability of life. There’s a way to do this that’s both pro-employee and pro-employer, ensuring that the needs of grievers can be met, while also prioritizing solvency for companies.
In this keynote, Cassidie shares research, storytelling about her bereavement experience after the sudden loss of her dad and serving as his sole executor while working in non-profit leadership, and practical insight on what grieving workers need. The talk dives into why standard bereavement leave often leaves critical employee needs unmet, and how organizations can create more grief-informed support proactively and in response to employee loss.
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Better language for talking about grief
Understanding that grief support goes beyond, or sometimes in lieu of, offering paid bereavement leave
A clearer understanding of what grieving workers need, in both the immediate aftermath and on a longer-term basis
Practical ideas for grief-informed workplace support
The key timeframe for employee retention post-loss; more likely to ensure their return to work and increased company loyalty
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Executive teams, conferences, HR leaders, universities, associations, nonprofits, and public-interest groups.
Speaking Topics
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I define lived expertise as the inherent knowledge and insights that an individual possesses on a certain topic because they’ve lived it. Let’s talk about how this can be combined with the subject-matter research so that more informed and effective support can be built.
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Whether you realize it or not, someone in your office is most likely grieving, or will inevitably in the future. Let’s talk about how loss affects leadership, communication, culture, and the employee experience.
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How current bereavement leave policies are not pro-employer or pro-employee, and what tangible implementations can be to make these policies grief-informed
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Those with fiduciary roles to their loved one’s estates can inherit legal and financial responsibilities, in addition to their grief. Let’s talk about the support that this demographic of grievers needs and how this can factor into bereavement leave in the workplace.
A good fit for
Keynotes
Conferences and associations
Human Resources and leadership
Universities and academic programs
Public policy institutions, think tanks, and advocacy organizations
Nonprofits
Healthcare, public health, and social services audiences
Leadership retreats and staff trainings
Media and public forums
Ways to work together
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For conferences, summits, leadership gatherings, association expos, grief retreats, and public and private events
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For conferences, workplace trainings, leadership gatherings, summits, grief retreats, and public and private events
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For universities, book fairs, grief-related events, conferences, advocacy organizations, summits, leadership gatherings, association expos, grief retreats, and public and private events
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For universities, graduate programs, public policy schools, think tanks, advocacy organizations, academic events, grief-related certification programs and events, and student communities
Benefits
Clearer language for hard conversations
Better understanding of grief at work
Practical ideas for bereavement support
Insight into the hidden labor after loss
A research-backed, deeply human perspective
Tools for building more compassionate systems
What People Are Saying
“I have been lucky enough to work alongside Cassidie in the grief space. I can absolutely say that the Griefastic Book Fair would still be floundering if she hadn't offered her organization, diligence, and experience to our effort to become a non-profit! We were so impressed we asked her to sit on the board!”
— Meghan Riordan Jarvis, MA, LCSW, Founder of Grieftastic, Inc, & the Grief M.E.N.T.O.R method“Cassidie Bates brings something rare to the conversation around grief: a deep, unwavering compassion that makes the people she reaches feel truly seen. What sets her apart is that she doesn't simply speak about grief from a place of deep knowing - she listens with the kind of full, unhurried attention that helps people feel less alone in their hardest moments. Working alongside her has reminded me that compassionate attention, when it is this genuine, is its own form of healing.”
— Stephanie Sarazin, MPP, ambiguous grief expert, author, researcher, and TEDx curator Public Speaking Portfolio
Before focusing on grief-informed bereavement policy, Cassidie spent years building lived-expertise advocacy models in food security and public policy. These programs have been nationally recognized and awarded and Cassidie worked with dozens of nonprofits across the country to implement these client-centered advocacy models. This work reflects the foundation of her current research approach: the most effective public policies are those that are shaped by the people most directly impacted by the policies themselves
