About the founder

Lindsey Whissel Fenton (she/her) is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker and international speaker who is passionate about using media to build empathy and connection. She currently works as a senior producer and director at the PBS/NPR affiliate station WPSU. In this role, she uses her experience as a creator, outreach strategist, fundraiser, and learning designer to develop and deliver meaningful content to local, regional, and national audiences. Fenton is a sought-after presenter on grief awareness and digital outreach and education strategy.

Fenton focuses on projects related to grief, trauma, and mental health. She produced and directed Speaking Grief, a multiplatform initiative that works to create a more grief-aware society. The initiative received three Emmy® Nominations (Mid-Atlantic Chapter) and was honored with a Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters (PAB) Award for Outstanding Documentary. Fenton continues to manage Speaking Grief’s social media presence, @wpsugrief. Related projects include Learning Grief, an online educational resource that’s currently in development and Follow the Nudge, a mobile application that helps grief supporters align their actions with their intent. Through her role at WPSU, she collaborated with the New York Life Insurance Company to create a training on navigating bereavement in the workplace and the Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health to develop a scalable method of delivering training on trauma-informed practices to schools and law enforcement.

Fenton serves on the board of directors for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG) and is a member of the communications committee for the Association for Death Education Counseling (ADEC). She was a keynote speaker at the 44th Annual ADEC Conference and has presented and served as a panelist on grief awareness and educational outreach to a variety of organizations, including the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Education Foundation, the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA), American Public Television (APT), the PBS Annual Meeting, and Comic Con San Diego, among others. Fenton earned her bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Digital Arts from Point Park University and her master’s degree in Learning, Design, and Technology from Penn State. She is a dog-mom, an avid reader, and rock climber. For more, click here.