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Dora Carpenter blends her years of experience working with hundreds of families in the death care industry and her personal experiences with loss and grief to coach, train, and certify grief coaches. She says that grief is not to be fixed or cured but is a necessary part of the experience of transitioning from a place of despair to one of hope.Â
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After being denied by her employer the opportunity to provide grief support to families, she trained as a grief coach and began offering no-cost community grief support at her local libraries. Her mission is to help individuals move from pain to peace, heartbreak to happiness, and grief to gratitude in the shortest time possible.
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Coach Dora is a certified professional coach, author, speaker, and former licensed Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway® trainer. She is a faculty member of the webinar series for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). As Founder of the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching (IOPGC) and the International Coaching Federation (ICF)-accredited From Grief to Gratitude Coach Certification Program, Dora Carpenter has been recognized as a luminary and pioneer in the grief coach certification movement. She has trained and certified grief coaches in the United States, Canada, Qatar, Cayman Islands, Spain, Brazil, Kuwait, Slovak Republic, Kenya, Pakistan, England, Portugal, and New Zealand.
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A native Washingtonian, Strayer University graduate, mother, and grandmother, Dora resides in Washington, D.C. Currently practicing retirement, Coach Dora says that her purpose on this earth includes service to others, compassion, and love.
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Dora Carpenter’s Back Story
With her first husband, Dora topped out in network marketing at age 23. At age 30, she opened her first brick and mortar business, a temporary staffing service located in downtown Washington, D.C. With many entrepreneurial ventures in between, at age 45 Dora entered the death care industry (wasn’t on her radar or life’s plan). She entered the coaching profession and authored her first book at 50+ and founded the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching (IOPGC) to train and certify grief coaches after age 60 … just a few of the many adventures of Dora Carpenter.
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Of course life has placed adversities, obstacles, detours, losses, and grief on her calendar along the way. Not being hired for her dream job. Walking away from positions that didn’t serve her highest good. Married twice, widowed once. Losing her best friend to breast cancer at age 25. Suffering from severe panic attacks and being temporarily housebound and on medication. Losing her hero, her Dad, four days after Christmas and attempting to jump into the grave with his body (guess that was the result of the only child spoiled brat syndrome). Losing her dear mother two days before Mother’s Day. Enough for now (smile).
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What drove her to training and certifying grief coaches was the “no” she received from her employer to offer families grief support after burying their loved ones. She took their “no” and made it her “yes” by training as a grief coach and offering no-cost grief support at the local libraries in her community.
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Dora Carpenter says, “What matters most to me at this stage of my life is gratitude, the gift to serve, and being the proud mother of my son, daughter, daughter-in-law, and doting grandmother of my adorable granddaughter.”
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