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Stanley A. Terman, Ph.D., M.D.
Stanley A. Terman is the President of Life Transitions Publications. He received his B.A. from Brown University, his Ph.D. from M.I.T., and his M.D. from U. Iowa. A board-certified psychiatrist, he was on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine. Now he heads Peaceful Transitions® and Caring Advocates™, whose staffs of clinical, legal, and spiritual professionals assist patients and families facing end-of-life challenges. Dr. Terman has participated actively in three bioethics committees in San Diego, and is on the consulting staff of the San Diego Hospice. He has appeared before California’s Law Revision Commission and has served as chief of staff at a local psychiatric hospital. He sometimes testifies in civil cases as an expert. In his clinical practice, Dr. Terman assesses patients’ judgment when they wish to create Advance Directives, appoint a power of attorney for medical or financial decisions, or Refuse Food & Fluid.
In these days of political polarities, Dr. Terman tries to maintain a balanced approach. He provides advice to those who wish to avoid prolonged, unnecessary end-of- life suffering or the progressive indignity and dependency of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias by exercising the legal peaceful choice of Voluntary Refusal of Food & Fluid (sometimes, by Proxy). Yet he has also criticized the actions of Dr. Kevorkian and declined to join the former Hemlock Society. If asked what beliefs he holds most dear, his answers are, “We are morally obligated to honor a patient’s previously expressed wishes,” and “Do everything possible to learn directly from the patient, what she or he wants.” In the latter context, Dr. Terman’s declaration was submitted to Florida Judge George Greer in the fiercely litigated case of Terri Schiavo.
Dr. Terman has written a medical thriller, Lethal Choice, which is based on a conspiracy theory of Physician-Assisted Suicide that explores end-of-life ethical principles, and is the primary author of The Best Way to Say Goodbye: A Legal Peaceful Choice at the End of Life. This “book-within-a-book” strives to meet the needs of both general and professional readers with memoirs, humorous tales, cartoons, practical guidelines, and over 250 medical references and legal citations. Dr. Terman is also the contributing editor to Last Wishes: Memoirs and Professional Advice on Peaceful Transitions, a forthcoming anthology.
Dr. Terman’s interests in part are reflected by the titles of his lecture offerings: “Do We Need to Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide”; “Why Refusing Food and Fluid may be the BEST WAY to say goodbye”; “How to plan ahead for a dignified death if the diagnosis is Alzheimer’s”; “A Critique of The President’s Council on Bioethics report, Taking Care”; and “Does art accurately reflect the last chapter of life?” (in which he discusses Hollywood’s depiction of end-of-life decisions and dementia). Dr. Terman’s family includes Elias and Alex (his sons); Sharon (his daughter); Alex’s wife, Nadine; and Emily and Lauren (Beth’s daughters). He lives in Carlsbad-by- the-Sea with his wife, Beth Gardner, and two Pomeranian dogs.
Mark Janssen
Mark Janssen holds an MA in cultural anthropology from Stanford University. From 1983 to 1985 he was director of acquisitions for the Anthropology Library at Stanford. He has worked for Sociological Abstracts and continues to take on freelance writing and editing assignments. He has written a series of children’s literature reviews for Parent’s Choice and the Children’s Literature department at San Diego State University. He also researches ongoing developments in information technology and their implications for library science and data retrieval. Outside of the field of publishing, his passions include backpacking, bird watching and gardening.
K. Lorraine Graham
K. Lorraine Graham is a writer, designer and teacher. She moved to Southern California in January 2006 from Washington, DC where she taught at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, co-curated two literary reading series, and wrote book and art reviews. Lorraine has worked as a writer, editor, and program manager in a variety of contexts, including public-policy think tanks and non-profit organizations in Washington, DC, universities, and businesses. A BA in international affairs and an MA in literature ensure she is comfortable with a wide range of content. Lorraine publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Foursquare, Magazine Cypress, MiPoesias Magazine, Submodern Fiction, Dusie, Primary Writing, HOW2, Small Town, and elsewhere. In addition, she has published several chapbooks as well as a full-length recording of poetry and prose. Lorraine currently teaches Creative Writing at California State University, San Marcos. She enjoys designing publications and helping both individuals and organizations develop their writing.
Rebecca Nutile
Rebecca Nutile, an editor and writer, has more than 13 years of experience in advertising and publishing. She holds a BA in English and a Certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Paralegal Certificate from the University of San Diego, and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University. She has taught Introduction to Creative Writing at SDSU and continues to write and publish poetry, fiction and non-fiction. She resides in Cardiff, California.
Michelle R. Raczkowski
Michelle Raczkowski has more than a decade of operational and management experience. An entrepreneur who established her own consulting firm, Michelle has earned a solid reputation as the “go-to” person within a vast array of industries from Homeland Security to Optometry to the fine arts. Most critical to her success has been her dedication, passion and resourcefulness in the face of diverse challenges. Her favorite quote is, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”-Emerson
Michelle specializes in philanthropic development through grant writing and event management. Her clients have included the National Academy for Emergency Dispatch and local Community Fair Boards (most of whom have 20 or fewer employees). Some of her clients have had annual sales of $3 million dollars. She co-hosts a two-hour, weekly internet talk show entitled, “What isn’t the show about?” She has also been featured in many Alpine Publishing publications.
Vanessa Kealoha
Vanessa Kealoha is responsible for human resources and overall office management. Her experience in office management began with an agency in Hawaii that placed in-home caregivers for the elderly and disabled. She assisted in developing and upholding stringent guidelines with the goal of providing only the best caregivers possible. This included performing in-depth background and reference verification as well as other human resource orientation tasks.
Janelle Diters
Janelle Diters’ education has ranged from Providence, Rhode Island to San Diego; and from Alaska to Venice, Italy—gaining experience in the medical and graphic design fields. She has been a forensic technician and a health appraisal technician, and was a tutor in PageMaker, Quark and Adobe Illustrator. She has degrees in fine and commercial art and has owned her own graphic design firm, Mousetrap Graphics. Jan has worked extensively with non-profit organizations in a public relations and fundraising capacity. She offers her expertise in drawing, layout, illustration, desktop publishing, photo editing and presentation graphics programs, using these application software programs: Adobe Illustrator, PhotoShop, and InDesign. She also helps design presentations using FreeHand, PowerPoint, and Painter/Sketcher. She helps with marketing plan development and online market research.
Matthew Windwer
Matt Windwer brings innovative web design methods to Life Transitions Publications by harnessing the latest technologies to build web applications that deliver content digitally, such as the generation of custom e-books selected by the reader. He specializes in building scalable web portals and content management systems with a strong focus on usability. A psychology major, Matt worked as a crisis intervention hotline counselor in New York for two years, where he provided counseling on various issues including bereavement, and has served as a liaison for connecting seniors to services in the community.
Amy Bartlett
Amy Bartlett serves as copy editor and especially as the “voice” for audio versions of selected items of Life Transitions Publications. She is a professional singer, speaker, and published author. A former Editor for Guideposts Books and Inspirational Media, and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she lived and worked in Manhattan for ten years, where she published her first book, Be Still America…I Am God. She has become a known Christian artist among secular arenas, formerly holding the title of Miss New York City for the Miss America Organization and as a contract performer for the American Theater Wing, founders of the Tony Awards®. Her ministry focuses on taking the gospel into mainstream media and spans several different media forms - from radio, stage, and print to directing children's arts and music programs. She is currently the Christian Music Editor for RealNetwork's RealMusic Guide and Rhapsody, reaching an audience of 600 million, and has just released her latest title, With Open Eyes. A California Native, Ms. Bartlett returned to the golden state after a decade "on assignment" in New York, and has settled between the San Diego and Los Angeles areas to launch the next ten years.