Carly Runestad of Mourning Hope Grief Center Elected to National Position

After a nationwide request for nominations, the Mourning Hope Grief Center (mourninghope.org) executive director, Carly Runestad, MHA, was elected as the 2019 president of the Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC.) Her term began January 1.

Carly has been executive director at Mourning Hope since April 2008. A music therapist by trade, she received her master’s degree in health administration from the University of Iowa. Prior to Mourning Hope, Carly served as the recreation therapy director of a 165-bed long-term care facility in Minneapolis, as the director of a 26-bed Alzheimer’s unit in Cedar Rapids, IA, and as the director of health policy for the Nebraska Hospital Association, providing advocacy services at the local, state and federal level for 85 Nebraska hospitals.

Carly is a frequent speaker on the topics of children’s grief, health policy, community health, human resource management and leadership, and delivered a TEDx Lincoln speech in 2015 titled “No Child Should Ever Grieve Alone.”

Vicki Jay, CEO of the NAGC, remarked, “Carly is truly a gift to the field of childhood bereavement. As the leading children’s grief organization, we are honored and privileged to have her as our president. She is well-respected as an expert through her work in Lincoln and throughout the country.”

The National Alliance for Grieving Children is a nationwide network comprised of professionals, institutions, and volunteers who promote best practices, educational programming, and critical resources to facilitate the mental, emotional, and physical health of grieving children and their families. Learn more at childrengrieve.org. For more information about Mourning Hope Grief Center, please visit mourninghope.org or call (402) 488-8989.