Committee Members

The Colorado Life Service Group Committee began in 2008 with the aim of creating a community that could support the students and teachers in the Ridwan School through illness, surgeries, and end-of-life experiences. The Committee meets every 6 weeks to plan offerings that support our mission, discuss current care needs in the school, and plan trainings for care coordinators, who have volunteered to support their fellow students. The current Committee is comprised of the following dedicated members of the school:

Bette Hauserman, Co-Chair of Committee

Bette Hauserman has been a student of the Ridhwan School since 1996 and a member of the CLSG since 2009. After a career in the business world, Bette was unexpectedly guided to a new career as a geriatric care manager and volunteer with hospice. Both have provided surprising and heart-expanding explorations into aging, the need for support as we age, the death process and the preparation for that final transition.

Jeff Truesdall, Co-Chair of Committee

Jeff Truesdall has been a student of the Ridhwan School since 1987, is a recently ordained teacher, and helped to start the CLSG in 2008. He has a heartfelt interest in and profound respect for the process and reality of death and dying fueled by Buddhist studies as well as the deaths of both of his parents.

Beverly Alexander

Beverly Alexander is in the Ridhwan Seminary and has been a student of the Ridhwan School since 1997. She got involved with the Life Service Group as one of its first Care Coordinators. Beverly's interest with death started very early and has stayed with her. Having lost a daughter to suicide, her mom to a battle with cancer many years ago, and her dad more recently--as well as numerous friends--death has found a way to stay "alive" in her presence. She is a psychotherapist and has worked with many clients around loss as well as with Hospice. Beverly looks forward to the opportunity this group presents in exploring the way life and death intersect.

Gary Haraldsen

Gary Haraldsen, as a lawyer and mediator, has worked with individuals in death and dying for years. He is the administrator for the Ridhwan Foundation in Boulder.

Ilene Buchalter

Ilene Buchalter is an ordained teacher in the Ridhwan School. She was previously a practicing lawyer, where she worked with issues concerning the elderly, incapacity, and aging. She was profoundly impacted by the sudden death of her father in her 30s, and much later by her intimate involvement with her mother's dying process. She has a passionate interest in engaging in, and leading, inquiry exploring the relationship between life and death. She enjoys supporting a sense of community in the Ridhwan School, where she has been a student since 1980.

Gwen Thornton

Gwen Thornton, an ordained teacher, has served on the CLSG since its inception.  Her interest in end-of-life issues stems from providing care to both her parents in the last years of their lives.  She has been the recipient of post surgical support as well as coordinating and providing care.  Her heart is drawn to inquiry around the issues of death and dying as well as fostering community within the Colorado Ridhwan School.

John Davis

John Davis in an ordained teacher in the Ridhwan School and a member of the School's Obsidian Synod. In addition to his work as a Ridhwan teacher, he leads wilderness trips.

Stephanie Ehret

Stephanie Ehret, a student of the Ridhwan School since 2006, is a Seminarian and has been a Care Coordinator for the CLSG since 2009.  The sudden death of her brother, a friend's suicide and the recent passing of her mother after a short illness have brought her into an intimate dialogue with death. She says "Helping my dad care for my mom in the year preceding her death was one of the most precious and impactful experiences of my life." 

If you would like to contact one of these committee members regarding life service matters, please use the roster the school publishes or contact Colorado to request the contact information for a specific individual.