The Compassion & Choices Speakers Platform offers nationally renowned experts in the aid-in-dying movement. Our executive team and specialists frequently appear on radio and television and in major newspapers and national magazines. They provide keen insights and updates on the aid-in-dying movement and relevant legal issues.

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Call us at 800.247.7421 or email us with your request.

Barbara Coombs Lee, FNP, PA, JD, President

Barbara Coombs Lee worked as a nurse and physician assistant for 25 years before her calling led her to a career in health law and advocacy. Successfully serving as a Chief Petitioner for Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, Coombs Lee has been championing initiatives for end-of-life choices for more than a decade.

Barbara’s full bio (PDF)»

Travels From
Portland, OR

Topics & Categories
-The Death With Dignity Movement: Oregon & Beyond
-Oregon’s Experience: A Decade of Death with Dignity
-Changing Public Perceptions about; Aid in Dying
-Oregon’s Aid in Dying Law
-End of Life Care & Concerns
-Compassion & Choices: Vision, Mission & Services

Target Groups
Large Groups of 50+, typically churches; national conferences.

Kathryn Tucker, JD, Director of Legal Affairs

Kathryn L. Tucker, JD, is Director of Legal Affairs for Compassion & Choices. She is recognized as a national leader in spearheading creative and effective efforts to promote improved pain care for seriously ill and dying patients. Most notable, Ms. Tucker served as lead counsel representing patients and physicians in two landmark federal cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that mentally-competent, terminally ill patients have a constitutional right to choose a humane death with physician assistance. These cases are widely acknowledged to have brought much needed attention to improving care of the dying, and to have established a federal constitutional right to aggressive pain management.

Kathryn’s full bio (PDF)»
 
Travels From
Sun Valley, ID

Topics & Categories
-End of Life Issues: Law, Medicine & Ethics
-Constitutional Right to Aid in Dying
-Understanding Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act
-Landmark Federal Cases: Lessons for States
-Advocating for Choice

Target Groups
Medium to Large Groups 60+, typically national conferences and health-care related special events; audiences usually professionals in fields of law, medicine and health policy.

Roland Halpern, MA, Director of Community Relations  

Roland Halpern worked in non-profit management since earning his graduate degree from Regis University in Denver. He works nationally with Compassion & Choices chapters and community groups throughout the nation. Halpern typically lectures on end-of-life concerns and the need for aid-in-dying laws.

Travels From
Denver, CO

Topics & Categories
-Workshop: Completing Advance Health Care directives
-A Decade of Death with Dignity: Requirements & Safeguards

Target Groups
National and local community groups.

Judith Schwarz, PhD, RN, Clinical Coordinator

Dr. Judith Schwarz is the Clinical Coordinator for Compassion & Choices in the Northeast and the Patient Support Coordinator for Compassion & Choices of New York. She is a long-time consultant in nursing ethics and end-of-life care. Schwarz is also a contributing editor for ethical issues at the American Journal of Nursing.

Travels From
New York City, NY

Topics & Categories
Aid in dying and palliative end-of-life care

Target Groups
Health care professionals, especially nurses.

Paul Spiers, PhD, Advocacy Advisory Committee

Dr. Paul Spiers conducts research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and teaches at the Boston University School of Medicine. In his private practice, he examines clients and testifies in court as an expert witness in probate, civil and criminal cases.

In 1994, Dr. Spiers suffered a traumatic brain injury and a paralyzing spinal cord injury after a horse-riding accident. He now uses a wheelchair. The issue of patients’ rights has always been important to him as a professional, but the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became all the more important to him following his accident. He now focuses strongly on end-of-life choices.

Travels From
Boston, MA

Topics & Categories
Patients’ Rights

Target Groups
Disability groups; those with end-of-life concerns and need for expert testimony