WE STUDY BELONGINGNESS.
“There is no separation between our Life vs. Death perspective and our bigotry. Learning a death positive view IS a radical confrontation with our biases, and a very strong medicine. In my view it is even the MOST radical confrontation and the strongest medicine. Death awareness is surely a profound and necessary piece for environmental sustainability. That should be obvious.”
— Jeanne Denney
Students & Community
Teachers
Jeanne Denney, Senior Teacher, Curriculum Design & Mentor
Willie Van Boven, Teacher
Billee Wolf, Assistant Teacher
Liz Carl, Senior Teacher
Barbara Pettibone, Teacher
Nandita Batheja, Teacher
Shelly Crane, Assistant Teacher
LiZhen Wang, Teacher
Rebecca Lazaroff, Assistant Teacher
Staff
LiZhen Wang, Co-Director
LiZhen (they/she) descends from a lineage of fisher people, jewelers, and community mediators from the island of Penghu. As a counselor and facilitator herself, LiZhen draws upon her ancestral traditions of Daoist-Buddhist practice, astrology, and the wisdom of the natural world. They work with individuals and organizations to support them to live into their soul’s calling. Experiencing her mother’s death was one of the greatest spiritual revelations of LiZhen’s life. It has opened them to the incredible richness of a life that includes, not avoids, death. For LiZhen, it is an honor to have been a student and now a teacher and Co-Director at SoULL.
Nandita Batheja, Co-Director
Nandita (she/they) is a facilitator, somatics practitioner, and artist who works across sectors, advocating for liberation and creative being. She is particularly honored to collaborate with YES! World and Circles International to support collective healing and conflict transformation.Nandita has a M.S. in conflict resolution and is also a certified Core Energetics practitioner; her work aims to integrate the teachings of somatic psychotherapy with the field of peacebuilding, to ultimately reduce violence and create symbiosis amongst our many earth ecologies (human and non-human). In addition to co-directorship, Nandita is a teacher and whole-life-doula with SoULL.
Michelle Levanti, Admin Officer
Michelle resides in Racine, Wisconsin, where SoULL was originally established. She has been assisting SoULL’s administration since 2020. As a student, she has completed Years 1 and 2 of SoULL’s training program. In addition to her work with SoULL, Michelle is Operations Manager for a local tree care company, a mother and an active grandmother.
Guidance Circle
Dan Sullivan, President
Dan is an attorney. He enjoys cooking, playing various games (primarily D&D), traveling to spend time with friends, and hiking with his dog. He has been a student of SoULL since 2024, and has been serving on the board since January of 2025.
Billee Wolf, Circle Member
Billee Wolff, RN is a retired nurse, birth and postpartum doula, and childbirth educator living in Northern New Jersey. After her husband died Billee discovered that the needs of those in grief were very similar to those of new mothers and families. SoULL’s integrative approach helped Billee connect her long experience offering non-judgmental and supportive care at birth to other major life transitions as well. Since completing year one in 2023 Billee has volunteered as a SoULL Wisdom Circle Member and a member of the board, and is a Year 1 teacher in training.
Jeanne Denney, Founder & Treasurer
Jeanne is the founder of SoULL and creator of its original curriculum. She is a transpersonal and somatic therapist, a former hospice worker and the author of The Nature of Being Human (forthcoming) and The Effects of Compassionate Presence on the Dying. Jeanne has contributed pioneering ideas to both Body Psychotherapy and Death Education and teaches in somatic institutes internationally, as well as the Art of Dying Institute. Finally, she is poet, a mother of four and a grandmother.
Mark Brady, Circle Member in Spirit
Mark was a student and beloved board member with SoULL until he passed away in July 2025. He was a transpersonal neurobiologist, author, co-founder of the Children’s Grief Program, and a stalwart friend. We are honored to have him join us, now from the other shore, as SoULL’s first Board Member in Spirit. Thank you for your indefatigable service, Mark.
Barbara Pettibone, Secretary
Barbara is an Honorary Whole Life Doula and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has served as a therapist in various communities for five decades. She has been active in SoULL since 2020, completing the Whole Life Doula program and assisting in SoULL retreats. Her work is inspired by many traditions, most recently by the deep learning of the SoULL teachings. She is currently in private practice and resides in Racine, WI.