It was April of 2017 when Garrick and the late Kinsloe Kelley Colwell invited over 20 Austin
area healthcare professionals to meet and discuss ways in which they could assist
the Central Texas community become aware of the importance of
completing their advance care directives.
Over the next few months the group met and decided to offer educational programs and resources through a non-profit organization they would call Kitchen Table Conversations.
They felt the name of the organization would encourage people to have end of life conversations in the comfort of their homes instead of
during a medical crisis in the ICU.
July 1, 2017 this web site was launched. The first workshop was offered the following
month. In October AARP of Central Texas began sponsoring The 3 Ds of Advance Care
Planning: How to Decide, Discuss and Document Your End of Life Wishes workshops.
In 2020 AARP will sponsor four such workshops that will reach
thousands of Central Texans.
These workshops are facilitated by Garrick Colwell, President and CEO of Kitchen Table Conversations. Garrick has been a Hospice Volunteer since 1987, serving as an
on-call hospital and hospice chaplain. He is a Respecting Choices® Person-Centered
Care First Steps® Advance Care Planning Certified Instructor and Facilitator.
From 2014 to 2019, Garrick served his late wife Kinsloe as her patient advocate,
full-time caregiver and end of life companion.
As a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, he co-created with Hospice Austin Conversations
On Grief, a monthly online grief support program.
Garrick has completed over 100 hours of study with David Kessler, grief specialist at grief.com. David is the author of five bestselling books on grief. His first book, The Needs of the Dying is
a #1 best-selling hospice book, praised by Mother Teresa; and he co-authored with the
legendary Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, MD both On Grief and Grieving and Life Lessons.
David's most recent book Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief
was published in November 2019.
Recently, Garrick completed 180 hours of training with author, educator and grief counselor Alan Wolfelt, PhD, CT, and received a Death and Grief Studies certificate from the
internationally recognized Center for Loss and Life Transition, a private
organization founded by Dr. Wolfelt that is dedicated to
furthering our understanding of grief.
Garrick can be reached at 512-787-3402 or
garrick@KitchenTableConversations.org
Host a Kitchen Table Conversations Workshop, Activity or Event
If you're interested in hosting a FREE workshop, activity or event on
Advance Care Planning for your company, faith community or
special interest group, please call us today at
512-787- 3402
