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Paul Seyler is president of Competitive Resources, a marketing firm with core strengths in research, strategy development, training and implementation. He spent 10 years in marketing and strategic planning with firms in real estate and financial services. Seyler’s firm has successfully executed projects for a wide range of death-care clients, including Matthews International, The Keystone Group, StoneMor Partners, Wilbert Funeral Services, The York Group and Milso Industries. He regularly speaks to funeral and cemetery professionals on a wide range of topics.
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Chris Farmer formerly served as a corporate counsel for Service Corporation International. He has handled investigations for employers throughout the United States, and he’s also managed a large international docket of state and federal funeral home and cemetery matters, including professional liability, negligence, intentional acts and deceptive trade practice claims. He’s general counsel for the Cremation Association of North America and the Texas Funeral Directors Association and a lawyer with the acclaimed firm Sheehy, Ware & Pappas in Houston.
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Coleen Ellis founded Pet Angel Memorial Center in 2004, which was the nation’s first stand-alone pet funeral home. She’s also the founder of Two Hearts Pet Loss Center in Greenwood, Ind., and the co-chairperson of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance, which is a subdivision of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. She regularly helps funeral homes and crematories build or improve pet memorialization businesses, and she’s also an expert on fostering relationships with the veterinary community. She’s also the author of Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief.
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David Nixon is the owner of Nixon Consulting and a partner with Heartland Funeral Solutions. He’s a sought-after speaker and thinker on all aspects of funeral home operation and specializes in analyzing funeral home financial statements, preparing working budgets and complete pricing itemization. His entire career has focused on funeral service – from a field representative for a national funeral home accounting firm to one of its owners and leaders. His “Listening to Cremation” survey has been published in American Funeral Director magazine the past 19 years.
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Christine Hunsaker is senior vice president of cremation for Stewart Enterprises and formerly worked as a cremation consultant examining the company’s cremation processes. She began her career in the profession in 1993 as a sales representative for Batesville Casket Co. in Indiana. During her career, she’s served as a marketing manager, marketing revenue manager, brand and marketing director, vice president of business development, and president of cremation services and cremation operations. She is also the founder of a premier pet cremation company in her hometown of Atlanta.
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Jason Burlage is the vice president and general manager of strategic business units at Batesville. He joined the company in 2005 and previously served as vice president of Options by Batesville, director of global product leadership and director of business development.
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Nectar Ramirez is the director of sales for Options by Batesville. She graduated from Purdue University with a degree in industrial engineering and earned her MBA at Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management. She’s an expert at research, developing new business, and managing salespeople – and she’s traveled throughout the world speaking at various events to help funeral professionals provide more value to families. |
