Michelle W. Thornhill is an instructor in the University of Vermont End-of-Life Doula and Grief & Bereavement Certificate Programs and a University of Vermont Prelock Award for Excellence in Online Teaching nominee. She is a grief specialist, end-of-life doula, and cultural historian. As Founder and CEO of Legacy & Hope, LLC, she provides systems-based support for individuals, families, and organizations navigating grief, loss, bereavement, and end-of-life transitions.
A graduate of Eastern University, Michelle serves as Vice President of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), representing over 2,000 end-of-life doulas and doula training organizations across 14 countries. She also serves as a Board Member of New Jersey Death with Dignity, advancing education and awareness of end-of-life choice and medical aid in dying.
Her leadership commitments reflect her dedication to history, cultural preservation, and community well-being through service on the Board of Directors of Historic Eden Cemetery, supporting ethical remembrance and community-based ancestral preservation, and advisory roles with Girls Leading Africa and Greater Hope Medical Center.
Michelle is the author of The Founders of Freedom’s City: 30 of Philadelphia’s Pioneering African Americans (August 2026) and a contributing author to Living Toward Justice: A Time Capsule (New Village Press, 2025). Her work has been featured in TIME, CNN, HuffPost, Associated Press, the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, the Cureus Journal of Medical Science, WHYY PBS/NPR, The Philadelphia Tribune, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.