A 60 minute virtual panel discussion on four varying experiences of loss. Our panelists will share their unique stories of loss, hope, and healing while navigating working in the school system.
Join us for an intimate discussion, on how being an educator impacted their experience of pregnancy or infant loss.
Through these conversations and the power of storytelling we hope to reduce the stigma that surrounds pregnancy and infant loss. This special panel, made up of teachers and educators, will discuss their own personal stories of pregnancy and infant loss. Attendees will watch the panel discussion with an option to ask questions to panelists at the end.
Facilitator: Holly Ann Abel
Panelists: Crystal Oglesby, Jamie Frey, and Amanda Pinkham-Brown
Date: Tuesday, September 30th, 2025
Time: 5:00pm PDT / 8:00pm EDT
Cost: Free to attend
Thanks to generous donors, we’re able to offer events like this at no cost. If you’d like to support this work, a $15 donation helps us continue providing these meaningful conversations and resources to the community.
Give here: https://rtzhope.org/donate
Or via Venmo: @rtzhope
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Our goal for our Community Conversations is to give a voice to the grieving and break the silence and stigmas that exist in the pregnancy and infant loss community. We want our audience to feel less alone by hearing other voices in the community sharing similar stories to their own. We also want to provide helpful resources and tools that encourage overall holistic healing for those grieving.
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Erin is excited to be working with RTZ HOPE to help fund the work through grant writing. Her journey to motherhood includes two early miscarriages, which deepens her personal commitment to the mission of the organization. Erin has extensive non-profit experience including leading storytelling efforts for Maternal Mental Health NOW, and workforce development efforts for community health centers throughout Los Angeles County. Prior to that, she was a middle school and high school English teacher. Currently, Erin is also a documentary storytelling family photographer specializing in birth stories, including those of stillbirth and loss. She lives with her husband, their two living children, and an assortment of farm animals in Cherry Valley, CA.
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Holly Ann is passionate about helping others find hope and joy within their grief journey after she lost her daughter, Magnolia, who was stillborn, and experienced a miscarriage of her “Poppy Seed.” A former first grade teacher, Holly Ann realized the importance of not only telling her own story of love and loss, but honoring other babies gone too soon, which led to her writing a children’s book and starting a nonprofit. She lives in Oskaloosa, KS with her husband and daughter, Marigold, where she is a family photographer.
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Crystal Oglesby
Crystal Oglesby is an educator with almost a decade of experience in education in various roles, first as a middle school English teacher and now as an Academic Advisor and Instructor in the College of Education. In 2020, Crystal experienced a miscarriage that shaped her perspective on grief, resilience, and the silent struggles many carry. Just months later, she began a three-year battle with thyroid cancer which led to learning how to navigate treatment and grief while waiting to grow her family all while continuing to teach and support her students. These experiences deepened her commitment to creating spaces of compassion and understanding, both in education and in conversations around loss.
Jamie Frey
Jamie Frey is a special educator in the suburbs of Philadelphia where she currently resides with her husband and children. Prior to relocating back to Pennsylvania, Jamie taught special education for over 10 years in Vermont. In 2021, Jamie experienced the premature delivery and subsequent death of her daughter. In the midst of her loss, Jamie found support among other bereaved parents through RTZ Hope and her local community. With an understanding of how important connection is, Jamie is grateful for the opportunity to participate in this community conversation.
Amanda Pinkham-Brown
Amanda Pinkham-Brown is a Professional Learning Specialist supporting new and novice teachers across the School District of Philadelphia. Previously, she worked as a Teaching Assistant Professor of Theater Education at East Carolina University and an instructor of Arts in Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She spent the first ten years of her career in Los Angeles and Chicago as an instructional coach and teacher of English, Drama, History, and Media Studies. Her PhD research focused on the embodied and emotional experience of K-12 teachers who experienced pregnancy loss while teaching.