About

Krista Westervelt, M.T.S. (they/she)

Krista earned their Master of Theological Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School with a concentration in Chaplaincy and has been endorsed by the Humanist Society as an Associate Humanist Chaplain and Humanist Celebrant. In their role as a chaplain, Krista provides secular grief support for Nashville’s LGBTQIA+ community through a regular support group and other offerings. More information on those offerings can be found on the Nashville Grief page on this site. For more info on their celebrant services, check out the Life Cycle Events page.

Their thesis on “Rethinking ‘The Orphan’: Towards a Unitarian Universalist Imperative for Supporting LGBTQIA+ Grievers Experiencing Living Family Loss” earned Vanderbilt Divinity School’s 2024 Frederick Buechner Prize for a master of theological studies thesis. Their thesis explores the realities and challenges of the living loss of family too-often experienced within the queer and trans community and the vital importance of holding space for that grief in order to support long-term healing, well-being and thriving.

Krista has over a decade of experience in grief-related support, having begun their grief support journey by offering formal and informal peer grief support to those who lost loved ones to substance-related causes, including through their previous service as the facilitator of an Athens, Georgia-based branch of GRASP (Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing).

More about Krista

During their studies in Peace & Conflict and Gerontology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), Krista was awarded the 2021 University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award for their research on the “Impact of Racial Disparities in Transportation Access on Older Adults in Chatham County (NC).” Krista has presented on integrating Peace & Conflict Studies theory and praxis at the interpersonal, organizational and community levels, both for the Partners in Health and Wholeness Initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches and as a regular presenter on Managing Conflict in the Workplace for UNCG’s Bryan Graduate Career Center. They presented on “Transforming Family Conflict During End of Life Decision-Making” at “Cultivating Peace: A Symposium for Violence Prevention,” hosted by Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech.

In their professional career in the field of Gerontology and Aging Services, Krista facilitated, moderated, and produced a variety of educational and advocacy-related programs and offerings. They were a featured panelist on “Creating, Fostering, and Maintaining Connections During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond” at the 2020 Meals on Wheels Virtual Conference and a co-facilitator on Senior Support and Care at the “Mental Health and Well-Being During the Pandemic” event hosted by the Institute for Emerging Issues.

In addition to their academic and professional pursuits in Chaplaincy, Peace & Conflict and Gerontology, Krista is a writer across multiple genres, including creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. Their screenplay GRACELESS achieved “Second Rounder” status in the Drama category of the 2013 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. They have graced many a stage (virtual and otherwise) as a writer/performer, including WRITE CLUB Athens, Word Music, and Bynum Front Porch.