About Us

Our Story

The Circle of Life Memorial Gardens (COL) became an incorporated nonprofit organization in the state of Maine in November 2020. Currently, we are working toward obtaining our 501c13 status through the federal government. The collective expertise of our Board of Directors includes bereavement facilitation, social work, environmental sustainability, gardening, writing, horticultural work, customer service and more. Our organization is an authentic model of sustainability by offering the (re)emerging desire for natural burials.

A Letter from Our Founder

A critical component to the survival of our planet is to protect the natural circle of life — growth and decay; birth and rebirth. This mission serves as the inspiration behind the Memorial Gardens.

The idea for the Circle of Life Memorial Gardens came to life while walking my dogs around a traditional cemetery. Rows of tombstones, very little trees and shrubs, and plastic flowers made me feel like this kind of resting place wasn’t for me. I wanted my body to return to the earth in the most natural way possible and have my body’s nutrients used to grow new life. I wouldn’t be using my body anymore, so why not offer it to organisms that could transform into something beautiful once I’m gone?

It wasn’t long after that walk that the seed of a dream was planted and the roots of a vision soon began to grow. This vision included a cemetery whose purpose was to create and sustain new life in the form of botanical gardens that would radiate a calm, welcoming energy for those who were laying a loved one to rest, or for those who wished to spend time in the outdoors surrounded by nature. A vision for a cemetery that would allow for minimal disruption of the planet and its natural settings, allowing those who inhabit it to offer their vessels as a last and final payback for living a life on it.

It is my hope that through the Circle of Life Memorial Gardens that those who are interested in learning how to tread more lightly on our planet will have the chance to do so. I firmly believe that green burials can have a positive impact on our community, not only on the environment in which we live, but also on the family and friends we leave behind after our death. It is my hope that having a beautiful and serene setting to remember loved ones will bring peace and healing to our loved ones once we move on from this life.

Our Board of Directors

Tricia Jamiol

Allison Beck

Susan Casey

Lissa Bittermann

Lynn Abood

Danielle Arroyo

Paul Forman

Dana Hayes

A Massachusetts native, Tricia Jamiol graduated from the University of New England with her BA in Psychology in 2006. She remained rooted to the Maine community through volunteering at the Center for Grieving Children as a bereavement facilitator, traveling to Portland each week from Massachusetts. In 2012 Tricia graduated from Boston University with her master’s in Social Work and moved back to Maine permanently to practice as a child therapist. Tricia’s 13 years volunteering at the Center for Grieving Children, along with her own personal losses and the knowledge that life can change in an instant, is what got her thinking about her own deathcare early in life. After walking her dogs around a cemetery that was seldom visited anymore, she thought deeply about what she’d like to happen with her body once she passed, knowing that returning it to the Earth, along with giving her family a place to visit, was important to her. It was this thinking that created the idea of a beautiful, vast, and welcoming cemetery designed as a botanical garden for the public to enjoy. Through her love for the environment her idea evolved into including an educational component that would empower others to live more eco-friendly during their time on Earth.

Tricia ran a successful wedding photography business for eight years and in her free time, she continues to create art, is always in the garden, and spends her free time making memories with her best friend and fianceé, Lissa. You can find Tricia also skating and hitting her friends as a Ship Wrecker for Maine Roller Derby.

Allison Beck, a native Texan, moved to Maine in 1980. The mother of three has been a social worker, entrepreneur, business owner, and artist. She has a degree in Sociology from Southwestern University. For the last 15 years she has worked as an estate gardener in the summer and an artist/sculptor in the winter. For 17 and a half years she volunteered at The Center for Grieving Children as a group facilitator and for 8 years she attended America’s Camp, a week-long camp in the Berkshires for children who lost parents on 9/11. Circle of Life Memorial Gardens is an organization which combines all of Allison’s interests: horticulture, sustainability, community responsibility and education and the way our culture deals with death. When not in the garden, workshop or artist studio she is spending time with her daughters and their families. She is the “Nannie” to three of the most wonderful grandchildren ever born and spends as much time with them as possible.

Susan E. Casey is a Maine native and earned a BA in English from the University of Southern Maine in 1989; Master of Social Work degree from the University of New England in 1996; and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern Maine in 2009. Susan is an author, a licensed mental health clinician, a certified bereavement group facilitator, and a certified life coach. Throughout the past 25 years, Susan has worked in hospice, in-patient, and home-based settings with teens and adults, and taught numerous courses to executive leaders and clinicians.

Currently, Susan works for a measurement-based care organization, providing clinical coaching to therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists countrywide to improve mental health outcomes for youth and adults.

Susan was born and raised in Maine. Throughout the past five decades, she’s planted deep roots in her home state. Though she’s willing to travel, she will always return home to the lakes, oceans, mountains and the wondrous four seasons. Susan joined the COL Board of Directors because the organization aligns with her core values in helping to heal the planet and live an environmentally conscious life. Additionally, Susan has sustained significant losses in her life and wishes there had been a place like COL to lay her mom and brother to rest. As a grief and loss expert, Susan understands how critical it is for loved ones to feel at peace with where they lay their loved ones to rest.

When Susan’s not working, she can be found reading, writing, canoeing, snow shoeing, or walking Rocky, her miniature aussiedoodle.

Lissa Bittermann is a native Mainer having grown up in Cape Elizabeth. She attended The University of New Hampshire, graduating in 1993 with a BA in Psychology and Communication. She has traveled the world through her employment with EF Education taking in local cultures, connecting with people, and deliberately working to dissolve barriers that separate global citizens from one another. Through her training with Landmark Education she brings expertise in active listening, clear communication, and social constructionism.

After spending 10 years as a recruiter in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, Lissa’s love and passion for animals and the environment led her back to Maine as the Business Development Manager for a non-profit whose mission was to provide environmentally responsible waste management services including recycling and food scrap recovery. Lissa has extensive experience working with municipalities and large organizations guiding them in sustainable waste management practices, single stream recycling, and how to divert valuable resources away from landfills. Lissa’s dream of building and running a “Repair Cafe” and educational center focused on the environment are what inspired the sustainability arm of COL. She can’t wait to pour her passion for the environment into helping people learn how to repair their broken items instead of throwing them away!

True to her love for all things sustainability, Lissa serves on the Waste Reduction Committee in South Portland, is a recognized expert in her field of sustainable waste management and an awarded educator for her contributions to the Paris to Pittsburgh environmental summit in Providence, Rhode Island. She is happiest spending time with her fiancée Tricia, her family, her rescue cats and dogs, and being by the ocean.

Originally from Jacksonville Florida, having lived and traveled all over the country, Lynn Abood settled in Maine in 1982. She loves the State of Maine and resided in Portland for 37 years before moving to Cornish Village in 2018.

Lynn studied engineering at the University of Michigan and her work experience includes individual contributor, management and leadership roles in customer service, quality assurance, underwriting, product development and marketing. For many years, she has served as a volunteer with various organizations including Preble Street, Camp Sunshine, the Community Doula Birth Program and the Center for Grieving Children, where she has served as both a bereavement facilitator and team coordinator for 13 years. It was through her work at the Center that Lynn met Tricia Jamiol, the founder of the Circle of Life Memorial Gardens. Inspired by the prospect of being involved from the ground up in an organization that honors and offers choices during times of sorrow and also reveres and fosters human responsibility for the earth, Lynn is proud to be a contributor to this organization. Lynn brings a wealth of experience, creativity and positive energy to her role on the Board of Directors.

Lynn is married to her best friend and is the loving mother of three adult children and one granddaughter. Retirement for Lynn means serving others as a birth and postpartum doula and a volunteer for various organizations. She enjoys being with her family, spending time outdoors in the garden and hiking, reading and making handcrafted fabric and fiber art pieces for a local gallery.

A Woodbury, Connecticut native, Danielle Arroyo received her A.S. in horticulture at SUNY Morrisville and has been working in the field for 18 years. Danielle visited Portland on a recommendation of a friend while she was living in New Orleans and instantly fell in love with the area. She describes herself as an enthusiastic Portland community member and has lived there for the past eight years.

Danielle’s dedication to grief and death culture grew after her mom, who had a longtime battle with addiction, died of breast cancer. Creating a place where people have access to an inclusive and beautiful burial ground that doesn’t just act as a landmark, but as a place of community and healing is important to her and is part of the reason COL’s mission strikes a chord with her. After the loss of her mom Danielle found that being in nature brought a sense of healing for her.

Danielle spends her free time exploring the outside, playing roller derby, and cooking meals with friends. She enjoys art inspired by nature, gardening, and deconstructing wedding norms to make them LGBTQ+ inclusive. If you find yourself a friend of hers, you can expect to be surprised by one of the many postcards she loves to send.

Paul Forman was born in Philadelphia and moved to Maine in 1999. He has a BS in Marine Transportation from Texas A&M University, a MBA from Bentley University, and an Associates Degree in Recording and Engineering from Full Sail University, graduating as valedictorian. His passion for always following his heart has led him to various life experiences, both career and educational, in which he was often put in a leadership role. These various leadership roles taught him how to think on his feet, honed his people skills and taught him how to think clearly and decisively in difficult and stressful situations. Paul’s experiences enable him to be good with people, be thoughtful, kind and reflective around others, while maintaining a sense of humor.

Currently, Paul is enjoying his retirement from his successful web development business which he ran for over 20 years. He has been volunteering as a bereavement facilitator and intercultural facilitator at the Center for Grieving Children for the past eight years.

Paul has been an advocate of sustainable living, farming and taking care of the Earth, since the first Earth Day, when he was in high school. He is both proud and honored to be serving on the Board of Directors for Circle of Life Memorial Gardens. When he’s not volunteering, Paul enjoys learning new things, reading and spending as much time as possible cruising around the coast of Maine with his wife, Julie.

Dana Hayes is an experienced public speaker, environmentalist, and sustainability enthusiast. Dana has performed various leadership roles in management and public relations serving to facilitate strong, efficient, and successful teamwork between diverse groups of people. Her innate love and empathy for humanity has only been deepened by her decades of customer service experience. Dana believes that destigmatizing the way our culture views death, and normalizing conversation surrounding end of life options is vital to the health and longevity of our planet and its citizens. Understanding how end of life care and sustainability education are directly related, Dana applies her skills, experiences, and values towards the forward thinking mission that guides Circle Of Life.