Ruth McManus is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand, where she teaches and researches on sociology and death studies. She is also the inaugural President of the Society for Death Studies, which promotes research and understanding across all areas of death studies with particular reference to Aotearoa New Zealand academic, professional, artistic and practitioner communities. She has also researched and written on a wide variety of death studies topics, including shipwrecks, disaster memorialization, the greening of death and suicide genealogies.

Denise Blake (she/her) is a researcher and educator from Aotearoa/New Zealand. She previously worked at Victoria University of Wellington, teaching health psychology. Denise has worked across community health sectors, including mental health and addiction. Her research address issues of identity, Indigenous wellbeing, disaster management and sustainability.

Jessica Thompson currently works as a freelance Research Assistant, holding contracts with Massey University Psychology Clinic Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand and University of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her main interest areas are critical health psychology, gendered healthcare and minoritised groups.