About Our Team
Elizabeth Hughes, PhD, TGF Grief Support Program Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer
Dr. Elizabeth Hughes is a clinical psychologist in Dallas, Texas. After receiving her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 1994 she continued her training at Children’s Medical Center Dallas as a staff psychologist. While there she served as a consult liaison for the renal transplant team.
Throughout her career, she’s worked with individuals who struggle with chronic medical illness, eating disorders, emotional trauma, anxiety, and depression.
In 2019 she began working as a Family Care Coordinator for Southwest Transplant Alliance. In her work supporting families through the donation process, she discovered that grief support resources are limited for those left behind to honor and grieve their loved ones.
In 2021, she and Tara Storch, co-founder of Taylor's Gift Foundation, developed and launched the Taylor’s Gift Grief Support Program to ensure that no donor family ever grieves alone.
To further evaluate both the needs of donor families and the effectiveness of the current grief support program, Dr. Hughes has worked collaboratively with NYU Langone Health for 2+ years to assess how to best serve those who are grieving following organ and tissue donation.
Elizabeth lives in the Dallas area with her family.
Hannah Showalter, LMSW, Director of Grief Support
As a passionate and dedicated Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW), Hannah Showalter specializes in providing compassionate support for those experiencing grief and trauma. She received her Master’s Degree at the University of South Carolina in Social Work (LMSW) with a focus on Health and Mental Health and has practiced since 2017. She recognizes the emotional journey that accompanies losses and tailors support programs to meet the diverse needs of each individual and family.
She has a tremendous passion for developing grief-sensitive programs, thoughtful grief services, and intentional programs for children and families. In her career, she has developed many existing programs and created new programs serving those experiencing grief while incarcerated and providing grief support for medical professionals.
As the Director of Grief Support Services at Taylor’s Gift Foundation, her passion is to offer safe spaces where those experiencing grief can share without feeling like a problem to be solved, where loss is validated, accepted, and remembered. She is excited to be Taylor’s Gift to create that space and facilitate connections for donor and donor-in-spirit families on their grief journey.
Hannah lives in the Dallas, Texas area with her husband, son, and two huskies.
Lisa Larson, CPSS, Program Manager
Lisa Larson is a Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS), an ARISE Interventionist Intern, a Grief Certified Coach, and a Life Coach. As our Program Manager, Lisa manages our incredible team of Caring Guides who support donor families. As a peer Caring Guide herself, Lisa guides donor families struggling with grief and provides hope to them as they walk their grief journey.
Lisa is also a dedicated volunteer with Empower Community Solutions and FAVOR Greenville. Both organizations help family members deal with the impact of substance misuse, mental health issues and grief. From her personal loss experience, she understands the importance of having others around you who have experienced similar pain and trauma.
"Until you have experienced grief from a loved one's death, you have no idea how long the mental exhaustion continues or how lonely it can feel. The grief of a loved one suddenly leaves you standing in a new life we are not ready to live... I am beyond honored to have the ability to walk beside our donor families and support them as they take the journey of healing.”
Lisa lives in the Woodruff, South Carolina area with her family.