They were Here, They were Somebody, and They Still Matter: The Legacy Experiences and Perceptions of Bereaved Family Members

Jessika Boles, PhD, CCLS is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, and a Certified Child Life Specialist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from Rhodes College, a Master's degree in Applied Child Studies from Vanderbilt University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology with a graduate certificate in Qualitative Research from the University of Memphis. She has been a practicing child life specialist for fourteen years, the first 8 of which were spent in pediatric and adolescent oncology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with the following years dedicated to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Dr. Boles is known for her research on the concept of legacy as it is perceived by various stakeholders and translated into clinical practices with children and families. Additionally, as the leader of the CHILL (Children's Healthcare, Illness, Legacy, and Loss) lab at Vanderbilt University, her research brings together multidisciplinary collaborators and student researchers to study the psychosocial needs and experiences of children and families in multiple contexts: pediatric critical care, medical complexity, developmental disabilities, adverse childhood experiences, and grief and bereavement. She has held multiple posts in the Association of Child Life Professionals, and currently serves as Lead Fellow for the Association of Child Life Professionals and as a voting member of the Institutional Review Board at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center. In her spare time, she enjoys punk rock, her family's home and menagerie of pets in Montana, and spending time with her children and husband.

Emily Boulos is currently completing a Master's in Child Studies at Vanderbilt University and completing the practical requirements needed to be able to sit for the CCLS exam. She is involved in several research projects addressing legacy and sibling bereavement, and is co-designing a study to examine caregiver perceptions of ICU-to-acute-care patient transitions. Emily is involved in several nonprofit organizations such as Make-A-Wish and Get Your Play Online.

Jenna Dunbar, MEd, CCLS, CIMI is a Certified Child Life Specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, MD and a recent graduate of the Applied Child Studies master’s program at Vanderbilt University. During graduate study, Jenna pursued specializations in pediatric healthcare and poverty and intervention, designing a unique intersection of research and application on which to focus her child life scholarship. Outside of her academic experience, Jenna was a graduate student worker in both clinical and research capacities with a quality improvement group at Vanderbilt University Medical Center called Team HOPE – an interdisciplinary team dedicated to the family-centered care of mother-infant dyads who are opioid exposed. She was also a key member of the team of authors who conceptualized, researched, composed, and published the Child Life Value Proposition Statement, “The Value of Certified Child Life Specialists: Direct and Downstream Optimization of Pediatric Patient and Family Outcomes,” on behalf of the ACLP. Jenna completed her child life practicum at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN and her clinical internship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA.

Still involved today, Jenna began studying conceptions of legacy in pediatric healthcare environments during her graduate study, elucidating and analyzing the ways in which staff, parents/caregivers, and pediatric patients perceive the term and its related interventions, as well as bereaved family members. Jenna has presented this research in academic, clinical, and regional child life conference settings and is actively preparing a manuscript for publication regarding the ways in which pediatric patients conceptualize legacy.

Before embarking on her journey into child life, Jenna spent years working in journalism and advertising where she learned quickly how to do the typical atypically. Her experience using impactful communication and creative problem-solving contribute greatly to her clinical work and serve as cornerstones of her child life philosophy.

When she’s not working, Jenna enjoys international travel, exploring and learning through food, and making the perfect Spotify playlist. 

Maile is a Certified Child Life Specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs, where she works in outpatient specialty clinics serving a variety of populations. Before relocating to Colorado, Maile worked as an acute care specialist and with the liver transplant population at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt after earning her master's degree at Vanderbilt University. Her research interests include the concept of legacy and legacy oriented interventions in pediatric healthcare, and the effects of stress and early adversity on child development. A recipient of the ACLP Student and Professional Research Award in 2021, Maile is proud to serve as a member of the ACLP Research Fellows Committee, contributing to advancing child life research and practice.