2022 Conference Speakers
Lev Baesh, RN, MSN, CHPN, JD, DD, Rabbi
Rabbi Lev Baesh is an Academic Advisor and Faculty for Regis College’s Online Graduate School of Nursing in Weston, MA, where he support about 1,000 Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner students in their life as they pursue degrees in the school’s Master and Doctoral programs. He also serves as a part-time Hospice Austin Nurse Educator, teaching End-of-Life Decision Making for many communities in the Austin area.
As a rabbi, he currently serves a small progressive Jewish community in Austin. In addition, he also just started working part time at Texas School for the Deaf as a School Nurse.
Previously, Rabbi Baesh worked in New York City as a mediation coordinator/attorney and trainer for the Children’s Aid Society as a family and community mediator, a congregational rabbi in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the Rabbinic Director of WWW.Interfaithfamily.com’s Jewish Clergy engagement and training program in Newton, MA. In Austin, along with his rabbinic role, he also served as a nurse at Brackenridge Hospital, Hospice Austin, and St. Davids South Medical Center.
Lev lives in Austin with his husband Andrew Martin and their dog Seder.
Pastor Lea Walker-Clark, LPC, MAC, MDIV
Ms. Lea Walker-Clark is a Pastor and Mission Developer for a new worship and sacrament community called Palabra de Vida, in South Austin (78744) – a bilingual, multicultural gathering community that includes our 2SLGBTQIA+ Community. With more than 10 years serving the Austin/Travis County area providing counseling, education, and pastoral care, Pastor Walker-Clark is committed to improving healthcare wellness and healthcare access for underserved people. Her pronouns are Ella, She/Her.
Pastor Lea also serves as the Founder/Operator of two organizations in Austin: No More, No Mas and TexasCROSS. These two organizations provide services to individuals, couples, and families, including a range of services such as screenings, education and counseling, wellness, and primary care referrals.
As a seminarian, Pastor Lea completed her first Master's degree in Counseling at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin in 2010, which earned her a license as a Master Level Clinician working as a faith-based counselor in Austin. Ordained as an Anglican Reverend Deacon in 2010, Pastor Lea worked as a missionary leader and founded Refuge of Hope Ministries. This small worship and sacrament community grew slowly but steadily, and it led her back to seminary to earn a Master in Divinity degree in 2016.
When you meet Pastor Lea, her vivacious yet frank personality provides generous acceptance of anyone she comes into contact with – and always with integrity. Pastor Lea is a mother of four young adults, five grandchildren, and numerous nephews and nieces.
Sarah Swords, LMSW
Sarah Swords, LCSW-S, is a Clinical Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Master’s Programs at the University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. In addition to leading the MSSW Program, she co-directs the GRACE (Gerontology Resources and the Aging Community in Education) Program, a nationally-recognized field education program in social work in aging.
Dean Swords is a licensed clinical social worker and board approved supervisor, who presents to local, regional, and national audiences on social work practice, field education, gerontology, and philanthropy. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and the American Society on Aging. In spring of 2022, Dean Swords was honored by the American Society on Aging with the Gloria Cavanaugh Award for Excellence in Education and Training in Aging.
Lina Supnet-Zapata, MBA
Lina Supnet-Zapata is the Executive Director/Managing Partner of Mir Care Consultants, which serves those individuals faced with the challenges and complexities of aging and special needs by providing personalized planning, consultation, education, advocacy, and resource navigation. Lina has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry. As Community Educator and Area Director for ten years in the hospice industry, she worked with families and health care providers educating and advocating for increased awareness and better understanding of issues that emerge during end of life care.
In 2013, she joined her mother-in-law, Frances Mir, to oversee operations for Mir Care Consultants, Inc. founded in 2004. Lina’s passion, commitment and dedication for patient advocacy, consumer health education, ensuring accountability and excellence in care, assure individuals’ choices are honored. As Vice President of Mir Senior Care Consultants, Lina advocates that pre-planning in a complex health care system will help their clients and families to maintain control of their choices and achieve greater peace of mind.
Lina serves on the boards of AGE of Central Texas, the Aging Life Care Association, and is an active member of Women’s Business Enterprises, Texas Guardianship Association, Dementia Friendly America and the Austin LBGT Chamber. When not working or volunteering, Lina spends time with her husband Orlando, three grown children, three dogs, playing pickle ball and traveling.
Jeremy A Teel
Jeremy A Teel (He/They) is a multidisciplinary artist and social entrepreneur. Jeremy’s talents as an accomplished photographer and producer of visual art, education, and entertainment have made him a dynamic visionary in community and professional engagement. Jeremy proudly runs Jeremy A Teel Creative, a firm based in Austin, Texas. He is also the Executive Director at Inclusive Spaces and Beyond Brotha, a DEI organization focusing on LGBTQ+ in the workplace and Men of Color organization based in Austin, TX, respectively.
For the past 15 years, Jeremy has worked to uplift communities through experiences designed to empower and excite. Their ethos of “finding a way or making on”’ has made them the multidisciplinary creative they are today.