Ken Ross – Founder and President
EKR President, Ken Ross
Ken Ross is the founder and President of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation, established in 2006 to preserve, protect, and extend the work of his mother, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, whose contributions fundamentally shaped modern understanding of death, dying, and the human experience. He served as President from 2006–2013 and again from 2018 to the present, and previously served on the Board of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Center from 1989–2005.
From childhood through adulthood, Ken accompanied his mother on extensive international travel, observing her lectures, workshops, and interactions with patients, families, clinicians, and educators around the world. These early experiences fostered a deep appreciation for cultural perspectives on illness, loss, and healing. Over the course of his life, Ken has traveled to more than 112 countries, an experience that continues to inform his global outlook and his commitment to culturally responsive, internationally grounded end-of-life education. In the final nine years of Dr. Kübler-Ross’s life, he served as her primary caregiver until her death in 2004. These formative years established a lifelong dedication to ensuring that her work is carried forward with integrity, relevance, and care.
For nearly four decades, Ken has overseen Dr. Kübler-Ross’s legal, copyright, and intellectual property affairs, providing long-term continuity and ethical stewardship of her writings and teachings. As President of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation, he leads global public relations and strategic partnerships; maintains relationships with more than 80 international publishing partners across 44 languages; supports 12 international Foundation chapters; and curates Dr. Kübler-Ross’s personal and professional archives. Under his leadership, the Foundation has delivered live, in-person educational programming in more than 20 countries over the past five years.
In 2019, marking the 50th anniversary of On Death and Dying, Ken and his family curated and donated a significant collection of Dr. Kübler-Ross’s personal and professional archives to Stanford University, ensuring long-term scholarly access while preserving the historical and human context of her work. During this milestone year, he also appeared in major international media outlets—including Radiolab, BBC Witness History, Irish National Radio, and ABC Australia—reflecting on the continued relevance of Dr. Kübler-Ross’s work in contemporary end-of-life care.
Extending the Foundation’s international mission, the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation entered into a partnership with St. Luke’s Hospital to launch a Compassionate Community Program in Singapore in 2026, in collaboration with government partners. The program is designed to address the needs of Singapore’s aging population through community-based education, engagement, and end-of-life care initiatives.
Ken was named an Honorary Faculty Member at the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics in Jakarta in 2023. In recognition of his international contributions to grief education, compassionate care, and thanatology, he received the Medal of Thanatology Merit from the Association of Mexican Physiotherapy & Thanatology in 2025. He has also been awarded a Certificate of Commendation from United States Senator Harry Reid (Nevada) for his leadership and public service in advancing end-of-life awareness and education.
Ken also serves as Vice President of Open to Hope and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Humane Prison Hospice Project, supporting compassionate care, grief education, and dignity at the end of life.
Joan Marston is based in South Africa and is presently an International Children’s Palliative Care Consultant with PaCCHI – Palliative Care for Children a Humanitarian Imperative; also ICPCN Global Ambassador for Children’s Palliative Care and Director of Education and Development for Sunflower Children’s Hospice in South Africa.
Dr. Rothweiler, daughter of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross MD, is a licensed psychologist, with board certification in neuropsychology and rehabilitation psychology. In addition to conducting neuropsychological evaluations, she provides consultation liaison services, specializing in medical rehabilitation, but also hospital wide, including palliative care and hospice. She serves on the Aspirus Wausau Hospital Bioethics Committee and the Medical Staff Support Committee. She is a member of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, International Neuropsychological Society, National Academy of Neuropsychology, American Psychological Association, and the Wisconsin Psychological Association. She also serves as board member of Mount Sinai Congregation.
Andrew is a recognized expert and has a special emphasis on a number of transformational person-centered health care issues, including the public health challenges of social isolation and loneliness, value-based payment strategies, and value-based insurance design (V-BID), and improving advanced illness and end-of-life care delivery in the U.S. He is also deeply engaged in crafting innovative policy solutions for public sector health plans. A sought-after speaker on national health policy and political issues, Andrew regularly presents at a range of national healthcare conferences, and his insights have been featured in leading media outlets such as CBS Evening News, The Washington Post, Health Affairs, NPR, InsideHealthPolicy, and more.
Ms. Spada brings over two decades of knowledge, thought leadership, and experience to address corporate challenges with collegial creativity, exceptional insight, and razor-sharp intellect. Ms. Spada is a highly valued catalyst for change that visionary leadership relies upon again and again for out-of-the-box thinking to benefit future planning, complex project management, transaction structuring, and business transformation.