Mount Ida College

Taylor has 38 years of experience in the funeral industry having held positions ranging from Funeral Director/Embalmer to Branch Manager, General Manager and Director of Marketing with Uniservice Corporation, owner of mortuaries and cemeteries in the Pacific Northwest.  Taylor was the first female branch manager appointed by that company. Prior to her career in higher education, she was General Manager of four funeral homes and a cemetery. She also worked as a Marketing Representative and Trainer for Sandhorst Incorporated, a business training company specializing in sales training.

Taylor has been responsible for managing a variety of operations including several business turnarounds. She has developed training programs for a wide range of applications. She has designed and delivered curricula on subjects including ethics, funeral service counseling, legal and regulatory compliance, policy and procedure, human resource management, motivation, new product introduction, general management and marketing. Her expertise includes technical applications involving all areas of mortuary affairs including embalming, restorative art, and infection control.  She is a frequent media spokesperson who has been featured on A&E, CNN, Discovery, The History Channel, and The Learning Channel television programs and in numerous publications including Newsweek Magazine.  

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Ethical and Creative Leadership and Public Policy.  She is a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer and holds designations as a “Certified Thanatologist” (CT) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling and a “Certified Funeral Service Practitioner” (CFSP) from the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. Taylor is an internationally recognized leader in funeral service education and a highly successful expert witness in her field. In 2011, she was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to a “blue ribbon” committee which investigated allegations of wrong-doing at Dover Port Mortuary, the facility that cares for the nation’s Fallen military service members.

Taylor is active in numerous organizations.  She is a past President of the American Board of Funeral Service Education – the specialized accrediting body for funeral service education programs. She served on the Board of Directors of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards.  Other American Board positions she has held include a six year term on the Committee on Accreditation, president of the College and University Council, member of the Task Force on Academic Standards, member of the Scholarship and the National Board Exam Liaison Committees.  She is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association where she currently serves on the Member Resources Advisory Group. She is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling where she serves on the Body of Knowledge committee. She is a member of the Professional Funeral Service Advisory Council for the New England Organ Bank. She is also a member of the International Order of the Golden Rule, a funeral service trade association. She served on the board of trustees of the Funeral Service Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association (“NFDA”). She has been a two-time invited participant at the Futures Forum, an NFDA event that studied the future of funeral service. Past service for NFDA includes the Professional Development Committee and Convention Planning Work Group; the Education, Preparatory Education, and Workforce 2000 Committees.  She was a member of the Women in Funeral Service Advisory Committee of the Funeral Service Educational Foundation. She served as a member of the board of trustees for the Children’s Room, a bereavement support center for young people in the Boston area.  She has been a member of the Professional Development, Public Relations, and Legislation Committees and the OSHA Compliance Task Force of the California Funeral Directors Association. She was a member of the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Continuing Education Committee of the California Department of Consumer Affairs.  She is past president of the Redwood Empire Funeral Director’s Association.  In recognition of her contributions to her field, she received the prestigious NFDA “Initiative Award” in 2005, Educator of the Year for 2008 from the 100 Black Women of Funeral Service; and, in 2012 she received the Distinguished Professional Service Award from the Fountain National Academy.

Taylor is a member of a number of volunteer organizations including:  the National Women’s Political Caucus and the American Association of University Women.  She served as Vice-Chair for a YMCA Board of Management and as a member of the governing board of her church.  She volunteers for community theatre when time permits.