Amy personally experienced the challenges of having loved ones age and pass away long distance. Amy’s father passed away from Alzheimer Disease in 2016 in Arizona. Her mother passed away in 2001. Amy moved from Vermont in her mid-20s to be with her Mom during her final years as she started her family. Amy has a passion to share her experiences with those who are aging alone or live far away from family while giving their loved ones the skills to maintain financial and personal freedom.
Following a 22 year corporate career in finance and dispute resolution, Amy trained as a Qualified Neutral in 2018. Finding innovative, and sometimes audacious, solutions to life’s challenges is Amy’s personal passion and vocation. ‘
In 2021, Amy wrote and self-published Last Life Lesson: A Guide for Aging Adults and Their Families. The following year, Amy collaborated with National Aging in Place Council with their book, Aging in Place Conversations, What Industry Experts Have to Say.
Amy is the mother of two adult sons. Amy lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Have you ever gone to the wrong meeting only to realize you were exactly where you were meant to be?
During the coldest week of Winter 2019, with temperatures of -25ºF, Amy Miller, founder of Our Family Encounter, experienced a bit of brain freeze. She intended to go to a church in Mendota, Minnesota. Instead she arrived at a church in West St. Paul, MN where they celebrated Mass for the World Day of the Sick.
Following Mass, Amy met with some healthcare professionals who mentioned that when a person is admitted to a hospital without a Healthcare Directive, the healthcare professionals are sometimes required to make life and death decisions. The healthcare professionals also mentioned that patients are coming to their doctor appointments alone.
In 2020, the US census highlighted that 20% of adults over age 55 are single and without children.
Our Family Encounter introduces the Aging Concierge as a solution to help individuals and families find those whom they love and trust to be with them as they age and to celebrate them as they pass on their last life lessons.
How you age, and die, teaches a lesson to your loved ones that will pass on for generations or impact your community.
When families learn their parents are in crisis, it often comes as a surprise. Whether it is about legal, financial, housing or care concerns, families consider that their parents have it under control — until it’s too late.
Many advisors, attorneys, financial planners, and care professionals provide advice for individuals seniors, but rarely are they able to work with the family unless one of them has been granted Power of Attorney. Mediators are able to link the whole family through the various decisions in a planning session or to manage a healthcare, financial or housing crisis. Being able to bring in trusted advisors and professionals together to guide families can bring a family closer together and can improve family dynamics while avoiding painful or costly mistakes later on. The greatest legacy most parents want to leave their children is knowing they are able to get along.
Mediation and facilitation brings a families together by using online tools like video-conferencing and creating a plan to follow up and support each other. Whether family members or advisors located anywhere in the world, being able to connect allows decision making and planning at any time of day at a low cost. Open, inclusive, and accessible environment provided by mediation offers flexibility to families members who might otherwise be unable to help their loved ones.
Here’s just a few of the stories we’ve been included in.
