Cass Humphries-Massey
Cass is the founder of Navigating the Wilderness, a community research practice advocating for grief and systems change.
Cass Humphries-Massey is the founder and director of Navigating the Wilderness, a practice cultivating space for grief through lived experience, research, and systems-thinking.
They facilitate grief work at individual, collective, and community levels, focusing on grief literacy, consultancy, and research rooted in grounded, accessible, and honest care. Cass centres marginalised and disenfranchised grief through co-production, anti-oppression, and community-led approaches. Their arts-based practice brings visibility to often-overlooked aspects of grief, with illustrations used nationally to communicate LGBTQIA+ experiences in palliative and bereavement care.
They have also developed guidance for youth workers supporting young people experiencing grief related to gender divergence, racialisation, disability, and neurodivergence.
Cass is a member of the Open Thanatology research network at the Open University and a champion for two national societal challenges on grief literacy and equitable palliative care. They serve on the Childhood Bereavement Advisory Group, advocating for systemic recognition of early childhood grief and its long-term impact on marginalised communities.
“As a Spokesperson, I want to amplify the full spectrum of grief experiences and grow our collective understanding of how we engage with grief in everyday life.”