Ellen Hufschmidt worked as a Hospice Grief Counselor for ten years at Essentia Hospice in Duluth, Minnesota where she supported dying patients and their families, and conducted funerals. 

She is a Reiki Master and Ritual Consultant helping people of all ages to honor life's passages. In association with Metropolitan State University School of Nursing, as the Founding Director of Honoring Caregivers, Ellen created an annual ceremony in collaboration with cancer resource organizations focused in communities of color. Honoring Caregivers provided cancer survivors the opportunity to publicly honor their caregivers. 

She is the author of "With Our Own Hands: A Ritual Blessing of the Dead". Currently, she is working on a second book entitled, "Contemplations for the Dying and Living".