WHO WE ARE

Kim is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California and the CEO of Fuller Life Concepts Inc., specializing in helping children aged 6 to 12 with anxiety and depression. Before founding her agency, she directed outpatient services at a major non-profit in Los Angeles.

Kim’s world changed after the sudden death of her husband, Charles, when their daughter was just 10 months old. This profound loss led her to leave her non-profit role and start anew, despite the challenges and mistakes along the way, including delaying her own healing process. She was selected as one of 16 women to share her journey in the Amazon best-seller “Mommy Divas on the Move: 16 Essential Secrets for Mompreneurs.”

As a grief and loss coach, Kim supports widows in exploring new interests and creating meaningful connections while honoring their loved ones. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a private, non-profit organization dedicated to providing assistance and support through various programs in communities worldwide.

Kim enjoys running, traveling, skiing, and family time in Southern California with her new husband and daughter.

Jeanne, MPH, MS, CNM, has spent over 20 years practicing in women’s health and as a director of two hospital-based midwifery practices. She later joined her husband David’s Ob/Gyn practice with 6 other physicians and a nurse practitioner. After her husband’s untimely death, Jeanne made some purposeful changes in her professional life — she now serves as an Adjunct Instructor in the Graduate Advanced Practice Nursing Program, and the Midwifery/Women’s Health program at Georgetown University.  She is also the clinical course coordinator for New York University’s Midwifery Program. Jeanne is also a Fellow of the American College of Nurse Midwives, and recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award from the American College of Nurse Midwives. Jeanne brings a wealth of expertise in women’s health and educational programming to the W Connection. Since joining the W Connection, she is conducting cutting edge research on the health effects of bereavement, particularly among widows.

Samantha Melting is a Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Banking at Synchrony.  She has over 27 years in financial services across banking, credit and investments for Consumers, Small Businesses and Wealth Management. As our newest W Connection Board Member, she provides her expert focus and passion for helping widows achieve financial wellness to the W Connection.  After her husband Derek’s untimely death in 2020, Samantha and her family relied on the invaluable support of family, friends, and Samantha’s employer as she learned to manage her career, financial goals and solo parenting.  She clearly recognizes that not all widows get that level of support she received and is now wholeheartedly committed to educating the corporate community about the supporting services that they need to offer widows as the head of their households–both financially and emotionally.  Samantha lives in North Carolina with her two children and three cats, and she is active in her community serving in organizations that support economic advancement for women and underserved communities.

Pat Osman was widowed 13 days after her husband, Jim’s diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer in November, 2014. It was not until her dad’s death eleven months later that Pat began her grieving and rebuilding.

Rebuilding included retiring from a 40 year career as a Reading Specialist and English Language Arts teacher, then training to be a life coach for widows. During this training Pat was introduced to the W Connection by a former member. Since then, Pat has repurposed her educator’s skill set to help other widows by volunteering and leading many of the committees within the W Connection.

In 1990, as an educator Pat saw a need to start grant writing to fund the school’s computer labs and successfully wrote her first grant. In her career, her grant writing expertise funded a computer based diagnostic-prescriptive program for struggling readers. Pat brings her grant writing experience which began 30 years ago to the W Connection Board.

Valerie Pagliaro currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Hitachi Capital America. Although not a widow, the message of rebuilding after loss is Valerie’s connection to our mission.