Buffy Peters

Buffy Peters is the Director of Hamilton’s Academy of Grief & Loss. The Academy provides grief-related education, resources, and support to families served by Hamilton’s Funeral Home and the community free-of-charge.

As many in the field, Buffy’s passion for supporting the grieving came after her own significant loss. She’s obtained degrees from Iowa State University in Liberal Studies in 2004 and Child, Adult, and Family Services in 2012. Prior to her work at Hamilton’s, she worked for 7 years at Clear Channel Communications at the radio station in Ames, Iowa. In 2011, she began volunteering working with grieving children at Amanda the Panda as a camp counselor and support group facilitator. She was thrilled to land her dream job with Hamilton’s Academy of Grief & Loss in August of 2014.

Buffy is very active in the community providing grief and loss presentations and is particularly passionate about advocating for grieving children, and traumatic loss and homicide survivors. She feels privileged to not only be able to provide grief education locally, but also has been able to present nationally to a variety of audiences. In her work with the Academy, she also provides support for children, teens and adults in a variety of settings including schools and co-founded the Hamilton’s Pet Loss Support Group. She is an organizer for a local bereavement professionals group, facilitates monthly Death Cafe's, member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and an active member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.

Buffy is an avid animal lover and enjoys spending time with Drake, her cat, and Bear, her dog who comes to work with her in the Family Support Dog program at Hamilton’s. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, cheering on her alma mater Iowa State, writing, and spending time in nature; camping, hiking and running.