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.

As many in the field, Buffy’s passion for supporting those that are grieving came after her own losses. Her educational background is from Iowa State University; with a degree in Liberal Studies in 2004 and a degree in Human Development and Family Studies in 2012. Prior to her work at Hamilton’s, she worked for 7 years at Clear Channel Communications as Traffic Manager for the Ames, Iowa Radio Stations New Rock 105.1 FM and KASI 1430 AM. In 2011, she began volunteering with Amanda the Panda working with children who had someone die 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.

In her work with the Academy, she also provides support for children, teens and adults in a variety of settings including providing grief support in schools. She facilitates a variety of support groups; including Hamilton's children's grief programs Little Hands and Healing Hearts, the Hamilton’s Pet Loss Support Group for adults and a virtual grief support group for adults with HealGrief. She is an organizer for a local bereavement professionals group and facilitates monthly Death Cafe's. She is a co-chair for the Polk County Suicide Prevention Coalition. She is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and an active member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief including co-facilitating a monthly call for bereavement professionals from across the country that provide grief support in schools.

Buffy is an avid animal lover and enjoys spending time with Drake, her cat, and Bear, her dog. Bear comes to work with her in the Family Support Dog program at Hamilton’s and is a certified therapy dog with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. 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.