Thomas Nickel, PhD is a long-time meditator, teacher, educational media producer. He has years of personal experience as a cancer survivor and a hospice volunteer caregiver for Kaiser Permanente and Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco.

Tom received a PhD in Instructional Technology at the age of 54 and has been deeply involved in online teaching and learning for more than 20 years.
His research and teaching covers neuropsychology, terror management theory, cancer and trauma, cultural histories of death, and religious traditions of death and dying. He has developed a systematic approach to preparing for end of life.

Since 2010, Tom has presented and led workshops on Death Anxiety and Preparing for End of Life for academic and medical/professional audiences, as well as high school students and religious education programs.

He also works with Virtual Reality technology as an event host, world builder, and educational researcher.