Volunteers

Lauren Allenberg - LA MISS Monthly Facilitator

In 2012, Lauren gave birth to a healthy and happy baby girl, Sophia Esther. After 12 wonderful months together, Sophia was diagnosed with a brain and spinal cord tumor that ultimately took her life just before she reached 16 months of age. Lauren and her husband, Adam, were shattered. Despite living in Dallas, Texas at the time of Sophia’s death, she was buried in Los Angeles, CA, Lauren’s hometown. It was in Los Angeles that Lauren and Adam learned of the MISS Foundation support group for bereaved parents. For the next year, the couple attended the MISS support group meetings whenever they were in town, often to visit Sophia at the cemetery. They found great comfort in having a space to grieve openly and share their story amongst others who could relate to the devastation of losing a child.

In the summer of 2104, Lauren and Adam moved back to LA, the town where they had met 8 years prior. They began attending support group regularly and greatly appreciated the unique support that Lauren needed throughout her subsequent pregnancy with their second child, Eitan. In addition, Lauren has found it helpful to express her grief through writing on her blog (betweennowhereandsomeplace.tumblr.com). It is also a place to honor Sophia’s memory through pictures, videos and cataloging memories of her. 

As a facilitator, Lauren hopes to continue to honor the life of Sophia while providing support to others navigating the ever-changing paths of grief and mourning.


Sari Edber - LA MISS Coordinator

Sari Edber is the proud and loving mother of three children. Her first son, Jacob, was stillborn full term on July 20, 2006 after a perfectly blissful, innocent, and healthy pregnancy. While Sari and her husband, Daniel, were learning to navigate the horrific path of being bereaved parents, the MISS Foundation immediately became a lifeline for them through their online resources, monthly support groups, and the lifelong friendships that they made. They found comfort, healing, validation, guidance, and amazing mentors, who would walk this journey alongside them.

Sari continued her involvement with MISS when she was one of three stillbirth mothers who sponsored and helped to pass new California legislation for stillborn babies. After almost a year of lobbying, our bill, that allows parents to request a government issued Certificate of Still Birth, was signed into law in October, 2007. 

Sari was the lead facilitator of our LA MISS support group for almost 11 years and continues to support our current volunteers as the chapter coordinator.  She serves as the co-chair of the international MISS Parental Advisory Board and has completed the Compassionate Bereavement Care certification program to become a certified peer grief counselor.

Sari's advocacy work has extended into the greater Los Angeles community, as well, by working closely with other grief organizations, leading training sessions with hospitals, and providing bereavement care workshops for health/emotional care professionals with the goals of: sharing her experience, being a peer resource for other bereaved parents, and increasing public awareness, education, and research about child death.

Sari and Daniel's healing revolves around finding ways to keep Jacob’s memory alive and their comfort comes from knowing that Jacob is forever a part of their family, especially in the lives of their two subsequent children. 

Agata Labianca - LA MISS Communication Liason

Agata became a part of the MISS Community about a month after her son, Rio Labianco, was born full term on April 8, 2016. The majority of Rio's life was spent in the NICU where doctors tried to figure out his ailments and how he could best survive. Unfortunately, the prognosis for him was so painful that his parents, Agata and Kevin, chose to remove life support. They were holding him outside in the sunshine when Rio passed away on April 20, 2016. 

Agata has attended numerous meetings and is active on the LA MISS Facebook group. She was honored to read at the 2016 December Candlelighting and is thankful for the opportunity to give back to the community.  MISS has provided several close friendships and is a place of constant support through the child loss journey. No parent wants to be a part of this group but it is an amazing resource for those of us who need compassion above all else. Agata aims to remember Rio through her service in this space.
Agata has also found comfort in writing at various points in her healing journey.  Her blog can be found at:  https://riorisingblog.wordpress.com/