Executive Board of Directors
meet the Members of our Board
Elizabeth Uslander. Co-Founder, Executive Chair
Elizabeth M. Uslander, MSW MTS MSNP (‘27), is a mission-driven nonprofit executive and social entrepreneur integrating healthcare, educational, and philanthropic leadership to transform end of life care nationally.
She created the Empowered Endings Foundation to forward holistic, values-based care models that bridge clinical expertise with compassion and community. Elizabeth’s work is the culmination of life-long advocacy to ensure people feel heard, held, and whole as they navigate life’s most challenging circumstances.
Her vision for the Foundation is to uplift the hearts and voices of professional doing meaningful work in our fields of focus–including aging, dementia, palliative & end of life care, and grief & bereavement–while filling major gaps in the healthcare system to ensure optimal support for patients and families living with complex and terminal illness.
Elizabeth earned her Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Georgetown University, and was inducted into the Theta Alpha Kappa and Phi Alpha Honor Societies before going on to earn her Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary, and her Master of Social Work cum laude at the University of Southern California, where she was inducted into the Societe d’Arete. Elizabeth is currently enrolled in the University of San Diego’s Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership and Management program, due to graduate in 2027.
Elizabeth is a passionate change agent committed to humanity, dignity, and choice throughout life, especially in its final chapters. She has been recognized nationally for her work as a founder and executive leader in healthcare, spiritual care, business, and nonprofit. Her greatest joys include family, nature, and travel.
Bob Uslander. Co-Founder, President
Bob Uslander, MD, has over 30 years of experience as a physician in Emergency Medicine, Palliative Care, and Hospice Care and is dedicated to supporting patients and families through major health and life challenges—especially as the end of life approaches.
Dr. Bob understands that optimal care requires more than simply keeping patients comfortable. He addresses the whole person—meeting their physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs. In this way he is able to ensure the best quality of life, and the most peaceful death possible.
Dr. Bob understands that the most valuable gift he can offer as a physician and a human being is to listen and empathize with his patients and families. His experience as an Emergency physician and a Palliative Care and Hospice physician, combined with his personal experience of caring for friends and family members through illness and death, has given him a unique perspective that allows him to be a genuine and effective doctor, navigator, guide, advocate, and friend.
Dr. Bob graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign with his Bachelor of Science in biology. He then attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles where he earned his Doctor of Medicine and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago.
Prior to establishing Empowered Endings, Dr. Bob practiced as an emergency physician in Chicago, Guam, and Sonora, California. From 2013 to 2015 he served as the Medical Director for Palliative Care and Hospice at LightBridge Medical Associates in San Diego.
Laing Rikkers
Laing Rikkers is an Executive Coach, specializing in Crisis Management & Grief Support, with 30+ years of corporate leadership experience. She understands both the high-stakes nature of executive roles and the profound impact of stress and grief on performance. Her approach integrates emotional intelligence and practical business strategies to help leaders process significant challenges while maintaining focus, clarity, and resilience. She is also author of the award winning book Morning Leaves: Reflections on Loss, Grief, and Connection.
Dr. William H. Parker
Dr. William H. Parker is a board-certified Fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He was on the faculty as Clinical Professor at UCLA and then UC San Diego and retired in 2022.
Dr. Parker was selected for Best Doctors in America and Top Doctors for 24 consecutive years. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, Downstate Medical School, and UC San Diego where he did his residency.
He, along with his wife Rachel, is the author of the acclaimed women’s health book, A Gynecologist’s Second Opinion – The Questions and Answers You Need to Take Charge of Your Health.
Rachel Parker had been a middle school teacher and devoted mother of three sons. After Rachel’s mother’s long and difficult struggle with Alzheimer’s she was determined to not suffer through the memory loss and dependency that had affected her mother. After discussion, the family had decided to seek end of life care if either Rachel or Bill developed dementia. Sadly, Rachel was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2022.
After an internet search, Bill found Dr. Bob and Elizabeth Uslander. Rachel, Bill and one of their sons met with them on a few occasions to learn about End of Life Care and Options. After Rachel continued to decline, she requested to voluntarily end her life by stopping eating and drinking (VSED). Rachel was able to die on her own terms, peacefully, on July 11, 2022.
Bill feels strongly that people with terminal or debilitating disease or dementia should be able to choose End of Life Care.
Leonard Gregory
Leonard Gregory is a former executive and business owner. Following the sale of his businesses, Len spends time in the family’s protea flower farm if he isn’t sailing or motorcycle touring somewhere else in the world.
Len attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate and attended UCLA for graduate business school. After several years in finance and investment banking, Len decided to pursue his passion and entrepreneurial spirit in the horticultural world. He created several commercial landscape and irrigation businesses, and ultimately became a multi-state distributor of golf, park and recreation, commercial, and residential equipment and irrigation products in the Western states and Mexico.
Len’s interest in the aging process was drawn from his years on the board of Seacrest Village, where he previously served as the Chair of the Board of Directors. In that capacity, Len supported operations and strategic planning of the San Diego-based facility that encompassed independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing. It was at Seacrest during a screening of the documentary “Being Mortal” by Atul Gande, where Len met Dr. Bob Uslander and learned about the unique model of Palliative and End of Life Care that he and his wife, Elizabeth Uslander had established.
Len referred Dr. Uslander and the Empowered Endings’ team of experts to a dear friend who was in the last stages of prostate cancer. The remarkable work that Dr Uslander and his team did for the friend and his family inspired Len not only to continue making referrals, but also to join Empowered Endings in support of its mission to improve End of Life Care for all. Len is committed to Empowered Endings to help everyone with a peaceful pathway through end-of-life care whether they can afford it or not.
Len is happily married to Sara who has a group mental health practice with offices in North San Diego County. Sara hopes to retire soon to join him in the garden and other adventures.
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