Regina Harrison

Regina Harrison is Director of Sales at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge/Watertown, Massachusetts, where she has worked in various roles for over 15 years, starting in administration and gradually becoming involved in cemetery services and sales. She and her team meet with families, couples, and individuals to match people with the burial options that are right for them, whether they are planning ahead or facing an immediate need for burial space. Many people start their end of life planning with a visit to a cemetery, so these meetings often involve providing education about end of life issues in general. As a result, general death education has become part of the mission of the sales team under Regina’s management. Regina also serves on the board of the New England Cemetery Association, which is dedicated to supporting the work of regional cemeteries through collaboration and shared knowledge, and is a member of the Cremation Association of North America’s Magazine Advisory Board.

With an undergraduate degree (University of Chicago) and a master’s degree (McGill University) in social anthropology, Regina sees her cemetery work in the context of overall cultural beliefs about death and how to take care of and commemorate the dead. As a bird watcher and gardener, she is glad to be involved in end of life matters at a time when environmental impacts and sustainability have become a part of how we think about our deaths, and to be at a cemetery like Mount Auburn where sustainability is a part of our mission.