Our Team
Meet the Faces Behind My Life Talks
It’s the people who make our company special. Learn more about the individuals who make up the heart and soul of our organization, and discover what drives their dedication.
Chief executive officer
Delery Rice
My Life Talks
Meet The Founders
James T. “J.T.” Hannan was born in Washington DC, but has lived in New Orleans for over 20 years. Married with three children, J.T. has worked for a varierty of nonprofit and governmental organizations including University Medical Center, the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Bayou District Foundation. J.T. has a Masters degree in nonprofit management from Louisiana State University-Shreveport and an undergraduate degree from Loyola University New Orleans. As part of his work with the award winning Bayou District Foundation, J.T. has appeared on The Golf Channel, NPR and PBS.
A native of New Orleans, LA, Jim lives and works in Covington, Louisiana. Jim went to Loyola University New Orleans for both his undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degrees. Jim has practiced law for nearly three decades and was a partner at Ungarino Eckert before forming his own firm. Jim founded U.S. Service Animals LLC in 2017. U.S. Service Animals educates and assists people with disabilities through the use of animals. They offer information on Service Animals, Emotional Support Animals, and the laws surrounding ownership of each. USSA consults with mental health care professionals in all 50 states. Jim is married and has two daughters attending Louisiana State University and St. Scholastica Academy
Dr. Benny Jones is a native of Mathiston, Mississippi and since 1990 is a resident of St. Charles Parish. He received his Ph.D. from the New Orleans Seminary. He is married with two children. His wife is a CPA. He is the former director of the Greater New Orleans Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served as State Director for 10 years. He has worked closely with a galaxy of stars including Coach Joe Gibbs, Archie Manning and Bobby Bowden. He is a member of the Fore!Kids Foundation which hosts the Zurich PGA event in New Orleans, Benny is also a 20-year football referee and 12-year baseball umpire. He is a passionate supporter of his community and has worked as a volunteer for decades in and around New Orleans.
Pat is an almost 30-year New Orleanian and attended Loyola University with J.T.and Jim. Pat began his career in Accounting & Finance and Business Management before returning to his roots and true passion: technology. In his Accounting days, he ran several business advisory engagements for Fortune 500 clients as an auditor at PWC, before transitioning full-time to one of his clients, Freeport-McMoRan, where he spent 15 years supporting Finance, Business Development, and Technology in sites across the US as well as Spain and Indonesia. Following his time at Freeport, Pat took on the ambitious role as the CTO of a technology startup headquartered in Atlanta, where he helped the founders build their technology architecture from the ground up. This technology would become the company’s main SaaS service offering which would lead the startup to growth and expansion, where they currently sit as a successful Due Diligence platform serving many clients in the financial and regulatory sectors.
A native of New Orleans, LA, Jim lives and works in Covington, Louisiana. Jim went to Loyola University New Orleans for both his undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degrees. Jim has practiced law for nearly three decades and was a partner at Ungarino Eckert before forming his own firm. Jim founded U.S. Service Animals LLC in 2017. U.S. Service Animals educates and assists people with disabilities through the use of animals. They offer information on Service Animals, Emotional Support Animals, and the laws surrounding ownership of each. USSA consults with mental health care professionals in all 50 states. Jim is married and has two daughters attending Louisiana State University and St. Scholastica Academy
Dr. Benny Jones is a native of Mathiston, Mississippi and since 1990 is a resident of St. Charles Parish. He received his Ph.D. from the New Orleans Seminary. He is married with two children. His wife is a CPA. He is the former director of the Greater New Orleans Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served as State Director for 10 years. He has worked closely with a galaxy of stars including Coach Joe Gibbs, Archie Manning and Bobby Bowden. He is a member of the Fore!Kids Foundation which hosts the Zurich PGA event in New Orleans, Benny is also a 20-year football referee and 12-year baseball umpire. He is a passionate supporter of his community and has worked as a volunteer for decades in and around New Orleans.
Pat is an almost 30-year New Orleanian and attended Loyola University with J.T.and Jim. Pat began his career in Accounting & Finance and Business Management before returning to his roots and true passion: technology. In his Accounting days, he ran several business advisory engagements for Fortune 500 clients as an auditor at PWC, before transitioning full-time to one of his clients, Freeport-McMoRan, where he spent 15 years supporting Finance, Business Development, and Technology in sites across the US as well as Spain and Indonesia. Following his time at Freeport, Pat took on the ambitious role as the CTO of a technology startup headquartered in Atlanta, where he helped the founders build their technology architecture from the ground up. This technology would become the company’s main SaaS service offering which would lead the startup to growth and expansion, where they currently sit as a successful Due Diligence platform serving many clients in the financial and regulatory sectors.
Executive Team
My Life Talks
Chief executive officer
Delery Rice is a leadership professional with experience in the business, government, and non-profit sectors. During her career, she has had the good fortune to work and collaborate with many organizations, including TRF.org (Imagine Dragons Foundation), Vulcan and the Paul Allen Foundation, Pilgrimage Fest Foundation, the National Women’s History Museum, the Better Than Ezra Foundation, and the Louisiana First Foundation. Delery serves as Chief Executive Officer of My Life Talks, a start-up tech firm offering digital ease to end-of-life tasks.
Executive Assistant
Originally from New Orleans, LA, Sophie now lives and works in Dallas, Texas. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in
Human Development and Family Science. As the Executive Assistant to the
Chief Executive Officer, Sophie excels in managing complex schedules, supporting project management, and enhancing organizational efficiency. Her strong leadership skills and dedication to optimizing executive workflows ensure smooth operations and help executives achieve their goals while maintaining work-life harmony.
Lead Developer
Cody Oelker is the CEO and founder of Relativity. He is an award-winning Internet Marketing Specialist with over 10 years of experience in Search Marketing with Google Adwords, Microsoft Bing and Yahoo. Cody is a graduate of Full Sail University, where he earned his Associate of Science Degree in Digital Media and Marketing, and winner of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Google AdWords All-Stars Competitions.
Webmark Group
Marketing + Web Contractor
Allison Lawless is an experienced Founder and Managing Director in the web development and marketing industries, specializing in search engine optimization (SEO), content creation, project management, strategic marketing, and more.
As the Owner and Founder of WebMark, Allison oversees the company’s operations and makes sure that we focus a great deal on building long-term relationships with our clients, working closely with them to build custom-tailored strategies to build their organizations to their highest potential. She ensures every project is executed effectively with thoughtful, well-researched, revenue-driving campaigns.
Allison places a high value on integrity and moving with purpose, which is reflected in the culture and core values of WebMark. She views each client as a Strategic Partnership of WebMark and truly nurtures the relationship component, which is what really sets WebMark apart from other agencies and firms in this industry.
Her Motto: “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
A LITTLE BACKSTORY
Skilled in WordPress, UI/UX, SEO, Strategic Digital Marketing, Copywriting, and Brand Development, she works with clients in several industries including Healthcare, Property Management, Commercial Real Estate, Law Firms, and any business sector that needs more exposure on the web.
After working as the marketing manager and web developer for a Diagnostic Lab and an eCommerce Company based out of California overseeing several profitable Verticals, Allison garnered the experience required to offer holistic marketing and web solutions to her clients.
Allison brings an innovative approach to her marketing efforts, looking at trends in data to create impactful campaigns that lead to higher online visibility for her clients. She couples that with a creative approach to content, with years of experience building successful online brands and brainstorming to establish insights that lead to an optimized User Experience with meaningful written and visual content across the web.
My Life Talks
Advisory Board
CEO and Founder, nDorse App
MD, MS, FAAP, FAAHPM
Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Hospice & Palliative Medicine
Director – Palliative Medicine & Supportive Care – University Medical Center New Orleans (UMCNO)/Tulane School of Medicine
Associate Program Director – Tulane Med-Peds Residency
Associate Professor, Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Tulane University SOM
Clinical Associate Professor, Internal Medicine & Pediatrics – LSU SOM
Senior Lecturer, OCS at the University of Queensland
President, Woodward Interests, L.L.C.
Vice President of Advancement at The Pontifical Mission Societies in the U.S.
Josephine Everly is Assistant Vice President for University Advancement Catholic University of America. She is an educator, writer, researcher, and speaker with over 20 years of experience in fund development for Catholic universities, community foundations, medical schools and hospitals. She has served as counsel to bishops, Catholic foundations, nonprofits and other organizations.
Previously, Josephine was Chief Operating Officer and Director of Gift Planning for the Catholic Community Foundation of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Senior Development Officer of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for Xavier University of Louisiana.
Josephine received her MA in Philanthropy and Development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, where she is adjunct instructor. She is also certified as a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy. She is founding President of #iGiveCatholic and President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater New Orleans. She is author of Planned Giving Toolkits for Parishes, Schools, and Ministries.
Josephine and her husband, Josiah, now live in Old Town Alexandria and are parents to five children and two terriers, Morty and Melba.
International Doula Life Movement
With over 12 years of end-of-life and funeral care experience, Alex has worked as a mortuary restoration specialist and has been involved in medical examiner offices, transport services, funeral homes, and both conventional and natural cemeteries.
In 2020, she founded Pale Hearse, a collaborative marketplace directory connecting families with trusted options. She also designed and hand-built Cool Cubes Mobile Morgues, which were used throughout Central Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex is a passionate advocate for transparency and education. She believes that informed choices lead to more meaningful end-of-life experiences and authentic human connections.
As a certified End-of-Life Doula and Home Funeral & Natural Burial Educator, Alex trains the next generation of doulas as the Texas Regional Director for the International Doula Life Movement and volunteers with the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Central Texas.
International Doula Life Movement
With over 25 years of experience in hospice and elder care, Anna has dedicated herself to guiding individuals and families through the end-of-life journey with comfort, dignity, and respect. She has supported thousands of families through her work in Hospice Inpatient Units and Crisis Care Teams, as well as 10+ years in High Acuity EMS care.
Anna is a Certified End-of-Life Doula and End-of-Life Educator, currently serving as a doula with Holistic Hospice, Caring Hands Hospice, and Passion Hospice in San Antonio. She is also the owner of Savior Doula Services and the Founder of the International Doula Life Movement (IDLM), an organization dedicated to training and supporting end-of-life professionals worldwide.
Her work is rooted in the belief that death is a sacred transition, and she is committed to ensuring every individual receives the care and presence they deserve.
My Life Talks
Partnerships
