Lisa Baue

06/11/2026

My dad asked one question that changed everything:
Where are the women?

He asked it in the early 1980s. When he was serving as education chairman for the National Foundation of Funeral Service (now the Funeral Service Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association), he built a program around the answer. And that program became the Professional Women's Conference, which now draws nearly 200 women a year.

This year, we awarded the David C. Baue Scholarship to 20 women. That's 100 female and non-binary funeral professionals over five years who said, I am worth investing in. And they were right.
But here's what keeps me up at night: over 120 women applied for those 20 spots.

The hunger is real, the need is urgent, and we are not done.
Read the full story below. 💛

My dad believed that when you invest in a woman, you invest in the entire profession. We are still proving him right.

06/11/2026

🚨 𝗜𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁... 🚨

Registration is officially OPEN!

✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆

✨ 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 + 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁

If you've been waiting for a sign to invest in yourself, your leadership, and your future in funeral service and deathcare... this is it.

Join a community of women who are growing, leading, supporting one another, and redefining what's possible.

💸 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 $𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟯𝟬.

Seats are limited. The countdown is on.

➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://funeralwomenlead.org/events2/

06/11/2026

"𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿."

🔥 Barbara Risher Welch isn't holding back.

As more women enter funeral service and mortuary school, leadership in our profession is evolving. In this episode of 𝟰 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹, Barbara shares her perspective on confidence, leadership, mentorship, and creating opportunities for the next generation.

💬 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲?

🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you stream podcasts.
🎥 Watch on YouTube.
🔗 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4-women-and-a-funeral/id1820014738

06/09/2026

Every response in this survey tells a story the profession has never been willing to tell.

We're a few voices away from 500. Yours is one of them.
This data belongs to every woman who has ever felt unseen in this work. Help us collect it.

🔗 Pulse Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KDTJR97

06/05/2026

Honored to share that Wake-Up Calls has been named a Finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards — Memoirs (Career) category.

This book was written for every leader who has ever had to learn the hard way. To be recognized alongside such meaningful work is something I don't take lightly.

If you haven't read it yet, now is a perfect time. 100% off proceeds of every copy purchased goes beyond the page, directly supporting initiatives advancing women in the funeral and deathcare profession. Women who are leading, building, and changing an industry that has long needed their voice.

You can grab your copy here:
https://tinyurl.com/wakeupcallslisabaue

And if you have read it, I have a small but meaningful ask, please leave a review here: https://tinyurl.com/wakeupcallsreview

Every review helps raise visibility for the book, and that visibility translates directly into more funds raised for women's scholarships in our profession. It takes two minutes and makes a real difference for the women coming up behind us.

Thank you to everyone who has read it, shared it, and carried its message forward. This one's for you, and for every woman finding her footing in this profession.

06/04/2026

I want to tell you something that took me far too long to learn.

Work-life balance is not a reward, it is a decision.
One you have to make on purpose, again and again.

It is not something you earn after you have sacrificed enough, proved yourself enough, or stayed late enough.

My dad died at 52. Heart attack. Gone in an instant. And I made a quiet promise standing at the edge of that grief: this will not be my story.
Then I walked straight into the same pattern anyway.

That is how this profession works. Because when you are called to serve grieving families, you do not clock out. You stay and give everything.
And that is beautiful, until it isn't.

In this week's article, I share the four practical shifts that finally helped me find my way back to myself. Giving myself permission to rest, without apology.

Because here is the truth: if you pour everything into the business and leave nothing for you, you will eventually have nothing left to give anyone.

Read the full article. Then tell me: what is one thing you can do just for you this week? 💛

I want to tell you something that took me far too long to understand. Work-life balance is not something that eventually appears on your horizon like a reward for all the sacrifice you have made.

06/02/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗽. 💛
A powerful movement is building across funeral service and deathcare as women share their experiences, challenges, hopes, and perspectives through the Funeral Women Lead Pulse Survey.
𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

🖊️ 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 🖊️ 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 🖊️ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲
🔗 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KDTJR97

Thank you for helping ensure women across this profession are seen, heard, and supported.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗽. 💛

A powerful movement is building across funeral service and deathcare as women share their experiences, challenges, hopes, and perspectives through the Funeral Women Lead Pulse Survey.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

🖊️ 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 🖊️ 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 🖊️ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲
🔗 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KDTJR97

Thank you for helping ensure women across this profession are seen, heard, and supported.

05/28/2026

My grandmother had a nickname: the white glove lady.

Growing up in our funeral home, I absorbed her standard completely. You cannot redo a funeral. So perfection felt like love.

I carried that into my leadership for years, and it cost me. When I finally asked my team What can I do to be better? They told me the truth and that 360-degree evaluation made me cry.

I hadn't failed them because I didn't care, I failed them because I forgot to show them I was human.

Excellence lifts your team. Perfectionism quietly erodes them.

When I let go and truly trusted my people, our retention grew to over 98 percent in my last decade as owner.

Perfection attracts. Realness keeps.
Read the full story below. 👇

My grandmother had a nickname. They called her the white glove lady.

05/25/2026

Today we pause and we remember. The men and women who served this country, in peacetime and in war, gave everything so others could live fully.

In this profession, you know what it means to show up for people in their most sacred, painful moments.That kind of courage doesn't go unnoticed.

Today, honor those who gave all. And take a moment to honor yourself, too. The work you do is sacred, the calling you answered is real.

Have a safe and blessed Memorial Day.

05/21/2026

I walked into a funeral home recently and saw something that stopped me in my tracks.

The staff break room had become a storage room.

A space that was supposed to be a place for people to breathe, regroup, and reset, treated like overflow storage.

And I thought: we would never let a family room look like that.

So why do we accept it for our own people?

The spaces we give our employees send a message, whether we intend it or not. They say: this is how much we value your restoration. This is how much we believe you deserve a place to land.

Funeral service is deeply emotional work. It demands compassion on demand, long hours, unpredictable schedules, and a full heart, day after day. That kind of work requires restoration.

If you lead a funeral home or death care organization, I have a challenge for you this week:

Walk into your employee spaces like you would walk into a family room before a service. Look around with fresh eyes. Ask yourself honestly, if a new employee walked in here today, what would this space tell them about how we see our people?

Sacred work deserves sacred space.

And it does not have to be expensive. It has to be intentional.

I wrote about this in my latest article. The link is in the comments.

In funeral service, we talk a lot about caring for people. We talk about serving families, supporting communities, and showing up in life's hardest moments with compassion and professionalism.