Bios | Benjamin King

Jamie Thomas King is an English-American actor best known for his roles in the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series "Mad Men" (AMC) and "The Tudors" (Showtime). Beyond his acting career, Jamie has dedicated over 25 years to yoga and meditation, becoming a certified Thai Yoga Massage practitioner in 2013. In May 2016, Jamie faced the tragic loss of his son, Benjamin, due to a preventable medical error. This heartbreaking experience led him to take a significant hiatus from acting to participate in the Coroner’s Inquest and a five-year lawsuit. Through this journey, Jamie gained profound insights into self-care, spiritual resilience, and the vital importance of human connection, emerging stronger from his grief. Motivated by his personal experiences, Jamie has become a passionate advocate for patient safety. He collaborates with the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in California and the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care delivering keynote addresses and leading workshops to ensure that the patient perspective is included in critical healthcare discussions. As a key speaker at a Patient Safety Summit at the European Parliament, he has advocated for significant changes in European law, sharing his family's story to inspire improvements in global healthcare systems.

Tamara Podemski is a multi-disciplinary performance artist and creator, who has spent the last 20 years on stage and screen telling stories that celebrate the human spirit. Whether she is working with at-risk youth on a community level or challenging the status quo with industry professionals by bringing trauma-informed practices into the workplace, she is passionate about creating safe spaces for marginalized voices and elevating the conversation of mental health. After the preventable death of her son, Benjamin, and the subsequent lawsuit that lasted almost 3 years, Tamara was drawn even more to exploring grief narratives and the Embodiment of Trauma ie. blame, revenge, reconciliation and rage. Inspired by healers, health practitioners and fellow Grief Warriors, she has developed strategies and applications to support and empower those who are on the journey to reclaiming their lives and themselves after traumatic loss.

Back