Faith Sommerfield was the Founder of The Completed Life Initiative. A graduate of Smith College, Faith, a fourth-generation New Yorker, majored in English Language and Literature before becoming an editor of Harper’s Bazaar. After her stint as fashion editor at Harper’s, Faith embarked upon a career in public relations in Manhattan. Later, forming her own interior design company, Sommerfield and Warren, servicing both corporate and residential clients. Never one to sit idly by, she volunteered extensively in her community, devoting time and talent to organizations such as her children’s schools, Greenwich Library, the Greenwich Library Art Committee, the Junior League of Greenwich, and the Connecticut Angel Network.

An original member of the Hemlock Society, she fully believed that self-determination should be the right of every individual. Over the course of her life, Faith observed that while medical advancements have prolonged the average lifespan tremendously, aging within American culture is a topic rarely discussed in public fora with openness and compassion; a reality that needs to be reckoned with and ultimately changed.

Faith established the Completed Life Initiative in 2019. Her vision for The Completed Life Initiative is to leave an impact for the greater good by promoting conversation, authentic understanding, and legislation that empowers people to face the complete life cycle with self-determination and, above all else, dignity. She was grateful to be blessed with the resources to have a voluntary death when she believed her life had been completed. She died peacefully at the time of her choosing in Basel, Switzerland on September 27, 2022.