Alumni Spotlight: Tamera Hutcherson, Class of 2022
Tamera Hutcherson recently launched a small business called Beginnings Endings Doula Services (IG: @_bedoula), a full-spectrum doula service offering birth, postpartum, and bereavement support for all birthing families.
“As a queer, biracial, Black woman, educational equity to me means representation, accessibility, and opportunity,” said Tamera. “The current education system rooted in achievement and standardized testing metrics/benchmarks is failing future young generations based on race, socioeconomic status, geographical area of where a student may live, gender/sex, etc. If our society truly looked at macro factors that impact a student's ability to learn -- accessibility to food, housing, public transportation, representation, accessibility to extracurricular activities, employment, etc. -- then in coalition and partnership building we could work to bridge gaps and barriers.”
“Education starts at birth. Birthing or gestational parents need resources, tools, and accessibility to affordable doulas to advocate with them for their best interests and their child/children on topics of infant feeding, postpartum aftercare, perinatal care, and fighting against the racist, sexist, capitalist, and transphobic/homophobic medical industrial complex.”
“I created Beginnings Endings (BE) to address the gaps and barriers specifically for BIPOC, queer and trans birthing people including people with mental health diagnoses, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and/or people who use drugs and those in recovery. BE also helps queer and trans birthing people navigate experiences in conception, pregnancy, adoption, and bodyfeeding/chestfeeding.”
Tamera is also a literary artist and poet, herbalist, grassroots organizer, certified death doula, and full spectrum doula who has received training in birthwork crisis response and abortion community care.
