M.Ed., LCCE, FACCE, CD(DONA)
TARA OWENS SHULER
Tara Owens Shuler, M.Ed., LCCE, FACCE, CD(DONA), has 28 years of public health work experience, ranging from maternal and child health programming to health professions workforce development programs. Tara has held positions in a variety of work settings, including the public school system, nonprofit agency, local and state public health agencies, hospital, and the Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
statewide program.
Tara is an NC native from Granville County. She received her undergraduate degree in Health Education and Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992 and her
graduate degree in Community Health from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1997.
Tara is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) and a DONA certified Birth Doula. She has been teaching childbirth education classes at UNC Rex Healthcare since 1998. In 2005, Tara became the Program Director for the NC-based Lamaze Childbirth Educator Program. Under her leadership, she convened a diverse team of childbirth educator trainers to train and mentor Lamaze trainees. One of Tara’s greatest achievements as the NC-based Lamaze Childbirth Educator Program is having the opportunity to train midwives, community workers, and NGO staff in Nairobi, Kenya, and Kuwait, Kuwait to become childbirth educators.
As an LCCE, Tara has been a very active member of Lamaze International. In 2009, Tara was elected to serve on the Lamaze Board of Directors. During her tenure on the Board, Tara was elected in 2012 as the first African American Board President to lead the Lamaze International Board of Directors and organization.
Tara serves on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Perinatal Association (NCPA), which is a statewide maternal and child health education and advocacy organization comprised of North Carolina perinatal and neonatal professionals.
In addition to her love of doing public health work in North Carolina, Tara has traveled to Ethiopia numerous times to assist a Raleigh-based non-profit, Addis Jemari, create sustainable solutions to end the orphan crisis in Ethiopia by encouraging, educating, and empowering orphaned and vulnerable children and their families through education, discipleship, financial literacy, life skills, and community involvement. Tara currently serves as the Board President for Addis Jemari, Inc. Tara is an active member of the Durham Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, and currently works with the NC AHEC Program as the Director of Operations and Diversity.