Tekara Gainey

Tekara joined the Lifecycle education team in 2021. She is a reproductive justice advocate, birth worker, and childbirth educator.

Tekara fuses her background in anthropology and reproductive work to acknowledge and address the systems of oppression that impact availability and access to compassionate, non-judgmental, reproductive care to birthing persons and their families across the spectrum of their reproductive needs.

After working in the nonprofit sector for 10 years, Tekara shifted gears and is currently in nursing school to focus on the clinical aspect of reproductive care.

Tekara became an educator because she believes “knowledge is a source of power and empowerment.” Further, “information helps demystify topics that may seem scary, such as childbirth, parenting, and lactation”. She loves being witness to the “aha” moment when parents in class “unearth and recognize their own power and abilities and walk away equipped with the tools they need.”

Tekara loves the supportive environment at Lifecycle, being around like-minded people, and the opportunities to learn something each and every day.

Outside of work, Tekara is involved with causes that “align with her purpose and passions”. She is a board member for DVLF, an LGBTQIA grant-making and capacity building organization serving the Delaware Valley and a founding member Maternal Wellness Village, an interdisciplinary collective of reproductive providers and advocates serving BIPOC birthing and parenting folks in Philadelphia. Additionally, she is an Advisor for the Designing Motherhood Project which looks the “arc of human reproduction through the lens of design”.

Tekara enjoys traveling, trying out new recipes, and jamming out during karaoke.