Three people with a very new baby
Eight point star in red
Who We Are

About Us

Eight point star in red
Our Values

We believe...

  • Every parent is the perfect parent for their baby
  • That healthy mothers and babies are the foundation of a healthy community
  • That abundance and generosity are essential in Indigenous resiliency
  • That abundance and generosity are a community responsibility
  • In the validity of traditional knowledge
  • In centering Indigenous people in all our work
  • In the importance of providing culturally relevant care
A field of colorful wildflowers
Eight point star in white
Our Story

Hummingbird's Birth Story

In the summer of 2019, we hosted an Indigenous doula training and an Indigenous lactation counselor training open to community members. As Daybreak Star Doulas, we launched that program with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation in 2019 which was exclusively funded by a King County levy called Best Starts for Kids. This program was spearheaded by Camie Jae Goldhammer and she hired two doulas. We immediately got busy working with families but we wanted to do more! In the summer of 2021, we launched Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services.
Decorative quilting in logo colorsDecorative quilting in logo colors

Meet our Drum

While hummingbirds are fairly independent birds, when two or more of them get together they can be called a drum, a glittering or a shimmering. Like a drum, the Hummingbird team is a steady guide and heartbeat of our organization.

Hummingbird Team

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Camie Goldhammer, LISCW, IBCLC

Camie Goldhammer, LISCW, IBCLC

Founding Executive Director
she/her
Sisíthuŋwaŋ-Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ Oyáte

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Chrissy Harris

Chrissy Harris

Operations Manager
she/her
Kaigani Haida, Katzie First Nation and Filipino

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Vanessa Lovejoy-Guron

Vanessa Lovejoy-Guron

BirthKeeper Program Manager
she/her/siya
Filipino

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Tess Abrahamson-Richards, MPH

Tess Abrahamson-Richards, MPH

Director of Data Sovereignty
she/her
Spokane Tribe

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Kaitlin Kamalei (KK) Brandon

Kaitlin Kamalei (KK) Brandon

Pilimakua Program Manager
she/her
Native Hawaiian/Kānaka Maoli

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Lacey Warrior

Lacey Warrior

Nest Program Manager
she/her
Dena'ina/Alutiq/A'aniiih

Nest Program Manager

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Såhi Velasco

Såhi Velasco

Storytelling Manager
they/them
Indigenous CHamoru

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Kristin Lightfeather

Kristin Lightfeather

Indigenous BirthKeeper Lead and Lactation Counselor
she/her
Comanche, Ojibwe

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T'leeuh Antone

T'leeuh Antone

Indigenous BirthKeeper and Lactation Counselor
they/them
Akimel O'odham

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Devi Mudaliar

Devi Mudaliar

Indigenous BirthKeeper and Lactation Counselor
she/her
Indo-Fijian and Native Hawaiian

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Tanala Weaver

Tanala Weaver

Indigenous Birthkeeper
she/her
Cowlitz/Cowichan

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Charlotte Pfeiffer

Charlotte Pfeiffer

Home Visitor/Health Educator
Klamath Tribes

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Tia Yazzie

Tia Yazzie

Abundance Auntie
she/her
Diné/Navajo

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LeChante' Raiwalui

LeChante' Raiwalui

Indigenous Emotional Peer Support
she/her
Fijian and Black

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D'Ana Valenzuela

D'Ana Valenzuela

Home Visitor
she/her
Chicana/Chihene Ndee

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Katie Stover

Katie Stover

Home Visitor
she/her
Shoshone Tribe

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Alice Oligario

Alice Oligario

Home Visitor
she/her
Squamish, Nanaimo First Nations & Filipina

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Miriam Zmiewski-Angelova

Miriam Zmiewski-Angelova

Community and Cultural Engagement Manager
she/her
Choctaw, Cherokee, African-American, & Ashkenazi

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Nina Harris

Nina Harris

Administrative Assistant
she/her
Filipina

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Magof Topasna

Magof Topasna

Pilimakua and BirthKeepers Administrative Assistant
she/her
Indigenous CHamoru

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Koa Beck

Koa Beck

Data Sovereignty Specialist
she/her
Sāmoan

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Zia Noisecat

Zia Noisecat

Community Evaluator
she/her
Secwepemc Nation/Lil’wat Nation

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Rosie Allen-Garibaldi

Rosie Allen-Garibaldi

Referral and Resource Coordinator
she/her
Caddo/Creole

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Christa Lee

Christa Lee

Indigenous BirthKeeper
she/her
Diné (Navajo)

Clan Mothers (Board of Directors)

Our Clan Mothers are a group of strong, kind and culturally grounded women and Two-Spirit people. They help to guide, as well as oversee the Hummingbird leadership and help to set our strategic plan. 

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Colleen Echohawk
Colleen Echohawk
Chair
Kithehaki Band/Pawnee/Upper Athabascan

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Temryss Lane
Temryss Lane
Vice Chair
She/Her
Lummi Nation

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Lynnette Jordan
Lynnette Jordan
Treasurer
Leech Lake and Colville

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Farrah Rivera
Farrah Rivera
Secretary
Filipinx

Cultural Advisory Council

Our Cultural Advisory Council represents the community. They are leaders who have have been a consistent voice and advocate for the community. The Cultural Advisory Board serves a number of roles within Hummingbird including providing cultural knowledge sharing with Hummingbird staff and families, supporting program planning and ensuring that community and culture remain an integral part of Hummingbird. Cultural Advisory Board members do receive a stipend for their service.

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Dr. Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnel
Dr. Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnel
She/Her/Wahine
Filipina/Native Hawaiian/Chinese/Portuguese/Spanish

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Shelley Means
Shelley Means
Native American Women’s Dialogue on Infant Mortality
she/her
Ojibwe/Lakota

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Leanne Rye Brock
Leanne Rye Brock
BS, MA, PhD Candidate
She/Her
Choctaw/Black

Community Partners

Seattle Indian Health Board
Provides community health care and services targeting the urban American Indian and Alaska Native population in the greater Seattle/King County area.
Na’ah Illahee Fund
An Indigenous women-led organization dedicated to the ongoing regeneration of Indigenous communities.
Pacific Islander Health Board
Cultivate resilience within our communities to achieve health equity through culturally safe and community-driven solutions, traditions, advocacy, and policies.
United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Provides educational, cultural and social services that reconnect Indigenous people in the Puget Sound region to their heritage by strengthening their sense of belonging and significance as Native people through being a social service provider, community center, and cultural home for Urban Indians.
Open Arms Perinatal Services
Provides free perinatal services to improve birth experiences and lifelong outcomes for families. Through prenatal education, continuous doula support through labor, lactation guidance, support groups, and home visits, we establish supportive networks from pregnancy up to a child’s second birthday.
Perinatal Support Washington
Supports the emotional wellbeing of people in the perinatal period, making our families and communities stronger.
Quilted Health
Quilted Health's mission is to build and champion a model for equitable access to compassionate, evidence-based, whole-person pregnancy care.
NAWDIM
"Working to ensure infant and cultural survival” advocacy, education & outreach for Indigenous futures.
Center for Indigenous Midwifery
Strengthens community by honoring, supporting and reclaiming Indigenous Midwifery Care.
Capacity Collective
Builds the capacity of individuals… to build capacity of their programs… to build the capacity of their organizations… to build the capacity of the communities and people they serve.

Our Funders

Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood supports our out of state abortion fund
Bezos Family Foundation
Bezos Family Foundation supports HIFS general operating.
CDC Foundation
The CDC supports our work on exploring tribally led maternal mortality review panels.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Supports HIFS general operating.
Best Starts for Kids
Best Starts for kids supports our Hummingbird Indigenous BirthKeepers and Pilimakua Family Connections Program.
Perigee Fund
Perigee Fund supports Hummingbird Nest and Indigenous BirthKeepers.
Groundswell
Groundswell supports our out-of-state abortion care.
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Family
Washington State pioneered a unique approach to home visiting, with a public, private partnership between the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and Start Early. The HVSA Account supports our Pilimakua Family Connections Program.
City of Seattle
The City of Seattle supports Hummingbird Indigenous BirthKeepers.
St. Joseph Community Partnership Fund
St. Joseph supports building capacity at Hummingbird.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
RWJF supports our Storytelling program.
Potlatch Fund
Potlatch supports Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services.