About Reach Academy

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Reach Healthcare was established in 2016 with a commitment to improving the experience of health care for patients and providers. Our early work focused on supporting families, strengthening community based services, and fostering collaboration across the health sector. As we expanded our efforts, it became increasingly clear that birth and community health workers faced significant challenges that limited their ability to practice to their full potential. These challenges included inconsistent training standards, limited professional recognition, variable pay structures, and uneven integration into clinical environments.

Reach Academy was created in response to these realities. Its foundations are built on years of engagement with leaders in maternal and infant health, including early dialogue with the co founders of DONA International in 2007. These relationships provided firsthand insight into the history of doula work, the barriers that practitioners have navigated, and the importance of structured, supportive, and high quality professional education.

Today, Reach Academy carries this history forward by offering education and training that promote consistency, professional growth, and meaningful workforce development. Our programs support practitioners in gaining the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to elevate their practice and to collaborate effectively across community and health care settings. The Academy’s work reflects our ongoing commitment to strengthening the public health, birth, and community worker workforce and to addressing the challenges that have long shaped the field.

We ground our programs in evidence informed knowledge and emerging insights that strengthen the public health and birth and community worker workforce. Research guides our curriculum and ensures that what we teach reflects the latest understanding of maternal and infant health support.

We provide high quality instruction that builds confidence, competence, and readiness for real world practice. Education at Reach Academy is centered on clarity, practical skills, and the development of compassionate professionals who are prepared to serve families and work effectively with healthcare teams.

We foster meaningful dialogue and shared learning across community and healthcare settings. Through Reach Live, Reach Radio, the MATCH Coalition, and on the global stage, we elevate conversations that help advance the field and encourage open reflection on what families, providers, and systems need.

We design training experiences that introduce new approaches, use technology with purpose, and encourage fresh thinking. Innovation supports stronger collaboration, improved experiences of care, and practical solutions that benefit families, providers, and payor organizations.