Welcome from the 2017 UDA President and President Elect!
Dear doulas of the Utah Doula Association, future doulas, mentors, and leaders shaping this great birth community:
We are so honored to be serving as your President and President Elect for 2017. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for asking us to serve you in this capacity, having faith that we can fill the giant shoes of mentors past, and being here to support us as we venture into a new year!
2017 UDA President Sue Rose Harman & President Elect Rachel Winsley. Photo: Tracy Wagstaff Photography
We want to share with you our vision for 2017. We have some new ideas and we’re polishing off some old ideas to make 2017 the Utah Doula Association’s best year yet! Our big vision is to help bring the UDA Board to a place where it is running itself seamlessly, where yearly transitions flow with ease, and where we are all able to focus on our specialized positions to make each board member’s workload a little lighter. We have worked hard to match each board member with a position that highlights their strengths and makes these volunteer positions an enjoyable experience that also develops and diversifies useful skill sets. After all, you are a UDA doula first and board member second! We see each position on the Board as a piece to the puzzle and the finished product is beautiful!
We’re also focusing our attention on our relationships with the general membership of the UDA. We’re working to amplify and make known the benefits of being a member and remain an open and inclusive place for all doulas that wish to take part in the legacy of our elite organization! We’re adding the option for doulas to participate via Facebook Live at mentoring meetings. The nature of birth work is unpredictable and we don’t want you to miss out on these opportunities! We value your involvement, whether or not you live close to the city center. We’re working hard on our website to boost rankings on Google so that potential clients find you. When someone searches for “Utah Doula” we want to be the first to pop up! Our conference, retreat, mentoring meetings, and other gatherings are known for their membership draw. Here, you will learn, connect, and grow together. We are proud of all the time and energy your board of directors has spent to make UDA events worthwhile for every attendee. As always, prospective UDA members are welcome to our conference and retreat. This year we are also adding two mentoring meetings for prospective UDA members to attend, so all those interested can get a taste of what they’ll be getting when they join us!
We’ve created several new positions this year to help spread the workload and highlight the talents and experience of our board members. One position we’re happy to share with you is that of our resident “Sage Hen,” a fun name for the new position of Board Advisor. The women holding this honor have served on the UDA Board for more than five years and they create unity within the board as we learn and grow together. They’re serving as advisors to any committee or position that needs a little extra guidance or assistance. We are so grateful for the women selected to doula our UDA board this year! We’ve also created a new committee, the Outreach Committee, whose focus will be on our UDA blog. We want to use the blog to showcase you as UDA doulas, discuss what sets apart UDA doulas from the rest, inform parents who are searching for information, support our members who have thoughts to share with local communities, and boost our online presence overall, as we provide a wealth of information and knowledge. We are very excited for the work our Outreach Committee has put in so far this year.
We hope that you’re as excited as we are for this year. Rachel and I are thrilled for the opportunity to serve you, our board and local Utah families. Thank you for welcoming us to these new positions. We can’t wait to share 2017 with all of you!
Warmly,
Sue Rose Harmon & Rachel Winsley
President & President Elect 2017