Ta'Mara Hill
Ta'Mara (Tuh-Mair-ruh) Hill is a dedicated human rights practitioner and policy professional with extensive experience across multiple states and three countries. Her career spans the nonprofit, for-profit, government, and education sectors, focusing on critical policy issues such as education, public health, social insurance, waiver programs, legislation, race and gender-based violence, and human security. Ta'Mara is passionate about coalition building and leveraging policy advocacy, alongside direct services, to foster lasting community improvements.
In her role as a human security and rights professional, Ta'Mara is deeply committed to enhancing public safety and reforming the criminal legal system in the U.S. and abroad. Drawing upon her diverse work, personal, and educational experiences, she strives to improve security and safety for Black and Brown communities, with a vision of contributing to Black liberation.
Ta'Mara holds a master’s degree in human rights policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, specialising in international conflicts, security, and leadership. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Wiley College, where she was a Fellow for both the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the United Negro College Fund. In 2018, Ta'Mara became Wiley College’s first-ever Fulbright Scholar, completing her grant year in Athens, Greece. A three-time national speech and debate champion, she believes deeply in the power of voice, coaching speech and debate for local middle and high school students in her free time.
But before any of that, Ta’Mara was a sunflower-loving girl from Kansas. Her perspectives on injustice and belief in community organising stem from her upbringing in Bricktown, a neighbourhood marked by neglect following white flight and 20th-century industrial growth. Residents colloquially call it Bricktown due to the lack of city funding for asphalt paving; its streets remain paved with original bricks from the 1800s.
With her upbringing as her foundation, Ta’Mara's work bridges gaps in policy and practice, advocating tirelessly for human rights and social justice. She remains steadfast in her mission to create safer, more equitable communities locally and globally.