Our story in the making

Nine years ago, Dr. Ruth Shaber founded the Tara Health Foundation with a vision of improving the lives of women and girls through the creative use of philanthropic capital. After founding the Women’s Health Research Institute at Kaiser Permanente, she committed to building a foundation that would apply the principles of evidence-based medicine and science to philanthropy.

Since then, change has been our constant: We have shifted our approach and evolved our focus, incubated and launched new organizations, experienced both successes and setbacks, and embarked on individual and collective journeys of growth and development. We attribute many of these profound changes to the invaluable contributions of grantee partners and others, whose feedback has fundamentally changed the work and shape of the foundation. 

The road ahead

As we approach our intentional conclusion in 2030, we are thoughtfully engaged in the work of reflecting on and crafting our narrative of change. With clarity about the facts, honesty about our struggles, and inspiration about the potential for change, we aspire to create a narrative that will inspire others to take transformative action for a more just world.

What’s next

Though our story, like us, remains a work in progress, we look forward to sharing more in 2024.