Mary Ann Burris is the founder of TICAH. She had a dream of building a body of practical healing work and a team of people doing it who link culture to health, recognizing the wisdom of traditional medicine and cultural ways while creating conditions where all can enjoy equitable relationships, healthy life choices, responsive services, knowledge about our rights and our bodies, emotional and spiritual well-being, ways to create and express ourselves, and the power to decide.

Mary Ann was born in Texas. Her grandparents are from four different bloodlines. Mary Ann has a Ph.D. From Stanford University in Development Studies, an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Oregon and a BA from the University of North Carolina. She has lived in Kenya for 20 years and she lived, studied, and worked in China for 10 years. Before starting TICAH, Mary Ann was a program officer at the Ford Foundation in Beijing and in Nairobi.

Mary Ann has pioneered the use of art, photography, and ceremony in healing, activism, and building community. She believes in the power of beauty and in the wisdom of remembering grandma’s remedies. She is convinced that the way we go largely determines where we get.