Our project began in fall of 2023. As six sophomores who were in a self-directed learning program at our school in Montpelier, Vermont, we wanted to get our health credits without taking the conventional class. Little did we know that our connection with Kayla Becker, a reproductive health educator and independent Psychospiritual Bodyworker in Montpelier, would lead us to the founding of HERVermont, an organization that would spread far beyond our small school and community.
We began studying female health, through both an anatomical and holistic lens. This was followed with discussions about allopathic and alternative healthcare, and delving into the topics of chakras, energy balance, Naturopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and bodywork, among others. Our mentor introduced us to herbalist Angie Barger, who taught us about her craft. We also united with HERGhana (read about them here) to help deliver menstrual projects to girls and women in Ghana, where over 90% of people do not have access to these resources.
Our second semester of work focused on Reproductive Justice, and the history and atrocities that have been committed to women throughout U.S. History. We studied the four "eras" of reproductive justice as a group and examined four areas of research within the areas - Laws and Politics, People and Organizations, Effects on Black Women, and Effects on Native Women. Taking a deep dive into the culture and beliefs in the time of these eras, we read a variety of comprehensive sources (see here) and interviewed elders for their perspectives. Among these were our discussions with Mama Bear, the Clan Mother of the Bear Clan of the Mohawk people in upstate New York and southeastern Canada, and Kimosha Murphy, a Black bodyworker and Reproductive Justice Advocate based out of Chicago. It was and remains our aim to understand this history the best we could and draw parallels between politics and the reproductive access and awareness of then and now.
From this sprung our mural project, and the founding of HERVermont in April 2024. The path forward became the lifetime’s worth of work of spreading awareness about these issues - bringing the past to light, reclaiming our present, and leading our culture towards a more respectful and caring attitude around this in the future. A visit to Akwesasne, the Mohawk reservation in upstate New York and southern Canada grew into a deeper understanding of the Mohawks’ matrilineal culture, and pre-colonial Indigenous views on the earth and women. A meeting with Mama Adzhorlor III, the queen of Dagbamate, Ghana, and one of the founders of HERGhana, helped further our connection with women in Dagbamate, and explored the ideas of more collaboration with HERGhana in the future. We have given presentations to our community and had meaningful conversations, begun creating our mural, reaching out to people and businesses of Vermont, and promoting this website and work.
We began our mural during fall 2024 and are grateful to have received fiscal sponsorship from Mosaic VT. On March 29th, 2025, we hosted a large scale mural opening ceremony at the Montpelier Arts HUB to present our mural to the community and share this history. We were delighted to be joined by Gov. Madeleine Kunin, Dottye Ricks, Esther Charlestin, Jonel Beauvais, and Patti Casey, who spoke or sang for us, and virtually by Congresswoman Becca Balint and author Scott Stern.
We began studying female health, through both an anatomical and holistic lens. This was followed with discussions about allopathic and alternative healthcare, and delving into the topics of chakras, energy balance, Naturopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and bodywork, among others. Our mentor introduced us to herbalist Angie Barger, who taught us about her craft. We also united with HERGhana (read about them here) to help deliver menstrual projects to girls and women in Ghana, where over 90% of people do not have access to these resources.
Our second semester of work focused on Reproductive Justice, and the history and atrocities that have been committed to women throughout U.S. History. We studied the four "eras" of reproductive justice as a group and examined four areas of research within the areas - Laws and Politics, People and Organizations, Effects on Black Women, and Effects on Native Women. Taking a deep dive into the culture and beliefs in the time of these eras, we read a variety of comprehensive sources (see here) and interviewed elders for their perspectives. Among these were our discussions with Mama Bear, the Clan Mother of the Bear Clan of the Mohawk people in upstate New York and southeastern Canada, and Kimosha Murphy, a Black bodyworker and Reproductive Justice Advocate based out of Chicago. It was and remains our aim to understand this history the best we could and draw parallels between politics and the reproductive access and awareness of then and now.
From this sprung our mural project, and the founding of HERVermont in April 2024. The path forward became the lifetime’s worth of work of spreading awareness about these issues - bringing the past to light, reclaiming our present, and leading our culture towards a more respectful and caring attitude around this in the future. A visit to Akwesasne, the Mohawk reservation in upstate New York and southern Canada grew into a deeper understanding of the Mohawks’ matrilineal culture, and pre-colonial Indigenous views on the earth and women. A meeting with Mama Adzhorlor III, the queen of Dagbamate, Ghana, and one of the founders of HERGhana, helped further our connection with women in Dagbamate, and explored the ideas of more collaboration with HERGhana in the future. We have given presentations to our community and had meaningful conversations, begun creating our mural, reaching out to people and businesses of Vermont, and promoting this website and work.
We began our mural during fall 2024 and are grateful to have received fiscal sponsorship from Mosaic VT. On March 29th, 2025, we hosted a large scale mural opening ceremony at the Montpelier Arts HUB to present our mural to the community and share this history. We were delighted to be joined by Gov. Madeleine Kunin, Dottye Ricks, Esther Charlestin, Jonel Beauvais, and Patti Casey, who spoke or sang for us, and virtually by Congresswoman Becca Balint and author Scott Stern.
Left to right: Patti Casey, Jonel Kaianenhawis Beauvais, Leela McCann, Mayla Landis-Marinello, Gov. Madeleine Kunin, Ella Thomas, Annaliese Eckhaus, Kayla Becker, Esther Charlestin, Dottye Ricks, Una Liebermann
Our future plans include creating educational materials, hosting more educational events, tabling, facilitating peer-to-peer education, creating HERVermont factions at other high schools and colleges, and eventually becoming a nonprofit!
We enjoy “freedom dreaming”, the act of envisioning something small taking big, perhaps infinite effects on the world, then figuring out the steps to achieve this. We invite you to do the same. It is our hope and goal that HERVermont can seed a statewide, national, and worldwide movement that brings our communities and cultures toward collective healing and transcendence into a society that values and cares for the feminine body.
You can contact us at [email protected] for any questions, thoughts, or feedback. We are excited to hear from you and see the work we do together change the world! Please follow our Instagram to see what we are up to, and navigate to the “What You Can Do” page if you are interested in joining this project and movement!
Thank you for joining us!
Ella, Mayla, Annaliese, Leela, Una, and Kayla
Founders of HERVermont
We enjoy “freedom dreaming”, the act of envisioning something small taking big, perhaps infinite effects on the world, then figuring out the steps to achieve this. We invite you to do the same. It is our hope and goal that HERVermont can seed a statewide, national, and worldwide movement that brings our communities and cultures toward collective healing and transcendence into a society that values and cares for the feminine body.
You can contact us at [email protected] for any questions, thoughts, or feedback. We are excited to hear from you and see the work we do together change the world! Please follow our Instagram to see what we are up to, and navigate to the “What You Can Do” page if you are interested in joining this project and movement!
Thank you for joining us!
Ella, Mayla, Annaliese, Leela, Una, and Kayla
Founders of HERVermont
