Tamara Gentuso

Growing up in rural Missouri, Tamara spent hours holed up with a ragged stack of old, musty National Geographic magazines.  This immersion into the jungles of Asia and South America, the deserts of Africa, the tundra of the north, and the cities of Europe fueled a desire to do and see and be more than most of her classmates in that Midwest farm town.  She would see the world when she grew up!

Earning a nursing degree, Tamara moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she completed a BS degree and also met an engaging New Englander, Dr. Paul Gentuso, whom she later married.  In 1985, the adventurous newlyweds spent two months running a bush hospital in Africa.   Becoming passionate about serving the people of Cote d’Ivoire, Paul enrolled in graduate school, earning a Masters in Intercultural Studies, while Tammy cared for their two “little blessings”.  After French studies (Quebec) and tropical medicine studies (Belgium), they flew to Cote d’Ivoire.  Calling Doropo village “home” for the next several years, they ran l’Hopital de Doropo.  In the 1990’s, sensing political instability, they returned to the states before Cote d’Ivoire’s first military coup.  

Tamara eventually returned to a forgotten pleasure she’d discovered during her first visit to Africa—photography.  Purchasing her first DSLR in 2005, she dove headlong into the waters of pixels, f-stops, L-series lenses and the rule of thirds.  With time and effort, this self-taught freelance photographer found her niche in the world of photojournalism.  Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ms. Gentuso now photographs for NGOs and non-profit organizations, with weddings and events thrown in to help cover the bills.