Jamie Dutcher was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, Maryland.
She began her career as an animal keeper and veterinary technician at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
While working at the animal hospital of the National Zoo she began a correspondence with Jim Dutcher, and was invited to join his study of wolves in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.
[1][2] Jamie contributed her knowledge of animal husbandry and medical care to the Dutcher film projects, and recorded the vocalizations of the Sawtooth Pack, winning a Primetime Emmy award for [2] the Discovery Channel wildlife documentary Wolves at Our Door (1997).
Jamie Dutcher received the 1998 Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming Emmy award for her work on Wolves at Our Door.