Zephyr James
(they/them)
Zephyr joined Wild Child in 2023, and has partnered with Stephanie to offer more comprehensive support for families and to expand the organization to affect systemic change.
​
Zephyr’s professional background spans a variety of sectors, with an expertise in social impact. They have several years of experience in youth development and education within nonprofits, community-based organizations, and academia, and they have supported educators through their work in education reform and fostering peer learning communities for teachers. They are currently affiliated with the University of Southern California as a research author and they have several publications in academic journals and business education outlets, with multiple best sellers at Harvard Business Publishing. In addition to their work at Wild Child supporting families, parents, and youth, Zephyr also works with organizations on leadership, organizational culture, and strategic planning through Open Lens Consulting– most recently partnering to promote the holistic health and wellness of students in one of the nation’s largest school districts.
Zephyr came to their passion for affirming neurodiversity as a cultural model primarily through their parenting journey, and in community with neurodivergent friends. Well into adulthood, Zephyr received an ADHD diagnosis themself.
Zephyr also belongs to the following identity groups and is interested in understanding and supporting the ways that these and other identities overlap with neurodivergence:
-
LGBTQ+
-
Chronically ill, dynamically disabled, immune-compromised
-
Survivor of childhood and other trauma
Zephyr has crossed myriad thresholds in life and has endured multiple “cliff moments,” jumping into the abyss of self-trust and learning numerous modalities for coping and healing along the way. They are adept at supporting others in trauma healing, and holding people through periods of evolution and identity shifts. They have reverence for the role of grief at all stages of life, and they have trained as a grief and death doula. They’re drawn to offering themself in service for:
-
Family system change
-
People in grief, transitions, and metaphorical death and rebirth cycles
-
Supporting others in designing and living authentic, heart-led lives
-
Neurodivergent-friendly meditation and encouraging body-based wisdom
-
Elevating BIPOC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and disabled youth as critical members of our community and important voices for our future
Zephyr is a fierce advocate with a mushy heart. You can find them wandering in nature, celebrating queerness in all its forms, or contemplating the human condition in their velvet chaise lounge after their kids have (finally!) gone to bed for the night.