Experience

From crisis clinician to health tech founder.

Zulma has worked with communities around the world to help people connect with nature, grow personally and professionally, and build mental and physical resilience.

Headshot of Zulma Y. Terrones

Career

One mission across every role.

Zulma at the Life Stages booth at Pitch Latino

Zulma’s roles have ranged from 24/5 mental health crisis clinician for suicidal youth, to executive director of an outdoor organization expanding access to the outdoors—and its related health benefits—to BIPOC youth, to behavioral health researcher studying how young people understand nature-based programming for health, well-being, identity, and general performance—and now founder of a health tech startup.

Throughout, her mission has stayed the same: improve and expand access to health, education, and personal development through evidence-based, nature-oriented approaches. She believes outdoor challenge, supportive communities, well-resourced leaders, culturally responsive and trauma-informed programming, and a growth mindset are essential to a healthier, more inclusive society.

Today, Zulma works as a startup advisor, leadership and wellness coach, and keynote speaker, and continues to build Life Stages and its science-backed stress-reduction app, Align.

Founder communities

Supported by leading entrepreneurial programs.

Education

First-generation graduate of world-renowned universities.

Zulma is proud to give back to these communities and help the next generation.

University of Chicago

AB ’12

University of Chicago

Cinema & Media Studies · Romance Languages & Literature

Dual bachelor’s degrees with General Honors, plus Honors in Romance Languages & Literature. Built a foundation in rigorous research through a social-psychological lens.

Theses on gender and power in the contemporary Mexican cinema of Luis Estrada (in English and Spanish).

Co-Chair, Program Committee & Board Member, UChicago Bay Area Alumni Club

University of Derby

Certificate ’17

University of Derby

Psychology

Expanded psychology training to deepen her academic foundation ahead of advanced research at Cambridge.

University of Cambridge

MPhil ’18

University of Cambridge

Psychology & Education

Graduate research with an emphasis on outdoor behavioral health, including a case study with the Wilderness Foundation on how participants understood and related to outdoor therapeutic education.

Thesis: Therapeutic outdoor adventure education (TOAE) and vulnerable young adolescents—perceived outcomes, influence, and understanding of TOAE participation in 13–15 year olds.

Board Member, Cambridge NorCal · Rower, Wolfson College Boat Club · Co-Student Representative, Faculty of Education

  • University of Cambridge MPhil commencement, 2018
  • Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Class of 2018
  • Wolfson College Rowing Team, 2018
  • Cambridge Row Club dinner

Community & professional development

Giving back, and always learning.

Zulma has devoted years of her free time to the communities she belongs to and to her mission of bringing health, wellness, and resilience to underserved populations.

Leadership & service

  • PresentCo-Chair, Program Committee & Board Member, UChicago Bay Area Alumni Club
  • PresentBoard Member, Cambridge NorCal
  • Dec 2025Co-Chapter Director, TechWalk SF
  • 2024National Steering Committee, Latinas in the Boardroom
  • 2024Board Member, University of Chicago Latinx Alumni Network
  • Sept 2022Leader, Supermajority Education Fund
  • Sept 2021Bilingual Paddle Leader, Columbia Slough Watershed Council
  • May 2021Diversity & Inclusion and People of Color Affinity Groups, Catholic Community Services
  • 2018Rower, Wolfson College; Student-Staff Consultation Committee, University of Cambridge
  • May 2017Guide Leader, GirlGuiding New Zealand
  • Aug 2010Volunteer, INAPAM Retirement Home, Mexico
  • May 2003Volunteer, Howard Area Community Center

Training & certifications

  • Mar 2021Qualified Mental Health Professional–Registrant
  • Jan 2021Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certification
  • Nov 2020Certified Crisis Intervention Specialist Training
  • Feb 2020Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Workshop
  • Jan 2020Trauma-Informed Care Training
  • Oct 2019Collaborative Problem Solving Training
  • Oct 2019Pediatric Intellectual & Developmental Disability Workshop
  • Aug 2019Right Response Certification
  • Mar 2019Mental Health National Provider Registrant
  • Feb 2018Mindfulness Meditation Training
  • Dec 2017Leadership in Action Workshop
  • 2021Cross-Country Skiing Mentorship; Basic Snow Mountaineering Skills

Consulting & mentorship

Zulma offers consulting in NGO and business management, community health programming, team-building, curriculum design and facilitation, and leadership coaching—and mentors women, Latinx, and queer professionals.

Get in touch