Sam Zurn, Doc Wayne’s Senior Director of People and Learning, oversees Doc Wayne’s people operations and programs for adult learning. His work ranges from orientation and onboarding, to learning design and facilitation, to culture building and strategic planning. He also sits on the organization’s Equity in Action Committee, which works to advance initiatives focused on equity, inclusion, and belonging. Through these efforts, he hopes to increase Doc Wayne’s capacity to provide inclusive, movement-based mental health care to local, national, and global communities.
Sam is a passionate advocate for mission-driven work and has spent over a decade working at or alongside nonprofits. At Isaacson, Miller he helped recruit senior leadership for nonprofits across the country. At the YMCA of Greater Seattle he supervised camp counselors, designed STEAM curriculum, and facilitated daily activities for K-5 youth at a sumer camp and afterschool program.
Sam first joined Doc Wayne in 2019 as a Youth Coach and Therapeutic Mentor. He worked with clients individually to help them reach their therapeutic goals, and also helped pilot a Therapeutic Recess and afterschool program focused on building social-emotional skills for K-8 youth. Later, as Doc Wayne’s Training and Education Manager, he helped launch our external training program, The Champions NetworkTM. As part of this role, he helped design and facilitate interactive workshops about trauma-informed care, race/racism/anti-racism, and supporting LGBTQ+ youth and families.
Sam studied psychology at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He later received his Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he studied the social and cognitive factors that promote effective learning across a person’s lifespan. He’s passionate about creating learning experiences for adults and youth that are culturally responsive and interrogate systems of power and oppression.
Sports have been a throughline in Sam’s life. He was a high school tennis captain and a collegiate ultimate frisbee player. These days, he plays in a variety of Boston-based LGBTQ+ recreational leagues including flag football, volleyball, and dodgeball.