Lauren Brazzle Zuniga
Lauren Brazzle Zuniga (she/her) is a poet, designer, facilitator & content strategist with over ten years of experience writing valuable content for diverse audiences. Her work is centered on using language, data, and design for collective liberation.
Lauren is the author of The Smell of Good Mud (Write Bloody, 2012) and The Nickel Tour (2009). Her poetry has over 2 million views on YouTube, has been tattooed on skin, made into dance performances, and performed in high school speech competitions across the country. She’s performed at over 200 colleges in North America and is a three-time international poetry slam finalist.
Lauren holds a BA in Strategic Communications from the University of Central Oklahoma and has served as Activist-in-Residence at the University of Oklahoma’s Center for Social Justice and Generative Fellow for Social Movements + Innovation Lab (SM+I). Her passions include human-centered design, story-based strategy and the perfect limeade. She’s a mom to two teenagers (Kavi Moon & Briam Sky) and two dogs (Moosey Marble & Walter Grace). She lives with her partner Kai (ICU nurse, hot trans man) in Oklahoma City.
She/her/hers
Granola femme/queer/mama/okie
Limeade lover.
Generally pro-citrus.
Aquarius sun. Leo moon.
Human Design Type: Manifesting Generator; Profile: 6/2
Lauren in front of mural painted by Amanda Zoey Weathers.
Lauren with organizers and participants of Civic Saturday including OKC Mayor, David Holt.
Lauren with fruiterus: Kavi Moon, Briam Sky
Lauren with OKC gay celebrities including, Ward 2 Councilperson, James Cooper.
Lauren with Rainbow Award recipiants and Mayor David Holt, cutting the ribbon for 2019 OKC PrideFest.
Lauren has been touring as a poet and teaching artist for over 10 years. Check out the Poetry Tour Scrapbook for a look at the many hairstyles and stages she’s rocked.
WHAT THE FANS SAY
“Her poems are massive; brimming with the wit, heart and humanness we all crave from our leaders. Unlike so many artists, she understands her purpose. She puts her life on the line. Her poems are the quiet protesters whose existence is proof that the world can, in fact, be fixed. Think of the photograph of the man standing before a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square, and you’ll get an idea of what Zuniga’s poetry is willing to do for you.“
— Rachel McKibbens, Author of Pink Elephant, Winner of 2009 Women of the World Poetry Slam
“Lauren is like Oklahoma City’s very own Lizzo.”
— Mayor David Holt
“You made me feel like it was okay to be myself.”
— Chloe, Northern Michigan University
“I don’t know if you are aware of the impact you’ve made on so many folks, especially those of us trying to transform and adapt and grapple with being different. You changed my thinking, my DNA, my direction, and I will forever and ever be so grateful for that.”
— Allison, Oklahoma City
WHAT THE PLANETS SAY
Organizer of Thought and Action
With her top three placements in fixed signs, Lauren was born to be an organizer of thought and action, a creative powerhouse & thought leader. As a 6/2 Human Design profile, her archetypal gifts are that of the teacher, the visionary and the community builder.