Wild Spirit Coaching
LIFE COACHING FOR YOUNG ADULTS & TEENS
Deborah Brown Bio

Many people look back on their teen years, especially high school, as one of the best times of their lives. For me, it's the opposite. As a teen, I felt utterly lost, full of anger, and mired in self-judgment. My parents, who were preoccupied with their own marital conflict, put their attention elsewhere since, on the surface, I always seemed “okay.” But they didn’t know that I was engaging in risky behavior — including drinking, using drugs, skipping school, and hitchhiking as my primary mode of transportation. I was deeply unhappy but felt that there was absolutely no one in my life who cared to see me, acknowledge me, or guide me. Today, I believe that just one caring and supportive person can make a profound difference in a young person's life.
My previous education and professional career was in the design field, but I always held a deep interest in psychology and in exploring how we become the people we are. In the mid-2000s, I began to feel called to work with teens, who, like myself, were trying to find their way through the tumultuous landscape of adolescence. I trained to become a facilitator of Teen Talking Circles, and in the years since have been a volunteer mentor for various organizations focused on youth, including Seattle Youth Garden Works (now Tilth Alliance Youth Garden Works), Community for Youth, and Girls Inc.
In 2017, I returned to school and graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies focused on Adolescent Psychology. I also enrolled in the Youth Coaching Institute and became certified as a Youth Mentor Coach. Life coaching gives me tools to empower youth and watch them transform themselves. The more I experience it, the more I believe in it.
In addition to coaching, I work as a crisis counselor. I love to garden, make art, music, and explore nature around my Portland, Oregon home.
“Deb brings a humble wisdom that feels refreshingly authentic and easy to connect with. I’m so grateful for our time together. She gently held up a mirror which helped me see my potential more clearly—removing the haze of my inner-critic that had been obscuring my vision, and she offered a container in which it felt like my goals and ambitions were important and attainable. Through working with her I discovered how I was getting in my own way, what I could do about it, and moved through a funk I was in into a stronger place where I feel more confident in creating and accomplishing my dreams. I highly recommend coaching with Deb if you think you can benefit from a nurturing, honest, and kind anchor in your support system.”
–V..B.