Meet The Team

Founder • Advocate • Storyteller​

 

Kimberly is the founder of Zebras & Spoons and the host of The Kimberly Elayyne Show, a podcast centered on chronic illness, mental health, and resilience. Living with conditions including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and Complex PTSD, Kimberly brings lived experience to her advocacy.

​

She created Zebras & Spoons to make sure that no one navigating overwhelming medical or mental health challenges feels invisible or alone. Through storytelling, resources, and community-building, she works to dismantle stigma and provide a safe, supportive space for patients and their loved ones.

Mathematician • Researcher • Advocate

​

Christopher is an American mathematician and the life partner of Zebras & Spoons founder, Kimberly Elayyne. He is a Staff Research Associate at UCLA, where he focuses on cryptography, and the founder of the Prison Mathematics Project (PMP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping prisoners make positive life choices through the study and exploration of mathematics and the sciences.

​

At PMP, Christopher leads networking and project management work that he now also carries into Zebras & Spoons. Having seen firsthand how people with conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) are often misdiagnosed and not taken seriously, Christopher has committed himself to ongoing study of current research in DID, EDS, POTS, MCAS, and CSF leaks.

​

Through this work, he advocates for individuals living with overwhelming medical complexity, ensuring their voices are heard and their challenges recognized.