Squirrel
Squirrel (they/them)
Squirrel is a 56-year-old, gender-defiant, neurodivergent elder whose life spans punk counterculture, queer and trans community building, and the corporate tech world. Born in Denver and partly raised in California, they grew up amid horses, hardship, a mother’s mental illness, and a Depression-era father who taught resilience through hard work. At 17, Squirrel left home and lived on the streets of Hollywood, surviving heroin addiction and witnessing the AIDS crisis, while forming deep connections with queer and trans communities.
Over the following decades, they lived in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and abroad—balancing a “gutter punk, squatter, ex-junkie” existence with a thirty-year corporate tech career. Their life has unfolded through cycles of trauma, recovery, and transformation, culminating in a midlife choice to embrace life over self-destruction.
Now, Squirrel dedicates their energy to supporting younger generations, bridging urban queer/trans organizing and rural sanctuaries like Wolf Creek in Southern Oregon. A self-described “Borderlands witch,” they move fluidly between punk scenes, boardrooms, and rural communities, seeking shared humanity.
Audio Stories | Transcripts
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