Rooted in cultural awareness, collaboration, and psychological insight.
Quetzalli Zephyr Social Impact is a nonprofit organization that collaborates with its affiliate, Quetzalli Zephyr Inc., to strengthen early relational health through tools, partnerships, and shared learning. Our work takes shape alongside the people and communities most impacted.
Founded in 2022, we bring together clinicians, researchers, and cultural practitioners to create solutions that reflect real contexts. Our structure allows us to blend social purpose with sustainable impact. We believe meaningful change happens when communities are at the center of the process.
Meet the people
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Jessica Boyatt
Jessica founded Quetzalli Zephyr in 2022 and brings a multidisciplinary background to the work. She holds degrees in Latin American Studies, Photography, and Clinical Psychology, and maintains an active clinical practice. She also provides pro bono neuropsychological evaluations in Spanish through Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and helped launch the first Spanish-language training for the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO™) system. Outside of work, she enjoys dancing, Aikido, hiking, and finding stillness in nature.
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Cyntia Barzelatto
Cyntia trained as a psychologist in Chile and has dedicated her work to maternal, infant, and child mental health. She holds a Master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she focused on early socio-emotional development. She has provided culturally and linguistically responsive mental health services to Latino immigrant families through Early Connections/Conexiones Tempranas. Cyntia is currently in her third year of a Ph.D. program at the Boston University School of Psychological &
Brain Sciences. -
Karen Garber
Karen trained as a psychologist in Venezuela and has spent over twenty-six years in the United States working with families impacted by poverty, addiction, and immigration trauma. She serves as Project Director at Early Connections/Conexiones Tempranas at JF&CS and maintains a private practice focused on culturally attuned mental health care. In addition, she volunteers with Postpartum Support International, offering bilingual support through their Spanish-language warm line and advocating for responsive care in underserved communities.
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Laura Gomez Machiavello
Laura Gomez Machiavello trained as a clinical psychologist in her native Mexico. She has lived in the United States for 15 years, studying Infant Mental Health and working with vulnerable families through a culturally sensitive, social justice lens. Her work is informed by attachment theory and she is interested in postpartum depression and NICU experiences. Currently, she is working to reduce the impact of childhood trauma at Early Connections/Conexiones Tempranas. Laura’s middle name is Citalli, which means Estrella in Nahuatl.
Quetzalli comes from Nahuatl, an Indigenous language of Mesoamerica. The word can mean precious, beautiful, or sacred, and is also associated with feathers, especially the iridescent tail feathers of the quetzal bird — a symbol of life, freedom, and the natural world.
Zephyr is a word for a gentle breeze — a movement that is subtle but transformative, carrying change without force. It evokes breath, air, and the quiet motion that allows new things to take root.
Together, Quetzalli Zephyr reflects a way of working: not by directing from outside, but by moving with communities, honoring what is already present, and helping what is meaningful take flight.
The meaning of our name.
PARTNERS & COLLABORATORS
Our work expands through trusted partnerships with organizations, clinicians, and community leaders who share a commitment to cultural relevance and relational health.
Centro de Esperanza Infantil A.C. Placeholder to add a descriptor of this partnership / sponsor.
Let's stay connected.
Whether you’re a practitioner, researcher, community leader, or partner in the making, we’d love to be in conversation.