Mara James

(Karen Reuter)

Founder & CEO
Extraordinary Lives Foundation

Founder and CEO of Extraordinary Lives Foundation, Mara James directs therapeutic advocacy programs designed to revolutionize youth mental and emotional health resources across Southern California. Leveraging this record of success, she established September as Children’s Emotional Wellness Month to normalize early localized psychological intervention frameworks for families. This expertise extends to educational publishing sectors, where James authored multiple specialized children’s books to elevate emotional literacy within low-income elementary schools throughout Orange County. This leadership trajectory supports her extensive clinical and cultural governance footprint, which includes active advisory roles on the Segerstrom Arts & Business Leadership Council and the Council for the Advancement of Global Mental Health Research. She sustains this momentum by distributing specialized therapeutic resource packs to vulnerable pediatric populations through key alliances with regional medical centers like CHOC Hospital. James’ legislative advocacy culminated in a historic 2023 California State Assembly resolution officially recognizing her targeted regional wellness curriculum.