Leo Wilder (they/them) is a neurodivergent, non-binary parent of four with passions for educational equity and using creativity as a vehicle for social change. After growing up in the cornfields of central Illinois, they attended Columbia College Chicago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fiction Writing in 2012. Leo then joined the Chicago Teaching Fellows program where they discovered their love for developing individualized educational resources and programming for students with disabilities while teaching K-3 Special Education in Hyde Park, Chicago. Leo moved back to central Illinois to be closer to family and taught high school Special Education with a focus on English Language Arts. They graduated in 2021 with a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Illinois Springfield and served as Director of Special Education at Hope Learning Academy in Springfield. In 2025, Leo developed Orchid Community School, a microschool focused on providing a safe, inclusive, accommodating learning environment for students in the central Illinois area who were being bullied and underestimated at school.

 

Leo's various experiences as a neurodivergent educator, birth parent, foster parent, and relative of multiple disabled loved ones have made accessibility and advocacy their most important focus. They serve on the Accessibility Advisory Board for Trans Up Front Illinois, a non-profit organization focused on advocacy for transgender individuals in Illinois. Leo also self-publishes zines and resources to help individuals better understand neurodiversity, gender differences, and self-acceptance. They enjoy speaking individually and on stage about the patterns and challenges they have witnessed within our educational and social systems, hoping to inspire others to do the same and fight for every child to be treated with dignity and respect.​

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