Sarah Victor is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology program at Texas Tech University. Her research falls into two domains. First, she uses ecological momentary assessment and other intensive longitudinal designs to understand within-person changes in risk for self-injurious behaviors and suicide among members of high-risk groups, such as people leaving inpatient psychiatric treatment and transgender and non-binary people. Second, she conducts research on the experiences of psychology faculty and trainees with experiences of mental illness. Dr. Victor lives with chronic mental illness (psychiatric disability) and advocates for improved inclusion of psychologists with disabilities in academic and other professional spheres.

Dr. Schmidt: Adam Schmidt is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology program at Texas Tech University. His research focuses on understanding the underlying biological and neuropsychological mechanisms connecting adverse childhood experiences to risk and resilience within vulnerable populations such as youth involved in the juvenile justice system and children sustaining traumatic brain injuries. He also has research interests in training issues including mentorship of individuals with disabilities. Dr. Schmidt has been blind from birth and has worked with a guide Dog since he was in college. He lives with his spouse, son, current guide Dog Snowy, and retired guide Vente in Lubbock.

Claire is a deaf doctoral candidate in the School Psychology Program at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in pediatric psychology. She is currently completing her clinical predoctoral internship at the Children's Hospital of Orange County. Claire’s research and clinical work is focused on equitable behavioral health care and centering the voices of disabled populations in health care. After internship, Claire will be completing her postdoctoral fellowship in eating disorders and gender affirming care at Dell Children's Medical Center and hopes to increase awareness of the intersection between disability and body image in pediatric eating disorders.

Holly Tabor, PhD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. She is the Associate Director for Clinical Ethics and Education for the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE) and is Co-Chair of the Ethics Committees at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Her research focuses on ethical issues in genetics and genomics and in healthcare for people with disabilities. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from Stanford in 2002. From 2005-2008 she was one of the first postdoctoral fellows at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Prior to her work at Stanford, she spent eight years as a faculty member at the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and at the University of Washington.

Kevin Mintz, PhD, received his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University in 2019. He also holds an AB in Government from Harvard College, an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Doctorate of Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Prior to returning to Stanford as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Genetics and Genomics at Stanford’s Center for Biomedical Ethics, Kevin was a Postdoctoral Fellow in The Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. His research focuses on disability bioethics and how to promote anti-ableism in precision medicine and research. His work has appeared in a variety of academic journals and newspapers, including Pediatrics, The Hastings Center Report, and the Los Angeles Times.

Amy Bugwadia (she/her) is a MD Candidate and Co-Chair of MSDCI (Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness) at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her lived experiences with ulcerative colitis and chronic illness has fueled her passion for patient empowerment and increasing representation, access, and support for individuals with disabilities. Amy's work has centered various intersectional identities within the disability and medical communities, and she is involved in leading organizations including Generation Patient and the Crohn's & Colitis Young Adults Network.

Andrea Dalzell is a phenomenal and passionate Registered Nurse, a highly active Healthcare Advocate, Disability Rights Influencer, and most importantly, a strong Survivor! At the early age of five, Andrea was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord that causes pain, muscle weakness and paralysis and was using a wheelchair full-time by age 12. Although this diagnosis was very critical, Andrea let absolutely nothing get in the way of being all that she could be. Andrea received her degree from the City University of New York, College of Staten Island, and has been ultimately respected most for her influence and healthcare advocacy for the rights of those with disabilities throughout her journey.

Dr. Chase T. M. Anderson (but just call him Chase!) is currently a child and adolescent psychiatrist at University of California at San Francisco and graduated from adult psychiatry residency at The Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCSF. He completed his undergraduate education in Chemistry at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his master's in Biological Engineering at MIT as well, and is a graduate of The Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, WBUR/NPR, Scientific American, STAT News, The New England Journal of Medicine, and other news and journal outlets. In his free time, he enjoys going for long walks, listening to K-pop, reading fantasy books, playing soccer, writing, planning dinners with friends, and dreaming of how we can better the world together.

Dr. Anna Valdez is a disabled registered nurse with over 30 years of experience in clinical practice and nursing education. She has taught nursing at all levels in clinical, academic, and virtual settings. Dr. Valdez's research interests include emergency nursing, JEDI, bias, antiracism in nursing, and health equity. She is nationally certified in emergency, flight, and nursing education. Dr. Valdez has presented at several conferences and served on various health-related advisory boards. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and contributed as an author to two current emergency nursing books. Dr. Valdez has served as Editor in Chief for Teaching and Learning in Nursing. She is currently serving as Editor in Chief for the Journal of Emergency Nursing. Valdez is also the Chair of the Emergency Nurses Association DEI committee and is a member of the Emergency Nurses Research Advisory Council. In 2015, she was inducted as a Fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nursing. In recognition of her commitment to academic progression in nursing, in 2018, Dr. Valdez was inducted as a Fellow in the Academy of Associate Degree in Nursing.

Brittany Gratreak is a first generation, low income MD/PhD student studying Neuroscience at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson.

Zoey is a PhD Candidate in cultural anthropology and an MS epidemiology student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her dissertation explores online and offline work by disabled medical students and doctors to increase disability inclusivity in biomedicine. Zoey is the curator, writer, and co-host of Research and Resource Rounds, the new mini-cast from the Docs With Disabilities Initiative.
You can follow Zoey on Twitter @Zoey_beta, on Instagram @Zoey__beta (because she is always a “beta” version of herself, a work in progress) or reach her via email at Zmarti6@uic.edu.

Tal Jarus is a Professor at the Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy department at the University of British Columbia. Tal identifies as a queer, white, cis woman, settler, who immigrated to Canada 16 years ago. She live as an uninvited guest on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. In the past few years her career is dedicated to social justice transformation, including focused research on justice and equity in the health and human service professions, in particular looking at the facilitators and barriers for the participation of students and clinicians from equity denied groups in the health and human service professions. Tal use innovative technics in her research, including art, such as photovoice or Research-Based Theatre.

Laen is a performing artist and expert facilitator of creative processes across professional and non-professional contexts. He has vast experience working with teachers, academics, business professionals using theatre for both professional and personal development. His facilitation style is engaging, entertaining and highly interactive. Laen has a long career as a performing artist, touring internationally and giving workshops on various aspects and uses of physical theatre for both children and adults. (France, Korea, Australia, Kenya, South Africa). Since 2011, he has been a reoccurring sessional instructor at the Creative Studies Faculty at UBC (Kelowna) and the Education Faculty at UBC (Vancouver). Most recently, Laen has devoted considerable time to graduate work in the field of Research-based Theatre.

Christina Cook (she/they) is a theatre artist and therapist. As a private practice therapist, she works with adults and youth 2SLGBTQIA+ community members. Christina is also a Ph.D. student in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where they explore and create scholarship exploring psychology, trans studies, and Research-based Theatre. Christina currently serves as the Research Project Director at the UBC Research-based Theatre Lab. Christina’s writing credits include the play Quick Bright Things, nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 2021; and Gerty, half electronic-communication-from-the-future, half radio-drama-drag-show, and all Genderqueer, published in Educational Fabulations (2022).

With sincere gratitude I acknowledge that I am a Dutch settler and am privileged to belong among, be in relationship with, and engage in meaningful occupations on the unceded, ancestral, and continually occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), Tsleil-Waututh (Slay-wa-tuth), and W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Peoples.

At age 16, based on my experience in the disability community, I articulated what I wanted to do with my career:

“I want to come alongside other Disabled people to gain the skills and confidence to live the lives they desire.”

At first, I thought this was a job I would have to invent, but thankfully someone introduced me to Occupational Therapy which seemed to be just the right fit.

Through some serendipitous situations, I walked the path of getting my undergraduate education in anti-oppressive social work. The elders, students, and faculty from whom I learned in this process helped shape my perspective as I moved into the Master of Occupational Therapy program.

In 2014 I was finishing up my Master of Occupational Therapy when Dr. Tal Jarus (hyperlinked) asked if I want to do a PhD with her. My thought was, “I’ll have to google what that means.” Being a first-generation university student and having previously pursued professional degrees, I did not have a strong interpersonal reference point for understanding academia. This became both a challenge and a strength - I entered with a fresh perspective, unencumbered by some of the expectations and socialization some might find restrictive. For example, I expected that the priority of a PhD is to promote justice for the community with which the research is done, that researchers should humbly learn from participants, and that academics should be kind to one another. An academic career trajectory, getting data as quickly and efficiently as possible, or impressing academics higher in the hierarchy were absent from my agenda.

Working alongside people gaining the skills and confidence to thrive is one of the great privileges of practicing occupational therapy. I said “yes” to Tal’s invitation to pursue a PhD because I observed that sometimes people cannot thrive due to social and institutional barriers. I believed that doing a PhD would provide opportunities for involvement in creating change and promoting justice at social and institutional levels.

During the first few years of my PhD, I worked as an occupational therapist with people who had been injured in motor vehicle accidents and with veterans in pursuit of their occupational goals. In January 2020 I was very fortunate to accept a position working with UBC’s Centre for Accessibility and UBC’s health programs to support access for students and medical residents with disabilities and chronic physical or mental health conditions. Working with these learners, the team at the Centre for Accessibility, and partners across UBC’s health programs was one of the highlights of my journey.

My teaching and scholarship are not the only meaningful occupations in my life. I find great joy in preparing food for a small gathering, a meeting with colleagues, or an even in my spiritual community. And if you wonder where I am at any moment, there is a good chance I am walking/rolling with a friend – walking is my favourite mode of being.

Dr. Yael Mayer is a registered clinical psychologist, a senior lecturer (assistant professor), and head of the BELONG lab studying and promoting belonging, diversity, and multiculturalism at the University of Haifa in Israel. Dr. Mayer's primary interest is examining the barriers and facilitators for minority groups' participation and inclusion, and ways to promote sense of belonging, cultural safety and wellbeing among equity-seeking groups. Dr. Mayer explores systemic, community, and personal factors and interventions that promote sense of belonging, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Mayer conducted numerous studies in collaboration with diverse communities, including migrant and asylum-seeking families, Indigenous communities, children and adults living with disabilities, and other ethnic minorities.

Dr. Lawrence Fung an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, director of the Neurodiversity Clinic, and principal investigator at the Fung Lab. His work, which focuses on autism and neurodiversity, traverses from multi-modal neuroimaging studies to new conceptualization of neurodiversity and its application to clinical, education, and employment settings. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and bioanalytical technologies. Using community-based participatory research approach, his team devises and implements novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity. His work has been supported by various agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Autism Speaks, California Department of Developmental Services, California Department of Rehabilitation, as well as philanthropy. He received his PhD in chemical engineering from Cornell University, and MD from George Washington University. He completed his general psychiatry residency, child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, and postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford.

Sophia Liang is a 3rd year medical student at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine.

Holly Tabor, PhD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. She is the Associate Director for Clinical Ethics and Education for the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE) and is Co-Chair of the Ethics Committees at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Her research focuses on ethical issues in genetics and genomics and in healthcare for people with disabilities. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from Stanford in 2002. From 2005-2008 she was one of the first postdoctoral fellows at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Prior to her work at Stanford, she spent eight years as a faculty member at the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and at the University of Washington.

Kevin Mintz, PhD, received his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University in 2019. He also holds an AB in Government from Harvard College, an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Doctorate of Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Prior to returning to Stanford as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Genetics and Genomics at Stanford’s Center for Biomedical Ethics, Kevin was a Postdoctoral Fellow in The Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. His research focuses on disability bioethics and how to promote anti-ableism in precision medicine and research. His work has appeared in a variety of academic journals and newspapers, including Pediatrics, The Hastings Center Report, and the Los Angeles Times.

Binisha is a first-year medical student at Stanford School of Medicine. She has a younger brother with disabilities, and through his care and growing up with him, she has become a passionate advocate for individuals with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions. Her goal as a medical trainee and future provider is to partner with and empower patients as they navigate various systems, such as healthcare, education, social services, and more.

Sophia Liang is a 3rd year medical student at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine.

Kendall Smith is a second-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine. She received her BA from Hanover College, where she studied philosophy and biochemistry.

Mami is a PhD student at the University of Michigan, where she is working to apply chemistry to the PET scan. She thrives with autism, ADHD, and several other disabilities and has been demonstrating professional achievements, such as leading multiple projects funded by the National Institutes of Health. Her experience as a medical assistant and her research at Radiology inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. As a pre-med student, she is learning how to navigate the process while embracing her disabilities. Her goal is to show the world what great things an autistic person can do. Her special interests include science and scuba diving!

Dr. Lawrence Fung an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, director of the Neurodiversity Clinic, and principal investigator at the Fung Lab. His work, which focuses on autism and neurodiversity, traverses from multi-modal neuroimaging studies to new conceptualization of neurodiversity and its application to clinical, education, and employment settings. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and bioanalytical technologies. Using community-based participatory research approach, his team devises and implements novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity. His work has been supported by various agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Autism Speaks, California Department of Developmental Services, California Department of Rehabilitation, as well as philanthropy. He received his PhD in chemical engineering from Cornell University, and MD from George Washington University. He completed his general psychiatry residency, child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, and postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford.

Dr. Ken Sutha is a clinician and basic science researcher in pediatric nephrology at Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford who brings his perspective as a two time kidney transplant recipient and previous dialysis patient. He has been a member of the Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity since 2019 and has served as co-chair since 2021.

Dr. Poullos received his M.D. degree at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of California-San Francisco in 2002. He stayed at UCSF as a Gastroenterology fellow, but he decided to retrain in Radiology after a spinal cord injury in 2003. He did his Radiology residency at Stanford University, where he also completed a fellowship In Body Imaging in 2009. Dr. Poullos is now faculty in both the departments of Radiology and Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Dr. Poullos served as Associate Residency Program Director for the Stanford University Radiology Residency from 2009 through 2016. In 2018, he founded the Stanford Medicine Abilities Coalition (SMAC), now the Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (SMADIE), for which he serves as Co-chair. In that role, Dr. Poullos advocates for students and healthcare providers with disabilities and health equity for disabled patients. He is a Faculty Advisor to the Stanford Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness (MSDCI) and the MSDCI National organization. Dr. Poullos and SMADIE have made significant contributions to the disability community, including starting the Stanford Conference on Disability in Healthcare and Medicine, drawing over 1000 participants from 39 countries. He is the co-host of the popular “DocsWithDisabilities” podcast, has spoken internationally about disability access in medicine, and has written and researched in the field. He is a delegate to the International Congress On Disability Inclusion and Health and Disability Inclusion in Graduate Medical Education (DIGME). He enjoys teaching radiology to medical students, residents, and fellows at Stanford and across the nation.