Meet Our Staff

I joined the Disability Cultural Center staff as Director in 2019. I identify as a white, cisgender woman who is deaf. As an adult, I’ve learned some sign language, but I grew up mainstreamed in hearing culture.

I received my PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago, and my academic interests focus around representations of disability and everydayness, particularly the formal choices that build certain concepts of disability in relationship to race. One of my primary questions has been: what can visual representation say, convey, or be ambiguous about that textual representation can’t, and vice versa? These investigations have led me to focus on representation not just in prose novels but also in media like comics and reality tv. (Ask me about the course I taught on reality tv and “anomalous embodiment”!)

Before coming to UIC, my professional background was in writing program administration, where I specialized in academic writing and supporting graduate students–both as teachers of writing, and as writers working in highly specialized discourse communities. While my interests in supporting writers have sometimes felt separate from my interests in disability studies, they come together in two important ways. As an undergrad at UW-Madison, I worked as a peer writing tutor, and being assigned to an Intro to Disability Studies course is how I encountered disability studies for the first time. I thought it “might be interesting,” and it turned out to be a lightbulb moment that nudged me to explore my relationship to disability identity, begin processing my experiences and how they had been narrated to me, and grapple with my own internalized ableism. Also, it was at academic conferences for rhetoricians and writing instructors that I first experienced radical accessibility put into practice. It was hugely transformative to feel, for the first time, that I was invited to ask for what I needed, that I was anticipated and welcome. In these contexts, I learned to think about practices as shaping environments and sending messages.

As I carry these experiences with me, I’m grateful to find a professional home in a cultural center that’s organized around building cross-disability and cross-movement solidarity.

I joined the UIC Disability Cultural Center staff as the Associate Director in Summer 2023. One of my main responsibilities at the DCC is facilitating the Community Care Kit Project, including the Community Care Cohort Internship! I identify as a white, queer, nonbinary person with psychiatric disabilities and a chronic illness. I have been given numerous psychiatric labels over the years (some feel accurate, others not so much!). I also have a chronic illness called dysautonomia that I developed after multiple concussions. I am continuously re/un/learning about how to work with and ride the rollercoaster that is autonomic nervous system dysfunction.

I received my PhD from UIC in the Social Foundations of Education, and while I am interested in a lot of different topics, my main focus is on psychiatric disabilities/mental health, students, and education/schooling. I spend a lot of time thinking about systems of power, privilege/oppression, abolition, community care, and disability justice.

My professional life before the DCC included a variety of things from campus programming, to being the director of a Sexuality Summer Institute, to teaching several critical education courses, like Critical Disability Studies in Education and Gender & Sexuality in Education. I received my master’s degree in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University, and that is when I was introduced to disability culture for the first time. I went to a Sins Invalid performance in Fall 2009, and it changed my life – I’ve been working to deepen my relationship to disability culture and disability justice ever since!

I’m Donna Dante Marie Gary, and I go by they/them pronouns. A Chicago native of African American and Cherokee descent, I graduated summa cum laude from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, with a focus on the Poetics of Embodiment and Disability Studies.

My poetry activism began at rallies and marches, leading me to perform at venues like The Bowery Poetry Club and The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, with my work published in various notable publications and anthologies.

As a neurodivergent and severely asthmatic individual, my experiences with disability deeply inform my activism. My passion for poetry, performance art, and advocating for marginalized communities fuels my research interests, including Disability Literature and the intersections of identity and activism.

I’ve been actively involved in organizations like the Disability Student Union at NYU and various committees addressing diversity and inclusion issues, bringing valuable insights to my current role at the Disability Cultural Center at UIC.

Influenced by courageous voices like June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Zora Neale Hurston, and Sunaura Taylor, I’m committed to challenging systemic barriers and amplifying marginalized narratives through my work.

I have been working at the UIC Disability Cultural Center since the Fall of 2022 as an Undergraduate worker. I identify as a queer nonbinary person. I am currently a senior majoring in Public Health, with the goal to one day become a clinical social worker and work with children. I am very passionate about mental health, animal health & safety, and art! I connected with the DCC through the Woman’s Leadership and Resource Center. The DCC is one of my favorite places because it welcomes you with open arms. I know that I can always be my most authentic self at the center.

You can always come talk to me about: Art, music, and writing. During my freetime I love playing Link’s awakening on my switch, playing with my cats and dog, as well as reading and writing!

Year & Major: I am majoring in Industrial Design

Passions and/or research interests: I am passionate about intersectionality and learning more about other’s identities and cultures that shape their lived experiences. I am interested in the lived experiences of disabled QTBIPOC. My special interests include history, medieval to renaissance, Chicano history, and toy design.

How I connected with the DCC: During my freshman year, I started to attend some online events the DCC hosted and contributed to the  Disabled Latino/a/xs zine. I also participated in the DCC Community Care Cohort.

Ask me about: Medieval history, The British royal family, music, food especially vegan food, the Sims, Monster High. I am happy to talk!

Year & Major: junior year, Applied psychology major. Disability and Human Development Minor.

Passions and/or research interests: One of my biggest passions is learning more about disability, mental health,and neurodivergence. I especially enjoy learning about how disability/neurodivergence and mental health connect, and am hoping to someday become a mental health professional who can offer a safe space for neurodivergent/LGBTQ+/disabled folks. Autism is one of my biggest special interests, along with Legend of Zelda.

How I connected with the DCC: I learned about it during freshman orientation and have enjoyed hanging out in the DCC lounge the past few years. Also, I would hear about the DCC through the DHD courses I take for my minor.

Ask me about: Autism, neurodiversity, The Legend of Zelda, Omori, video games in general, music, crafting, psychology, Renaissance Fairs and Shrek 2 .( I know this movie like the back of my hand. My absolute favorite.) Always feel free to talk to me about pretty much anything! I love to hear what other people have to say.

Year & Major: 5th year Interdisciplinary Education in the Arts

Passions and/or research interests: I am very passionate about research involving disability and sexuality. Outside of disability studies, I love to cook, play video games, and spend time with my cat and dog.

How I connected with the DCC: The year I transferred to UIC, I had a friend who told me about the DCC!

Ask me about: The Sims 4, photography, cooking, dog training.

Year & Major: I am a junior and my major is integrated health sciences with a goal of Nursing.

Passions and/or research interests: I am passionate about addressing systemic racism in healthcare, with a particular focus on the alarming rates of mortality among Black mothers and children during childbirth, which are often the result of racial biases in the medical field. My commitment extends to advocating for comprehensive and equitable healthcare access, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, has affordable and easily accessible healthcare.

In addition to my focus on healthcare, I am a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, consistently advocating for equal rights and inclusion. I also champion the rights of disabled individuals, striving to create a society where accessibility and understanding are the norms, not exceptions. My advocacy work is broad and inclusive, targeting systemic injustices and amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities, including minorities and other marginalized groups.

I believe in the power of education, awareness, and action to create meaningful change, and I am committed to being a part of that change, working towards a more just and equitable world for all.

How I connected with the DCC: I connected with the DCC because I needed a certain accommodation for my classes and I was able to receive a letter of accommodation as well as many different ways to get support.

Ask me about: The importance of improving mental health, fitness, anything beauty related, movies, music, and anything really!

Year & Major: I’m a Junior majoring in Public Policy

Passions and/or research interests: My favorite games are Pokemon Video games, Emerald, HeartGold, and Pokemon Black and Black 2. Aside from these video games, I enjoy sports like soccer and being active; I often also love taking long walks in the park with my dog. I enjoy cooking for myself and others. Whenever I’m hungry and have free time I cook for myself and others; my favorite dish is Enfricoladas, with are Tortillas dipped in beans with a topping of lettuce, cheese, and sour cream every you have opportunity it’s a particular recommendation of mine. And I also enjoy sitcoms.

Regarding personal Passions, I am passionate about politics and social justice, Writing, and improving myself.

How I connected with the DCC: I connected to the DCC because of the community.  DCC provides the space and opportunity to work towards developing the current community in the current contemporary space of UIC.  I see this as essential and valuable and doesn’t fly under the radar; it’s truly an opportunity that know the value of and doesn’t go unnoticed the working and contributing of open space to the public.

My name is Mags Goodship, and I am an intern in the Diversity Community Engagement Program at the Disability Cultural Center. I have numerous invisible disabilities and one visible. Supporting my community and playing an active part in it is what drew me to the DCEP internship role. People are often pressured to distance themselves from the parts that make them different, and that is something I intend to avoid.

I am an early-accepted sophomore in the School of Public Health’s baccalaureate program, concentrating on Community Health Sciences, specifically maternal and child health. I am in tandem working on a second baccalaureate degree through the College of Liberal Arts and Science in English. My two LAS concentrations are Rhetoric, Public Engagement, and Language Studies, as well as Professional Writing. With these degrees and my minor in Polish Studies, I aim to follow in the footsteps of some great philosophers and pass down critical thinking and literary analysis skills to students as a professor.

In a moment of need, I found myself at the Disability Cultural Center. Margaret and Nico immediately jumped into action to find resources and provide comfort. After that moment, I knew I wanted to become more active at the center and make sure others in the community felt as supported as I did. Being disabled does not need to be isolating, and the DCC (and I) are here to remind you of that.

I love mythology about women and vampires, reading, writing, textile arts, Wordle, vinyl and CD collecting, and other things your grandmother would approve of.

I am the Graduate Assistant (GA) for the Disability Cultural Center. I am in my first year of my MSW program at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC, and love working with children, adolescents, and young adults. I graduated from the University of Chicago in 2022, double majoring in Psychology and Comparative Human Development, and would love to chat with folks who are interested or curious in those fields. During my undergraduate, I took a wonderful course in Modern Disability Histories and have been passionate about incorporating disability justice into my social justice thinking and practice since.

I am a first-generation immigrant, Muslim, Turkish-American woman, and grew up low-income. I have a range of experiences with physical and mental disability both personally and in my family, and look forward to helping people explore their own relationships to disability. Before coming to UIC, I worked with English Language Learners, medically complex children and adolescents, and in academic research. Please feel free to chat with me about any of these topics or your own experiences.

Outside of the DCC, I love my beautiful darling cat Anya, spending time outside with my husband, cooking, playing board games, and exploring museums. I love hearing people’s recommendations for restaurants, cafes, board games, and new spots to explore in the city, so stop by the DCC and I would love to chat!