Supervisor: Chris Sinding

Committee Members: Amber Dean, Beth Marquis

My work is rooted in Mad/Disability Studies theory and community organizing practice, and informed by feminist philosophy and relational approaches to understanding injustice (epistemic injustice, ethical loneliness, feminist ethics), as well as “students-as-partners” pedagogical collaborations.

My dissertation explores Mad strategies for recognizing, resisting, and redressing epistemic and psychic harms, and discerning the ethics and epistemologies Mad people generate in their wake. It seeks to contribute to the field of Mad(ness) Studies through the conceptualization of emergent Mad knowledges/ways of knowing, politicization of affective and dispositional states (loneliness, anger, dis/trust, self-respect, confidence), development of service user ethics and their implications for social work, and advancement of Mad positivity/accessibility/equity in higher education through pedagogical approaches.

My prior education includes bachelor's degrees in English and Social Work (BA/BSW, McMaster University), a master’s degree in Environmental Studies (MES, York University), and completion of the PREFER peer support program through the Centre for Building a Culture of Recovery in Toronto.