At our Convocation ceremony on June 3rd, we announced these recipients of our annual awards for 2022. Congratulations to our amazing students!

Dennis Lang Student Award in Disability Studies

The Dennis Lang Award in Disability Studies honors Dennis Lang, a co-founder of the UW Disability Studies Program, for his dedication and service in the creation and growth of our community and program. The award goes to students who embody Dennis’s spirited commitment to and academic excellence in the field of Disability Studies. This year's we have four distinguished recipients:

Courtney R. Cole. Major in Comparative History of Ideas

A white woman with short brown hair wearing floral patterned boots and a blue sweater smiles while leaning against a tree holding a white cane.
A white woman with short brown hair wearing floral patterned boots and a blue sweater smiles while leaning against a tree holding a white cane

Courtney has worked at Rooted in Rights, the national Society for Disability Studies and for the UW Disability Studies Program generating accessible media (as an editor, audio describer, and narrator) and has advocated for accessibility, disability culture, and mental health disabilities as a social media creator and a public speaker. Courtney’s academic, activist, and professional career is exemplary of the theory and practice of disability studies.

Joyce Lin. Major in Interactive Design, Minor in Art History

Asian American woman dressed in black and smiling with hands on her hips
Asian American woman dressed in black and smiling with hands on her hips.

Joyce is a former intern of the UW Student Disability Commission and is currently involved in several nonprofit organizations advocating for Disability Justice. She is conducting research exploring the various ways that d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people experience music and intends to compile her findings into accessibility guidelines for industry stakeholders. She says: “I’m truly grateful for the disability studies program at UW and the campus disabled community that catalyzed my growth …into an activist and advocate for crip pride!”

Tiara Schwarze-Taufiq. Majors in Public Health-Global Health and Neuroscience, Minor in Labor Studies

Tiara has short brown hair and is wearing a traditional patterned Indonesian blouse. She is smiling and crossing her arms.
Tiara has short brown hair and is wearing a traditional patterned Indonesian blouse. She is smiling and crossing her arms.

Tiara founded the student organization Huskies for Neurodiversity which seeks to amplify the voices of neurodivergent community members and promotes empathy between ND and non-ND UW students. Tiara works to integrate Disability Justice into her activities, stating “My vision for Huskies for Neurodiversity is to be at least one space in a largely unaccommodating world and educational environment where people can come as they are without needing to censor their experiences or hide their true selves.”

 

Casey Wilson. Master in Occupational Therapy

A white woman shown from waist up with long brown hair wearing a white shirt that says, “The future is inclusive” and standing in front of green plants.
A white woman shown from waist up with long brown hair wearing a white shirt that says, “The future is inclusive” and standing in front of green plants.

Photo: A white woman shown from waist up with long brown hair wearing a white shirt that says, “The future is inclusive” and standing in front of green plants.Casey is committed to integrating DS perspectives into OT practice promoting neurodiversity-affirming healthcare for autistic adults. She advocates for including autistic voices, aligning with community values, and pushing the boundaries of traditional care for autistic people. After graduation, Casey plans to continue partnering with people with disabilities and hopes to one day open her own community-based, neurodiversity-affirming practice where people can be supported to authentically participate in the things that matter to them.

 

Pamela E. Yee Gender & Disability Studies Award 

Talia Katayama Bass. Major in Disability Studies

Paloma Marisol Vazquez. Minor in Disability Studies

The department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies has selected Paloma and Talia as co-recipients of the 2022 Pamela E. Yee Gender and Disability Studies Award. This award is given annually to an undergraduate student for a written and/or visual project on any topic that most successfully integrates gender and disability studies. Professor Woiak nominated you, and you were selected, for the “sophisticated” podcast series you created for her class, which effectively pursues “anti-racist, feminist, and anti-ableist goals.”

Harlan Hahn Endowment Fund Grants

The Harlan Hahn Endowment Fund was established by a generous gift to the UW’s Disability Studies Program from the late Harlan D. Hahn, disability activist, political scientist, and disability studies scholar. Awards are given for research, writing, or activist projects that are framed within, aligned with, or informed by the academic field of Disability Studies.

Hannah Garland (Juris Doctor Candidate) will use the grant to attend the 13th International Disability Summer School through the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland Galway.

Megan McCloskey (PhD Candidate in Law) will use the grant to attend the 13th International Disability Summer School, as well as The Conference of States Parties to the CRPD, an annual meeting held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Shannon Meyer (Master in Cultural Studies at UW Bothell) will use the grant towards her capstone research project at the intersection of disability justice and reproductive justice.

Natalie Stagnone (graduating with Majors in Disability Studies and Neuroscience) will use the grant towards books and other materials for her nonprofit Thurston County Inclusion.

Sarah Arvey Tov (PhD Candidate in Special Education) will use the funding for the Disability Justice in Schools project.

José Alaniz (faculty in Slavic Languages & Literatures) is using the grant to attend the “Comics and the Invisible” conference.

Stephen Meyers (faculty in Law, Societies & Justice, and International Studies) will use the funds to bring two international disability advocates to UW, regarding the rights of persons with albinism in Africa and children with disabilities in Jamaica.

E.T. Russian (artist and writer who is affiliated with UW Medicine) will use the grant to help create original comics and illustrations for the book All of this Safety is Killing Us: Health Justice through Prison, Police, and Border Abolition.