Courtney Wade, M.Ed.
(she/her, they/them)
Courtney is a white, genderqueer, AFAB, bisexual, first-gen, multiply-disabled, mad, neurodivergent, Autistic person from Massachusetts. Courtney dealt with the late diagnosis of ADHD (2016, 23 yo) and the late realization of her Autistic, dyslexic, dyscalculaic, & dyspraxic identities (2020, 27 yo).
Courtney is currently a second-year graduate student in the Applied Social and Community Psychology program at North Carolina State University. She has the unique experience of being DAMN-identified and working in sanist, ableist, neurotypist, and eugenic (SANE) systems: she has worked in community and forensic settings for almost 10 years and earned an M.Ed. in Counseling from NC State in 2019. Courtney's research currently focuses on critical, macroergonomic evaluation of mental health assessment and behavioral health treatment in jails.
Throughout her first 1.5 years in her doctoral program, Courtney slowly realized that the “benefits” of masking were nowhere near worth the harm it was causing. In unmasking & owning her DAMN Pride, Courtney learned about two things: the existence of community support and the breadth and depth of the manifestations of SANE systems of oppression in academia. This, and the support of friends and supervisors, led Courtney to start the Critical DAMN Studies Project.
Information about PSY 499 opportunities & the Spring 2020 interest form are available on the PSY 499 page.
Sara Graham
(she/hers)
Sara is a junior double majoring in Interpersonal, Organizational, and Rhetorical Communication and Psychology with a minor in Business Administration. Her main interests are in perception and the interaction between social and biological factors and their contribution to behavior and motivation. Upon graduation, Sara intends to pursue a doctorate degree in Psychology and help contribute to future psychology scholarship.
In addition to her studies with the Critical DAMN Studies Project at NC State, Sara also works in the Mindset Lab at NC State and with the Autistic community.
Email Sara at: sjgraha3@ncsu.edu
Jordan Birkner
(she/hers)
Jordan is currently a second year undergraduate student at NC State studying Psychology and Biology, with a focus on Neuropsychology. Involvement in academic fields of genetics, cognitive science, and ethics help support her research goals in further connecting the physical and intangible aspects of mental health.
Her passion for mental health treatment reform drives her research goals in the field, specifically on the diagnosis process and furthering destigmatization. Her current research identifies these unfair practices and the impact they hold on the people classified as having severe mental illnesses.
Email Jordan at: jabirkne@ncsu.edu