So, who am I anyway?
I’m Finn Gardiner, and I’m a queer, Black, and disabled writer, designer, community organizer, speaker, editor, researcher, advocate, activist, and artist. I’m a fighter for what I believe in—a culture of accommodation, where people are able to put their differences aside and work toward a better future together. I’m also a hater of management-speak, jargon, and buzzwords, and a lover of cats, mid-1980s Madonna, melodic metal, matcha tea ice cream, and foreign languages.
Professional interests
Inclusive healthcare. Accessible technology. Intersectional perspectives on disability. Bioethics. International disability policy. Mental health. Autism and employment. Antiracism. Gender, sexuality, and disability. And that’s just the beginning. I have a variety of professional interests, and I’ve had the privilege of holding talks, workshops, classes, and trainings on those topics for multiple audiences, including undergraduate students, disability professionals, healthcare workers, researchers, and self-advocates.
I’ve also been on multiple discussion panels, including the 2016 White House Forum on LGBT and Disability Issues and the 2019 United Nations World Autism Day event, as well as panels hosted by Neurodiversity Rising, the 2016 Disability & Intersectionality Summit, the MIT Communications Forum, the Association for Autism and Neurodiversity, and the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Organizations I’ve worked with
I’ve worked for a number of disability and community advocacy organisations, including the Autistic People of Color Fund, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University, the Institute for Community Inclusion and the Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) at the E. K. Shriver Center at UMass Chan Medical School. I am currently the director of policy and advocacy at the Autistic People of Color Fund and a faculty member at the E. K. Shriver LEND program, where I teach courses on intersectionality and identity-first perspectives. I’ve also been on the Human Services Research Institute’s board of directors for seven years as of 2023. As a trainer, I’ve worked with the Association for Autism and Neurodiversity, JOIN for Justice, Political Research Associates, and various other academic institutions and nonprofits. Along with my work on the Shriver LEND faculty, I’ve also conducted guest lectures at Tufts University and Boston University.
Selected list of professional achievements
- 2016: Panelist at the 2016 White House Forum on LGBT and Disability Issues
- 2016: “Intersecting Selfhood” talk at the inaugural Disability & Intersectionality Summit
- 2019: Panelist at “Designing for a Neurodiverse World,” held by MIT’s Communications Forum
- 2019: Panelist at the 2019 United Nations World Autism Day
- 2019: Testified against the use of subminimum wages for disabled workers at a hearing held by the US Commission on Civil Rights
- 2020: Panelist at Neurodiversity in the Workplace’s 2020 “Neurodiversity Rising” conference, headlined by Temple Grandin and Yuh-Line Nioh
- 2020: Appearance on the Big Bird episode of Apple TV’s “Dear…” series in 2020
- 2021: Inducted into the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame Class of 2020
Education
- Certificate in Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND), University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
- Master of public policy, Brandeis University
- BA in sociology, Tufts University