June 21, 2023

Ronnie Thibault: 2023 IPHD graduate

It was her time working in the disability service sector that provided the motivation for Ronnie Thibault to re-enter higher education, a path that would ultimately lead to her graduation from the IPHD program this year. It was there, in positions in both the private and nonprofit sectors, that she saw how the stigma faced by individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities negatively impacted their ability to access important services and supports.

After completing an MA in Cultural Studies from UW Bothell, she joined the IPHD program with the personal goal of educating herself on how to change the systemic treatment and abuses she observed in this field.

To do so, she proposed a course of study focused on the cultural politics of developmental and intellectual disabilities. With mentorship and support from her committee chair Benjamin Gardner from the Geography Department/UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) and members from the History Department, IAS, and the Disability Studies program, she wrote her dissertation as a digital histories project comparing how domestic aid institutions have reinforced or contested common misunderstandings about these kinds of disabilities.

After graduation, Ronnie will continue as an Affiliate and instructor for the Disability Studies Program, while seeking further opportunities to teach in inter- and transdisciplinary methods and scholarship.