Graduation: Spring 2022
Research Interests: Transgender intracommunity support and the subsequent impact on individual wellbeing; improving trans experiences of physical & mental healthcare; the treatment and experiences of multiply marginalized communities (e.g.,trans & disabled)
Awards: Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Washington (2020), Husky 100 Merit Based Award, University of Washington (2020), and King County Regional Scholarship Recipient, Pride Foundation (2019)
Vern is a nonbinary German-American PhD candidate in Social Welfare at the University of Washington. As a community-embedded activist, organizer, and scholar, their work aims to amplify ongoing efforts within trans and other marginalized communities. Employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, Vern’s current work focuses on intracommunity support, engagement with social services, and wellbeing. In doing so, they hope to contribute to a strengths-based narrative in social work scholarship around trans experiences that center community strengths, survival, and thriving. Aligning with their research values, Vern brings accessibility and social justice centered pedagogy to a variety of classroom spaces, including social work history, research methods, and queer/trans practice.
Email: vharner@uw.edu