Shanna Katz Kattari

Shanna K. Kattari, PhD, MEd, CSE, ACS (they/them/theirs and she/her/hers) is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, the Department of Women and Gender Studies (by courtesy), and director of the [Sexuality|Relationships|Gender] Research Collective. A queer, White, Jewish, nonbinary, disabled, chronically ill Femme, their practice and community background is as a board-certified sexologist, certified sexuality educator and social justice advocate. Kattari’s extant research focuses on understanding how power, privilege and oppression systematically marginalize, exclude and discriminate against people regarding their identities/expressions through negative attitudes, policies reinforcing oppression, oppressive actions and isolation. Recently, she has focused on the health disparities among trans/nonbinary communities, across physical and behavioral health, as well as working with the community through community-based participatory research to better understand how the lack of inclusive providers has increased these disparities. They are also interested in examining sexuality in marginalized communities, particularly disabled adults and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals.

In their work, Kattari strongly values translational research that benefits the communities being researched, and strongly believes in making research accessible to not only academics but also to society at large. They are also committed to engaging, innovative education and pedagogy, multi-level mentorship models, and supporting individuals from a variety of identities in entering, navigating and succeeding in the academy.