Karen Nakamura
University of California Berkeley
We are proud to induct Karen Nakamura into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame.
Karen Nakamura, who identifies as multiply disabled and neuroqueer, is a cultural and medical anthropologist and the Haas Distinguished Chair in Disability Studies at the University of California Berkeley. Nakamura works with crip, queer, trans, and other minoritized social movements in Japan and the United States.
While finishing a book on trans/eugenic/disability politics, Nakamura is currently looking at the impact of artificial intelligence / machine learning on intersectional disabled communities. She previously served as the co-president of the Society for Disability Studies; as past-Chair of the Oakland City Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities; and as a juror on SuperFest, the only international disability film festival run by capital-D Disabled people themselves. She survives in this world with the assistance of her service dog, Momo, an aging and quite deaf beagle.