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Mara Kirdani-Ryan seeks to create cultural shifts in computing to mitigate societal oppression and promote collective liberation. They apply techniques from sociology and social work to surface, deconstruct, and challenge dominant cultural norms. Predominantly, Kirdani-Ryan aims to translate their own experiences into collective engagements, utilizing their scholarship to address the computing field's career prestige-centricity and narrow legitimization of neurodivergence. Pedagogically, they view the educational endeavor as an opportunity for self-discovery and seek to engage students in socio-technical integrations that develop impetus for action. Kirdani-Ryan identifies as white, non-binary, transgender, queer, and autistic, holding a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington, as well as a master's and bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
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