Positioning positionality: global and transatlantic perspectives on identity as early career researchers Available to Purchase

Krushika Uday Patankar, MSW, is a Social Work Researcher and Doctoral Candidate at New York University. Her research lies at the intersection of women’s immigration, child welfare services and domestic violence services, alongside understanding family separation and divorce experiences. Her particular foci include studying intervention development and implementation of restorative justice based approaches to domestic violence. Krushika centres the exploration and understanding of lived experiences of families surviving multiple systems involvement and uncovers the impacts of differing notions of justice in service delivery. Krushika’s research uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand intersections of race, class, gender and immigration with social service systems that address violence and child welfare.

Khutso Ranato-Dunbar is a Public Health and Health Policy Doctoral Researcher investigating the intersection of poverty and mental health inequalities within marginalised communities, with a specific focus on the role of community-based organisations and activist-led initiatives in the lives of racialised women impacted by poverty and/or adverse mental health. Khutso has a multidisciplinary background in law, philosophy and psychology which she combines with indigenous and collaborative methodologies to conduct holistic research. Her overarching research interests are in exploring how race and gender inform mental health outcomes, socio-economic standing and lived experience in general as well as evaluating policy as a site for social justice.

Maya Ljubojevic is a Public Health and Health Policy PhD Researcher. The research revolves around Thriving Cities—public mental health initiatives. Maya’s background consists of geography, economics and public health. This multidisciplinary foundation allows for an innovative, adaptable and critical research approach. Her primary interests lie in socio-spatial connectivity, social and environmental determinants of health, identity, space and place. Maya combines a variety of methods in a novel way including photovoice and interviews as well as GIS to uncover experienced realties and inform change makers.

Whitney Wortham, MSW, MPH, is a PhD Student at NYU Silver School of Social Work. Her research interests include mental health services research, implementation science and evidence-based practices for families. Her current question centres on how caseworkers facilitate linkages to mental health services for caregivers within the context of the child welfare system. Whitney led federally funded projects promoting access to behavioural health services and trauma-specific interventions for children and practiced as a caseworker in community settings. She aims to research access to mental health services for families impacted by poor social determinants of health while partnering with providers and organisations on the ground.