Yvonne V. Simpson

Biography

Dr. Yvonne Simpson (she/her) is an educator, researcher, and disability justice practitioner whose work examines the intersections of enslavement, disablement, race, and occupational health and safety within the contexts of transnational migration and Canadian history. Her scholarship draws on the theories of intersectionality, critical race theory, and critical disability studies to interrogate gaps and distortions in historical accountability.

Her experience spans accessibility services, education, and advocacy, supported by graduate-level specialization in education, disability studies, human rights legislation, and social justice. Dr. Simpson has held leadership roles in academia and across the private, public, and social service sectors.

Dr. Simpson’s postdoctoral research will focus on utilizing primary and secondary sources, including key informant interviews, to examine systemic barriers to healthcare access for disabled people in New Brunswick. As the incoming member of the Purdy Crawford/TD Bank Postdoctoral Fellowship in Accessibility, her project, “Undue Hardship in Disability Healthcare Access: A Historical Perspective for Intersectional Change”, will examine systemic barriers to healthcare access for disabled people in New Brunswick, with emphasis on the lived experiences of disabled women.

This two-year project will proceed in three phases: (1) a scoping review of historical and contemporary interventions in disability healthcare access; (2) collaborative strategy development with stakeholders, informed by the World Health Organization (WHO) toolkit for disability inclusion and healthcare equity; and (3) creation of a digital visualization map, resulting in New Brunswick’s first Health Equity Road Map to accessible healthcare services across Community Health Zones.