Skip to content

People of CREATE

CREATE is a consortium of innovators from the University of Washington’s computer science, mechanical engineering, human-centered design and engineering, information school, and rehabilitation medicine and disability studies.

Leadership

Olivia Banner, a white woman with a warm smile and smiling eyes

Olivia Banner,
Director of Strategy and Operations

Dr. Banner joins CREATE January 2024!



Headshot of Kathleen Q. Voss, a white woman with blonde-brown hair, wearing blue eyeglasses

Kathleen Quin Voss,
Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager



Headshot of Liz Diether-Martin, a white 50+ woman wearing brown glasses, a brown jacket and standing in front of a garden fence

Liz Diether-Martin,
Digital Content Developer and Editor



Associate Directors

Headshot of Heather Feldner, smiling brightly. She is a white woman with short brown and grey hair, and wears dark rimmed glasses, a gray shirt and black sweater.

Heather Feldner, Associate Director

Assistant Professor, UW Medicine Rehabilitation Medicine: Physical Therapy

Core Faculty, Disability Studies

Affiliate Faculty, Center for Technology and Disability Studies

Director, IMPACT Collaboratory


Headshot of Katherine M. Steele, smiling warmly. She is a white woman with long brown hair.

Katherine M. Steele, Associate Director

Albert S. Kobayashi Endowed Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Director, Neuromechanics & Mobility Lab and AMP Lab


Jacob O. Wobbrock, a 40-something white man with short hair, a beard, and glasses. He is smiling in front of a white board.

Jacob O. Wobbrock, Associate Director,
Founding Co-Director Emeritus

Professor, The Information School

Adjunct Professor, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

Director, ACE Lab


Faculty members

Interested in joining CREATE? Learn more about becoming a faculty member.

Headshot of Rania Hussein, a woman smiling warmly, wearing a blue hijab and white lab coat.

Rania Hussein

Assistant Teaching Professor, Computing and NetworkingData Science


Headshot of Kim Ingraham, who is smiling while standing in front of the cherry blossoms on UW's campus. She is a white woman with long wavy strawberry blonde hair.

Kim Ingraham

Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering. Director, Ingraham Lab


Headshot of Stephanie Kerschbaum, a white woman with short, red hair wearing a suit and pearls

Stephanie Kerschbaum

Associate Professor of English. Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric


Headshot of Richard Ladner. He has grey hair and beard and is wearing a blue shirt and colorful tie.

Richard Ladner, Founding Director for Education Emeritus

Professor Emeritus, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. Principal Investigator, AccessComputing and AccessCSforAll


Headshot of Meredith Ringel Morris, a middle-aged white woman with curly light brown hair.

Meredith Ringel Morris

Affiliate Professor, The Information School and Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. Director and Principal Scientist of the People + AI Research team at Google Research


Headshot of Wanda Pratt with colorful highlights in their hair.

Wanda Pratt

Professor, The Information School and Adjunct Professor, University of Washington Medical School, Division of Biomedical & Health Informatics


CREATE postdoctoral fellows

headshot of Jazette Johnson wearing a white shirt and amber colored blazer. She is smiling warmly.

Jazette Johnson

Postdoctoral Researcher, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

Goal: Explore the impact of AI-generated images on adults and elders with intellectual and developmental disabilities—persuasive and difficult-to-detect misinformation in particular.


Headshot of Tamanna Motohar. She is wearing glasses and a colorful hijab, smiling at the camera, standing against a plain light gray background

Tamanna Motahar

Postdoctoral Researcher, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

Goal: Design robotic arms to aid in self-care activities and social participation for people with no or limited upper body functionality.


Headshot of Bethany Sloane. Bethany has long, brown hair, gold glasses, and is wearing a green sweater. She is outside with pine tree’s and a blue sky in the background.

Bethany M. Sloane

Postdoctoral Researcher, UW Medicine – Rehabilitation Medicine

Research focus: powered mobility and assistive technology interventions for young children with cerebral palsy.


Participating UW Postdoctoral Researchers

We are pleased to have postdoctoral researchers from a variety of UW departments and schools working and collaborating with CREATE.

Kelly Avery Mack, a white, femme-presenting person with curly light brown hair shaved close on one side wearing a green blazer.

Kelly Avery Mack

Postdoctoral Researcher, Human Centered Design and Engineering with CREATE associate director Leah Findlater. Goal: educating generative AI users about disability representation.

Headshot of EmmaMcDonnell, with pine trees and distant water in the background. She is wearing a light purple blazer and gazing into the distance.

Emma J. McDonnell

Postdoctoral Fellow, Biomedical Informatics and Medical Engineering, co-appointed in the iSchool. Goal: Explore how accessibility and disability studies perspectives could inform the design of health-focused technologies.

Headshot of Anthony Osuna, smiling warmly at the camera and dressed in a suit and tie. He has short, dark hair and a well-groomed appearance.

Anthony Osuna

Clinical Psychologist. Psychology Fellow, Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic. Research Fellow, Center for Child Health, Behavior, & Development


Visiting faculty

Headshot of Jason Wiese

Jason Wiese

Associate Professor, Kahlert School of Computing at University of Utah and Director, Personal Data and Empowerment Lab. Hosted by Jen Mankoff, Autumn 2024.

Alumni

Past postdoctoral researchers

  • Abigale Stangl: Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design
  • Kim Ingraham: Assistant Professor, UW Electrical & Computer Engineering
  • Maitraye Das: Assistant Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University
  • Momona Yamagami: Assistant Professor at Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering
  • Sasha Portnova: Lab Engineer, Steele Lab

Past visiting faculty and scholars

Matthew Butler, Associate Professor, Department of Human Centred Computing, Monash University, Australia. Visiting scholar, hosted by Jen Mankoff and the Make4all Lab. 2022-2023.

Emily Whiting, Associate Professor, Computer Science, Boston University. Visiting Scholar in Human Centered Design & Engineering and Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. 2022 – 2023.