Heather D. Clark

Ms. Clark was born, raised and still lives in the Central Area of Seattle, WA. She received her B.A. from The Evergreen State College in 1991, her Interpreting Training Certificate from American Sign Language and Interpreting School of Seattle in 2003, her Masters and Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology, with an emphasis on Linguistic Anthropology, from the University of Washington in 2007 and 2010 respectively.  

Ms. Clark’s Ph.D. research explored how individuals in the Pacific Northwest, who identify as African American and Deaf, navigate their many cultural identities.  One of the primary questions explored was do these individuals feel more comfortable in the hearing African American community using hearing African American vernacular, in the White Deaf community using mainstream American Sign Language or do they create their own unique African American Deaf community.  

Ms. Clark currently is a lecturer in the Anthropology Department, and an affiliate professor in the Disability Studies program at the University of Washington. She intersects with Disability Studies through a Sociocultural/Linguistic Anthropology lens. In general, she is interested in how we/where we can be our authentic multi-layered, multi-cultural, complicated selves, and how we use language to navigate those spaces/places. 

When not teaching at the University of Washington Ms. Clark teaches at a local non-profit educational program called Rainier Scholars, which works with low-income, first-generation college bound students of color to academically prepare them for advanced placement programs and college graduation.  In addition, Ms. Clark conducts trainings for independent schools that desire more diversity but realize there is something about the culture of the school that may be hindering that goal.  Ms. Clark’s trainings explore the cultural shift an organization is experiencing, the trainings are intended to empower the organization to understand the organization’s cultural values, cultural norms, and the changes that happen when new people are introduced into the culture.

At the end of the day, Ms. Clark loves what she is doing and believes it is possible to take the theory of the academy and put it into practice in the community in which you live.