Smiling African-American cis-male genderqueer person, with locs, purple shirt, and glasses

Timotheus (T.J.) Gordon, Jr.

Visiting Research Associate II, Institute on Disability and Human Development

Student Life Liaison, Co-Op Program, Disability and Human Development

Co-Lead Organizer, Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, Institute on Disability and Human Development

Office Phone

3124137949

Office

1640 W. Roosevelt Rd., 713 DHSP

Mail Code

626

About

Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon Jr., MFA, MS, is a research associate at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at University of Illinois at Chicago. Gordon uses his passion for self-advocacy, racial equity, disability culture, and autism acceptance to create webinars, training sessions, and publications on autism and race, inclusion in communities of color, exploration of sexuality in the disability community, coping with COVID-19 pandemic, mental health emergency services, and more.

He is also a co-founder of Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition (Chicagoland DPOCC), which is supported by the Institute on Disability and Human Development. Chicagoland DPOCC is a group of disabled people of color in the Chicagoland area that promote disability pride, self-advocacy, and inclusion in communities of color throughout the Chicagoland area.

In addition to his self-advocacy work, Gordon has also written essays and reviews related to disability and race. His writings and cultural insights appear in the Disability Studies Review, the “All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism” anthology, "Code of the Freaks" documentary, and ADA 30 in Color.

Leadership in the Profession

Disability Lead, 2022 Fellow

Illinois Statewide Independent Living Council, Board Member

Notable Honors

2022 - 2022 Crain's Notable Black Leaders and Executives , Crain's Chicago Business

2021 - Morley-Williams Advocacy Award, Access Living

Education

MS, Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2019
MFA, Writing, Savannah College of Art and Design at Atlanta, 2014
BA, English (concentration in Creative Writing/Poetry), University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 2010