Randy D. Colón

Randy D. Colón is a PhD student in Disability Studies and a Research Assistant at ADA-PARC. He is a disabled person himself and is interested in partnering with disability advocates to empower disability communities. His research focuses on housing disparities between people with and without disabilities, looking especially at housing affordability, accessibility, and integration.
Right now he is focusing on gauging the scope of housing research pertinent to disability communities and will work to partner with disability advocates to create tools that can influence change.
He has experience in both quantitative and qualitative methods, with emphasis on methodologies involving community collaboration and empowerment.
Randy is a member of Disability Lead, an organization dedicated to increasing representation of disabled people in leadership positions. Additionally, he was recently appointed to the nonprofit board of CHANGEIllinois, an organization dedicated to creating a more ethical and democratic government, and he was recently appointed to the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of People with Disabilities.

Why did you choose DHD at UIC?
The expertise, network, and reputation of the Disability Studies program and faculty

What do you want to do with a DHD degree?
Educate, empower, and grow

Research Interests
Housing, disability, community-based research, strength-based research, community empowerment