Dr. Anani
Vasquez

Director
ASU/NERC Research Partnership

Ananí M. Vasquez holds a PhD in Learning, Literacies, and Technologies from Arizona State University. She is a former elementary teacher and teacher coach who combines her experiences in general, bilingual, gifted, and special education(s) to envision an inclusive education. Her research specialization is in Neurodiversity and Creativity in Education and Research Methods where she draws on creativity theory, disability studies in education, the neurodiversity paradigm, process philosophy, and arts-based inquiry while working with others towards post-oppositional educational transformation. Ananí has developed creative professional learning experiences based on ‘micromoments’ (surprising, unexpected instances in learning events) that encourage teachers to reflect on ableist structures, routines, and practices in schooling and to envision possibilities for shifting classroom interactions in their own contexts. As Education Research Officer, she is working on a team with ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, ASU’s School of Art, Media and Engineering, several teachers, and autistic students/students with autism labels to co-design Neurodiverse Educational Wearable Music Tech (NEWMT), which is an NSF funded project. Ananí is a wife, mother, and neurodivergent individual who enjoys painting, baking, and day trips with the family.