David Puvaneyshwaran

David Puvaneyshwaran (he/him) is a Social Work PhD candidate at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. His research focuses on understanding and addressing inequities experienced by marginalized communities, particularly racialized queer and trans communities, persons with disabilities, and migrant populations. Across his research, David is committed to creating participatory and collaborative spaces that center community members as active contributors to knowledge production.

David’s dissertation explores the multiple systems of oppression experienced by diasporic queer and trans South Asians in Toronto through a participatory, theatre-based approach. He is also collaborating with Dr. Carmen Logie, an SDGs@UofT Fellow, on a research project that uses participatory arts-based methods to advance understanding of the climate-related stressors and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenges shaping the lives of adolescent girls and young women in Kenya.