Doctoral Candidate
University at Albany, School of Social Welfare
Laurie DeJong Zuverink MSW, MDiv (she/they) is a queer feminist speaker, researcher, writer, keeper of stories, and advocate for social change. For half a century Laurie grew up and lived in the conservative ethnic faith communities of West Michigan where, with a passion to create systemic change and to develop youth leadership, she engaged the community as a faith leader and executive director of an urban after school center. In 2020 during the middle of COVID and after a season of discernment and “coming out,” Laurie took a bold step and moved to Albany, New York to pursue an MSW/PhD in Social Welfare at the University at Albany, SUNY. While in Albany and completing coursework, Laurie has worked in different capacities serving the LGBTQ+, the aging, and the cognitively impaired populations. Laurie has also served as one of the Interfaith Chaplains for the University at Albany. Currently, using the methods of narrative inquiry, Laurie is a doctoral candidate engaging research exploring intersectional spiritual identity formation in the lives of sexual minority women who come out later in life. Laurie loves watching women’s sports, live music, traveling, and engaging in a good story.
Disclosure information not submitted.