I’m Finn Gardiner: community educator, activist, and organizer. I’m a Master of Public Policy student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Before coming to Brandeis, I earned a BA in Sociology from Tufts University, and associate’s degrees in Social Science and LGBT Studies from City College of San Francisco.
Current and previous activities
I’m the Boston Community Coordinator for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, where I facilitate meetings, conduct community outreach, promote state public policy that benefits autistic people and the disability community in general, collaborate with a team of researchers on a project that gauges attitudes toward the creation of an autism database in Massachusetts, and work on reports and white papers for professionals who want to approach their work in a more humane, disability-friendly way.
In 2015-16, I was the Barbara Wilensky Gopen Fellow with the Institute for Community Inclusion and Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, where I created a mentor-matching program for autistic adults, where mentors shared their experiences with education, employment, and other life skills with their mentees.
I’ve worked with other nonprofit organizations and government agencies in the past, including the Boston Public Health Commission, City College of San Francisco’s Gender Diversity Project, Health Initiatives for Youth, Larkin Street Youth Services, and more.
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