PSU History
Dora M Raymaker, Ph.D has been part of the PSU community since 2004, first to prepare for graduate applications, then as a student in the Systems Science graduate program and a research associate at the Regional Research Institute for Human Services (RRI). After receiving their Ph.D in Systems Science in 2016, Dr. Raymaker continued at the university as Research Assistant Professor at the RRI, where they conduct community engaged research with the autistic, developmental disability, and mental health communities.
Experience
Dr. Raymaker is a Research Assistant Professor at Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute for Human Services in the School of Social Work, Co-director of the Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE, https://aaspire.org), and the associate editor of the academic journal “Autism in Adulthood.” They currently sit as a founding member of the International Society for Autism Research's (INSAR) Autistic Researcher Committee (ARC) and as a Scientific Review board member for the Organization for Autism Research (OAR). Dr. Raymaker is a member of PSU's Social Determinants of Health Initiative (SDHI) steering committee, and is a SDHI Scholar. They also engaged with the BUILD EXITO program as a research mentor.
Academic/Research Interests
Dr. Raymaker’s research interests include community-engaged practice, systems thinking, measurement, and the dynamics at the intersection of science, society, and public policy. In application, Dr. Raymaker conducts services intervention research in collaboration with disability and mental health communities to improve employment outcomes, increase self-determination, and reduce discrimination and stigma.
Personal Interests
In their remaining three minutes of free time, they enjoy writing fiction and making multimedia art. Dr. Raymaker is the author of neurodivergent own voices speculative fiction, including the science fiction mystery novel "Hoshi and the Red City Circuit".