Rana Yaghmaian, PhD, CRC is a Professor of Counselor Education and Coordinator of the Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Program at Portland State University. She earned her PhD in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and served as Chair of the Counselor Education Department from 2021 to 2024.
Dr. Yaghmaian’s research focuses on the psychosocial experiences of people with disabilities at the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. She centers the voices of women of color with chronic illness and disability, as well as college students of color with disabilities navigating higher education and campus support systems. Her work has been supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration and the Spencer Foundation’s Racial Equity Grant program.
In addition to her scholarship, Dr. Yaghmaian is deeply committed to clinical supervision and to integrating theory and practice in the training of future counselors. Her dedication to social justice, equity, and excellence in counselor education has been recognized through multiple honors, including the College of Education’s Researcher of the Year Award, PSU’s President’s Diversity Award, the Oregon Counseling Association’s Leona Tyler Award, and the PSU Women’s Resource Center Feminist of Color Collective’s Outstanding Mentor Award.