Widening the Disability Lens
Quinn Oteman (MNLEND 2020-21) recently presented at the 2026 Society for Social Work and Research annual conference in Washington, D.C., discussing his academic work exploring eugenics in disability history and modern concerns about how marginalized communities are affected by artificial intelligence.
Bringing his disability research experience to the social work community was gratifying, he said, particularly as he pursues a social work doctorate and works in child welfare.
“Eugenics is an important and dark part of our society’s history, especially for people with disabilities who experienced abandonment, sterilization, and death,” Oteman said. “The roundtable on digital equity was also critical as we think about how to leverage technology to advance social work practice and the quality of life for people who rely on support in the workplace.”
Oteman is a child welfare researcher at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare , within the School of Social Work. He joined CASCW last year from the Institute on Community Integration, where he served as a graduate research assistant on several projects within the Research and Training Center on Community Living. The RTC-CL is a national center focused on community living and participation for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.
“Quinn entered MNLEND as such a passionate and curious person, taking full advantage of all that MNLEND offered,” said Rebecca Dosch Brown, director of interdisciplinary education at the Institute. “I appreciate how he continues to include a passion for disability in his new role. It’s exactly the kind of leadership we hope all fellows demonstrate, no matter where they work.”
At CASCW, his applied research role involves implementing program evaluation projects with external agencies. These days, he’s working with the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery as the organization undergoes an evaluation and gathers feedback from families receiving services.
“What drew me to CASCW was their focus on doing applied research and evaluation activities,” he said. “Working directly with community stakeholders like GMCN and using the research and skills that I and the university have to help uplift important community needs is what really excited me about this role.”
He is also part of a CASCW team working on a survey to determine if child welfare workers are receiving appropriate training in working with parents with disabilities in the child welfare system.
As a MNLEND fellow, he completed a literature review of what is known about LGBTQ+ identities within the disability community, and later served as an issue editor for an Impact issue on gender and sexuality.
“I moved to Minneapolis because of ICI and its disability work, and I still feel connected to MNLEND,” Oteman said. “The pitch Rebecca taught us for Policy Advocacy Day still stays with me because it made me feel more confident, even just to send my legislator a letter in a way I felt good about. The disability lens really needs to be inserted into non-disability spaces, and not just for the sake of advocacy, but because it benefits everyone.”