Reno Reporter

The University of Nevada, Reno is shedding light on an assistant professor dedicated to understanding an individual’s intersectional identity which includes gender, race, class and sexual orientation.

According to a July 19 Nevada Today news report shared by the university as part of Northern Nevada Pride Week, Dr. Sarah Mitchell focuses on learning and teaching about the experiences of marginalized groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community.

“It’s so important to understand the realities for diverse families in this country and to understand that people are not defined by singular identities but are made up of many intersecting and multiplicative identities that impact experience in so many different ways,” Mitchell said, according to the report. “We need to understand experiences from a strengths-based perspective too. Not just the deficits.”

Mitchell has served as an assistant professor of human development and family science since 2020, the report states. Mitchell holds a doctorate in human development and family science from the University of Missouri.

“I wanted to help the lives of people who looked like me and had the same identities as me – moving beyond that, I really saw a lack of research and understanding about the lives of marginalized people, especially considering the intersectionality of identity,” Mitchell said in the report. “I felt that being in academia where I could study and teach about these issues was the best way for me to serve those communities.”