Researcher biography

Dr Samantha Cooms is a proud Noonuccal Quandamooka mother and carer, she holds a business and informatics PhD in decolonising disability from Central Queensland University and is now a Lecturer in Management.

Dr Cooms has a background in psychology and experience working in the mental health and disability sectors. She is passionate about disrupting hegemonic assumptions and promoting First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing. She has experience with using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research with a special interest in the use of poetic inquiry for sharing voices and perspectives of First Nations peoples in qualitative research. Dr Cooms's research seeks to decolonise and Indigenise knowledges around disability to address intersectional disadvantage and disrupt ongoing colonisation. In line with this, she is passionate about First Nations perspectives of inclusion and sustainability.