Employee Directory

Josephine Cuda Assistant Professor
PAL

Ph.D., Boston College
M.Ed., Teachers College, Columbia University
B.S., Cornell University

Josephine Cuda Pierce received her doctorate in the Teaching, Curriculum, and Society department of the Boston College, Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

Her research mainly focuses on the experiences of autistic adolescents and adults as they relate to cultivating autistic identities. Josie is particularly interested in the psychosocial and relational development of autistic individuals across the lifespan, cultivating identity as it relates to disability, and fostering the agency of students who are neurodivergent and/or with disabilities in meaningfully individualized ways. As an allistic, non-autistic researcher and educator, she is committed to work that centers the perspectives of the communities she aims to support.

Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as a special educator in inclusive educational settings in New Jersey and in the NYC DOE. She earned her master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in Autism and Intellectual Disability and Early Childhood Education, and her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Human Development.

Publications

Cuda, J. (2022). Constructing identities of disability in narratives about high school. Linguistics and Education, 71, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2022.101061

Malloy, C., Cuda, J., Kim, S.Y., & Bottema-Beutel, K. (2020). “They can even make waiting in line fun”: A quantitative content analysis of autistic children’s friendship conceptualizations. Psychology in the Schools, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.223

Bottema-Beutel, K., Cuda, J. & Kim, S.Y. (2020). Understanding legislation, health insurance, and disparities in service provision in autism early intervention. In Vivanti, G., Bottema-Beutel, K., & Turner-Brown, L. (Eds.), Clinical Guide to Early Interventions for Children with Autism (pp. 163-171). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41160-2

Bottema-Beutel, K., Cuda, J., Kim, S. Y., Crowley, S., & Scanlon, D. (2019). High school experiences and support recommendations of autistic youth. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(9), 3397-3412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04261-0

Honors & Awards

2021 – George W. Goethals Teaching Award, administered by the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

2020 – Donald J. White Excellence in Teaching Award, administered by Boston College

2017-2018 – Fellow of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at Boston Children’s Hospital