Hope Sparks, PhD, is a Disability Policy Research Fellow at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she is currently conducting an interdisciplinary scoping review on guardianship policy. She received her PhD from the University of Illinois Chicago under the mentorship of Dr. Tamar Heller, defending a dissertation on guardianship policy in Florida. During her doctoral training, she completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) fellowship, and was the sole recipient of the Disability Legal Studies certificate. Dr. Sparks also served as Research Assistant for the Strive to Thrive project under Dr. Sumithra Murthy, now expanded nationally within the NIDILRR-funded Family Support Research and Training Center. At Northwestern, she is mentored by Drs. Kate Caldwell, Megan McHugh, and Anne Deutsch.
Dr. Sparks's research centers on guardianship reform, supported decision-making, and disability justice frameworks for people with disabilities, with an emphasis on translating legal and policy scholarship into actionable and accessible reform. As a Health and Aging Policy Fellow, she aims to pursue a placement site focused on aging, disability, and guardianship, building toward a career in disability policy research.
