Adam D-F. Stevens (they/them), MA, RDT, BCT is a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) and Board-Certified Trainer (BCT) who works with queer, POC, and neurodivergent youth. They serve as adjunct faculty in the Creative Arts Therapy and Applied Theatre Programs at Antioch University Seattle and Marymount Manhattan College, NYC.
Adam’s clinical experience includes supporting LGBTQAI+ youth at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, guiding them in transforming loss and grief into joy and empowerment, and working at the Cooke School & Institute, NYC, with young people with developmental and intellectual differences. They hold degrees from Marymount Manhattan College (Theatre Arts) and New York University (Drama Therapy) and are currently a doctoral candidate in NYU’s Educational Theatre PhD program.
Adam was recognized as the 2024 Disruptor of the Year as part of the inaugural cohort of NYU Spirit of Steinhardt alumni award winners. The Spirit of Steinhardt Awards honors alumni who are Disruptors, Visionaries, and Ascending Champions of our global community.
A committed leader in the field, Adam serves on the board of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), bringing a multicultural, social justice, and creative lens to bereavement work. They have also served on the Board of Directors for the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA), including as Chair of the Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity Committee, and currently serve as NADTA President.
Adam is a political and social justice theatre practitioner whose work as a performer, director, and choreographer spans North America. In 2020, they were named Artistic Director of the Collideoscope Repertory Theatre Company (CRTC), advancing racial justice and healing through artful affinity and performance. They work internationally as a diversity, equity, and inclusion specialist for schools and organizations and have served as Drama Therapist-in-Residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. More recently, they have partnered with Off-Broadway and university theatre companies as an actor advocate and emotional wellness consultant.
Inspired by Robert Landy’s Role Method and Role Theory, Adam is developing the Black American Role Taxonomy (BART), creating space for Black clients to reclaim racialized roles and deconstruct stereotypes imposed by privileged others. Their work is rooted in the transformative forces of creativity and love.
Selected Publications
Stevens, A. D. F. (2023). BART, the Black American Role Taxonomy: A culturally expansive approach to role theory and method. Drama Therapy Review, 9(1), 81-99.
Hodermarska, M., Stevens, A., Johnson, J., Jones, E., Manzi, M., McGowan, S. (2021). Disability justice: Drama therapy as collective liberation. In Parasuram, R., & Parasuraman, S. (Eds.). Artability: Creative arts and disabilities (pp. 184-205). Notion Press.
Stevens, A. D. F., Bleuer, J., Morris, M. E., Shamir, O., Weisman, P. S., Wichmann, S., ... & Nasser, K. (2020). Black Lives Matter: A call to action and position statement from the Cultural Humility, Equity and Diversity Committee of the North American Drama Therapy Association. Drama Therapy Review, 6(2), 239-246.