Sal Daña (they/them) is a multi-modal artist, writer, and therapist in training. They are curious about integrating creative arts therapy and queer theory into psychoanalytic practice. In 2026 they were awarded the Kirin Prize from the journal Studies in Gender and Sexuality for their interdisciplinary paper "Body as Estuary : Mixed Being, Being Mixed." In 2025 they were recognized with an honorable mention for the Susan C. Warshaw essay award for the paper, "That boy, Dorothy : Gender Play, Deviant Coherence, and Queer Moments in the Intersubjective Playground." In 2024 they were granted the APsA Candidate in the Community Mentoring award, and their essay, "The Analytic Goodbye: Memory, Primary Narcissism, and Dreams" was the winner of the APA Division 39, Section 1 candidate essay contest. 

Writing, photographs, paintings, and drawings have been featured in the following; Stonewall’s Legacy: Poetry Anthology (2019), Entropy Magazine (2019), Hyperallergic (2020), LAMBDA Lit (2023), Sinister Wisdom (2023), The Brooklyn Rail (2024, 2025), among others. They have presented scholarly work as a part of Black Portraiture[s] in 2019 alongside Angela Davis, poetry for The New Museum’s education programming, and have composed music for the 2021 promotional trailer for Visual AIDS’ Day With(out) Art: ENDURING CARE. They are currently a contributing researcher for The Ackerman Institute’s Gender and Family Project, where they study Black and Latine/a/o affect and belonging.

Recent Awards

Studies in Gender and Sexuality Kirin Award Winner for the paper : Body as Estuary: Mixed Being, Being Mixed. Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 27(2), 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/15240657.2026.2671538

APA Div 39 Section II Susan C. Warshaw Honorable Mention Award for the paper : That Boy, Dorothy : Gender Play, Deviant Coherence, and Queer Moments in the Intersubjective Playground. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15289168.2026.2693076