Meet the CDS Staff
Paul Arithi, MAT
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Position: Director |
Paul started working at the Center for Disability Services (CDS) at Everett Community
College in June 2022. He has over 20 years of combined experience creating
accessible learning environments and working with students in education and through
disability rights advocacy. For over 10 years, Paul has worked in higher education in
both 4-year and 2-year institutions where he has served in several capacities as a
Director and Associate Director of Disability Services offices, Accommodations
Specialist, Assistive Technology Specialist, and a faculty.
He holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Legal Studies (Paralegal) from the Metropolitan
Community College, Omaha, Nebraska, a Master of Arts in Teaching – Special
Education (Mild & Moderate Disabilities), from Webster University, St Louis, Missouri,
and a Bachelor of Education Arts from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
Paul is multicultural and multilingual. This background has prepared him sufficiently to
interact effectively with diverse groups of people and various intersectionalities
represented in higher education. He firmly believes that disability is part of diversity and
in itself, it is not an inability. If we create intentional and accessible learning
environments every learner can benefit from educational opportunities afforded to them
irrespective of their abilities. He has devoted his entire life to supporting students to
create an equitable environment for all persons with disabilities to access opportunities
available to all people. He is passionate about empowering faculty through training on
the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and their application to the
creation of inclusive teaching practices and environments and their influences on
curriculum design and implementation.
Paul’s major responsibility is to supervise the day-to-day operations and manage a
team of professionals working at the CDS to support students seeking
accommodations. He also reviews and decides students’ requests for accommodations
and also connects them to other support systems within and outside the College.
Paul is excited to work in the CDS and is looking forward to supporting students, faculty,
and staff. In Paul’s free time, he loves to do road trips, travel around the world,
attending cultural celebrations and cultural creative dances. He looks forward to being
part of the educational journey for all students at the College.
Additional Languages
Kiswahili and 5 other Kenyan languages
Leah Monson
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Position: Assistant Director Email: lmonson@everettcc.edu Phone: 425-388-9272 x9278 |
Leah has had a lifetime of experience growing up around disabilities being raised by two Deaf parents. ASL is her native language so she is bilingual and bicultural and is heavily influenced by Deaf culture in all aspects of her life and is a proud CODA (Child Of Deaf Adult). Leah had exposure to different disabilities early on because of the community she grew up in, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, Developmentally Delayed, Cerebral Palsy, etc . Leah has always been a fierce advocate and is passionate about representation and raising minority voices. This eventually brought her to getting a BA in Sociology and Human Services. Leah worked in the mental health field for 7 years ranging from locked down residential facilities for teens and eating disorder treatments. Leah’s experience with crisis intervention, emergency services and state systems has served well as a parallel with advocacy for minority populations outside of treatment settings. Leah transitioned careers as a American Sign Language interpreter, including here on campus for 6 years before moving to CDS Assistant Director.
Leah’s job as CDS Assistant Director is coordinating and scheduling all the Deaf/Hard of Hearing accommodations, hiring and scheduling ASL interpreters. Leah completes intake appointments with students who are seeking to receive new or adjust reasonable accommodations for their disabilities. She also manages all the part time office staff and ensures that all requests of Alternative Textbooks requests are fulfilled. She also provides cultural training on how to better serve the DHH students on campus to faculty and staff.
You can find her cuddling & walking her wiener dog Maisie, traveling the world, completing puzzles (of all kinds), playing trivia, eating cheese and enjoying coffee with a big book! Leah also serves on the CODA International board as secretary and finds a lot of joy through bonding & validating journeys of growing up in a Hearing world with a Deaf Heart.
Languages
American Sign Language
Rachel Bailey-Pentz
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Position: Program Manager Email: rbailey@everettcc.edu Phone: 425-388-9272 x9310 |
Rachel is an alumni of EvCC and has been working in the CDS Office since 2015. She is continuing her education in higher education, information technology administrative management and accessibility. She is always interested in learning new things.
She is passionate about assistive and accessible technology creating independence for students with barriers. Rachel's primary responsibilities include maintaining and supporting the AccessPortal application and assistive technologies on campus, peer notetaking accommodations, accessible furniture and ergonomic computer equipment placements, student and faculty accommodation support and new student intake appointments. She is also responsible for in-house Brailling. Her two favorite parts of working at EvCC are working as a team and enjoys working with other departments to support students and watching students' personal growth as they reach their goals.
Awards
2018 TRiO Outstanding Staff Award
Languages
ASL (Basic/Conversational Only), Braille
Tabassam Ramzan
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Position: Program Coordinator Email: tramzan@everettcc.edu Phone: 425-388-9272 x9057 |
Tabassam earned an ATA in Business Technology in 2008. She started at EvCC in 2009 at the University Center, then in 2014 moved to CCEC. She has been with the CDS Office since 2017.
Tabassam is usually the first person that students will interact with! Her primary responsibilities are to convey what the CDS office has to offer and support students in getting their accommodations. She supports students through the application process as well as how to submit their request for services. She also handles the administration of our office including department budget reporting.
Her favorite part of working at the CDS Office is the interactions with students. She loves seeing them from when they first start and go through and achieve their goals of a degree.
Additional Languages
Urdu, Punjabi and a bit of Hindi