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 (EvCC) in June 2022. He has over 20 years of combined experience creating accessible learning environments and working with students in education, as well as through disability rights advocacy. For over 14 years, Paul has worked in higher education, serving in various capacities at both 4-year and 2-year institutions, including Director and Associate Director of Disability Services offices, Accommodations Specialist, Assistive Technology Specialist, and faculty member.
He holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Legal Studies (Paralegal) from the Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Nebraska, and 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 in creating an equitable environment for all persons with disabilities to access opportunities available to everyone. He is passionate about empowering faculty through training on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Universal Design for Instruction (UDI), and their application to creating inclusive teaching practices and learning environments, as well as their influence on accessible 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 connects them to other support systems within and outside the College.
Paul is excited to work in the CDS and consistently supports students, faculty, and staff in addressing their diverse needs. In his free time, Paul enjoys taking road trips, traveling around the world, attending cultural celebrations, and participating in creative cultural 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
Vacant
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Position: Assistant Director (VACANT) Email: Phone: 425-388-9272 Extension 9278 |
Rachel Bailey-Pentz
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Position: Program Specialist 3 Email: rbailey@everettcc.edu Phone: 425-388-9272 Extension 9310 |
Rachel is an alumnus of the 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, providing peer notetaking accommodations, arranging accessible furniture and ergonomic computer equipment placements, offering student and faculty accommodation support, and scheduling 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 enjoying 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 Extension 9057 |
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 students will interact with. Her primary responsibilities include conveying what the CDS office has to offer and supporting students in obtaining their accommodations. She assists students throughout the application process, as well as guides them on how to submit their request for services. Additionally, she handles the administrative tasks 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 to achieve their goals, such as earning a degree.
Additional Languages
Urdu, Punjabi, and a bit of Hindi
Pattie Fritts
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Position: Testing Access Specialist |
Pattie has been working at Everett Community College since 2011. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education and Family Studies from the University of Washington in 2017. She has worked at Everett Community College (EvCC) for nearly 14 years. She has worked at the Early Learning Center (ELC) on campus for those years. When the ELC closed recently, she began working at the Center for Disability Services Testing Center. She is delighted to have the opportunity to work in the CDS, supporting students with testing accommodations. In her new role, she looks forward to building relationships, continuing to serve students, and being a part of their journey at EvCC.
Pattie is married, has two daughters, two stepsons, and eight grandchildren (with a ninth on the way in October). She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling, going to the ocean, going for walks, watching movies, and attending craft bazaars. She grew up in northern California and in Zweibruecken, Germany (high school years).
Speaks: English
I know a little German and a little ASL