The caring, qualified staff at the Student Accessibility Center is committed to helping students with disabilities succeed at the University of Houston.

Kyle Mutz

Director
kjmutz@central.uh.edu

My name is Kyle Mutz and I am the Director of the Justin Dart Jr. Student Accessibility Center. It is an honor to be here at the University of Houston, helping to support the disability community with the privilege of working at the center, which recognizes the amazing work Justin Dart Jr. did for people with disabilities. As a person who grew up with a disability, I understand the challenges and obstacles that people face day to day. I have spent my entire career working to serve others and help empower them with education and awareness. As a former wheelchair racer athlete representing the United States, I have been fortunate to travel the world and experience different cultures and educate myself universally how disability impacts people. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my wife, dog Bella, friends, and family. I am also an avid gamer and adventure in trying new foods. I am dedicated to making the Justin Dart Jr. Student Accessibility Center the very best it can be for all students with disabilities and the University of Houston.

Crystle McDonald-Hutchinson

Assistant Director
crmcdona@central.uh.edu

Crystle McDonald-Hutchinson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from St. Mary’s of Redford High School. She attended Texas Southern University for the first years of her college education, and then transferred to the University of Houston-Downtown campus, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. Her educational inspiration carried her to earn a Master’s of Business Administration at Our Lady of the Lake University, and she earned an MBA with a certification in Health Care Management. Crystle held a state certification from the Board of Evaluators for Interpreters and used that platform to work with deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the school district. She received a certificate in Special Education and English as a Second Language. Crystle has worked in education for nineteen years in different capacities. She has worked as a case manager for Early Childhood Intervention for the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, a case manager for the Bread of Life Homeless Shelter, and has been the Director of Rainbow Academy for McGee Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.

Crystle has served as the Director of the Deaf ministry at McGee Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. She has also served as the membership chairperson for the Greater Houston Interpreters for the Deaf, and currently volunteers as an interpreter for church services.

Crystle has been working at the Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center since September 2013.

Christie Penzien

Assistant Director, Communication Access
Cpenzien@central.uh.edu

Christie Penzien is a Sign Language Interpreter in the Student Accessibility Center. She has been interpreting professionally since 2013 and is certified by the Board for Evaluators of Interpreters (BEI).

Christie graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors from the University of Houston's American Sign Language Interpreting program in 2012. She also has a degree in Psychology with a minor in Business Management. After graduation, Christie worked as a Houston community interpreter for 6 years before returning to campus to work with UH's Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.

Christie loves working with the college students, expanding her knowledge base, and partnering with UH Coogs to facilitate accessible communication.

Tiara Tramble

Access Coordinator
tdtrambl@central.uh.edu

Tiara Tramble was born and raised in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Her family relocated to Texas in 2000. Tiara earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree majoring in Criminal Justice with Juvenile Justice specialization from Prairie View A&M University where she graduated Magna Cum Lade. She then continued her educational journey,y obtaining her Master of Science degree in Human Sciences.

Tiara is currently in the process of completing her board certification as a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is currently certified in Adult Mental Health First Aid. Tiara has experience in psychosocial, mental health, and crisis counseling. She enjoys working with diverse populations, and In her leisure time she enjoys traveling and spending quality time with her family. Tiara is excited to work at the DART center.

Tanner Sunder

Access Coordinator
rtsande2@central.uh.edu

Tanner attended Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Tanner began working with survivors of family violence at age 20 as a shelter aide for a 24 hour emergency shelter. Upon graduation Tanner began working as an adoptions specialist working with foster children and their adoptive families to ensure that the youth were able to find loving and supportive homes.

Since then, Tanner has worked providing case management as well as outreach for a family violence shelter in Dallas, TX where Tanner raised awareness regarding mental health, intimate partner violence, and accessibility. Since relocating to Houston Tanner worked monitoring services for clients with disabilities before finally joining the Justin Dart Jr. Center in October of 2023. Tanner’s specialization is working with clients in crisis, clients experiencing homelessness, and LGBTQ+ clients.

When not at work, Tanner can likely be found reading, writing, of spending time with their spouse and 3 cats.

Ja'Meriya Owens

Access Coordinator
jowens6@central.uh.edu

With a Master's in Rehabilitation Counseling and a Bachelor's in Psychology from the University of North Texas, Ja’Meriya has built a career centered around advocacy, accessibility, and empowerment. From working in state vocational rehabilitation services to advising first-year students, she’s passionate about creating welcoming spaces, breaking down barriers, and helping people with disabilities reach their goals. As a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Ja'Meriya is excited to support students in getting the accommodations and resources they need to succeed.

Outside of work, Ja’Meriya enjoys tending to her plants, building botanical Lego sets, and staying active in her community by volunteering at the Houston Public Library!

Gracie Villarreal

Testing Coordinator
gevillar@central.uh.edu

Gracie Villarreal was born and raised in Pasadena, Texas. She graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and from University of Houston with a master’s degree in Higher Education-Administration and Supervision. She has worked in the field of higher education and accessibility for over 20 years.

Gracie joined the Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center in January 2022 and is excited to be in her new role as Testing Coordinator. Gracie comes to the Dart Center from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in where she had a similar role proctoring exams. She is excited to continue her work at the Dart Center and help our students and faculty at the University of Houston.

McKell has a passion for working with students of all ages and helping them find the resources that can help improve their college experience. She is very excited to be a part of the UH family!

Suva Gomes

Assistive Technology Coordinator
sbgomes@central.uh.edu

Suva was born in Bangladesh and relocated to Texas in 2008. Since relocating, Suva has obtained his A.A. in Behavioral Science as well as his Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Houston. Upon graduating from the University, he worked as an intern under the Technology Department for Criss Cole School for the Blind where he obtained his training certification in Assistive Technology. He currently serves as the Assistive Technology Coordinator, which involves implementing new assistive technology alternatives, for all students at the Dart Center.

Suva manages and maintains all Assistive Technology by aiding and developing the necessary softwares and hardwares available at the Dart Center. Softwares such as FUSION (a combination of zoom text and JAWS), JAWS (Job Access with Speech), Dragon (a tool for dictation), and Zoom Text (a computer screen magnifier). Hardwares, such as CCTV's (Close-circuit Televisions), OCR (Optical Character Recognition), Thermal Printers (for making tactile graphs), and Braille (using a slate and stylus to write and label different items). Alongside working with Assistive Technology, Suva takes on the role of IT advisor and aids in troubleshooting computer-related tasks.

Suva's goal is to bridge various departments together to make the University of Houston more accessible by educating students, faculty, and staff in the field of Assistive Technology.

In his spare time, Suva cooks, researches the new assistive technological tools developed, builds and repairs computers, and volunteers to virtually train various age groups on non-visual Smart devices.

Michael Iwuchukwu

Sign Language Interpreter II
moiwuchu@central.uh.edu

Michael has worked closely with disabled communities in the Houston area for over 20 years. He has also been a Texas Certified interpreter for about 15 of those years. As someone who's lived in and had to adjust to several cultures, He's well aware of the need to bridge communication and cultural divides. He has a passion not only for the Deaf language, culture and the profession of interpreting, but also making sure everyone has the accommodations and access they deserve to thrive and succeed. His passion also extends to growing the interpreting field and mentoring the next generation of professional and ethical Sign Language Interpreters.

When He's not working for the University of Houston, Michael is happiest being the proudest Husband and Father He can be, while giving back to His Community.

Sarah Cooper

Sign Language Interpreter

Sarah graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lamar University in 2013, earning a Bachelor of Arts in American Sign Language, before moving back to Houston to work as a video-relay interpreter, community interpreter, mama, and (briefly) midwife’s assistant.

Though she’s never been enrolled at the University of Houston, Sarah has been on campus for one reason or another since 2006: tagging along with her older brother, then attending Honors College events with her now-husband.

Interpreting in postsecondary settings is one of Sarah’s passions: building relationships with students, learning about a variety of different subjects, and providing communication access truly bring her joy every day. Sarah is thrilled to be on this amazing team.

Donna Schneider

Sign Language Interpreter
dmschne2@central.uh.edu

Donna Schneider is a native to Greater Houston area and has been an ASL interpreter for over 20 years. She is nationally certified through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and although interpreting in higher education settings is one of her favorite things to do, she has worked in settings ranging from VRS to medical to K-12 and everything in-between. She is an interpreting mentor and workshop presenter. Donna graduated from the Jack J. Valenti School of Communications at the University of Houston and has a major in Radio/TV. She worked in that career before finding a perfect fit for assisting in providing equal access to the D/deaf/HH community. Donna has a passion for supporting and encouraging all students in their journey to and through higher education.

When Donna is not at UH, she is traveling, working in her flowerbeds, and enjoying all the outstanding performing arts and restaurants that Houston has to offer.

Kaytlee Thibodeaux

Interpreting/Captioning Services Coordinator
kethibod@cougarnet.uh.edu

In 2022, Kaytlee graduated from the University of Houston's American Sign Language Interpreting Program. During her final semester, Kaytlee interned at the Justin Dart Jr., Student Accessibility Center as an interpreter. She had the opportunity to train with staff interpreters from the Dart Center in preparation for her certification exam. It was during this internship that she discovered her passion for interpreting in higher education and partnering with the deaf/hard of hearing student population on campus.

Kaytlee passed her Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) Certification exam in the summer of 2022 and was offered the opportunity to join the Dart Center in a full time capacity.

Kaytlee has been involved in the Deaf community for over 7 years and loves providing accessible communication throughout the University. She has worked as the Interpreting/Captioning Coordinator for the past 2 years and she is honored to be a part of such an amazing team.

Benjamin Epstein

Captionist
bepstein@central.uh.edu

Benjamin Epstein is the captionist at U of H. He graduated from Bard College. He likes writing, stories, history, and being with his wife and daughters.