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Our Staff

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 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.


Photo of Crystle McDonald Hutchinson, Assistant Director

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 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 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.


Photo of Christie Penzien

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.


Tamarra Tinsey

Tamarra Tinsey was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She relocated to Texas in 2019. Tamarra earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in Education from Chicago State University. She continued her studies at National Louis University and earned a Master of Arts Degree in Psychology.

Tamarra’s professional experience includes working as a Diverse Learner Educator for Chicago Public Schools and ABA Therapist. Later, she became a Case Manager for individuals that were in Foster Care. Tamarra believes that we all have a purpose to fulfill in life. Tamarra enjoys spending time with her family and working with the students at the Dart Center.


Headshot picture of Taylar Johnson

Taylar Johnson

Access Coordinator
tcjohns7@central.uh.edu

Taylar was born and raised in Beverly Hills, California. She has a passion for research covering workplace microaggressions, minority recruitment, industrial and organizational psychology, program enhancement, student success, COVID-19 related changes to collegiate academic success, and socio-behavioral psychology.

Since relocating to Texas, Taylar has obtained both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from the University of Houston. She is a S.T.E.M Graduate, an HRD Strategist, a Published Author & Writer, a Socio-Behavioral Educational Researcher, and a Disaster Humanitarian Relief Volunteer Advocate. She is a proud life-member of the University of Houston Alumni Association (UHAA) and a member of B.I.T (Blacks in Technology).

In her previous role as Testing Coordinator, Taylar worked alongside various departments, students, faculty and staff to develop user-friendly resources that organize, coordinate, and maintain testing protocols and procedures.

Now as an Access Coordinator, she is happy to have the chance to continue offering accessible support to the UH family!


Photo of Tiara Tramble

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 obtaining her Masters 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.


Photo of McKell Peidl

McKell Peidl

Access Coordinator
mpeidl@central.uh.edu

McKell was born and raised in Northern Utah. She moved to the Greater Houston area at the end of the summer in 2021. McKell earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in sociology from Weber State University. She then went on to earn her Master of Education degree in psychology with a specialization in professional school counseling from Utah State University. McKell also recently completed courses in clinical mental health counseling in a graduate certificate program at Lamar University.

During her time in graduate school at Utah State University, McKell worked with children with autism spectrum disorder and provided ABA services. She also worked as a graduate instructor at Utah State University, where she taught students skills to help them succeed in college. After graduating with her master’s degree, McKell went on to work as a school counselor, both in Utah and in Texas, where she has worked with students ranging from ages 3 to 18. During her years as a school counselor, she helped students develop skills to help them succeed socially, emotionally, and academically. It has always been a goal for her to let students know that they belong and have a place at school.

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!


Photo of Tanner Sanders

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.


Photo of Gracie Villarreal

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!


Photo of Tiara Tramble

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.


Photo of Michael Iwuchukwu

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.


Photo of Donna Schneider

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.


Photo of Benjamin Epstein

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.