Disability Resource Center

Meet the DRC Staff

Staff

Photo of Emily Ackerland. She is femme-appearing with long blonde hair

Meet Emily Ackerland

Director

Emily Ackerland

she/her

Email: emilyac@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-6940

Sarah is facing the camera and smiling. Sarah has long brown hair.

Meet Sarah Livengood

Assistant Director for Alternative Access

Sarah Livengood

she/her

Email: sliven@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-4178

Medium PSU Green

TBA

Senior Access Counselor & Consultant

TBA

 

Email: 
Phone:

Orange

Meet Alexander Strain

Access Counselor & Consultant

Alexander Strain

Email: alexstra@pdx.edu
Phone: (503) 725-9172

Photo of Abby - a blonde femme person smiling at the camera and wearing glasses.

Meet Abby Rotholz

Access Counselor & Consultant

Abby Rotholz

She/her
Email: arotholz@pdx.edu 
Phone: (971) 373-7510

Photo of Gracie Sheets, standing outside, smiling and holding a coffee.

Meet Gracie Sheets

Alternative Formats Coordinator

Gracie Sheets

she/they

Email: gsheets@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-6974

Selfie of Brian McCourt. Brian is looking at his cell phone screen, holding it with both hands. Brian has brown hair and wears glasses.

Meet Brian McCourt

Office Manager

Furniture Services Coordinator

Brian McCourt

He/him
Email: bmccourt@pdx.edu
Furniture Services: drcfurniture@pdx.edu 
Phone: 503-725-4150

Headshot photo of Em Nakamura

Meet Em Nakamura

Access Counselor & Consultant

Em Nakamura

Email: emsterz@pdx.edu
Phone:

Photo shows Sierra White

Meet Sierra White

Access Services Coordinator

Sierra White

she/her

Interpreting and Captioning Services: drcterp@pdx.edu
Note Taking Services: drcnotes@pdx.edu 
Email: smw23@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-6504

Photo of Andrea Mecheli. Andrea has light brown hair and is wearing a black shirt.

Andrea Micheli

Student Engagement Intern

she/her

Email: amicheli@pdx.edu

Phone: 503-847-9911

Andrea is an MSW student intern and comes to us with a dynamic background in emergency medical response, healthcare administration, and tutoring. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Human Communication with a focus on Organizational Communication. Her primary interests have long been in psychology and mental & physical health and have more recently expanded to include disability justice. With her own diagnosis of ADHD made in adulthood, Andrea has a keen interest in and connection to the challenges faced by being non-typical in a typically designed world. When she's not at the DRC or in class, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, playing video games, and hanging out with her cats, Arthur and Wyatt. 

Photo of Rachel Toback. Rachel has blonde hair and is standing in front of a wood wall.

Rachel Toback

Student Engagement Intern

she/they

Email: rtoback@pdx.edu

Phone: 503-725-4150

Rachel Toback is an MSW candidate at Portland State. They graduated from Portland State with a Bachelors of Science in Liberal Studies and later pursued their Masters of Arts in Teaching from Concordia University. From there, Rachel taught High School for Portland Public Schools and later transitioned to manage Mental Health programming for students and staff. She currently works on suicide and overdose prevention efforts at PPS. While working in the DRC at PSU, Rachel is able to leverage their many years of experience navigating academic spaces and supporting the distinct needs of students she serves. When she isn’t working, Rachel can be found reading, journaling, going for a long walk, scrolling Tik Tok or hanging out with her big grumpy cat, Brutus.

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Mike Barnes

Contract Access Counselor & Consultant

she/her

Email: micbar@pdx.edu

Photo of Lynda España. Lynda has blonde hair and wears glasses.

Lynda España

Contract Access Counselor & Consultant

she/her

Email: lespana@pdx.edu

Lynda España is a Contracted Access Consultant and Counselor with over 20 years experience in higher education. Her diverse career includes roles such as Collegiate Women’s Basketball Coach, Director of Student Academic Support, and ADA & Title IX Coordinator. Lynda’s deep commitment to disability support was inspired by her experience of over a decade as an ASL interpreter, which honed her passion for accessibility and inclusion.

Lynda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Marietta College, Ohio. Based in Rockland, Maine, she enjoys performing stand-up comedy, attending live music events, and planning weekend getaways. At home, she treasures time spent with her partner and their Corgi, Dash.

Access Services

Alternative Formats

Email: alt.format@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-4153
Fax: 503-725-4103


Interpreting/Captioning

Email: drcterp@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-6504
Fax: 503-725-4103


Note Taking

Email: drcnotes@pdx.edu
Phone: 503-725-6504
Fax: 503-725-4103