Woman smiling with medium length brown, wavy hair, blue eyes, and a dark blue shirt

Hi, I’m Andrea.

For over two decades, I’ve supported young adults with disabilities and their families as Director of Accessibility Resources at a university and as a special education teacher. As a student, I had accommodations myself. Now, as a parent, I understand the strong desire to set our children on a path that will help them thrive. I've worked with hundreds of students and families across many types of disabilities, learning styles, and life dynamics. I’ve read countless childhood assessment reports, and I’ve met those students as young adults — a perspective that’s shown me how both school experiences and perceptions of disability shape a person’s path. 

Clients describe me as warm, straightforward, and nonjudgmental — someone who gets to the heart of the matter. My approach blends structure and flexibility, grounded in the belief that everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their environment — physically, emotionally, academically, and socially. 

Whether you’re navigating college accommodations, advocating for your needs, or just trying to move through the day without having to explain yourself, I’ll meet you where you are and help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

What I’ve learned from students is that, while everyone’s path looks different, many share the same hopes: to be understood, to feel steady, and to create a meaningful life. That perspective guides everything I do.

I live in San Francisco with my husband and two kids.  I love reading to them, volunteering at their school, swimming in the bay, hot springs, or anywhere, and exploring the outdoors, cities, and small towns.

Large set of wide stairs in an outdoor urban park setting. Buildings and trees in the background. The stairs have three sections of switch-back ramps going across and diagonal.

Accessibility Beyond Accommodations

Being different isn’t the problem — design is. Human beings naturally differ in how we think, process, communicate, learn, and experience the world, yet many systems are still designed as though there is one ‘right’ way to learn, communicate, and function. When you don’t fit the mold, you’re expected to do the work of adjusting. Maybe that means conforming to social norms in class or at work, being in environments that overwhelm your senses, trying to decode unclear expectations, or finding your own work-arounds when you don’t want to ask for help. Too often, people spend tremendous amounts of energy adapting themselves to systems that could be more flexible. But you shouldn’t have to carry that extra weight alone. You deserve spaces and supports that anticipate your needs, not just react to them.

That’s why I value Universal Design. It's not about granting exceptions; it’s about creating more flexible environments where fewer exceptions are needed to begin with. Just as ramps and curb cuts make movement easier for many people, sharing information in multiple formats, giving students the time they need to take exams, offering quieter spaces, and providing clear instructions make learning and working more accessible.

Sometimes accessibility looks physical and obvious. Other times it looks like environments where expectations are clearer and participation feels more natural; where people can focus more energy on learning, connecting, and being themselves instead of managing or tolerating the environment around them.

Design like this communicates: you belong here.

Woman and college student sitting together at a round table looking at papers together

My Beliefs:

  • Self-determination — setting goals, making choices, and shaping your own life — is foundational to a meaningful and fulfilling life

  • Access and inclusion are everyone’s responsibility

  • Feeling like there’s space for you in the world shouldn’t require constant self-adjustment

  • You are not a burden for needing something that isn’t already built in

  • Your interests can be central to your life, and your accommodations can be tools that support you — not what defines you

Graduating student dressed in cap and gown with a thumbs-up gesture standing next to a woman in professional clothes and holding a walkie-talkie

Education & Selected Experience

  • Director of Accessibility Resources at the Academy of Art University

  • Teacher and director for a K-8 non-public school within a group home

  • Special education teacher at a public high school

  • BS in Elementary Education and Special Education

  • California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential for grades K-8

  • California Education Specialist Instruction Credential, Mild to Moderate for grades K-12

  • Racially Conscious Collaboration Foundations Seminar — Tony Hudson; RCC

  • ADA Accessibility Survey Training

  • AHEAD Member — Association on Higher Education and Disability

  • Faculty workshop facilitator: metacognition, student motivation, student gender identities, and creating universally designed classrooms / learning materials / teaching strategies