About DSS
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MISSION STATEMENT
Disability Services for Students administers services by the following Mission Statement:
Disability Services for Students assures people with disabilities equitable opportunities for higher education. We work to protect and promote the civil rights of students with disabilities. We challenge and support students to develop self-determination and independence as people with disabilities. We take responsibility for helping educate the campus community to the rights of people with disabilities, as well as the contribution they make to the University. At the University, students with disabilities qualify as underrepresented educational equity students. We work within the University community, assuring that it upholds its responsibilities to recognize and develop these students' competencies.
We offer a coordinated, wide-ranging program that reflects Sonoma State University's emphasis on the autonomy and responsibility of the individual. We recognize the growth catalyzing power of disability and individual differences. Our dual role is to help students use available resources and challenge them to become successful self-advocates.
Disability Services for Students provides specific services such as priority registration, accommodated testing, disability management advising, interpreters, note takers, readers, and access to specialized computers which enables students to have access to, and success and satisfaction in the educational process. These services and accommodations have encouraged students to develop self-determination and self-advocacy skills. This combination of direct services and developmental support speaks directly to the goals stated in the Mission Statement.
Disability Services for Students is part of a matrix of services under Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
History of DSS at SSU
Disability Services has a proud and noteworthy history of providing services for students with disabilities at Sonoma State University. This history stretches back to the early 1970s. Efforts are underway to collect and preserve this history, which include the dissemination of historical photographs and documents. Further, former key staff members such as Anthony Tusler are being pulled in to share their perspective.
To view some of these historical photographs and documents, please visit the DSS Historical Archives web page.
STAFF MEMBERS
Brent Boyer, M.A. - Director
Contact Brent at (707) 664-2677 or brent.boyer@sonoma.edu
Brent received his M.A. in Psychology from the University of the Pacific and B.S. in Psychology from Willamette University. Over Brent's career, he has worked with a diverse population of individuals to provide career planning, job placement, academic advising, and coordination of vocational and academic accommodation services.
Prior to coming to SSU in 2001, Brent worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor where he was the liaison to school districts in Seattle providing academic and career counseling for high school students with disabilities, and helped facilitate academic accommodation services for the students at local post-secondary institutions. Brent also served as a Habilitation Plan Administrator /Behavioral Specialist at Fircrest School in Seattle for four years where he directed the activities of an interdisciplinary team at the Residential Habilitation Center (RHC); monitored treatment plans and other standards to assure compliance with Federal and State policies, procedures, regulations, and laws.
Brent is a transplant from Seattle and native of Portland, Oregon. He enjoys family activities, running, weight training, kayaking, hiking, and gardening.
Christy Giambastiani, B.S. - Disability Management Advisor
Contact Christy at (707) 664-2677 or christy.giambastiani@sonoma.edu
Christy Giambastiani has been at Sonoma State University serving as Disability Management Advisor in Disability Services for Students since August 2007. She received a B.S. in Biology from UCLA.
Prior to coming to SSU, Christy had over 12 years of experience working as a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor and Orientation and Mobility Specialist in California, Canada, and most recently, Australia. She received a Diploma of Guide Dog Instruction from Guide Dogs Victoria, (Australia) and a Certificate IV in Orientation and Mobility, (Vision Impairment Support) from the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind. Christy completed further studies in brain function and neurological vision impairment with Guide Dogs Victoria.
As a mobility specialist, Christy worked in multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams providing mobility services and training, counseling, disability access and advocacy support to adults and children with blindness and other disabilities. She also assessed and trained dogs to become guide dogs and coordinated the Pets as Therapy program.
Christy is originally from California, but has lived in Vancouver, Canada and most recently, Melbourne, Australia, for six years before she returned to the USA in 2006. She enjoys traveling, hiking, gardening, scrap-booking, and spending time with animals, particularly dogs, horses, and her two transplanted Aussie cats.
JoAnne Jaggars - Administrative Support Assistant II
Contact JoAnne at (707) 664-2677 or joanne.jaggars@sonoma.edu
JoAnne Jaggars is new to Sonoma State University, serving as the Administrative Support Assistant II in Disability Services for Students since January 2011.
After being a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, JoAnne re-entered the workforce as an Instructional 1:1 Assistant for disabled students in the high school setting. This eventually lead her to an opportunity to work for the disabled community in a larger population, serving as an Administrative Assistant to both the Clinical and Executive Directors of Sonoma Developmental Center for 2 ½ years. Just prior to joining the DSS team at Sonoma State University, JoAnne worked as the Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Human Resources at Centra Healthcare in Lynchburg Virginia. In all capacities, JoAnne has provided direct support to executives and consumers alike, and in particular, has been dedicated to enriching the lives of people living with disabilities.
JoAnne is a California native, raised in Northern California, and living in Sonoma County for most of her adult life. She enjoys cooking, singing, reading, and most of all spending time with her family.
