Accessible Education Services

Jewls Griesmeyer-Krentz, Assistant Director of Accessible Education Services

Jewls is the Assistant Director of Accessible Education Services at Willamette University. Primarily at Pacific Northwest College of Art, she oversees disability services and institutional accessibility efforts. She enjoys finding creative and collaborative ways to promote equity and inclusion for students and university communities. Before finding her home at Willamette University, she was at Linfield University School of Nursing in 2022 and had been an Access Counselor and Consultant at the Disability Resource Center at Portland State University for over nine years. Jewls serves as the President of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Affiliate of the Association of Higher Disability (ORAHEAD) and served in various board positions for over six years. Jewls mentored new(er) disability services professionals as part of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Start Academy for new(er) disability services professionals. She is a frequent presenter at both regional and national conferences. Jewls received her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from PSU in 2008 and is a PhD candidate in Adult and Higher Education at Oregon State University. Her doctoral work focuses on international and immigrant students with disabilities, disability identity, and intersectionality. Prior to coming to Portland State University, Jewls had a private counseling practice and served as a commissioner on the city of Portland Commission on Disability. In her spare time, Jewls enjoys the outdoors, art, and theater, especially when shared with her family including her wife, 2 adult kids, and an old, lovable dog named, Rizzo.