Catherine Samuel

Catherine Getchell began in her position as director of Disability Resources at Carnegie Mellon University in November, 2016. Prior to that, she was a counselor and then district administrator for 12 years at Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, a state agency that assists people with disabilities in obtaining employment and independence. She received her bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Yale University in 2002 and her master’s in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Pittsburgh in2004.Catherine is passionate about promoting the rights, self-advocacy, and independence of people with disabilities. She grew up in Alexandria, Virginia and has lived in Pennsylvania since 2002 with most of that time spent in Pittsburgh. Catherine also plays the trumpet in two local musical ensembles, including the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra where she is Co-Chair of the Personnel Committee. As a side job, she works as a Consultant for Accessible Information Management, an accommodations management software program for university disability services offices. When she is not working or playing the trumpet, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, tandem biking, cooking, and studying languages.