About NCDE's Staff

Ashley Bryant serves as Project Assistant for the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. She responds to inquiries, interviews exchange alumni and develops resources to increase participation and inclusion of students with disabilities in international exchange.

As a Rotary Group Study Exchange participant, Ashley visited disability organizations and Mobility International USA exchange alumni in Malaysia to learn about the country’s disability rights issues and movements. She also visited Rotary clubs all over Malaysia and Oregon to share information about involving people with disabilities in exchange programs.

Ashley graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in International Studies and Economics with a focus in International Comparative Development and Africa, which led her to intern with a non-profit organization in Dakar, Senegal. Ashley always travels with an instant stain remover pen, for occasions when her street food is so good, her shirt wants some, too!

Email Ashley at abryant@miusa.org.

Olivia Hardin is Information Services Specialist for the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. Her primary responsibilities include managing inquiries about disability and international exchange, writing for the website, and attending and presenting at conferences. Olivia’s articles have appeared in many publications such as EducationUSA Connections and Global Study Magazine.

Olivia first became interested in Mobility International USA as a study abroad advisor working with students with disabilities. She saw her colleagues’ enthusiasm for including students with disabilities and wanted to help turn that enthusiasm into expertise.

Olivia grew up in a small town in Colorado and is grateful to her parents for sharing their love of travel and intercultural experiences. She looks forward to sharing this with her infant son, and already has a passport for him in anticipation. Now she just needs to decide where to take him first.

Email Olivia at ohardin@miusa.org.


Franz Knupfer is the Project Coordinator at the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. He writes articles and outreach for Mobility International USA and also oversees MIUSA’s blog and Fulbright initiative. He is always looking for good stories for articles and the blog, so if you have compelling stories of disability and international exchange, please get in touch with him.

Franz is Deaf and has many of his own international exchange stories: a Fulbright year in Nepal, undergraduate study abroad experiences in Venice, Italy and Mysore, India, and backpacking trips throughout Europe and Asia. He has eaten cicadas in Burma and grubs in Costa Rica. He spent two years as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Portland, Oregon, where he focused on community outreach and planted thousands of trees. In his free time, he writes fiction, goes for long hikes in the woods and dreams of traveling somewhere he’s never been.

Email Franz at fknupfer@miusa.org.


Cerise Roth-Vinson is the Chief Operating Officer at Mobility International USA. She manages the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange.

Cerise has fifteen years of experience working in the field of international exchange and disability rights. She studied language and conducted research in Yemen, participated on international volunteer work camps in Turkey and Japan, studied abroad in France and volunteered with the Peace Corps in the Gambia. Cerise holds an M.A. in International Development from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in Political Science from Southwestern University. She also speaks Arabic and French.

She spent her early years traipsing behind her father, a field biology professor who led groups of students to remote areas of Mexico. Her sense of adventure continues today and has taken her to more than 50 countries. When traveling, she prefers the window seat and is a fan of seatguru.com. She lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband and two young children adopted from Vietnam and Ethiopia.

E-mail Cerise at crothvinson@miusa.org.

Michele Scheib is the Project Specialist for the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. She initiates projects for Mobility International USA involving the website, social media, research, presentations and publications. 

Michele completed her Master’s degree in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota, where she did research on students with non-apparent disabilities in education abroad. She has studied abroad with the School for International Training and volunteered as a teacher for Deaf children in Kenya. She has also visited with disability organizations in Northeast Thailand on a Rotary scholarship, and traveled throughout Europe.

Her favorite city is Zanzibar, Tanzania because of the night market by the ocean, the layered history, the beautiful carved doors in the old town, the friendly locals to practice Kiswahili with, and the interesting spice tours. In her free time she likes to explore new places, try new foods, attend cultural events, read books, write in her journal and enjoy her home and garden.

E-mail Michele at mscheib@miusa.org.

 Susan Sygall, co-founder and CEO of Mobility International USA, is Director of the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange and an internationally recognized expert in the area of international educational exchange and leadership programs for persons with disabilities. Sygall, who uses a wheelchair, has had a personal and professional commitment to disability rights and women's issues for more than 25 years.

Susan has lectured throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia on a variety of topics related to international exchange and disability rights, and has traveled to more than 25 countries.

The NCDE is also supported by the Roundtable Consortium Members and other part-time staff and interns at Mobility International USA.