Amanda R. Smith, M.A., is a certified, professional interpreter and interpreter educator focusing on reflective practice. She is an Associate Professor at Western Oregon University and continues to engage in private practice as an interpreter. Current research interest include examining the nature of the gap between graduation and certification and the impact of professional’s intrapersonal landscape on their practice. She strives to support and equip working interpreters with tools to improve the experiences of consumers.
Anne Marx is a Senior Analyst with the California Judicial Council’s Court Interpreters Program, where she is program lead on the promotion of court interpreting as a profession and American Sign Language interpreting issues. She is the lead staff for the Court Interpreter Advisory Panel’s Language Access subcommittee.
Anne is a co-author of California’s Recommended Guidelines on the Use of Deaf Intermediary Interpreters in the Courts and of Recommended Guidelines for Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) for ASL-Interpreted Events. She recently chaired an ad hoc national advisory group which successfully adopted Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Essential for Court Interpretation: American Sign Language which are expected to be foundational for a national ASL court interpreter credential.
Anne is a member of the California Bar with experience in complex project management, contracts negotiation, juvenile delinquency hearings, labor law, marketing and public relations. She also owned two businesses for more than 4 years. Anne is a Fulbright Scholar, and has spent time living abroad in Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Israel. Anne speaks Spanish, Hebrew, and some Portuguese and Italian. She loves swimming, spending time in the fresh air, and hosting big dinners with her husband, when their two boys give her time. Anne.Marx@jud.ca.gov
Ari-Asha Castalia, MA, LMFT, ATR, CI/CT completed the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Interprete Training Program in 1989. She worked as an interpreter, presented nationwide, mentored scores of interpreters, and coordinated interpreter services for two post-secondary institutions. Seeking a career change, Ari-Asha graduated from Notre Dame de Namur University in Art Therapy Psychology in 2010. Licensed in 2014, she has a certificate in Trauma-Focused Art Therapy, and is certified as a Level 5 Focusing Oriented Art Therapy (FOAT) Practitioner. She loves to box and swim, adopt feral cats, and take road trips to National Parks.
Ashley is a certified interpreter based out of Portland, Oregon who graduated from Western Oregon University's (WOU's) Interpreter Training Program in 2009. She has been working in the Salem, Portland and surrounding areas ever since as a freelance interpreter. In 2011 she found her second passion in yoga after realizing the physical demands of interpreting on the body and developing what could have turned into tennis elbow. Ashley has been practicing yoga since 2011 and started teaching in 2012 after completing her first teacher training at Yoga For Life in Portland, Oregon, and uses yoga as a preventative measure for longevity. She continues to study and educate herself on all aspects of Yoga within the lineage of Universal Yoga for a healthy body and mind, and is currently studying under Master Teacher Guruji Andrey Lappa. The asanas (stretches) she will bring to this conference are specifically tailored to interpreters working in all settings and are adaptable to all body types and capabilities.
Branton grew up with his Deaf family north of Atlanta and attended Gallaudet University where he majored in Government and minored in Business Administration. Branton had held volunteer positions at NAD and RID. Such positions were vice chairperson for Deaf Caucus under RID, NAD delegate for GA and NY at four conventions, and President of Empire State Association of the Deaf. He was also involved with several organizations in Atlanta, Rochester, and Southern California to help improve the quality of communication among the Deaf and interpreters. He was also appointed for interim RID Board of Directors in fall 2013 and chairperson for Deaf Advisory Council (DAC) in three terms. Branton is a currently Deaf Members at Large RID Board of Directors.
Branton’s career has always included some type of partnership with the Deaf and interpreting field. During the last nineteen years, his career endeavors have centered on the interpreting industry. Other positions Branton have held were; lobbyist, coordinator, director, marketing, recruiter, and a VRS manager. He currently owns a company called CDI Network (www.needCDI.com) and started as a stand-up comedian and photographer (BrantonStewart.com) for pleasure.
Colleen Jones is a freelance interpreter and workshop presenter based in Seattle, Washington. She is NIC certified and specializes in interpreting in DeafBlind, medical, and business settings. In addition to degrees from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and Seattle Central Community College, Colleen holds a Masters degree in Interpreting Studies from Western Oregon University. She has conducted research and published a thesis on the topics of gender bias and orientation to the interpreted interaction. When she is not interpreting, Colleen enjoys travel- she is currently working on a bucket list of islands to visit around the world.
ColColleen has been a Certified Deaf Interpreter since 2001 and received her SC:L in 2015. She attended Western Oregon University and earned her B.A. in ASL/English Interpretation, and her M.S. in Deaf Education. She also has an MA in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. Colleen started working at the Oregon School for the Deaf in 1999 and taught there from 2004 to 2011 after which she taught ASL to hearing students in a public high school until 2016. She has interpreted with a number of hearing and deaf interpreters in the state courts of Oregon, Washington, Texas, Idaho and California.
Dawn Duran is a RID NIC Advanced, SC:L and Utah State Professionally Certified Interpreter. She hails from Ga, but came to Utah and earned her B.S. in Human Development focusing on Language Development from Brigham Young University. There she met Deaf friends and fell in love with the community and language! She has been interpreting since Jan. 1990 and has interpreted in almost every setting she can think of but specializes in interpreting for legal situations as well as for victims of abuse. She currently works full-time as the Chief Marketing Officer for ASL Communications, and absolutely loves it! She is also a member of the RID Professional Development Committee (PDC).
Denise Sedran, M.Ed., COI, has been interpreting and presenting for over thirty years. She is passionate about fostering capacity and competence in interpreters to ensure the highest quality of service provision. During her career she has been a practitioner, mentor, educator, consultant and leader. She holds national certification from the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC) and a Master of Education degree from Simon Fraser University (SFU). She is also the recipient of AVLIC’s esteemed Edward C. Bealer Award of Merit (2016). Denise is a sought-after, dynamic presenter who likes to make learning fun! She’s currently working for Convo Communications Canada as a Call Centre Manager in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Donna Flanders graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a degree in Interpretation for the Deaf in 1991 and immediately moved to Georgia to join the staff of interpreters at Clarkston High School in the metro-Atlanta area. In 1999, Donna left the educational interpreting environment to expand her career working in the community. As an independent contractor, Donna has worked in a variety of settings, both in Georgia, across the States and even abroad. She has taught numerous workshops specifically designed for ASL learners and working interpreters, and has also had the pleasure of teaching here and abroad about making events welcoming for people with disabilities. Currently, Donna works on staff at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston, Georgia, interpreting for the staff and faculty, but also working on special interpreted projects related to the education of Deaf children. A large part of her work in the field of education centers around interpreting standardized tests, as the working interpreter, in teaching others to interpret test questions with fidelity and as a consultant on a national level for test developers. As a seasoned professional working in the field of interpreting and deafness for over 24 years, Donna looks forward to meeting you and supporting you wherever you may be on your journey.
Ed Alletto was trained as an interpreter in 1978 at NTID and has been interpreting ever since. Originally from Rochester, where he earned a business degree from RIT, Ed had a freelance practice in NYC for 13 years before arriving in Portland during a windstorm in 1994. Ed has interpreted in Oregon courts since 1995 as a contractor, joined Oregon’s Court Language Access Services’ interpreting staff in 2007 as an ASL Interpreter II, and became the CLAS Interpreter Analyst in 2015. He holds the CSC, OIC:v/s. s/v and SC:L certifications from RID and is an Oregon Certified Court Interpreter.
Dr. Elisa Maroney is a holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of New Mexico, ASLTA Qualified Certification, National Interpreter Certificate, Ed:K-12 certification, and Certificates of Interpretation and Transliteration from the RID. Dr. Maroney served as a member of the Oregon Educational Interpreter Working Group from 1993 when she arrived in Oregon to coordinate the Summer Interpreter Education Program to 2011. She was also a member of the RID-EIPA Taskforce that made the recommendation to the RID Board of Directors that an EIPA Level 4.0 or higher and a passing score on the EIPA written test should be granted certified membership status. Dr. Maroney was selected to be one of thirteen Commissioners on the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education, joining the first accrediting body for interpreter education programs and the first group of Commissioners in 2006. She served the Commission as President from June 2011 to December 2013 followed by a 2-year term as Immediate Past President. She spent the 2015-2016 year on sabbatical leave teaching at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.
Elizabeth has been an interpreter in private practice for over twenty years. She is the program director and clinical associate professor in the Sign Language Interpreter program at Idaho State University, Meridian, and interprets in the community. She received MA and BA degrees from Gallaudet University, owned/operated an interpreter referral service and served on the NAD/RID Code of Ethics Committee, RID NIC Task force and the RID Philosophy, Mission, Goal, Diversity Statements Review Committee. Last August, she received a $66,000 grant to investigate “Access and Barriers to Primary Care Among Deaf Users of ASL”. She owes her career and happiness to Deaf people who taught her ASL and allowed her to be part of their lives and culture.
Erica Alley, Ph.D., NIC-Advanced, holds her degree in ASL/English Interpreting Research and Pedagogy from Gallaudet University. Erica has published and presented on the topics of video relay service, video remote interpreting, and trilingual interpretation. Since joining St. Catherine University in 2014, Erica has turned her attention to interpreter education, medical interpreting, and ethical decision making of interpreters in a variety of settings. Erica serves as the Program Director for the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity (MAISCE).
Erica West Oyedele, MA, NIC, Co-Director of Project CLIMB, has been a practitioner of ASL/English interpreting since 2004 working primarily as an independent contractor in government, business and medical settings. She holds a Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies with an emphasis in teaching from Western Oregon University. Erica’s research interests include analyzing the dynamics of power, privilege, and social justice within the signed language profession and increasing the persistence of interpreters of color within the field. Erica lives in Sacramento, CA with her husband Dare, their daughter, Amina, their Labrador Retriever, Hailey, and two stray cats who have also made their place home. Erica identifies as a proud, Black interpreter!
Erin Trine is a nationally certified interpreter and interpreter educator from Oregon. She is dedicated to advancing the interpreting field both locally and internationally so that consumers are better served. She is currently faculty and the program coordinator at Western Oregon University.
Dr. Jaime A.B. Wilson, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist / neuropsychologist in private practice. Wilson Clinical Services, PLLC. provides an array of psychological health care and forensic services to deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and blind individuals across the State of Washington. Born with a profound hearing loss, Dr. Wilson grew up wearing bilateral hearing aids. Although Dr. Wilson primarily communicated using spoken language growing up, he is also an ASL user. Dr. Wilson received his Ph.D. from Brigham Young University, Provo, UT and completed a predoctoral internship at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, WA. Dr. Wilson resides in Olympia, WA with his wife (a registered nurse who is also deaf) and three kids.
Jenna Curtis, M.A., NIC, is a freelance interpreter in Portland, Oregon, working primarily in post-secondary, community, and business settings. She graduated from Western Oregon University with a B.A. in ASL/English Interpreting in 2011 and an M.A.in Interpreting Studies in 2017. She conducted her graduate research on the benefits of demand-control schema supervision for the interpreting field and practitioners. She is currently serving as the President of Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and coordinates the Professional Supervision for Interpreting Practice Program, which provides professional supervision and mentoring to recent graduates entering the field.
Kelly Mills has been the manager of the Oregon Judicial Department Court Language Access Services program since 2007. Kelly supervises interpreter credentialing and statewide language access activities in the courts, working closely with administrators, judges, staff, interpreters, and diverse Oregon communities. She serves as a liaison to the national Language Access Advisory Committee of the Conference of State Court Administrators and the Conferences of Chief Justices. Kelly was born and raised in Oregon, and spent her early adult years working as hard as possible to get out of Oregon, with employment as an English teacher and Peace Corps trainer for various companies and governments in Asia, Central and South America. She holds a Master's degree in International Administration and worked twelve years as an advisor for study abroad and international students at two Pacific Northwest universities. She joined the Oregon Judicial Department in 2005.
LaVona Andrew, MA, CI, CT, NIC: Master, Ed:K-12, CoreCHI, is a life-long learner, interpreter and educator. As a native ASL user and sign language professional, she maintains a full interpreting schedule in addition to serving as full-time faculty. Her specialties include sign-to-voice, mental health, performing arts, and video interpreting. She received degrees from Cottey College and Brigham Young University before completing an M.A. in Education—Curriculum and Instruction (Second Language Acquisition) at Boise State University. LaVona has served on Deaf Center of Idaho's Board of Directors, the Idaho Deaf Mental Health Task Force, the Educational Interpreter Interagency Consortium, the Idaho Interpreter Licensure Task Force, and is a past president of IdahoRID, as well as serving on RID's Board of Directors. In 2017, Idaho's governor appointed her as the first interpreter to the Speech, Hearing and Communications Licensure Board. LaVona is passionate about providing development opportunities for interpreters while ensuring appropriately qualified and credentialed interpreters for the Deaf community.
LeWana Clark (CSC, CI/CT/SC:L/M.Ed/ABD) lives in Massachusetts with her wife, BJ Wood. At the tender age of 10, LeWana began her first sign language class and her early interpreter training came from a mentor and members of the Amarillo, Texas Deaf community. By the time she turned 20 she was nationally certified. Adding to her many accomplishments, she completed the Master Mentorship Program in 2005 and graduated from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her Master’s Degree in 2011: Independent Degree Study Program, Specialization: Transformative Learning for ASL/English Interpreters; Thesis: “Beyond ASL Vocabulary: Towards Bicultural and Bilingual Proficiencies for ASL/English Interpreters. She is currently a doctoral student at Gallaudet University in the Department of Interpretation working on her dissertation - The Interactive Courtroom: The Deaf defendant watches the complex turn-taking interactions during a team interpreted event. LeWana serves as the Secretary for the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf and believes stronger Deaf-Interpreter relationships support better interpretations, increased access, and better community.
Mish Ktejik, MA, NIC, SC:L, began interpreting in 2004 as a student interpreter in Milwaukee, WI. She graduated from Gallaudet University in 2009 with an MA degree in Linguistics and an MA degree in Interpretation. Certified since 2009, Mish worked as a freelance interpreter in DC/MD/VA area until moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2013. Mish currently teaches full time in the Sign Language Interpreting Program at Portland Community College. She is working towards her Ed.D. in Leadership and currently serves on the Board of Director as the RID Region V Representative. She spends her free time playing soccer, reading, and learning new things. She is passionate about learning, teaching, and having a positive impact on the ASL community.
Nichola Schmitz, M.A., CDI, SC:L, is a trilingual Deaf interpreter, specializing in Mexican Sign Language and Mexican gestures. She was the first Deaf interpreter to obtain a SC:L in California. She has a BA in Psychology and MA in Clinical Psychology. Nichola has several generations of Deaf people in her family. She interprets mainly in legal settings, competency training and immigration hearings. She has trained Deaf and hearing interpreters in several countries including Ghana, Trinidad, and Mexico.
Paul Glaser, MSE, CDI, is the first Deaf president in his second term in WSRID history. Before that position, he was a WSRID director and treasurer for several years. Paul has CDI certification from RID and is a professional development specialist at Sorenson Communications. Paul was a high school and college math instructor for Deaf students for over ten years. He has a teaching certificate in advanced mathematics, deaf education, and American Sign Language. Outside of his teaching, for over 20 years, Paul has been interpreting for Deaf/DeafBlind people, presenting various workshops, and mentoring interpreters. He has a bachelor's degree in math and communication studies from Gallaudet University and a master's degree in deaf education from Rochester Institute of Technology. When he can, Paul enjoys traveling, collecting National Park Service stamps, photography, drinking different kinds of coffee, and playing Phase 10, Wii U's Mario Kart, and Scattergories.
Richard Laurion, M.A., CI & CT, NIC Advanced, Director, CATIE Center at St. Catherine University - Richard has been an interpreter, mentor, educator and administrator. He has managed and served on boards of directors for both non-profit and for profit agencies. Richard has developed a reputation for leadership within the field and for supporting innovative and creative products and programs. He currently oversees the operations for the national Graduation to Certification project and the Mental and Behavioral Health Interpreting Project.
Rob Balaam is certified by and was trained as coach at The Coaches Training Institute (CTI). He is also a credentialed by the International Coach Federation (ICF).He is co-owner of Partners In Communication LLC, an interpreting agency in Northern California. He has been an interpreter for over 20 years and holds his CI and CT from RID. he has held leadership positions on the board of directors of both the local Northern California RID and the national RID Board in several positions, including Vice President. Rob also holds a BS degree in Organizational Leadership from Capella University. Rob is currently a candidate for a Master's degree in Organization Development and Leadership at Fielding Graduate University
Royce M. Carpenter is a full time instructor at Columbus State Community College as well as a Sign Language Interpreter in a vast array of settings. She is a conference interpreter, workshop presenter, and has been an interpreter conference coordinator on several occasions. Royce holds an RID NIC Master certification.
Royce has an Associate’s in Interpreting/Transliterating and a Bachelor’s in Organizational Management. Royce recently completed her Master’s degree in Interpreting Studies at Western Oregon University.
Rupert Dubler is a native Californian who recently moved to Washington after living in Rochester, NY for nearly a decade. In his 15 years of experience in the interpreting field, he has provided services as an interpreter, educator, translator, and consultant. As an interpreter, he specializes in healthcare interpreting, particularly in the hospital environment. Most recently, he shifted his focus to providing intensive training programs for Deaf Interpreters on the path to becoming a CDI. He is passionate about expanding the number of Deaf Interpreters across the country and is presently developing an online curriculum to make training accessible to more Deaf Interpreters. He has also provided workshops to empower hearing interpreters to become stronger allies for Deaf Interpreters. Rupert is also serving as the Professional Development Committee Chair for Washington State RID Chapter. He shares his life with his wife, Brooke, and their Deaf son, Jasper.
Stephanie Feyne, MA (CSC, CI & CT) is a community interpreter with over 35 years of experience. She presents at local, state and RID conferences, covering topics such as Register, ASL to English interpretation, Use of Space, Back to Basics, Content Areas for Educational Interpreters, and Considerations in Accepting Interpreting Work. Stephanie was one of the 4 instructors for the “Interpreting for the Theatre” Seminar in NYC. Her research on interpreting into English has been published by Routeledge and by Gallaudet University Press.
Steve Snow, MA, is a proud native of Idaho. He was raised in Gooding, Idaho. He went to the Idaho School for the Deaf, and then graduated from Gallaudet University in 1998 with a B.A. in Communication Studies. After graduation, he continued his education and received his M.A. in Community Counseling. After his completion, Steve spent seven years working as an Academic/Career Advisor at Gallaudet University. He has also served as an adjunct faculty in the Communication Studies Department, teaching Public Speaking for several years. During his tenure in Washington D.C., Steve has served on several task forces and committees such as: Academic Technology Advisory Committee, Student with Disabilities Advisory Board, University Accreditation taskforce on Shared Governance, and Foundation of Excellence Workgroup that focused on organizational operations and budget.
Suzanne Y. Lightbourn is a native El Pasoan and has lived in San Diego County for over 10 years. Suzanne has been a freelance American Sign Language interpreter since 1984 and has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Masters degree in Social Work from New Mexico State University. Suzanne holds certifications from Texas BEI level IV and Legal as well as RID certifications CI, CT, NIC Master, and specialist certificate Legal. Suzanne has worked with the RID certification council and helped develop the NIC evaluation. She has held positions as a Sign Language instructor, vocational rehabilitation counselor, Social worker and Health education coordinator in addition to her interpreting. Suzanne travels to San Diego, Riverside and Orange Counties for mainly legal work but also specializes in medical and trilingual work. She also has interpreted plays in San Diego, San Francisco and Ashland, Oregon which enriches her work in other settings. Suzanne lives with her fiancé, and their cats, Minerva and Riversong in San Diego.
Tamar Jackson Nelson, PhD, CI, CT, & NIC Master, is an ASL Interpreter/Mentor/Educator who graduated from Gallaudet University’s doctoral program in Interpretation with a focus on pedagogy and research. Her research investigated the impact of preparation on interpretation. She is proud to have been in the second group of graduates from this unique program. Tamar has taught interpreting in various postsecondary settings, including Gallaudet University, Saint Paul College, and Troy University. She has presented on numerous topics, including interpreter omissions, processing time, medical interpreting, and LGBTQI consumers at conferences for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, the National Association of the Deaf and the Conference of Interpreter Trainers. Tamar has worked as a mentor, educator, and community interpreter, including emergency on-call work and video relay service interpreting for the last seventeen years in California, the Metro DC Area and the Midwest. Tamar is dedicated to the development of the interpreting profession and to cultivating respect of the interpreting profession and the Deaf community among practitioners and consumers.
Tara Potterveld, M.A., SC:L is author of the book, “Law Enforcement Interpreting for Deaf Persons” (RID Press 2012) and, co-written with Steve Phan, the accompanying study guide (RID Press 2017). She holds a B.A. in Linguistics of ASL and a M.A. from California State University at Northridge. She has presented legal seminars for interpreters, police officers, judges and bailiffs both in the United States and abroad. As a member of a CDI/CHI team, Tara has interpreted numerous forensic psychiatric examinations and competency cases.
With an enthusiasm and energy comparable to none, Wing has directed, organized, and managed high-performing teams at Purple Communications, DeafTV, Signing Resources, and countless community efforts and events. He is a certified interpreter, CODA, and a frequent contributor to the publication StreetLeverage.com. As an entrepreneur and sign language interpreter, passionate about building the sign language/Deaf economy, he uses his unique appreciation for life to build business opportunities that integrate the sign language and general business community. He is currently the VP of Sales at GoReact. Wing leverages that same passion barefoot and in the sun playing beach volleyball or fishing with his family whenever he can.
Wink, MA, MBA, NIC Master, enjoys researching and creating various workshops that focus on skill building through deliberate practice, which he wrote about in the RID Views, Winter 2012 issue. Presenting workshops the last ten years at national conferences (NAD, RID, Silent Weekend) regional conferences (RID I, II, III, IV, V), state conferences, and local workshops across the nation has given Wink experiences to enhance applications for interpreters of all levels. Wink is widely noted for the comfortable atmosphere he creates and the passion he exudes. Currently Wink travels full time performing, presenting workshops, and managing Winkshop, Inc, through which he has developed a dozen training DVDs. A fun fact: in 2016 alone, Wink traveled professionally enough miles to circle the earth over three times.