REGION II
REPORT
Jason Hurdich Region II Rep, M.Ed, CDI "This has been an eye-opening experience for me. I joined RID in 2005, and never truly understood the inner workings until I got here."
F
rom the time I was sworn to my position on September 1, 2021: what a whirlwind journey it has been serving as the Region 2 Representative as I have been learning the ins and outs of the RID’s organizational structure. This has been an eye-opening experience for me, since I have been a member of the Deaf community. I joined RID in 2005, and since that time, I have been a student member, an associate member, and a certified member. I never truly understood the inner workings of RID until I got here. Finally, I appreciate how much individuals invest their time behind the scenes to make RID’s work happen. I realize that we have gone through a difficult phase in the past years, especially this year dealing with several –isms. Jeremy Quiroga shared his poetry with members on November 2, 2021, when we announced our Town Hall meeting. While we acknowledge our past, we do need to move forward. With that said, I want to share what has been happening in Region 2. I had an opportunity to have conversations with the previous Region 2 Representative, Eli Sierra, who gave me the tools for a smooth Board transition. During the October 2021 Closed Extended Board Meeting, I reported the following activities: 1. I explained the importance of including tri-lingual members of RID (Spanish speaking initially plus other languages) to be involved in RID as members. Mr. Sierra and I spoke at length regarding Puerto Rico RID being involved with RID in the past (Puerto Rico is no longer associated with RID). It has been noted that people in Puerto Rico - plus tri-lingual members elsewhere - want a tri-lingual examination. CASLI currently does not offer tri-lingual exams as an option. In Puerto Rico, autonomy is essential to have a say in their affairs (which aligns with their long history of statehood vs. their struggle for independence). I hope to address this as a part of a possible Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plan for the future.
2. During September, I introduced myself to the Region 2 Affiliate Chapter Presidents. I requested them to complete some standard forms to have a centralized system of their information, allowing me to connect with them over the next two years easily. 3. I presented a short video to the Florida RID Conference (FloridaCon 2021). President Bryant encourages membership involvement in their affiliate chapters so that leaders can support their communities with complete resources. 4. I plan to attend the Potomac RID Conference in Early December. On November 4, 2021, I held a President's Council for Region 2 with all affiliate chapters; seven affiliate chapters showed up (two affiliate chapters were unable to attend). President Ritchie Bryant, Vice President Dr. Jesus Remigio, Affiliate Chapter Liaison Dr. Carolyn Ball, the previous Region 2 Representative, Eli Sierra, and the current Region 5 Representative, Jeremy Quiroga, were present. We had an excellent discussion about the state of affairs at RID. We opened the meeting for the affiliate chapter Presidents or delegates to bring forth any issues to the table to enable some of the new RID Executive Board members to listen and understand their needs. President Bryant has committed to visiting each Region President's Council. Many Affiliate Chapters (ACs) have expressed the need for RID to step up work on government affairs, primarily focusing on legislative policy, to get more states to pass licensure laws requiring national certification. Many ACs are concerned that there is no oversight of non-certified interpreters and are rightly worried that we can do nothing without legislative action in place. President Bryant challenged AC leaders to think of radical ideas to make membership attractive and to retain members within their affiliate chapters. Leaders have brainstormed exciting ideas during the meeting for the Board. This group will have ongoing dis14
