VIEWS Winter 2021

VIEWS Volume 1 | Issue 38 | Winter 2021

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE

THE BLACK ELEPHANT

Colleen Jones

Billy Sanders

ETHICS

FACE TO FACE WITH ETHICS Joe Sapienza

If you are interested in supporting interpreters who are RID members, please consider making an unrestricted donation here. Donations are fully tax-deductible. The donated funds collected will be dispersed among RID members who are experiencing financial hardship at a later date.

secure.givelively.org/donate/registry-of-interpreters-for-the-deaf/covid-19-certified-interpreter-relief-fund

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VIEWS Issue 38 • Volume 1

VIEWS

WINTER FEATURES

IN THIS ISSUE:

Honoring Diversity: Jeffrey Bowden

Billy Sanders

Governance Letter from the Editor / 4 President's Report / 6 Region I Report / 11 Region II Report / 12 Region IV Report / 14 Region V Report / 16

p. 19

The Black Elephant

Billy Sanders p. 23

Columns Honoring Diversity / 19 Note from Uncle Dale / 36 VIEWS Archives / 40

The Changing Landscape of Interpreter Professional Development

Colleen Jones

Self Care: Make Better Decisions / 43

p. 26

Reflections from an Old Hand: The Story Goes On / 47

News EmergencyAccess.info / 32 Discover Interpreting Online / 35 From the Desks at HQ / 39 Newly Certified / 53

2021

Face to Face with Ethics: Views from Other Sides

Joe Sapienza p. 29

To view all articles in ASL, visit our Winter VIEWS playlist on YouTube: www.rid.org/february2021viewsplaylist/ www.rid.org

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Letter from the Editor Winter is a time for reflection.

In doing so, we have an opportunity of reviewing the past to learn from mistakes and to acknowledge good deeds. As well as an opportune time for reflection, this season is also ideal for preparation of change. Like plants under the soil readying themselves for spring, we make resolutions and plan out new opportunities.

As our authors in this issue describe, reflection allows for interpreters to review and evaluate their own performance, and from that analysis, we can plan for the changes we wish to make in our work, and truly align with our understanding of professional ethics.

With that awareness, the heavy responsibility and immense value of an interpreter performing their work in an ethical manner during such a complex time has been foremost in many of our minds. As our country continues to grapple with the challenges of living through a global pandemic and social unrest, it has become increasingly important that all communities have access to critical information to preserve the health and well-being of themselves, their families, and their local communities. Accessible information ensures that those critical life-and-death decisions can be made in a timely and well-informed manner. To support the need for more accessible information, you, our members work diligently to provide a priceless service to Deaf communities.

As interpreters, we have worked to make complicated, and often confusing, information clearer and more readily available to our consumers.

And, you have done so in a way that reflects the value we hold in the professional relationships formed between ourselves and our consumers.

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https://youtu.be/_3zsRds938U Yet, it is also our duty to maintain the integrity of the interpreted message, as well as endeavor to minimize any conflict of interest, real or perceived.

With all that in mind, it is so important that we give ourselves the opportunity for reflection and planning. We encourage continued growth and development towards ensuring that our membership and our communities are able to maintain strong standards of professional excellence. With that being said, you are also always very welcome to volunteer (www.rid.org/ethics-eps-mediator-application), because becoming actively involved in our pursuits to maintain interpreting standards benefits everyone! Likewise, we encourage the recognition of efforts of our members towards achieving excellence in interpreting. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do in order to support our communities.

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RID BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Jonathan Webb, Ph.D, CI and CT, NIC Advanced president@rid.org Vice President Paul Glaser, MSE, CDI vicepresident@rid.org Secretary Kelly Decker, NIC Advanced secretary@rid.org Treasurer Yakata Nichols, NIC treasurer@rid.org Member at Large LaTanya Jones, M.S.M., NIC memberatlarge@rid.org Deaf Member at Large Branton Stewart, CDI, CLIP-R dmal@rid.org Region I Representative Jason Farr, NIC region1rep@rid.org Region II Representative Eliezer Sierra, MS, NIC, BEI Trilingual: Advanced region2rep@rid.org Region III Representative Marva Johnson, NIC region3rep@rid.org Region IV Representative Deborah Martinez, MA, CI and CT, NIC Advanced, SC:L region4rep@rid.org Region V Representative Krystal Sanders, CDI region5rep@rid.org

Elijah Sow esow@rid.org Jennifer Apple japple@rid.org Kristyne Reeds kreeds@rid.org Tong Rogers trogers@rid.org Aubrey Moorman amoorman@rid.org Ryan Butts rbutts@rid.org Jess Kaady jkaady@rid.org Tressela Bateson tbateson@rid.org Carol Turner cturner@rid.org Ashley Holladay aholladay@rid.org Neal Tucker ntucker@rid.org Dr. Carolyn Ball cball@rid.org Adam Summers, M.Ed asummers@rid.org Jenelle Bloom jbloom@rid.org Carla Morris, Ph.D. cmorris@rid.org

www.rid.org

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President’s Report

https://youtu.be/Jcrl9espxkY

Chop Wood, Carry Water Jonathan Webb, Ph.D CI and CT, NIC Advanced President

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any of us have had the experience of trying to explain something to someone, without them having context. Leaders find themselves in this situation regularly, whether it be leadership in a family, a school club, a state association, a department at work, a governmental district, a religious organization, or a professional association. To lead with authority requires orientation- an understanding of where we are in relation to both where we’ve been and where we want to be. When working to build this context however, we often get lost in the details of what has taken place. Likewise, we can become preoccupied with the future especially given the nature of leadership and its requirement to be visionary and forward-thinking.

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When we take a breath and slow down, it allows us to shift how we perceive reality. It gives us a chance to recede from the preoccupation with both history and future possibilities, and instead take in what is happening around us at this very moment.

Over the winter break I had this opportunity. The winter solstice, the day of the year where we have the shortest amount of daylight and conversely the longest amount of darkness, granted me the opportunity to simply get quiet and see what was taking place around me. While I of course had an opportunity to look at many areas in my life, personally and professionally, much of the reflection turned to RID. This makes sense, to serve on the board at RID means to center a good portion of your life around RID. And so I’d like to share a little about what it looks like to have a small group of people who have centered their lives around service to, and stewardship of, this organization.

This last year, 2020, was certainly remarkable. I am of the personal mindset that when we are dedicated to growth it means we are dedicated to addressing the challenges before us. Growth comes from pressure. And conscious growth comes from being conscious of the pressure. The only way I have been able to maintain courage in the face of pressure and growth is through a recognition of who I am and gratitude for such. Part of who I am is RID, and while RID is a lot of things to a lot of different people, much of how I think about this organization is how I think

agony of seeing and hearing recording after recording of Black people’s government-sanctioned executions.

Transformation. Pandemic. Black Lives Matter. To say that 2020 took a toll is the understatement of the year.

And yet, growth.

I do not need to recreate the pain and trauma of the year. We all went through it in our own way. But, to the earlier point of

When we take a breath and slow down, it allows us to shift how we perceive reality. about our Board of Directors. This board has been an incredible model of courage under fire.

When we first came together and decided to run we simply knew that having a seat at the table was not enough. We knew we had to actually take the seat and set the agenda.

We knew we wanted to position ourselves and the association in a way that allowed underrepresented voices to be heard so that we could shape RID into something that was both responsive to us as professionals and responsive to us as members of communities. We knew the journey would be difficult and that there would be resistance. We also knew that there would be love, support, and encouragement along the way. For those who have offered that to me and this board, I am grateful.

What we most certainly did not know is that we would be navigating the transformation of an organization in the midst of a pandemic all while surviving the emotional and mental

gratitude, I would like to spend a moment highlighting a small part of the experience of board members relative to RID and what was done in 2020.

With another failed CEO search the board determined to take a look at RID and what was keeping us from moving forward, amidst misinformed speculation that we were attempting to hoard power. We did the hard work of looking at ourselves and our organization to determine what was realistic and healthy. We identified a CEO and began the work of preparing them to step into this service during 2021.

The board hosted multiple virtual town halls, encouraging members to see the work we are doing. We all know that board service is never easy. But we were willing to make it even more difficult by continuously opening ourselves and our work to feedback and critique. We hosted several town halls with membership and leadership groups across www.rid.org

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the nation and learned a lot about ourselves along the way. We then participated with other leadership groups’ town halls, especially those of our member sections.

The board hosted a national roundtable to encourage membership participation in setting the direction for the association. In particular, we framed this roundtable around the

Monthly board meetings were converted into space for members to engage in the business of RID and provide direct feedback to the board on our evolution. Membership presence at these meetings has skyrocketed, and the insight we’ve gained from our members has been invaluable.

And speaking of meetings, our biannual face-

We knew the journey would be difficult and that there would be resistance. discussion of audism and racism. While the roundtable was not what many of us hoped for, the membership was able to see for themselves what we all struggle with. And to heal means to first identify the problem.

As leaders we set the tone and framed the conversation. We addressed the false binary question that has been asked for many years: Who does RID serve? We helped set our collective trajectory by establishing the principle that we serve our diverse Deaf communities through the promotion of standards in excellence for sign language interpreters.

We held numerous conversations about what it means to be member-driven and what it means to be a professional certification organization.

Deaf interpreters were highlighted this last year as the board determined to use their privilege to promote an underutilized segment of our profession. In doing this, we were able to shift the public image of sign language interpreters, not only here in the United States but also in other countries around the world who look to RID as a model.

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VIEWS Issue 38 • Volume 1

to-face meetings were held virtually. While not optimal, this also allowed members around the nation the opportunity to observe and engage in the hands-on work we grapple with daily.

We’ve worked to reimagine RID Member Sections, calling on the member section leadership to co-lead the process in determining the form and function of these longtime underutilized constituencies of RID. The board worked with our HQ staff to empower them in revisioning their departments and the trajectory of RID in the context of a professional certification organization.

We worked closely with a variety of stakeholders to get a better grasp on how those imprisoned within the criminal justice system are being exploited as quasi-interpreters to then further exploit imprisoned Deaf peoples.

Things like the RID Policies and Procedures Manual were updated. While this type of work seems mundane, documents like this define how we accomplish what we set out to do. It took years to go through our wieldy

PPM, and of course much of that hard work and credit goes to past boards. This board was fortunately positioned and driven in a way that enabled us to complete that work.

The board began to tackle the issue of VIEWS and its relevance to our membership.

While the work is not finished, numerous conversations were held around what a relevant platform for the exchange of knowledge, insights, and views might look like for our membership.

The board worked with committees, HQ staff, and others to determine how to sup-

With the position statements that came out relative to Deaf interpreters in the spring and department of corrections interpreting in the fall, the board crafted a way to finally get the huge project of updating the Standard Practice papers underway in a manner that is achievable.

While RID holds relationships with numerous entities within and without the organization, we definitely leaned into the incredible work being performed by the Ethics Committee and the Certification Committee.

We have attempted to prioritize the Councils and utilize their expertise and advice.

We also knew that there would be love, support, and encouragement along the way. port member renewal in the midst of a pandemic that has no clear end date in sight.

This required making the bold move to suspend a portion of the bylaws in order to ensure members had ample time to do what was needed to keep up their professional affiliation with the association.

During meetings with RID Affiliate Chapter leadership we attempted to foster a sense of stewardship and a vision for being the caretakers of the profession in their state or area.

The Ethical Practices System was leaned into in order to understand their needs. While this is still being worked on, groundwork has now been laid to ensure our EPS is living up to everything our Deaf communities and colleagues expect from it.

Due to not having a CEO, the board assisted HQ in recruiting a diverse staff. RID has an unprecedented amount of diversity in HQ staff, especially of those who are Deaf and those who are staff of color.

And relationships with organizations like the National Interpreter Associations Coalition were re-established.

Additionally, a responsive budget was co-created with the HQ staff that addressed not only RID’s typical needs, but the unique needs that arose from running an organization during a pandemic.

These are just a few of the things your board of directors worked on this year. The list is certainly not exhaustive. In fact, some of you are likely surprised that certain initiatives and actions are not included in the list.

Frankly, even the simple naming of these is borderline deceptive; hours upon hours of work reduced to a sentence or two will never truly convey the full magnitude of what was really accomplished this year.

So, gratitude. Why am I grateful? I have the privilege of working with a board who never gives up. www.rid.org

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While most aren’t aware of the amount of work this board engages in, simply to make our profession a better thing for our Deaf communities and ourselves, people are certainly unaware of the personal loss and challenges that board members have faced.

While engaged in service to this association, we have lost loved ones, experienced traumas, spent copious hours in hospitals, attempted to love on one another as we witnessed targeted violence, navigated our own health concerns, homeschooled our children, marched in protests; the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, no one’s personal life has been put on hold in order to serve.

To borrow and modify a Zen Buddhist koan: Before board service: chop wood, carry water.

After board service: chop wood, carry water.

I would like to express gratitude to so many people for this last year of tremendous challenge and growth. But to my friends Paul Glaser, Kelly Decker, Yakata Nichols, LaTanya Jones, Branton Stewart, Jason Farr, Eliezer Sierra, Brenda Sellers, Marva Johnson, Kenya McPheeters, Deb Martinez, Krystal Sanders, Mish Ktejik, and Melvin Walker, I am deeply humbled and grateful for their service, despite everything that we have been through professionally and personally. Because of their love for the membership and the Deaf communities we serve, I have been able to witness for myself how we do not just chop wood and carry water before or after something.

During board service: chop wood, carry water.

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Region I Report:

https://youtu.be/T0MU9Nxc5WQ

Christina Stevens, President CRID Christina Stevens, NIC President, Connecticut RID

enjoy, and earn those CEUs! March 31, 2021, is your deadline. We are looking forward to working with you all in 2021.

Connecticut

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ello from Region I. My name is Christina Stevens; I am the president of Connectict RID (CRID). We hope you had a nice enjoyable holiday season. We would like to thank those who donated to RID CARES. These donations went to support St. Francis De Sales, a school for the Deaf in Brooklyn, N.Y. A friendly reminder: if you joined our virtual conference, you have two months left to watch,

www.rid.org

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Region II Report:

https://youtu.be/j1F24_YX5ZY

Eliezer Sierra, Region II Representative Eliezer Sierra, MS, NIC, BEI Trilingual: Advanced Region II Representative

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ello everyone.

My name is Eliezer Sierra and I am the Region II Representative. Below you will find the updates for some of the Affiliate Chapters in Region II:

Alabama

Alabama RID (ALRID) will be hosting a virtual training event on January 16, 2021. Sabrina Smith, Ph.D., will be presenting two webinars. The first one is titled “A new generation of slang” and the second one is “It’s a touchy subject.” For more information or to register, visit: alrid.wildapricot.org.

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VIEWS Issue 38 • Volume 1

Florida

We are starting 2021 with three newly elected Board members and a number of returning Board members who have been elected to different positions. All are eager to serve the organization and its members. As we consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic we continue to work towards providing our membership with support and opportunities for professional development.

Georgia

For the first time in our organization’s history this year’s conference (July 2021) will be partnering with Georgia Association of the Deaf (GAD). At the conference there will be a diverse array of presenters and topics. For more information or to register, go to: garid. wildapricot.org.

Mississippi

Mississippi RID (MSRID) had our first virtual workshop; it was held Saturday, January 9. Paul Glaser was our guest presenter. The focus of the workshop was Mathematics K12.

It was a great success with 30 attendees. Our current focus is planning for our 2021 conference. We have several committee meetings planned for the near future.

North Carolina

North Carolina (NCRID) has hosted two virtual workshops in this past fall and we are busy planning for the conference for this year.

Tennessee

Tennesee (TRID) hosted our annual Zoom conference in November 2020. It was a success! We saw many people we do not typically see because of the virtual platform. In 2021, we plan to host more online meetups for districts, workshops, and another annual conference.

Virginia

Virginia (VRID) wrapped up a successful virtual conference!

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Potomac Chapter

The Potomac Chapter of RID (PCRID) sent an open letter to the Governor of Maryland requesting that sign language interpreters are recognized as essential workers and that sign language interpreter practitioners throughout the state of Maryland have access to the first distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Maryland. In addition, the state of Maryland just announced that the final draft bill regarding the Maryland Sign Language Interpreter Act - LR1068 is available in ASL and English on the Maryland Interpreter Licensure (MDIL) on the website. For more information, visit: pcrid.org.

www.rid.org

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Region IV Report:

https://youtu.be/cr0BOCBF01Q

Deborah Martinez, Region IV Representative tions, as they are the backbone of RID. Deborah Martinez, MA, CI and CT, NIC Advanced, SC:L Region IV Representative

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ello Region IV! Happy 2021 to everyone!

I am pleased to announce that Region IV raised over $3k this past fall to support certified RID interpreters in renewing their memberships. We are thankful for Amanda Tuite, Deaf advocate from Houston, TX, who presented for us, which helped us to raise funds for our region.

It is my hope that as we continue to navigate COVID, face a nation filled with angst over politics, and struggle to ensure our communities are receiving services that we all band together locally and across our region. Please continue to show up, ask questions, get involved, and contribute to your local organiza14

VIEWS Issue 38 • Volume 1

Here are some tidbits of what is happening across Region IV. Hold the Date: RID Town Hall Meeting March 6, 2021 10–12pCST via zoom Arkansas RID - ARID - www.arkansasrid.org ARID will be hosting their state conference June 2021.

Colorado RID - CRID - www.coloradorid. org CRID hosted a BIPOC DeafBlind Panel discussion.

Iowa RID - ISRID - www.new.iowastaterid. org Isrida reduced their student fee as of October 2020. We will be celebrating their 50th year anniversary this year, an event is in the planning.

Kansas RID - KAI-RID - www.kai-rid.org KAIRID launched a mentoring program in October 2020.

Louisiana RID - LRID - www.lrid.org LRID hosted a successful fall conference online. Will be hosting a spring workshop; the Spring workshop date will be announced.

Montana RID - MRID - www.montanarid.org MRID has a series of town hall meetings scheduled over the next few months.

Nebraska RID - NeRID - www.nebraskarid. org neRID held their fall meeting, and has decided to postpone their state conference.

Oklahoma RID - OKRID - www.okrid.org The OKRID onsite conference was cancelled, there are plans for a virtual conference, to be announced.

South Dakota RID - SDIA-RID Welcomed in new board members. Planning for a spring workshop.

Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf -TSID - www.tsid.org TSID is exploring organizational restructuring and is hosting monthly interpreting forums.

Wyoming RID - WYRID - www.wyorid.org Please check out our affiliate chapter websites for more information.

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www.rid.org

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Region V Report:

https://youtu.be/3Cyo3tt1ITY

Krystal Sanders, Region V Representative Krystal Sanders, CDI Region V Representative

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But you don’t have to take my word for it, here are some comments from the Affiliated Chapters throughout Region V:

believe we all can agree that 2020 is the year

we do not want a replay of. Despite the many challenges and traumatic happenings all over the country, we can say that we have learned and can hopefully begin to make progress toward a better future for our communities and the communities we serve.

Region V banded together and worked on how we can better serve the members that are financially impacted. Virtual conferences and workshops were open to all the Region V members.

We supported learning new skills with different technical platforms to support the Deaf community’s access. Several ACs changed board members throughout the year. Resources were shared in getting our essential interpreters who work at the frontline in medical and in proximity within the community.

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Alaska

AKRID would like to spotlight an upcoming conference, The Alaska Educational Conference will be online from Feb 26 to 28. For more workshops and seminars please go to their website: alaskarid.org.

Arizona

Good things are happening in Arizona! Interpreters who work in healthcare settings can get the COVID vaccine in phase 1A and educational interpreters are able to get the vaccine in phase 1B. Stay tuned for an Town Hall event that is in the works, and keep your eye on their website here: arizonarid.wildapricot. org

Northern California

In Northern California, they just transitioned to their new board. They are looking forward to starting the year with a workshop offered in partnership with the sister agency DCARA (Deaf Counseling Advocacy and Referral Agency). Some of the topics will cover new DCS of interpreting during COVID, defining risk assessment, and using PPE. You do not want to miss this! Their website will have more details coming up soon: norcrid.org.

Sacramento Valley

Sacramento Valley RID (SAVRID) is working to make a positive change by unlearning old habits and learning new and better ways to be; the board had their two-day retreat, moderated by Ritchie Bryant.

They are currently working on developing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) audit committee to objectively track and report the organization’s accomplishment in achieving its DEI goals.

They also hosted a workshop in December on “Unlearning Words.” They were excited to have one of their members, Erica WestOyedele, present her insight on “Exploring Our Roots: A Self-Actualization Activity for Interpreters” during their general meeting on January 15. Stay tuned for more workshops here: savrid.org.

Southern California

Despite the exhaustion that everyone has experienced from the pandemic and political activities, Southern California is still working on promoting change for better. Plans are underway to begin a monthly anti-ism discus-

sion group, as well as a February panel workshop on isms from a local perspective. For more upcoming information: scrid.org.

San Diego County

In San Diego, they recently implemented a BIPOC committee to see how they can better serve their community and members.

As with all progress, we must shed the old to begin the new. They are now in the process of cleaning and archiving old documents and videos from years past. If you would like to get your hands on copies, best contact them soon!

Idaho

Idaho has been on a roll lately with providing free workshops for ALL of Region V members and several more coming up (idahorid. org). Congratulations to Steven Stubbs on being awarded with the Distinguished Service Award for his service to the Deaf community by providing interpreting services during the Governor’s news conferences during the COVID pandemic. Congratulations to Jackie Baxter on being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work to ensure interpreting services for members of the Deaf Community well before the ADA was passed. Please send your congratulations to both for all the work they have done for the Deaf community in Idaho.

Oregon

After experiencing, not just the pandemic but also wildfires that took over most of the state, Oregon was able to come out of the rubble with positive news for their interpreters, with the announcement that health care interpreters are included in the state’s phase 1a of COVID-19 vaccinations. More informawww.rid.org

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tion for different community-based interpreters will be upcoming (orid.org).

Washington

As Washington also transitions to a new board, they have continued to progress in their work; reestablishing a strong foundation for the board regarding policies and procedures, enhancing membership and community engagement with more consistent communications, and prioritizing their resources towards laying the groundwork for the DEI and inclusion focused recommendations brought

forth by their work with consultant, Ritchie Bryant. Keep your eyes on their website: www.wsrid.com.

With 20/20 hindsight, we can go forward knowing that all the challenges and lessons we have learned can be applied in our current and future work and lives. Please go to your Affiliated Chapters’ websites and Facebook pages, as well as the Region V Facebook page, to keep up with current offerings. There are already several workshops and seminars lined up.

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VIEWS Issue 38 • Volume 1

https://youtu.be/99l53zC3JxM

Honoring Diversity: Jeffrey Bowden COLUMN Jeffrey Bowden, NIC written by Billy Sanders, MPA, NIC “...Because the revolution will not be televised” - Gil Scott Heron

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eteran extraordinaire, Jeffrey Bowden, affectionately known as “Jeff,” is walking Black history. Iconic. Charismatic. Reverent. The teenager who ran up and down the corridors of the historic Gallaudet University, who, by way of his father, learned how to sign, code-switch, and swag all in the same adventure.

To unpack Jeff’s experience is a gift that will keep on giving to the experienced and inexperienced interpreter alike. Retelling the life

Picture Credit: Billy Butler, NVested Photography

journey of this NERDA1 is much like a box of chocolates, because doing so reveals the odyssey and evolution of the Black interpreting community.

The rural fields of North Carolina is where Jeff grew up and developed his hard work ethic. The valuable ideal of community he learned back then left an indelible print in the fabric of his life. Moving from the country to the hip streets of Washington, DC, forced him to apply survival techniques and nuanced facial expressions (before he understood the meaning and platitudes of code-switching) to effectively evade the unforeseen consequences of inner city life. In order to form organic friendships, Jeff used humor—an integral facet to his charm—to defuse apparent conflict between himself and peers.

“Someone bet I wouldn’t, and I bet I could.”

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Jeff began to hone his interpreting skills by serving in the Silent Mission, the nation’s oldest Deaf ministry, at Shiloh Baptist Church.

The Silent Mission provided the initial relationships and connections to meet the likes of many great Black Deaf leaders and pioneering Black interpreters. Honorably, the Black interpreters who came before, and ultimately mentored Jeff, were the late Zoe Page, Dr. Shirley Childress Johnson, Deborah Lyles, and Richard White.

After failing his first professional assignment miserably, Jeff’s predecessors gave him anoth-

quently, many Black DC residents worked on campus, and Jeff’s family was no different.

Jeff’s father embarked on a career at Gallaudet that advanced from custodian to foreman, and ultimately mechanic. The fringe benefit of his father’s work provided Jeff the opportunity to earn a job as a custodian on the same campus, before he transitioned to becoming an interpreter. Eventually, Jeff became a part of the first cluster of Black staff interpreters at Gallaudet University in the early 1990’s.

Before TikTok videos, Instagram, YouTube,

Jeff envisioned a play featuring the same constellation of stars he came from er chance, and in that second chance the proverbial lightbulb came on. At the very place Jeff cleaned for a living, he realized his fit in a profession awaiting him.

What many people around the world may not know is that Gallaudet University sits in the middle of a historic Black community, affectionately known as Trinidad. ConsePicture Credit: Billy Butler, NVested Photography

and even video relay, it was Jeff’s charisma that brought color to the marvel of sign language interpretation. Effortlessly, his charm became the kind of wonder that reverberated throughout the community to the extent that he became a staple at the Kennedy Center. Unfortunately, the highs came with disheartening lows. To be a part of the few Wakandan-hued interpreters in Washington, DC, meant one had to endure the blatant racism and systemic strongholds that made inclusion and diversity a mythical ideology. Jeff found his breaking point, and broke it!

When there were less than a handful of Black male interpreters in the nation’s capital, Jeff became a part of four fearless interpreters, which included the visionary John Lewis, the legendary Wanda Newman, and the incomparable Barbara Hunt. The “Fearless Four” went on to set the groundwork and cement what is now the District of Columbia chapter of the National Alliance of Black Inter-

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preters, fondly known as NAOBI-DC. Jeff recruited and served as a beacon for Black men, who (like myself) held on to a shimmering ray of hope of wanting to become “like Jeff.” The Black interpreting community is so diverse yet incredibly small that any one individual can give a unique account describing how Jeff has coached, inspired, and guided them. Jeff’s presence is felt when he walks in the room, and is missed when he leaves.

Unbeknownst to many is that Jeff is also an ordained minister, and has led several interpreting ministries. Ultimately, the culmination of his commitment toward service and

Picture Credit: Billy Butler, NVested Photography

There is no achievement without challenge. There is no celebration without achievement. There is no reward without both empowerment, led to him establishing United Deaf Ministries (UDM) in 2001, because as he aptly puts it: “Someone bet I wouldn’t, and I bet I could.” UDM has truly become an international juggernaut with a presence in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Philippines—to name a few. Scores of Deaf and interpreting community members clamor to attend UDM’s annual awards banquet, which recognizes outstanding trailblazers, humanitarians, and champions of distinction.

Spiritually led by the conviction that “one is always becoming until one is not” Jeff, an accomplished playwright, envisioned a play featuring the same constellation of stars he came from. The phenomenal and highly acclaimed “Z: A Christmas Story” morphed from an inescapable dream to an annual play at Gallaudet University to a touring stage production. “Z,” included a stellar all-Black Deaf leading cast and production crew, and was

notably directed by the renowned Michelle Banks! Can I get a witness?!

Long before touring stage plays, Jeff gave an unofficial face to the ambassadorship to our unique profession as a staff interpreter with the State Department shortly after earning national certification in 1992. Like many seasoned professionals in our field, Jeff let his certification lapse in the mid 1990’s while enjoying a long career. The world looked mighty different post retirement from the State Department in 2015 when he quickly recognized that earning a National Interpreter Certification (NIC) was imperative to freely work as an independent contractor.

Although Jeff has worked many years to attain high degrees of mental and emotional acuity, it took sheer determination to persevere through his own trepidation to acclimate to the relevant demands of the present. Jeff www.rid.org

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ascertained that the time is now to swing the pendulum in the direction of second chances, because this revolution will be publicized.

In 2016, Jeff took the NIC: Written. He failed. He took it again, and passed. Then he took the NIC Performance and Interview.

He failed. He took it again (and again) before passing in 2020. Jeff has proven that any veteran interpreter can take the necessary steps to earn a NIC and join the league of accountability. The tumultuous hard-knock journey, and lived experiences of Jeff and other courageous interpreters set the bar of what creating safe spaces truly looked like. Unsung heroes and sheroes forced the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) to take a bold introspective look at herself, and retool her efforts to correct the glaringly obvious systemic glass ceiling2 within our profession.

Jeff continues to fight the “good fight” and open doors for the newer generation of Black interpreters who subsequently benefit Picture Credit: Billy Butler, NVested Photography from what RID offers today: the Interpreters and Transliterators of Color Member Section along with Power Privilege and Oppression professional development requirements for all certified interpreters. In wise summation, he shares: “There is no achievement without a challenge. There is no celebration without achievement. There is no reward without both.”

2 “Spotty glass ceiling” is coined and ex1 Popularized by savant interpreter David pounded upon by Billy Sanders in the N. Evans, NERDA means Not Even Related to a Deaf Adult.

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article, “The Black Elephant,” located in this same VIEWS issue.

https://youtu.be/EOwJRNh5sdI

The Black Elephant FEATURE Billy Sanders, MPA, NIC

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am passionately indebted to the underlying love for the pursuit of convincing young Black men and women that there is a safe space for them in this field of sign language interpretation. The love for the Deaf community I am from and serve, the love for the advocacy of social justice, political and economic equity, and the love for the dynamic expansion of our distinguished profession is what drives me to persevere beyond the inescapable presence of being the black elephant in the room. Legendary hip-hop artist KRS-One said it best: “Love’s gonna getcha.”

If only my brothers and sisters with unbound potential can get through the mess to get to the message. My mess began in junior high school, whereas we intellectual outcasts always sat at “the nerd table.” There we had our own cool, our own inside jokes, and shared altruisms. The cool kids never

understood our uniqueness past seeing us as an anomaly. To even sit at “the cool table” meant you were a part of the power construct: team captains, clique leaders, class presidents, student government leaders, most attractive, most popular, and so on.

Though we nerds represented the smallest percentage of the student population, we unceremoniously remained at the top of the honor roll. Intellectually astute enough to run the show, but socially and systematically shunned from “the cool table.” We believed we had the best ideas, strategies, and formulas to run the student government, but the powers that be would not allow for such a pivotal shift. An older nerd who saw my potential taught me that there is a place in the world for the likes of me if only I persevered.

That was the message through the mess.

No longer a junior high school student, I am now at the nerd table of the “talented tenth”[1] of certified sign language interpreters. The vast majority of the field of sign language interpretation is dominated by the power construct of identifying white, female, www.rid.org

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and LGBTQ interpreters. Within the system of the power construct — the cool table — are curriculum developers, interpreter training program directors, tenured faculty professors, agency owners, organizational leaders, and the like. Power constructs can have lasting effects on the perception from those who fall outside the status quo.

As a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult), my mom yearned for me to become a professional interpreter. I, along with my vast network of CODA friends, rebuked our parents’ ex-

we knew were not privy to the likes of us.

The power construct has been slow to recognize and effectively recruit numerous young, talented Black men and women who see no safe space for themselves in this field. The unfortunate consequence of not being able to see anyone who looks like you or comes from your cultural experience in a meaningful position of leadership destroys the hope of becoming the very thing your people need you to be.

Power constructs can have lasting effects on the perception from those who fall outside the status quo. pressed interests at every turn. In our minds, we could not separate the profession from the power construct before our very eyes. It took many years until I met a few prominent mahogany-hued interpreting professionals to show me the light. Fortunate to be given a shimmering ray of hope that I, too, could one day sit at “the cool table,” and open doors

Fortunately, the collective of Black interpreters does have effective tools to attract, recruit, and inspire scores of young Black men and women to become certified professionals. We even have the gift to unlock the lens of cultural bias and inherited prejudice from within our own disenfranchised community. However, we cannot eradicate the visibly spotty glass ceiling that separates us from “the cool table,” which severely dampens the spirit of those who have the potential to be tomorrow’s leaders today.

The silver lining in my cloud of potential has been the love from Black interpreters who came before me; namely, but not limited to, the beloved diaspora of members from the National Alliance of Black Interpreters, Inc. [Note: please check out the Washington, DC, chapter’s website: naobidc.org]. Their commitment to my development superseded

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We even have the gift to unlock the lens of cultural bias and inherited prejudice from within our own disenfranchised community. my inherent misperception, fears, and cultural biases within and toward this fascinating profession of sign language interpretation. Conversely, that same love has showered me with the encouragement to persevere through this power construct. Furthermore, I am centered in the challenge to make space safe enough to convince my brothers and sisters that they, too, belong at “the cool table.”

If the aforementioned examples of marginality do not inspire you to push past the glass ceiling of opportunity, then “love’s gonna getcha.”

The time has come for us to break up the power construct and control the narrative: that we become tomorrow’s leaders, today, because we need more. We need more than 2% of all certified interpreters to make up for the Black male populace, more Black interpreting program directors and tenure-track professors, more Black curriculum developers, and more agency owners and operators.

[1] “Talented Tenth” is a term coined by the late great Dr. W.E.B. DuBois within an article of the same name, which distinguishes a leadership class from its cultural cohort. A theory that one in ten Black men and women would likely become the leaders [of their race] in the world through continuing education, social change, and authoring critical literary work (Booker T. Washington, et al., The Negro Problem: A series of articles by representative American Negroes of today, New York: James Pott and Company, 1903).

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https://youtu.be/jVYtE817loc

The Changing Landscape of Interpreter Professional Development FEATURE

Colleen Jones, MA, NIC

connections become illuminated like pathway lights coming on at dusk.

The continuous improvement and evolution is the founder of The Insightful Inof our practice is one of the highest goals terpreter and is a nationally certified of interpreter professional development. interpreter, researcher, presenter, and teachWhile the requirement to earn CEUs on a er. She holds undergraduate degrees from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and Seattle Central designated schedule can make the process feel more like checking boxes, I believe that Community College, and a Masters degree from Western Oregon University. Colleen interpreters undertake continuing education lives in Seattle, Washington, and is passionate with the intention of doing justice to the about travel, gardening, and how we grow as position we hold in our communities. The interpreters. You can find more information CEU requirement for interpreters aligns with at www.insightfulinterpreter.com. continuing education requirements for teacheople love “AHA!” moments. We love ers, engineers, and medical professionals—we them so much we have a name for them are all accountable to something larger than (and perhaps, like me, you picture Oprah ourselves, and our commitment to our work saying it?). As an interpreter I can describe requires that we continue learning and growin detail the moments that lightbulbs have ing. turned on for me throughout my career— where I was, who I was with, what finally We all know how exciting and motivating it made all the disparate pieces click. Just as feels to have a lightbulb moment. It can also clearly, I remember the weeks and months af- be invigorating to feel challenged by a proter that moment, seeing patterns in my work fessional development opportunity—maybe I that directly related to that nugget I had don’t walk away with a fully-formed new tool, finally wrapped my brain around, feeling the but with new perspectives and ideas that I

P

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will continue to consider and apply to my work.

For many of us, when we think about deep, inspiring learning, we picture some sort of in-person interaction. Much of my own best learning has been sparked by insightful and challenging dialogue, not just in workshops, but in meetings with mentors, hallway conversations, and evenings spent in conference

nars I sign up for and anticipate with excitement, but when the day arrives, I’m just not feeling it. Maybe I overcommitted myself that week or stayed up late and I’m exhausted, maybe I had a really challenging job I can’t get off my mind, or maybe I just can’t sit and take in information for that many hours in a row.

Regardless of the reason, there are days when I just cannot do my best learning.

The past year has necessitated rapid change,

If interpreters are consuming information passively, will transformation and application actually take place? hotel rooms with a group of colleagues who have congregated to drink wine and share their thoughts from the day. I also love the ongoing application that takes place when we go back to work and continue these discussions with team interpreters and consumers.

But for every learning opportunity I have leveraged by attending an in-person event, there are dozens I have missed out on. I’m sure you have had the same experience; workshops can conflict with birthday parties, anniversaries, and travel plans. Your favorite presenter might be coming to your state, but their presentation is still 4 hours away, requiring a hotel stay and gas money and restaurant bills, which all add up to “I can’t make it this time.”

Also, I admit, there are workshops and webi-

and we have seen everything from preschool to concerts move online. As we navigate this shift, our industry has just scratched the surface of the exciting new possibilities for interpreter professional development. Webinars can be wonderful, but is watching a recording of a live event after the fact equally engaging?

If interpreters are consuming information passively, will transformation and application actually take place?

If we embrace the challenge and create CEU opportunities that are specifically designed to take place virtually and asynchronously (on your own time), interpreters everywhere stand to benefit. The results can provide interpreters with professional development

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options that offer deeper learning AND flexibility.

When I talk to colleagues about CEU opportunities that are intentionally designed for asynchronous, virtual learning, one of the benefits we focus on is convenience. On-demand workshops and courses allow you to participate whenever best fits your schedule.

You don’t have to live within driving distance, and you don’t have to clear your schedule to sit through hours of content at a time.

Courses that are broken down into smaller units not only make it easier to fit into your busy life, but also allow you to take time to consider the topic, digest the information, and apply it to your own experience. Have you ever been to an excellent workshop but felt like you were drinking from a firehose because the pace was overwhelming? The ability to pause, take breaks, and repeat content gives you a chance to absorb more of the information.

You might be wondering if asynchronous, virtual professional development can offer anything close to the learning experience of a traditional in-person workshop. In some ways, I think it can offer more. Self-paced learning and flexible activity choices allow participants to adjust the experience to be compatible with their best learning. Are you a morning person? Great! Work through a module with your morning coffee, then let the information percolate as you go about your day. Prefer to discuss content with colleagues? Me too! Activity options can include engagement with a Community of Practice.

Do you need real-world experience to really anchor your learning? That makes total sense.

Take a week between units to notice how the concepts you are learning about come up in 28

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your work. Excellent virtual professional development is not only accessible (and, with the right technology, easy), it can look different for every participant.

While online learning will never replace face-to-face connections, interpreters today need professional development options that fit their busy lives and offer meaningful, relevant information in easily accessible formats. CEU opportunities that are specifically designed for asynchronous online learning can offer not only this accessibility, but also value and flexibility. As we move into a new year and, in many ways, a new era, I am excited about the possibility of new options for earning CEUs and experiencing those AHA! moments. I hope you are too.

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https://youtu.be/NoG1o8T87ks

Face to Face with Ethics: Views from Other Sides COLUMN

Joe Sapienza, CI is a freelance interpreter and interpreter mentor, working in St. Louis, Missouri, and the surrounding area.

Joe has been interpreting professionally since 1986. He first began teaching sign language in area community schools; then later at an Interpreter Training Program. He has been an interpreter mentor since 1989, conducting individual and group classes and coordinates interpreting practice opportunities in the community.

VIEWS would like to welcome you to its newest column, which builds on the excellent work of Brenda Cartwright’s “Encounters With Reality.”

As with “Encounters,” ethical scenarios and dilemmas submitted by readers will be introduced.

Comments and considerations will then be given from several points of view (“sides”), such as from a Certified Deaf Interpreter, a Deaf person, a business person, an interpreter, etc. The is not to give a definitive answer on how to address each scenario, but is instead to provide “food for thought” and discussion points for our readers to ponder.

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s professional interpreters we continually strive to improve ourselves and our skill set with the goal to better serve our clients.

We’ve long since recognized that the “tools of our trade” entail not only working on a better command of American Sign Language but also of understanding Deaf Culture, honing English skills, gaining small business acumen, etc.

The need for an ethical base to guide interpreters so that their actions would be similar across the country led to creating our original Code of Ethics.

As interpreting grew as a profession, better and more detailed ethical guidance came to the field and the Code of Ethics evolved into the Code of Professional Conduct. We understood that the need to think about and discuss professional ethics was a benefit to interpreters, our clients, and the profession as a whole. I would imagine most of the www.rid.org

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it gives very little as far as a meaningful answer to our clients unless we think to provide additional information above paragraph is “old news” for many. For the moment, it serves as a segue into an observation on ethics.

Let me start with some personal background information. Several years ago a required number of Continuing Education Units specifically on the topic of Ethics was added to my home state of Missouri’s yearly licensing requirements.

Before and since that requirement addition, I’ve attended a good number of ethics workshops. Almost all of them were structured around the same basic format: An interpreting scenario is introduced that contains one or more ethical dilemmas, which is then discussed in small groups or the workshop body as a whole. We identified “What went wrong” and “What went right.” We debated how the scenario “should” have been handled, and so forth. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with this format, and from these workshops I’ve been given a lot on which to think.

In recent years, however, I began to feel something was missing. While it is well and good for interpreters to discuss interpreting issues, I finally realized that what I felt were the missing pieces.

They were the “views from other sides.”

In other words, I wanted to know the thoughts and feedback from our Deaf and hearing clients. After all, they were also involved in those ethical scenarios!

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Recalling how I handled some of the many ethical dilemmas that have occurred in my own work over the years, I realized I often gave my clients the same basic answer of why I did or did not do a specific action. It was something that I learned and took away with me from my ITP days. This answer was to simply state some variation of the phrase, “because The Code of Ethics says so.”

No other explanation—just that! While an interpreter can understand the underlying truth to this ideology, it gives very little as far as a meaningful answer to our clients unless we think to provide additional information, or they ask for clarification and a more in-depth explanation to that simple phrase.

It took time, but generally speaking many of our Deaf clients have gathered that there is an interpreter Code of Ethics.

What thoughts and questions did the hearing side have?

I feel we need to consider all these views.

However, stemming from the first tenet—and possibly most important to Deaf folks—the Code of Ethics often boiled down to only one thing: Confidentiality.

Should our clients know we have a Code of Professional Conduct? Should they be aware of any changes from the old Code to the new? Should they have a say in discussing answers to “what went right,” “what went wrong,” and “how should we handle various ethical dilemmas”?

When asked what the Code of Ethics meant to him, a Deaf friend of mine replied: “Interpreters can’t tell anyone about anything while working.” Agreeing with the truth of

I believe these “views from other sides” can

these “views from other sides” can help us think in new ways his statement, I waited for him to continue. “There is more,” I thought, “…so much more!” However, that was the extent of his answer regarding the Code of Ethics, and I (sadly) left it at that.

That was a number of years back. The Code of Ethics then evolved into the Code of Professional Conduct.

Based on how the Code of Ethics was distilled into a singular meaning, I wondered: What, then, do our clients know about the CPC? Asking this question to a number of Deaf folk led, instead, to me being the one that was questioned: What are the CoE and the CPC? When did one change to the other? Why did it change?

Who changed it? Were Deaf people involved?

Wow! All great questions!

And these, I realized, are coming from only one side of our work dynamic—the Deaf view.

help us think in new ways and become more sensitive to other thoughts and considerations when deciding on how to resolve ethical dilemmas when they occur (or when they are discussed).

While these Deaf and hearing views may or may not ultimately gel with our Code of Professional Conduct, I believe it is of great benefit for us to be aware of and sensitive to them.

They can help us prepare, recognize, and respond to ethical situations.

Ultimately, I feel exploring views from ALL sides will help to educate us and our clients to better understand why we act as we do in our profession.

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NO ASL AVAILABLE

Note from Uncle Dale:

When You Don’t Know What to Do COLUMN

Dale Boam, CI Attorney at Law

Dale is an Associate Professor of Deaf Studies at Utah Valley University, an attorney advocating for the rights of persons who are Deaf, an interpreter, and a blogger at “Uncle Dale’s Rules for Interpreters.” He consults and presents nationally on both interpreting and legal topics.

Dale recently received a favorable decision from the Ninth Circuit Court that makes Section 504 more accessible to persons who are Deaf (See Ervine v. Desert View Regional Medical Center). Dale has served in advisory committees for the NAD, the organizing board for Deaf Studies, Today!, and the 2007 Deaflympic Games.

W

hen I finished law school I had to take the Bar Exam. Five hundred multiple choice questions.

Now, some of the questions had one right answer and three wrong ones, but some had four right answers and you had to figure out which was the most right. Some had four wrong answers and you had to figure out 36

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which was the least wrong.

Like life, there are no labels telling you which question is which. You just have to figure it out for yourself.

I get calls and emails and texts (oh my!) weekly, all asking the same question: “What would you do if…?” The details tend to diverge at that point, but the idea is the same.

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Often, it’s an ethical question, but like the Bar Exam no one tells you “this is an ethical question,” you have to figure that out for yourself. Remember that ethics is not about right and wrong; right and wrong is about morals and a moral question is usually pretty easy to spot and to answer.

Should I steal this or not? Easy answer. Um, no.

Should I punch that audist jerk or not? Ok, maybe that’s not so easy to answer.

With right and wrong, morals, it’s usually easy to identify what you should do and then pick that over what you want to do; even if you really really want to (use your words, not your fists)!

But ethics... ethics are different. With ethics it’s never a question of right or wrong, it’s a question of wrong and wrong. Ethics helps us decide which action is most wrong and which is least wrong (and then morals kick in to help us go with that decision). If you think about it, the old guidelines for interpreters were called the Code of Ethics, but the tenets thereof bled over into morality.

The newer guidelines are called the Code of

why you did what you did, then you did not make an ethical “choice.”

A choice, by definition, must be reasoned and reasoning, by definition, is articulable. Make a choice you can explain and, even if another interpreter says they would have chosen differently, if you can explain why you chose what you chose it’s hard for anyone to argue that you made an unethical choice.

Make a choice. Articulate the reason for that choice. Own that choice. Done.

“Yes,” I hear you saying, “we all know our Demand-Control Schema, but what about issues that aren’t about ethics? The day to day stuff? Like how do I make sure I get paid or

Ethics helps us decide which action is most wrong and which is least wrong Professional Conduct and openly embrace both the moral and ethical sides.

So what do you do when you have identified that you have an ethical decision in front of you and don’t know which path leads to the least wrong choice?

Well, there is no one answer that applies to every situation all the time (true, but unhelpful). I approach most ethical dilemmas this way: First, what does the CPC say and how closely can I adhere to it whatever I decide to do? Second, can I articulate the reason I am making the choice I make? That second part is key.

Because, even if everything works out, you may have just made a lucky stumble and, because God protects fools and drunks, you got away with it. (As my sister says, “never confuse luck for skill.”) But, if you can’t explain

prepare for an assignment that scares me or deal with a teacher that seems to resent me being in her classroom or…” These questions deserve their own Notes, and so I will give a simple response to them for now.

The answers to most of these questions come down to common sense. Don’t take that to mean that the answers are somehow simple, though. Common sense is never simple. It is said that sense is not, and never has been, common.

The last point I will emphasize here is training. I am an unrepentant nerd, and so I explain the training idea this way: in the mythology of Star Trek there is a test given to all potential starship captains called “The Kobayashi Maru.”

It is an exercise designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win www.rid.org

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scenario. No matter what choice the potential Captain makes everyone dies. There is no “right” decision.

As interpreters there is something we can learn from this exercise. We also need to test out ethical skills in the same manner because far too often we want there to be a “right” answer, however, to really understand our ethical core we must face the no-win ethical dilemma in practice to be able to deal with actual ethical dilemmas in the field.

Scenario: “A theatre troop comes to town and holds a three-day workshop for the local high school drama classes. Several Deaf students attend and you are hired to interpret for them.

One of the Deaf students, who will be 18 the day after tomorrow, seems to be getting special attention from one of the directors, a man of at least 35 years. At the end of the day you see her tell the friend she rode with to the workshop that her mom is picking her

up so she doesn’t need a ride home.

She then has you interpret a call to her mom saying she is going over to that same friend’s house, the one who just left, for the night and riding back to the workshop with her in the morning. She then asks you to interpret for a conversation with the director. The director tells her she has a special talent and he would like to work with her more closely back at his hotel room.

You know this student has filed complaints against two other interpreters for what she felt was offering their opinions in violation of the CPC.” Go! What’s the right answer? There isn’t one.

Does your answer change if the workshop ended at 6:30 p.m. and she will be 18-yearold at midnight tonight? Perhaps. It’s a no-win situation. It’s “the Kobayashi Maru.” That’s not a cop-out on my part, it’s an opportunity for you to debate and you are invited to debate it now.

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From the Desks at HQ RID Member Deals!

Have you checked out the exclusive RID member benefit on your profile?

Simply login and click on the teal "member deals" tile on the right side of the page!

Digital Membership Cards Did you know RID members have access to a digital copy of their Member ID card?

Download your Member ID card today!

1. Login to your member portal 2. Click the green button that says: “Printable Member Card” The card will immediately download to your computer and/or device and you will now have access to a digital copy of your card.

For an easy-to-navigate diagram, visit: https://rid.org/membership/member-portal-navigation/

If you have any further questions, please be sure to reach out to our Member Services department via email (members@rid. org) for assistance.

COVID-19 Vaccination Letter Are you having difficulty obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine in your area? RID can help! RID developed a letter to provide assistance to front-line ASL interpreters in securing an appointment for a the vaccine.

Download the form, fill in your name and member ID number, and provide it to the entity you are seeking a vaccine through.

Download the form (please select) HERE This letter does not guarantee an appointment to obtain a vaccine. RID members must verify their own state’s rules and guidelines pertaining to COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

www.rid.org

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Interpreting @ VIEWS Archives 1989: The Issue is Advocacy COLUMN

RID VIEWS Archive

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.

Author: Jeanne Audrey Powers

This is the continuation of the Keynote Address made by Ms. Powers to the Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT) in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 4, 1979. The first part of this article can be found in the February 1989 VIEWS. This article has been edited and published here with CIT’s and Ms. Powers’ permission.)

Becoming the kind of organization which makes a difference in your profession on behalf of the deaf community becomes reality only after political struggle. One might call it a “journey.” It is first of all a journey from subordination to equality.

A second part of the journey is from individualism to solidarity, from competitive to cooperative relationships.

All of us, especially women, have been social40

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ized from grade school on, in a competitive and individualistic style of living and working in a patriarchal culture. For men, at least, understanding life in this win/lose way has been reinforced by team sports with a sense of solidarity in either “the win” or “the loss.” I want to suggest that you must go even beyond that to cooperative, mutually supportive structures and relationships.

This competitive power model is one in which power and achievement is won at the expense of others. How often do you find yourself thinking competitively about another interpreter or interpreter trainer? As you watch an interpreter at work, does there lurk in the back of your mind, “Well, that’s not a very good job. I can do better than that!”

Are you quick to focus on the interpreter, whether this was the most aesthetically perfect interpretation? Do you forget that for various reasons, you, too, like the interpreter, have worse days than others? Are there not days when your weary mind and body do not tune you to the finest sensitivities of interpretation? When you fall into those traps, you have lost sight of what you are about—to

be the means of inviting deaf people into the very world that belongs to them.

The truth is that real power and achievement come not in competing with one another for a psychic space that only one of you can possess, but rather in helping others (whether they be deaf persons, students whom you are training, other interpreter trainers or other interpreters) to achieve more of their power.

I have used the term “power” several times. I do not want anyone to protest, “But, I’m not into that; I’m not interested in power.”

The alternative is being powerless, ineffective

en in the ministry make up only about three per cent of the profession. We find that so much patriarchal violence has been done to women in predominantly male fields, such as mine, that we engage in it ourselves. However, for us it is horizontal. It is directed against other women. It comes out in comments to laywomen like, “you’re not ordained; you don’t really understand.” We are so hungry for approval in our ministries that only the word ‘stingy’ can describe our appreciation of other clergywomen’s world. What relevance does this have for you? In group experiences,

You must give as much attention to the process as the final goals and uncontributive. When I speak of power I mean “the capacity to alter consequences, to implement action and to participate directly in decision making processes in order that the partnership of deaf persons and hearing persons might create a larger world for both.” If you are not into that, then you ought not to be in your jobs.

You must give as much attention to the process as to the final goals. In many ways you are not a cohesive group, either nationally or in your local situation. You are not all “best friends.” Your social life is not primarily with those with whom you work. In fact, some of them you probably would not even choose to work with. You do work with them and you have a common task. That is what draws you together.

One of the terms the women’s movement has used is “horizontal violence.” I work predominantly with male colleagues. Wom-

does the matter of who gets credit for what only reveal your massive ego needs and longing for reassurance?

Are you willing to rejoice when another interpreter receives a responsibility you would like to have had? If you are invited to be an interpreter on a public occasion, are you prepared to suggest others who are more qualified than yourself and who could be invited, instead? Are you willing to share knowledge that you have or do you keep it to yourself for your own benefit?

There are many ways in which you can empower one another. I like the term, “affirm signals,” and I try to use such signals often.

What shows on your face when you are watching someone else interpret? Do you stay alert as they seek to communicate ideas and communicate back to them a “listening support?” If you are speaking in a group, do you pick up on the points made by your colleagues, reintroducing their perspectives into www.rid.org

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the group discussion? Do you seek to build coalitions with others who either are or represent minority persons or positions? When you disagree with members of a group, who, like you, are minority members—either because of their hearing impairment, their sex, their race or their positions on the staff—can you do so in a way that affirms them? Have you, instead, assisted in a divide-and-conquer process? If you are in a situation of conflict between the interpreters and the administration, do you take initiative to work out those differences and concerns before you find yourselves in the group of interpreters who may be pitted against one another?

Essentially, what I am talking about is the process of empowering one another, so that all of you are able to assume more power in the settings in which you function. When you act on principles which oppose every effort to disempower, and instead seek to empower the largest number of people in the most diverse ways, you know that real achievement is yours. That achievement rests in the fact that individualism and competition give way to solidarity and cooperation.

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Self Care:

https://youtu.be/XpsxeN8-9A4

Make Better Decisions COLUMN The wave of emotion in these moments can crash over us, leaving us sputtering and drenched and notice what you feel. Is your heartbeat quickening? Do you feel warmth, pressure, or tension in your chest, stomach, or head?

Breana Cross-Caldwell, BS, CI and CT Portland, Oregon Breana Cross-Caldwell holds her CI and CT from RID, B.S. in Interpretation from Western Oregon University and is a Certified Life Coach. She has led thousands of interpreters in preventing burnout and finding the passion again in their lives through developing habits of self-care. You can find her on Instagram @brighterfocus.

T

hink back to the last time you had a difficult decision to make. Recall and envision, with as much vivid detail as you can muster, the people, places, and things that were involved. Let your body react to the scene as you remember it playing out,

Does your leg start bouncing or your fingers start tapping? Do you feel a lump in your throat, or pit in your stomach?

You may feel any or none of these—or a myriad of other responses. The point is, your body often responds physiologically to the perceived stress of your mind.

Your Body’s Emergency Management System: Dysregulation These physiological signals, also known as emotions, are messengers carrying news of a potential threat and urging us toward action.

They are key drivers of decision-making. But when emotions are high, the active parts of www.rid.org

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our brain (the survival brain) are not the ones responsible for executive function and ethical decision-making (the thinking brain). Instead, the thinking brain goes offline, so that the survival brain can take over and keep us safe.

Dr. Dan Siegel calls this “flipping your lid,” also known as dysregulation. In this state, we do not have access to the parts of our brain that handle communication, cognitive flexibility, creative problem-solving, or perspective-taking (Ablon).

The wave of emotion in these moments can crash over us, leaving us sputtering and drenched—certainly not in the most helpful frame of mind to make ethically-aligned decisions. Over time the effects of the wave-bat-

as they approach. We can develop this awareness by paying attention to our thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

A Cognitive Behavioral Approach Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tells us that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are connected.

• Thoughts: The assessments, beliefs, thinking patterns, and pieces of evidence of the mind.

• Emotions: The physical sensations associated with neurobiological responses to stimuli.

• Behaviors: The actions or urges to act that we experience or carry out.

The 3-Point Check is a simple way to start

Like waves, all emotions have a beginning, a middle, and an end terings can become chronic, leading to burnout.

Completing the Stress Cycle The good news is that just like waves, all emotions have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They come and go, and they never last forever.

When we can meet emotions with mindful awareness, paying attention on purpose in the present moment without judgement, we open up a myriad of creative options in decision-making. As we learn to surf these waves, meeting them as they come and seeing them through to the end, we are able to get the important information we need from them, process the neurochemicals released by them so that they don’t accumulate in our bodies, and regulate ourselves in order to make clear, grounded decisions.

The first step is becoming aware of the waves 44

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paying attention to, separating, and slowing down our process. In any moment, especially a stressful one, ask yourself: 1. What am I thinking?

2. What am I feeling?

3. What am I doing?

Make this practice even more powerful by keeping a written log in your journal, in a mindfulness app like My Life, or in a note on your phone. Over time you will uncover patterns of thinking and behavior that add to your awareness, giving you more choices in how to respond.

Completing the Stress Cycle In their book, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (2019, Ebury Publishing), Emily and Amelia Nagoski emphasize the importance of dealing with the stress response of our body, in addition to dealing

with the stressor that is triggering it.

We are responding to stressors throughout the day, especially during periods of time like the past year. We need to be attending to the stress that accumulates in our bodies on a daily basis as a matter of maintenance. The Nagoskis outline seven ways to “complete the stress cycle”: 1. Physical activity 2. Deep breathing 3. Positive social interaction 4. Deep belly laughs 5. Hugging until relaxed

but also affect change in the world around you. Take a moment to identify your support resources: • Who do you lean on for support and give support to?

• What organizations, networks, or groups do you belong to?

• What support are you needing that has not yet been met?

Reflection We have explored this process of self-care by meeting stress with mindful awareness, completing our stress cycle, anchoring ourselves in our values, and engaging with our support

Making decisions that are aligned with your values and the values of the context you are working in is integral to making decisions that are ethical.

6. A big old cry 7. Creative expression For more on completing the stress cycle, listen to or read the transcript from Brene Brown’s “Unlocking Us” podcast where she interviews the Nagoskis.

Identify Values Making decisions that are aligned with your values and the values of the context you are working in is integral to making decisions that are ethical. Once you’re emotionally regulated and have completed your stress cycle, ask yourself: What is important to you or to others in this context? Values can act as a guiding light or north star to steer toward, and can help to clarify the next steps in an otherwise murky situation.

Engage With a Support System Connecting with others as you do this selfcare can create opportunities for not only transforming your own experience of stress,

system. Reflection can help us to integrate these lessons so they become a part of our default operating system.

• Awareness: As you bring awareness to your stress response, what thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can you identify?

• Acceptance: What is most difficult about feeling your emotions and side-stepping judgement?

• Completing the stress cycle: Which of the 7 ways to complete your stress cycle do you enjoy most? Which do you have the most reliable access to or space for? What can you commit to doing on a daily basis?

• Values: What is important to you in your work as an interpreter? What are the core values that anchor your decisions?

As you apply these tools to stress in your daily life, remember to be gentle with yourself and seek support as needed. www.rid.org

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Resources Ablon, J. Stuart. (2018).

Change-able: How Collaborative Problem Solving Changes Lives at Home at School and at Work.

Random House: New York.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/cognitive-behavioral-therapy My Life: Stop. Breathe. Think.

Mindfulness App. https://my.life/ Nagoski, Emily and Amelia.

(2020). Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. New York: Ballantine Books.

Siegel, Daniel J. (2012, Feb 28).

Dan Siegel - “Flipping Your Lid:” A Scientific Explanation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0T_2NNoC68

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What did you think of this article? Send your feedback to the authors/editors by clicking here! www.rid.org/views-Feb2021-articlefeedback/

Journal of Interpretation Volume 28 Hosted by University of North Florida (UNF) https://Digitalcommons.unf.edu/joi/vol28/iss1/ 46

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https://youtu.be/MUCoD5RxFLQ

Reflections from an Old Hand

The Story Goes On COLUMN

Phil Giambaresi Former CSD, LCSW (Retired) California I was born in 1950 to parents who have been Deaf since their birth. I have a younger brother who is also a hearing child. The influence from my mother's deaf family and my interest in being the family interpreter led to a career of being a certified interpreter. I received a BA in Psychology. At the age of 34, I earned my Master's in Social Work, specializing in mental health of the Deaf. After living in NYC for over 30 years, I moved to California and am now retired.

2020 will be a most memorable year for us all. Let’s hope that this New Year of 2021 will be a new beginning and filled with the best for everyone. With my “Reflections” I wanted to express something that is personal to share with the VIEWS readers. Here is my story to tell.

I took a flight after a California visit with my (deaf) folks to fly back to my home in New

York City. When I approached the check-in desk, I was informed that their computer had changed my reserved seat. I would be re-assigned to a middle seat in a row of three.

Not another seat was vacant on that flight!

My preference is to sit on an aisle seat and I was given a choice to take a later flight. I said, “Look at me. I’m a big guy and sitting in the middle seat would be somewhat uncomfortable.” Deciding to not argue, I accepted the seat.

When I boarded, the person at the window seat was quite lean, and I was grateful. There came along a lady who took the aisle seat to my left. I said to her, “I hope you don’t mind some body contact, as I know some people are sensitive to touching.” She said with a smile, “I don’t mind body contact…”

Many hours later after a very delightful conversation on the flight, we were landing at our connecting flights at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. I asked the lady, whose name was “Donna,” just what she did for a living in her town of Columbus, Ohio. She said to me as we were landing, “I’m a captioner for the Deaf.” The hair on my arms stood up as I www.rid.org

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told her my parents were deaf and I worked in the field of deafness services.

Time passed with our “courtship” from my NYC home to her Columbus home. We are now a married couple and live in Hemet, California! It’s quite a story for us to have met the way we did.

thoughts to ourselves. Sometimes it is quite difficult to do! But we must remain true to our ethical standards. Captioners write words people say which could be quite upsetting and we must not censor what the person says, whether they are Deaf or Hearing. Donna and I gave several examples to each other of how intertwined our positions could be!

Donna and I have talked about the unique similarities of our careers, and we discussed the “ethics” of our working with deaf people.

Interestingly, this issue of the VIEWS has an overall theme of “Ethics.”

Another example is a personal experience I had in court. The deaf person was also mentally challenged and just went on and on about her story of how she stabbed someone with a knife. As the interpreter, I was pray-

As sign interpreters, we know we could resolve so many issues between the people we work with but we have to keep our own thoughts to ourselves.

In my pre-retirement years of working as a certified interpreter and licensed clinical social work therapist, it was very important to maintain a code of ethics in my work and Donna’s captioning work. We agreed that there are so many ethical situations we have encountered. I will mention a few of those situations.

ing that the lawyer would make the decision to stop his client from incriminating herself, but he didn’t! Also she was very difficult to “read” due to her expressive signing. I realized that in the future, I could share the frustration with a certified deaf interpreter.

Ethically, I did my best, and was in my role. It was extremely frustrating.

We both realized how many times we have worked and wanted to “throw our eyes up to Heaven” in hearing some things with which we personally disagreed. And we knew we had to “zip our lips” to maintain professionalism and remain neutral.

In a past article I wrote about a courtroom situation where the judge was telling me to NOT CONTINUE TO INTERPRET for the deaf couple involved. I had to sign and verbally state, “as long as I’m in the courtroom, your Honor, I am obliged to interpret everything to the clients.” The judge sent us all out to discuss what he wanted to say and called us back in later. It was the time he told me that he’d see to it that I’d NEVER get another

As sign interpreters, we know we could resolve so many issues between the people we work with but we have to keep our own

What did you think of this article? Send your feedback to the authors/editors by clicking here! www.rid.org/views-Feb 2021-articlefeedback/ 48

VIEWS Issue 38 • Volume 1

courtroom job. As I left, shaking inside, I called the agency and was told to write down the whole story to submit to them.

My ethics as an interpreter were not allowed to be compromised by such an experience. And the judge’s threats were never reported. This was the judge who happened to wear hearing aids!

Our ethics can be really difficult in some situations. As a social work therapist with deaf clients/patients, there was a situation where a female told me about dating another client, who I knew to have been HIV positive. I couldn’t reveal this due to my ethical standards, but chose instead to counsel the client to be sure that “safe sex practices” were a good idea in general in having relations with someone. How fortunate that the client didn’t contract HIV! And sadly, the client who was ill eventually passed away when the relationship had ended some time before the passing.

There are so many ethical situations that cannot be addressed in one column!

Let me end by switching gears to say that my wife and I got a Cairn Terrier puppy, a breed like the one from the dog in the Wizard of Oz movie. We named her “Toto!” For an older couple we really have a handful with this cute little scruffy pup.

But as I’ve said to others, she’s brought us a “new lease on life” and has been very entertaining.

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AFFORDABLE. FLEXIBLE. ONLINE. 50

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https://education.rid.org/

www.rid.org

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National Interpreter Certification Certification awarded between 11/16/2020 - 02/15/2021 REGION I - NORTHEAST • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Taylor Gilster Jessica Ann Moore Carl Mallard Alanna Wagenblast Elizabeth Heffron Megan Newman

REGION III - MIDWEST Jennifer Clare Westendorf Jordan Reusser Ethan Rae Kjelland Lydia Marie Dykhouse Joy Christine King Cassidy Van Cleve Alison Doreen Phelan Molly Kathryn Barrett Jaime Condon Katoria Carter Rita Kristin van der Puije Lettie Rose Nazloo Ayobami Geraldine Crawford • • • • • • •

Sara Rene Collins Melissa R Davis Kent Boardman Andrea L. Gehrz Juan Ramirez Eudore Robert Muhlbauer Allison Kauling

REGION II - SOUTHEAST • • • • • • • • • •

Tanya Ann Mastromonica Cynthia Jenice Norman Teresa Wenderski Jessica Gayle Rushing Wendy Landess Duan Antonio Snowden Kaylee Marissa Ballew Mia Engle Abdiel Dávila-Cruz Anna Nichole Teitt

• • • • • • • • •

Keturah Lee Eliza Ann Cantu Ciara Amaris Morales Shannon L Merryweather Nikki Jackson Kayla Michelle Ellison Michael Hernandez Isabella Martin Martha Baird Yasenchok

REGION IV - CENTRAL

• • • • •

Karamee English Gloshanda La'Kenda Lawyer Katelyn B. Wilson Coree Higgason Jeremy Trey Sheffield

REGION V - PACIFIC • • • • • • •

Deedee L Potter Rebecca Mary Armentrout Tera Nachele Thrasher Sarah Cohen Erica Kramer Amber Dawn Sidwell Nathan Suitter

• • • • •

Sarah Batoon-Hughes Angela L O'Bleness Amanda Jo Schriock Rachel Cropper William Kenneth Schoemig

RID Conference Motion C89.15

“Results of the Ethical Practices System shall be published in the VIEWS including the nature of the grievance and action taken by RID. The names of individuals filing the grievance shall remain confidential. Vindicated individuals will be given the opportunity to have their names published, even in cases of a less serious nature.”

No EPS violations reported for this issue of VIEWS www.rid.org

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VIEWS

Vision VIEWS, RID’s digital publication, is dedicated to the interpreting profession. As a part of RID’s strategic goals, we focus on providing interpreters with the educational tools they need to excel at their profession. VIEWS is about inspiring, or even instigating, thoughtful discussions among practitioners. With the establishment of the VIEWS Board of Editors, the featured content in this publication is peer-reviewed and standardized according to our bilingual review process. VIEWS is on the leading edge of bilingual publications for English and ASL. In this way, VIEWS helps to bridge the gap between interpreters and clients and facilitate equality of language. This publication represents a rich history of knowledge-sharing in an extremely diverse profession. As an organization, we value the experiences and expertise of interpreters from every cultural, linguistic, and educational background. VIEWS seeks to provide information to researchers and stakeholders about these specialty fields and groups in the interpreting profession. We aim to explore the interpreter’s role within this demanding social and political environment by promoting content with complex layers of experience and meaning.

While we publish updates on our website and social media platforms, unique information from the following areas can only be found in VIEWS: • • • • • • •

Both research- and peer-based articles/columns Interpreting skill-building and continuing education opportunities Local, national, and international interpreting news Reports on the Certification Program RID committee and Member Sections news New publications available from RID Press News and highlights from RID Headquarters

Submissions VIEWS publishes articles on matters of interest and concern to the membership. Submissions that are essentially interpersonal exchanges, editorials or statements of opinion are not appropriate as articles and may remain unpublished, run as a letter to the editor or as a position paper. Submissions that are simply the description of programs and services in the community with no discussion may also be redirected to a more archival platform on the website. Articles should be 1,800 words or fewer. Unsigned articles will not be published. Please contact the editor of VIEWS if you require more space. RID reserves the right to limit the quantity and frequency of articles published in VIEWS written by a single author(s). Receipt by RID of a submission does not guarantee its publication. RID reserves the right to edit, excerpt or refuse to publish any submission. Publication of an advertisement does not constitute RID’s endorsement or approval of the advertiser, nor does RID guarantee the accuracy of information given in an advertisement.

Advertising specifications can be found at www.rid.org, or by contacting the editor. All editorial, advertising, submission and permission inquiries should be directed to (703) 838-0030, (703) 838-0454 fax, or publications@rid.org.

Copyright VIEWS is published quarterly by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. Statements of fact or opinion are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the opinion of RID. The author(s), not RID, is responsible for the content of submissions published in VIEWS. Statement of Ownership VIEWS (ISSN 0277-1088) is published quarterly by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. Periodical postage paid in Stone Mountain, GA and other mailing offices by The Sauers Group, Inc. Materials may not be reproduced or reprinted in whole or in part without written permission. Contact views@rid.org for permission inquiries and requests.

VIEWS electronic subscription is a membership benefit and is covered in the cost of RID membership dues. Single issues of print VIEWS are available to members or nonmembers for $9.00 Board of Editors Kelly Brakenhoff, NIC Royce Carpenter, MA, NIC Master Jami Macdonald, Associate Member Amy Parsons, Associate Member Adam Summers, M. Ed. © 2021 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. All rights reserved.

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MISSION The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf strives to advocate for best practices in interpreting, professional development for practitioners and for the highest standards in the provision of interpreting services for diverse users of languages that are signed or spoken.

VISION By honoring its past and innovating for the future, RID envisions a world where: • Its members recognize and support the linguistic rights of all Deaf people as human rights, equal to those of users of spoken languages; • Deaf people and their values are vital to and visible in every aspect of RID; • Interpreted interaction between individuals who use signed and spoken languages are as viable as direct communication; • The interpreting profession is formally recognized and is advanced by rigorous professional development, standards of conduct, and credentials.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) understands the necessity of multicultural awareness and sensitivity. Therefore, as an organization, we are committed to diversity both within the organization and within the profession of sign language interpreting.

Our commitment to diversity reflects and stems from our understanding of present and future needs of both our organization and the profession.

We recognize that in order to provide the best service as the national certifying body among signed and spoken language interpreters, we must draw from the widest variety of society with regards to diversity in order to provide support, equality of treatment, and respect among interpreters within the RID organization.

Therefore, RID defines diversity as differences which are appreciated, sought, and shaped in the form of the following categories: gender identity or expression, racial identity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, deaf or hard of hearing status, disability status, age, geographic locale (rural vs. urban), sign language interpreting experience, certification status and level, and language bases (e.g. those who are native to or have acquired ASL and English, those who utilize a signed system, among those using spoken or signed languages) within both the profession of sign language interpreting and the RID organization.

To that end, we strive for diversity in every area of RID and its Headquarters. We know that the differences that exist among people represent a 21st century population and provide for innumerable resources within the sign language interpreting field.

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. 333 Commerce Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 838-0030 V • (571)-257-3957 VP • (703) 838-0454 Fax www.rid.org 55 www.rid.org

COMING SOON FROM RID PRESS

RID Press is proud to announce a new book on team interpreting by Jack Hoza to be released in early 2021 This new volume replaces the previous volume: Team Interpreting as Collaboration and Interdependence and includes all of the chapters from that volume, which have been greatly updated and expanded. The new printing presents information that goes well beyond the topics of the first volume and includes six new chapters, with two-thirds of this new volume being made up of new material. The study is updated with new research, including the author’s new interview study with Deaf interpreter-hearing interpreter teams and teams of two hearing interpreters.

The presented research provides valuable information on the following types of teams: Deaf interpreter-hearing interpreter teams; teams of hearing interpreters; teams of Deaf interpreters; and experienced interpreter-novice interpreter teams, and presents additional insight into how these teams can do their best work, and “team interpret in the zone.”

The book proposes a new team interpreting framework, which represents a return to a community approach to interpreting, which has been in existence within the Deaf community long before the advent of professional interpreters, provides a new vision for team interpreting based on current research, best practices of the field, and the contributions of Deaf community members and scholars.

Click here for a video in ASL by the author: https://youtu.be/VoDGhiP7VR4

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