Presenters
Change to alphabetize by last nameAnderson Twins
Alaina Webb
Alaina Webb has been working as an interpreter since 1989. She currently holds Texas Level IV, Masters, and Court certifications, and is working toward her NIC. Alaina has worked in a variety of interpreting settings including medical, legal, mental health, all levels of educational, video-relay, and many others. She has taught ASL at both Texas Woman's University and Tarrant County College, and interpreting at Tarrant County College, and has served as a mentor for over 15 years. She is currently the manager/trainer for the Sorenson DFW center. Alaina has had the privilege of presenting several workshops over this last year with her friend, Kelly Bothel.
Alonna Lamb
Alonna Lamb has a passion for working in the interpreting field and has been doing so for the past twenty years. She enjoys teaching and presenting a variety of topics from A-Z. She studied at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY from 1985-1987 and has since interpreted national conferences, Deaf Way, the Deaflympics, and much more. Alonna has been working in the courts for the past 15 years and has vast experience in legal settings. She was certified in 1988 and received her SC:L in 2006.
Amanda David
Amanda David is a native of southwest Louisiana. She graduated from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA, and attended the Interpreter Training Program at Collin County Community College in Plano, TX. Amanda was a participant in the Visiting Interpreter Program sponsored by Gallaudet Interpreting Service. She is certified on both State and National levels.
Amber Galloway
Amber Galloway currently resides in Houston, Texas. She had spent the earlier part her interpreting career as a community interpreter in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from San Antonio College with an A.A.S. degree in Interpreting for the Deaf and also received her BA in Psychology in 2008. She works as a staff Interpreter for Communication Axess Ability Group as a community interpreter as well as a CSDVRS video relay interpreter. She also is an adjunct faculty for Cy-fair Community College where she teaches interpreting classes. Currently, she is certified R.I.D. CI and CT, R.I.D. and N.A.D NIC, Texas B.E.I. Level V and Texas B.E.I. Oral Certified: Comprehensive.
Amy Frasu
Amy Frasu is the VI-P Mentorship Coordinator for Sorenson VRS in San Antonio. Amy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Deaf Education and Elementary Education from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida and graduated with honors from Gallaudet University with her Master of Arts degree in Interpretation. As an ASL-English interpreter since 1994, Amy has worked in a variety of settings, including video relay service, medical appointments, business meetings, conferences, k-12 schools, undergraduate courses, graduate courses, and theater. Her graduate school research was recently published by Gallaudet University Press - Use of Space during an English-to-ASL Interpretation when a Visual Aid is Present (Studies in Interpretation Series, Volume 3, edited by Melanie Metzger and Earl Fleetwood). Amy is currently an active adjunct instructor in the San Antonio College Department of American Sign Language and Interpreter Training and a freelance interpreter.
Byron Bridges
Dr. Byron Bridges received his bachelor's degree in Deaf Studies from CSUN, his master's degree in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and his Ph.D in Deaf Studies/Deaf Education from Lamar University. Byron travels all over the country giving workshops on various topics such as non-manual signals, strong language in ASL, structure of ASL, complex classifiers, and CDI training. Byron also co-authored a book and produced a videotape entitled Deaf Tend Your. Byron has his CDI and BEI Level 5 certification. Byron currently teaches at Austin Community College in the Interpreter Preparation Program.
Carla Reid
Carla Reid graduated from San Antonio College ITP in 1996. She started interpreting in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Houston, Texas twelve years ago and is currently their Interpreter Coordinator. Carla has devised and provided interpreter training opportunities for Cy-Fair ISD staff Interpreters since 2005.
Carlos Ramirez
Carlos Ramirez, MD is a practicing physician in the area of Emergency Medicine in the Rio Grande Valley area. He is graduated from Texas Tech University in Family medicine where he was honored as a Chief Resident. He has been in practice of medicine for about 6 years. He held the position as a volunteer faculty with the TTUHSC-Abilene program. He has had multiple presentations and he is bilingual.
Original from Colombia and married with his wife Tatiana have 2 daughters Catalina and Daniela. They enjoy being involved with the community.Carmen Garcia
Carmen Garcia, currently a visiting professor of American Sign Language and Hispanic Studies at Vassar College where she also teaches courses related to Deaf culture and Spanish. She developed a Mentoring Program for community interpreters, is a fluent ASL/ English/ Spanish Tri-Lingual. She has also currently teaching intermediate Spanish at Vassar College where she started a community initiative program called Nosotros to encourage promising high school students to continue their education by having Vassar students studying Spanish work with them as mentors in a cultural and language exchange. Her academic training has been varied and extensive including Theatre/American Studies (undergraduate and master levels) from SUNY @ Buffalo - Summa Cum Laude, Deafness Rehabilitation (second masters) from NYU, studies in language acquisition and pedagogy from the Canadian Institute of English, Mentor Training from the RIT Interpreter Education Training Grant, Training on the Application of Educational Interpreting Outcomes to Teaching and Learning from the RIT Summer Institute. She has twenty-five years of teaching experience on the college and university level. Eight years of vocational counseling experience, five years of job coaching, job developing and job placement, eight years in interpreter training and mentoring, 5 years of Legal/Court interpreting, as well as many years of research into language acquisition and pedagogy. Mrs. Garcia has been interpreting from childhood as she was raised in a truly multi-cultural family. She was born in Puerto Rico then moved to New York as a child where she grew up between those two cultures. She also had a Deaf brother who was her best friend growing up.
Mrs. Garcia is well known as an educator and mentor of interpreters as well as a consultant on Spanish culture and language acquisition. She has served as a tri-lingual interpreter at several RID national conventions as well as serving as the Latino advisor several times. She serves as a Board Member of Mano a Mano where she serves as the Northeast Region Rep and serves on the Committee for New York State Educational Interpreters (Think Tank). Carmen wrote and developed the Curriculum for Dutchess Community College for an Interpreter Training Program where she served as the Chair, for Vassar College and Sullivan Community College. She is also part of North Eastern University's Consortium of Interpreter Trainers.Catharine Van Nostrand
Catharine Van Nostrand is the mentorship coordinator for the St. Paul, MN Sorenson VRS Video Interpreter-Provisional (VI-P) Program. With over 18 years of experience interpreting in settings ranging from diverse organizations and performing arts to higher education, Catharine began interpreting in the video relay setting in 2004. In 2003, Catharine earned a Masters of Liberal Studies degree at the University of MN, where she researched an inter-disciplinary approach to adult learning and mentorship. She is the co-author of Charting the Way: a Handbook for Postsecondary Educational Interpreters, a comprehensive curriculum and video series created for the Higher Education Mentorship Project she coordinated at the University of MN. An experienced trainer and consultant, Catharine thrives in creating effective professional development opportunities for interpreters.
Charles Trevino
Charles Trevino, BBA, holds a CSC and an O:S/V (oral) certificate from RID; he also holds a Masters certificate and a Court certificate from DARS / BEI Texas. He has presented numerous workshops on Interpreting, American Sign Language, International Signs, and Sign Language in Theater. He currently works as a faculty member in the Interpreter Training Technology Program at Lone Star College – North Harris in Houston, Texas. He enjoys homemade cookies and vitamins “M&M”.
Chris Grooms
Daniel Warthling
Debbie Peterson
Debbie Peterson is the Western Region Professional Development Trainer. She comes from a Deaf family in Alabama. She received a B.S. in Psychology from Gallaudet University and M.S. in Teaching American Sign Language at McDaniel College in Maryland. She taught ASL at The Bi Cultural Center, University of Minnesota and New York University. She coordinated the ASL Studies at Bishop Community College in Alabama for a year before she moved to New York City and taught ASL and Deaf Culture to Deaf Russian immigrants. In Minnesota, she coordinated various training workshops for educational interpreters through Federal Grant for two years. Minnesota’s cold weather sent her to Seattle Central Community College. She taught interpreting for 8 years before heading back to the east coast. She taught interpreting to both B.A and M.A. students at Gallaudet University for a year and half. She also took some Ph.D linguistics courses. Also, she is involved with Northeast University to develop interpreting training modules for deaf interpreters.
Erma Webb
Gino Gouby
Gino Goubyis currently the National Professional Development Trainer for Sorenson Communications. An Arizona native, Gino brings to Sorenson VRS over 10 years of experience as an interpreting trainer and practitioner. He has presented on local and national level. He received his Certified Deaf Interpreter certification in 2001 and his Conditional Legal Interpreting Permit - Relay certification in 2002. Prior to relocating back to his native state, Arizona, he previously worked as the Instructional Development Coordinator for the Distance Opportunities for Interpreting Training Center (DO IT Center) in Denver, Colorado. He remains active in various local and national organizations by maintaining membership with National Association of the Deaf, Arizona Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Conference of Interpreter Trainers and American Sign Language Teachers' Association.
James Walterhouse
Pastor James Walterhouse lost his hearing due to a high fever at the age of six. He has been working with the deaf in various ministerial capacities since 1977. He has started deaf ministries, trained interpreters, been a missionary to the deaf in Mexico, and currently serves as Pastor to the deaf at Baptist Temple of McAllen, Texas.
Jeremiah Sammons
While not an interpreter, Jeremiah Sammons is the 2008 Student SIG Chair for TSID and an ITP Student at Houston Community College. A full-time writer/educator, Jeremiah has published plays for children, books on creative writing for educators, and travels extensively teaching advanced hair/massage/spa techniques at salons and spas around the world. Jeremiah holds a B.A. in Ancient Religions and Cultures from the University of Helsinki, an MBA in Business from Muskingum College, Instructor’s Licenses in both Cosmetology and Massage, as well as a variety of other licenses and certifications. When he completes his Associates Degree in Sign Language Interpreting, Jeremiah plans on pursuing a PhD.
Julie Simon
Julie Simon has been an American Sign Language/English Interpreter for over 26 years and an interpreter educator for over 19 years, having taught in both pre-service and in-service settings. In March 2007, Julie opened The Language Door: An Education and Resource Network for Interpreters and Translators. Prior to that, she served for over 11 years as Administrator for the Western Region (formerly Region X) Interpreter Education Center at Western Oregon University. Julie received her doctorate from the University of Arizona in Language, Reading and Culture, and her masters from Boston University in Deaf Education/ASL Studies.
Kelly Bothel
Kelly Bothel received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of North Texas in 1988. She holds a Texas BEI Level III Interpreting Certificate and has fourteen years of interpreting experience. Kelly has worked in a variety of interpreting settings in the community, theatre and video relay. She is also in her fifth year as an adjunct instructor at Tarrant County College where she teaches Sign to Voice, Interpreting I, II and III. For the last nine years, Kelly has been a mentor for interpreting students and novice interpreters. Kelly has presented numerous workshops with her friend, Alaina Webb, at Tarrant County College, Region XI ESC and the 2008 TSID conference.
Kim Hunt
Kim Hunt is from Southeast Texas. She has been in the interpreter profession for more than 28 years which include areas of education, medical, community, religious, and video-relay interpreting. She has presented on various topics on the local, state and national level.
Linda Stauffer
Lynne Wiesman
Lynne is the founder and CEO of Signs of Development, LLC, an internationally-recognized professional development organization specializing in CD Rom WWWorkshops with CEU credits as well as consultation and assessment for individuals and organizations, mentorship and training to students and educators of ASL and Sign Language interpreters. Her specific emphasis is mentoring for interpreters preparing for certification. She is most proud of having supported over 750 interpreters to successfully pass various aspects of the interpreting certification processes.
She is a graduate of the Master Mentor Program where she also taught for the final 3 years of the grant program. She also currently teaches for DeVry/Keller’s Online School of Business. Her previous work experience involves the development, establishment and administration of two interpreter assessment processes (one for community interpreters and the other for educational interpreters) for the state of NC as well as the development of a two-year Interpreter Preparation Program at Southwest Illinois College.
Most recently her work focuses on the development of sustainable mentoring projects for states and organizations. To that end, she is currently the Project Coordinator and Developer of the 3 STEP (Striving Toward Effective Practices) Mentoring Training Project for Gallaudet University Regional Interpreter Education Consortium. Lynne has been published in St. John Benjamin’s Press as well as numerous articles in the Views and CIT newsletter and journal. She is the author of a self-publish business manual and CD Rom for interpreters “It’s a Matter of $’s & $ense”. Lynne graduated from SW Collegiate Institute for the Deaf of which she is most proud, possesses an undergraduate degree in Organizational Leadership, an MBA, has completed a year of law school and is currently A.B.D. toward her Ph.D. in Training & Performance Improvement. Her research interests are mentoring to close the graduation-to-certification performance gap. She holds RID CI/CT and SC:L and TX Court Interpreter Certification.Randi Turner
Randi Turner serves as the Communications Access Specialist for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services - Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services. She works with agencies, service providers and people with hearing loss regarding their rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and state law. Randi holds a BAAS degree from Texas State University, RID CI/CT and Texas Advanced interpreter certification.
Sherri Roberts
Sherri Roberts is the President of Sign Language Interpreting Services, LLC (SLIS) in College Station, TX. She holds both national and state certification. Sherri has more than 20 years of interpreting experience in settings ranging from medical, legal, mental health, employment, state agency and education (Pre-K through doctoral classes) to religious interpreting. Sherri has served on professional boards at the local and state level, and has been involved with mentoring new interpreter for the past 15 years. Sherri has been presenting workshops for interpreters for nearly 2 decades, and loves to share her experiences in the interpreting profession. Sherri also presents workshops for medical professionals to help them learn how to better serve their patients who are Deaf.
Sonia Quintero
Sonia Quintero hails from Bogotá, Colombia SA and has a strong bilingual background working with persons with hearing loss as well as other major medical problems affecting their quality of life. She is currently a Deafness Resource Specialist working for Communication Axcess Ability Group CAAG of South Texas. She is responsible for addressing attitudinal and cultural barriers towards the needs of both the service population as the service providers. Her past experiences include positions as Case Manager, Resource Manager and Program Coordinator of several different programs for persons with brain injury and other disabilities. When in Colombia she was a Speech Pathologist/Hearing Impaired Therapist, dedicated to increasing the awareness of Special Education for persons with developmental disabilities. She was also certified in Colombia as a Trilingual Spanish/English/American Sign Language Interpreter. Sonia has also held several appointments by the Governor of Texas and Virginia.