About

Katharine Allen

Language Access Training Specialist at Boostlingo

Katharine Allen is the Language Access Training Specialist at Boostlingo, an interpretation software company.  She is a community and conference-trained interpreter with over three decades of experience interpreting, training, and designing curricula. She is a licensed trainer and co-author for The Indigenous Interpreter®, The Community Interpreter® International, and the upcoming The Remote Interpreter® textbooks and training programs. She worked for 10 years to raise the profile of interpreting as co-President of InterpretAmerica. Katharine is a founding member of the American Association of Interpreting and Translation in Education (AAITE). Katharine has an MA in Translation and Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Patricia A Alonzo

CHI, CMI, M.Ed.

A trilingual Interpreter with twenty-five years in the field of interpreting. Her interpreting experience and background are working with Spanish LEP’s and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. She holds a BA Degree in ASL Interpreting a MA in Education, and currently a doctoral candidate with a research focus on LEP health outcomes in the clinical setting. Formerly, she worked for Stratus Video, in Language Operations and as VP of Language Operations for Universal Language Service. Her focus is in growing the field of medical interpreting and ensuring all individuals have the power and dignity to make healthcare decisions in their language.

Margarita Bekker

Assistant Manager at Stanford Health Care

Margarita Bekker, after relocating to the U.S., pursued her education at UC Berkeley. She has been with Stanford University Medical Center since 2002, rising from Russian interpreter to Assistant Manager. Additionally, Bekker has taught at the Glendon School of Translation and served as a language coach at CCSF. Her leadership roles include chairing the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters and presiding over the California Healthcare Interpreting Association.

In 2016, Margarita received the CCHI Interpreter of the Year award.

Viviana Bernabe

Director, Global Interpretation Services at Welocalize

Viviana Bernabe is the Director of Global Interpretation Services at Welocalize. She has over 13 years in various aspects of language services including, Globalization, Localization, AI, and Interpreting with background in Project Management and Program Management. With the ever-changing landscape of live events and services, including increased integrations of multilingual meeting and event technologies over the last couple of years, Vivi is combining her expertise across different language services to promote a more well-rounded event globalization focus for an elevated end-to-end user experience.

Lyn Bongiovanni

Manager of Language Services at Western Health, Melbourne Australia

My name is Lyn Bongiovanni and I am the Manager of Language Services at Western Health in Melbourne, Australia. I have been a Manager of Language Services for over 30 years at two different health services. My current employment is at one of the largest and busiest Health Service in Melbourne. We are located in the West of Melbourne which has a huge population of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse patients. I have a degree in Interpreting and Translating and I am a NAATI Certified Italian interpreter and Translator, both directions. I have a keen interest in AI and how AI will influence the future of interpreting services.

Kirsten Brecht

CEO at Jeenie

Kirsten Brecht Baker is a tech entrepreneur with 15+ years of experience building companies that leverage innovative technology to solve everyday problems. Currently, she is CEO & Co-Founder of Jeenie – a mobile, multilingual communication platform. Under her leadership, Jeenie has been recognized as a Top Innovative Company by Fast Company, a Best in Business company by Inc. Magazine. Prior to Jeenie, she co-founded four other companies focused on online digital marketplaces, tech-enabled platforms, and cross-cultural market development. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School at Univ of Penn, BA in Political Science & Russian from UPenn.

Tatiana Cestari

Director of Language Service Advocacy at UpHealth

Tatiana González-Cestari, PhD, CHI-Spanish has 23 years of combined experience in pharmacy, pharmacology, research, management, and remote interpreting. Tatiana’s passions are quality, research, innovation, and cultures. She is Director of Language Service Advocacy at UpHealth; part of the NCIHC Policy, Education and Research committee; and co-author of The Remote Interpreter textbook. Tatiana has mentored, developed training, presented at national and international events, published peer-reviewed articles, and lectured at universities. Tatiana obtained her pharmacy degree and Ph.D. in pharmacology from Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Ivannia Charpentier

Project Manager at AMN Healthcare Language Services

Ivannia Charpentier currently contributes at AMN Healthcare as a Project Manager developing and implementing fully compliant Language Access Plans at Health Systems. As a project manager, she also leads project efforts through collaboration with internal teams to operationalize new products or services. At AMN Healthcare, she has also served as a Language Manager for a large Spanish Interpreting team. Ivannia is also a Spanish Interpreter with over 18 years of experience facilitating effective communication.

Kathleen K. Diamond

Principal Consultant at Kathleen Diamond & Co.

Kathleen Diamond is a consultant, entrepreneur, and business leader in the language services industry. She volunteers her time advocating for the importance, and relevance of language services as a Charter Member of the Association of Language Companies (ALC) and Chair, ASTM F43 Language Services and Products. She is a member in good standing of ATA. She is the Founding Chair of ALC Bridge. She completed a six-year term as a Founding Commissioner on the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) Kathleen has served Board of Director Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company in Alexandria, VA. She is a Stakeholder, SAFE-AI.

Mickaël Dimon ADIMI

Interpreter-Translator and EFL Teacher at Mountain Top Vision Li language institute

Passionate about languages, I studied English at the university of Abomey-Calavi and graduated with a Master’s degree. I worked at LDP Communication language institute from 2015 to 2020 as EFL Teacher, Translator and interpreter before starting own language institute in 2022 where we teach English, French and Fon, translate documents and provide interpretation services. I have been working with several organizations as interpreter including SOS Children’s village international office, PLACE for Africa NGO. I am about to start a Master conference Interprétation to specialize to learn more about the field.

Tamas Farkas

Director of Language Access Programs at Cross Cultural Health Care Program (CCHCP)

Tamas is the Director of Language Access Programs for CCHCP: Bridging the Gap medical interpreting training and Connecting to Care: Patient Guide training. Tamas is a linguist, trainer and interpreter, with fluency in five languages. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he attended the Metropolitan State University of Denver, spending one year abroad in Switzerland studying at the University of Fribourg. After graduating with a B.A. in German and French, he spent a year in San Juan, Puerto Rico learning Spanish. He worked as a medical interpreter before becoming a manager, trainer, and director.

Deborah Giustini

Doctor at HBKU; KU Leuven

Deborah Giustini, Ph.D (University of Manchester) is Assistant Professor at HBKU and Research Fellow in Interpreting Studies at KU Leuven. She is also a conference and community-trained interpreter, member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) and Executive Council member of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS), with over a decade of experience in interpreting and intercultural communication consulting for corporate and institutional organizations. Bridging academic and professional practice, she has conducted multiple international projects on the digitalization of the language industry.

Ludmila Golovine

President & CEO at MasterWord Services, Inc.

Ludmila Golovineis the President and CEO of MasterWord Services, Inc., a top-ranked LSP globally. She has dedicated over 30 years to the language services industry, and for the past 15 years has been an international speaker/advocate for language rights and social justice. She is the Strategic Partnerships Manager for the Global Community Programs of Women in Localization, a founding member of the Global Coalition of Language Rights, member of TBAT (Texas Business Against Human Trafficking), active participant in the UN Global Compact Initiative, and chairs the Advisory Subcommittee for the Translation and Interpretation Program at the Houston Community College. Her work has been recognized by numerous awards, including California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA) Trainer of the Year Award 2021, Houston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award, and Congressional Recognition G7 “Excellence in International Service” award.

Elizabeth González Soto

Language Justice/Language Access Practitioner

Elizabeth is a Transformative Justice leader and consultant specializing in language justice and access, cultural proficiency, and organizational development. They created the first Cultural Navigation & Language Access programs for an Early Support For Infants and Toddlers service agency in Washington State. Elizabeth holds an MA in Human Resources Development & is also an experienced, certified medical interpreter (CMI-Spanish and WA DSHS). They are also a dynamic and engaging professional trainer/facilitator and award-winning intercultural mediator who transforms organizations into compassionate, empathetic, learning, and growing spaces.

Christina Green

President at Green Linguistics LLC

Christina is a translator and interpreter with a BA in Modern Languages and linguistics from Universidad Central de Venezuela. She is the owner of a small WBE in Wisconsin and has over 25 years of experience in the medical, judicial, community and conference fields. She is a certified state court interpreter, and an ATA certified translator. She is a member of the Committee to Improve Court Interpreting in Wisconsin. She is also the current Administrator of ATA’s Interpreter Division, and a Member of ATA’s Interpreter Policy Advisory Council. She is serving as a Board Member of the American Translators Association (Term 2022-2025).

Olena Hart

Certified Associate in Project Management and Core Certified Healthcare Interpreter

Olena is a Ukrainian Core Certified Healthcare and Community Interpreter with over 12 years of experience. She got her Master’s degree in Arts from the Kyiv National Linguistic University (Kyiv, Ukraine) in 2008. She is the Head of the Communication Workgroup in the NCIHC. In February 2021, she founded Immigrant Platform, a nonprofit organization supporting immigrants to the United States. Honoree of 2022 Al Día 40 Under 40 Award for serving the immigrant community in Greater Philadelphia. Olena has earned a CAPM Certification in 2023. She is a passionate advocate of language access for LEP people and the interpreting profession.

Aki Hayashi

Sr. Manager, Globalization Program Management at Dell Technologies

Aki Hayashi is a leader in Globalization PMO with over 20 years of experience in the localization industry. At Dell Technologies, Aki leads the localization program management team and strategically steers the globalization aspects of Marketing, Digital, and Event programs with a commitment to language inclusion and accessibility. Aki passionately drives the concept of Event Globalization to ensure comprehensive language experiences for diverse global audiences at events. Aki holds an MS in International Relations from Northeastern University. She is based in Boston, MA, and has lived in Japan and Russia.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

Winnie Heh has worn many different hats – language instructor, translator, interpreter, professor of interpretation, senior executive and consultant. In her business career, she has run businesses in the U.S., Latin America, Canada, U.K. and China. As an educator, she connects students with the diverse career opportunities in the language industry and advocates for curriculum innovation in line with future talent needs. She earned her MA degree in Translation and Interpretation from MIIS. She serves as Board Member and Board Secretary of CHIA and Women in Localization. She is a Founding Member of Interpreter SAFE-AI Task Force.

Enrica Julia Ardemagni, PhD

Professor Emerita, Certified Court and Healthcare Interpreter

Enrica J. Ardemagni, Ph.D. (U. of Wisconsin) is Professor Emerita at Indiana University Indianapolis where she taught all levels of language and literature and Spanish for the Professions (business, legal, medical). At IUI she received sixteen teaching awards. Professor Ardemagni has served on numerous boards on language access, including six years as President of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care. She holds a Certificate in Online Teaching, she is a state Court Certified Interpreter, and a Certified Healthcare Interpreter™-Spanish, and a Lifetime Member of the American Translators Association.

Raquel Lazaro-Gutierrez

Doctor and Professor at University of Alcala (UAH)

European Network for Public Service Interpreting and Translation (ENPSIT)

Raquel Lazaro-Gutierrez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Modern Philology at the University of Alcala (Madrid, Spain), and teaches in the Master’s Degree in Intercultural Communication and Public Service Interpreting and Translation. She has been a member of the FITISPos-UAH Research Group since 2001, vice-president of the European Association for Public Service Interpreting, and Translation (ENPSIT), and chair of the Spanish Cluster in Language Technology (Madrid). She has been the Principal Investigator of several international research projects related to AI and interpreting, with a special focus on bilateral interpreting.

Marcia Loureiro

Portuguese Conference Interpreter & Translator at The Embassy of Brazil

Marcia C. Loureiro is a Conference Interpreter and Translator at the Brazilian Embassy, she also provides language services for several international organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. She has a MA in Linguistics from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Certificate of Proficiency in Translation from Georgetown University.

Carlos Martinez-Morales

Language Services Manager at Intermountain Health

Carlos Martinez-Morales is the Language Services and Cultural Competence Manager at Intermountain Health. Carlos completed his degree in Biology at University of Utah, and is a dual-certified medical interpreter (CMI & CHI-Spanish) and trainer. Carlos has served as a board director and Chair of NBCMI and is currently serving as President of the Utah Translators and Interpreters Association.

Dr. Alan Melby

Raised in Indiana. Still identifies as a Hoosier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier). Became fascinated with translation in the mid-1960s, while on study abroad in St Brieuc, France, as a high school student. Joined a machine translation project in 1970 while working on a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. By 1978, after obtaining a PhD in computational linguistics, experienced an intellectual crisis regarding the nature of language while an assistant professor of linguistics at Brigham Young University, concluding that unambiguous general language would be the ultimate prison but domain-specific language can and should be unambiguous. In 1979, shifted focus toward tools for human translators. In the 1980s, studied translation and became an ATA-certified French-to-English translator. In the 1990s, got into philosophy of language and wrote a book about human and machine translation (The possibility of Language) with a philosopher, Terry Warner.

In the 21st century, has focused on service to the translation profession, previously serving on the governing boards of ATA (www.antanet.org), then FIT (www.fit-ift.org), and currently (2022) serving as president of LTAC Global, a small non-profit, and collaborating on the development of translation-related standards, initially TBX (ISO 30042) for the exchange of information between terminological databases. In 2014, retired from full-time teaching and became an emeritus full professor. Since 2015, standards work has expanded to translation quality evaluation within the MQM framework (Multidimensional Quality Metrics for Translation Quality Evaluation) under the umbrella of ASTM International (www.astm.org), a standards body.

Maria Michalczyk, MA, RN

President Emeritus at Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association

Maria Michalczyk, RN, MA has worked as a professional nurse and administrator for five decades, of which at least 31 of those years have been formally dedicated to language access. She developed and managed both the medical interpreter program at Oregon Health Sciences University and the health care interpreter training program at Portland Community College (nations first community college offering). She has been a founding member and/or has been involved in multiple national and local language access organizations and has been recognized for her work.

Natalya Mytareva

Executive Director at Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI)

Natalya Mytareva is Executive Director of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters since 2013, and a Commissioner of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. In 2000-2013, Natalya was Communications Director at the International Institute of Akron, a refugee resettlement agency in Ohio. Natalya is a Russian interpreter/translator and started her career as instructor of interpretation/translation courses at Volgograd State University (Russia) in 1991. She holds a combined BA/MA degree from VSU in Philology & Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Tsukumo Niwa Sattler

Conference Interpreter and Intercultural Communicator

Tsukumo Niwa Sattler (she/her) is a freelance interpreter and translator working in Japanese-English language combination. Growing up bilingual and bicultural in Japan and the United States, she first interpreted and translated for her Japanese parents as a teenager and then grew up to become fully trained and certified, including CoreCHI-P™ and Arizona Court Tier A certifications. As a conference interpreter, she continues to increase clientele from diverse sectors across the globe. She uses her skills in intercultural communications to promote a world where people can collaborate across cultures and empower each other.

Shawn Norris

President at Hello Interpreters

Shawn Norris, Ed K-12 | NIC | CoreCHI-P, holds multiple key positions including the President of the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (FRID) and the Coordinator of Interpreting Services at UF Health St. Johns in St. Augustine, Florida. With a background enriched by his Deaf parents, Shawn is an active advocate in the Deaf community. He’s spent over a decade in the interpreting field, mentoring emerging interpreters and initiating a local agency to enhance language accessibility in Jacksonville. Currently, he’s developing an online community for interpreters and translators. He also serves as a Commissioner for CCHI.

Dr. Bill Rivers

Principal at WP Rivers & Associates

Dr. Bill Rivers is Principal at WP Rivers & Associates. A former Russian/English translator and interpreter, Russian teacher, academic researcher and administrator, and for-profit and non-profit executive, he has more than 30 years’ experience in language advocacy and capacity at the national level, with significant experience in culture and language for economic development and national security in the Intelligence Community, private and academic sectors, and publications in second and third language acquisition research, proficiency assessment, program evaluation, and language policy development and advocacy. His company is contracted by the ALC for advocacy support.

Patricia de Sa Snow, PhD

Principal Consultant at Sa Snow Consulting, LLC

Dr. Patricia de Sa Snow is a Plant Pathologist specialized in molecular diagnostics, plant pest quarantine, biotechnology, and associated regulatory frameworks. She has published peer-reviewed articles and served as reviewer and editor for scientific journals in Portuguese and English.

Patricia has offered language services throughout her scientific career and is a qualified Court Interpreter for the Maryland Judiciary. She has served on scientific committees and workgroups, and is interested in facilitating communication and dissemination of information on topics in agriculture, plant pathology, biotechnology and environmental issues.

Andy Schwieter

Director of Language Access Services at Cincinnati Children’s

Andy Schwieter leads the language access team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, helping them systematically turn language barriers into opportunities. Andy has worked as a Spanish interpreter since 2006, was certified by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2013, and was certified by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters in 2015. He co-authored a paper published in Hospital Pediatrics on improving discharge instructions for hospitalized children with limited English proficiency.

Holly Silvestri

CEO at Linguistic Connections, LLC

Dr. Silvestri has been a community interpreter, translator, and a trainer in these domains for years. She specializes in spoken educational interpreting.

Indira Sultanić

PhD, CHI™-Spanish | Assistant Professor of Spanish Translation and Interpreting Studies, Language Access Professional at Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Indira Sultanić is an Assistant Professor of Spanish Translation and Interpreting Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a Certified Healthcare Interpreter™-Spanish, with over 15 years of professional experience in the language industry. She has authored articles on medical interpreter education, interpreting for vulnerable populations, remote interpreting in pediatric therapy settings, and simultaneous interpreting. She has developed trainings for providers on best practices for delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate care, and served as a subject matter expert on numerous projects pertaining to language access.

Amanda Wheeler-Kay

Spanish Healthcare/Community Interpreter, Educator

Amanda Wheeler-Kay is a Health Care / Community Interpreter in Spanish/English who has interpreted in the Portland area since 2007 (certification through NBCMI). Amanda previously worked as a bilingual social worker, and that experience informs her work as interpreter and educator. She prefers to work in collaboration with other language equity advocates. She currently lives in Oregon, her home state, but has formerly considered Washington DC and Buena Vista, El Salvador as home. She loves to travel with friends and family and play noncompetitive soccer.

Sam Wilson

CTO at DA Languages

Fascinated by making complex technology look simple.