Language Access and the New Reality, winter edition

Location: Online

Date: December 3-4, 2020

Time: 4-6 PM EST on Dec. 3

10 AM-7 PM EST on Dec. 4

Well, the election is almost over and 2021 is fast approaching! So what’s next? What will the new year bring? How will it impact interpreters, translators, and the language services industry? Join us for discussions, answers, and networking.

The theme of IEO’s second virtual conference is interpreting and translation profession during the pandemic and post-election. You are invited to participate in expert talks about the most pressing issues and new developments of the industry, and discover ways to expand your career opportunities.
 
Your participation automatically enters you into IEO raffle, where you can win a course of your choice without an instructor ($109-$1,100 value) or IEO Plus membership ($99 value).
 
Rushing to get your year end CEUs? We will help you get what you need! See the CEUs available for the conference below.
 
Can’t attend the live event? No worries, the recordings will be available to everyone registered!

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Agenda*

*hover on a presenter's name to see the full bio

December 3, Thursday: Preconference

16:00-17:00 EST

HIPAA for interpreters and translators

How do people use, misuse or abuse HIPAA, the federal law protecting patients’ confidential health information? Let us count the ways… HIPAA remains a very misunderstood law, with serious consequences for those who get it wrong. Now, join our conversation specifically for interpreters and translators to ensure that you have the information you need when you work in healthcare. Plus, take part in an interactive discussion of an actual HIPAA case involving interpreters. Learn from their experience so you can avoid what happened to them.

Presenter:
Bruce Adelson, Esq. Bruce is a CEO of Federal Compliance Consulting LLC, and nationally recognized for his compliance expertise concerning federal laws. Mr. Adelson is a former U.S Department of Justice Senior Attorney. During his Justice career, Mr. Adelson had national enforcement and policy responsibility.
, Federal compliance expert

17:00-18:00 EST

Your power: Entrepreneurial side of surviving the pandemic

Your attitude will always influence the outcome. You are in charge of your success. Harness that power! In this session you will be introduced to new attitudes, new behaviors and recent technologies that create added value for our customers.

Presenter:
Giovanna Lester Giovanna Lester has been a translator and interpreter since 1980. Gio is a member of various T&I professional organizations, and holds various volunteer positions: General Secretary and Mentor at Abrates, Spokesperson for the ATA, Co-founder and former President (two terms) of the ATA Florida Chapter (ATIF). At the NAJIT, she’s Co-chair of the Public Relations Committee and Editor/Curator of its weekly online publication, The NAJIT Observer. Gio is Chair of the Miami Dade College Translation and Interpretation Advisory Committee, and Program Director at International Culture Institute of the Bahamas, in Nassau. She is also a pre-candidate at AIIC.
, President of Brazilian Association of Translators and Interpreters

Gold

Silver


December 4, Friday

10:00-10:10 EST

Opening remarks by

Jinny Bromberg Jinny is the Executive Director of Interpreter Education Online and the Founder of Bromberg & Associates, a Language Solutions Company, a WBE and DBE certified business and a holder of the GSA Federal Supply Schedule award. Jinny is the first court-certified Russian Interpreter in Michigan, Corp Magazine’s Most Valuable Professional awardee and a passionate advocate for language access for all. To improve quality of interpreting services worldwide she developed Interpreter Education Online training platform in 2009 and has grown it into a cutting edge globally known organization. Jinny’s strongest quality is tenacity. She is a workaholic whose favorite thing about her job is having never-ending opportunities to learn, as well as seeing the passion of people who are in this industry.
, Executive Director of Interpreter Education Online
Elena Polonsky Elena holds an MA in Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Communication from the Moscow State University of Mechanical Engineering, and studied Translation Technologies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She is a former journalist and Managing Editor of The Moscow News, Russia's oldest English-language newspaper. Elena speaks Russian, Ossetian, English and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of German and French.
, Marketing Director of Interpreter Education Online

10:10-11:10 EST

What the Future Holds

This panel will discuss the impact caused by COVID-19 and changes to come, while examining the opportunities that lay ahead.

Panelists:
Konstantin Dranch A specialist market researcher in the localization industry since 2012, Konstantin has provided annual coverage and insights on markets in Europe. Formerly a business journalist and a strategist at a language technology company, he is currently working on global rankings of language services and technology providers and has a collection of data on financial performance, practices and model from businesses all around the world.
, Language Industry Researcher,
Chris Carter Chris has been obsessively studying languages and linguistics since he was 12 years old. He graduated from the College of William and Mary, studying Linguistics. After being in the language services industry for almost two decades, Chris is currently the owner and President of Intelliglot, a consulting business helping language service companies (LSC) work smarter with better strategy, operations, and technology.

Chris has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Language Companies (ALC) for several years, and is currently the Immediate Past President of the ALC. He has presented many times on the impact that new technologies could have on the language industry. Also, he previously worked in language assessment test consulting and he even co-founded a translation charity. Recently, Chris helped launch ALC Bridge, an initiative for employers, educators, and students to collaborate together and better prepare people with language skills for careers in the language services industry. He still does research in linguistics for fun.
, Founder of Intelliglot and immediate past President of Association of Language Companies,
Bill Rivers, Bill is the immediate past and founding Chair of ASTM Technical Committee F43, Language Services and Products, and chairs the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 232, Education and Learning Services. He serves as a member of the America’s Languages Working Group of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an honorary member of the Association of Language Companies, and recipient of the ALC Bill Graeper Award in 2019.

Before establishing WP Rivers & Associates, he served for eight years as the Executive Director of the Joint National Committee for Languages – National Council for Languages and International Studies, leaving a legacy of significant legislative and policy accomplishments, including the establishment of the Congressional Caucus on America’s Languages, and the passage of the World Languages Advancement and Readiness Program, among many others.
Principal at WP Rivers and Associates.

11:10-12:10 EST

National ETOE Study: Preliminary results

National certification for medical interpreters has been available since 2010. Yet, the number of languages available for performance assessment is limited. Language proficiency testing is not enough for many reasons, including non-transparency about their validation. In 2020, CCHI has been conducting a national study about validity of assessing competencies and skills differentiating a competent interpreter from a fluent bilingual in an English-to-English (EtoE) format. The study compares the interpreters’ performance on a dual-language certification exam and the monolingual EtoE exam. Presenter will report about the EtoE Study design, preliminary results, and implications for interpreter training, assessment, and certification.

Presenter:
Natalya Mytareva Natalya Mytareva, M.A., CoreCHI™ is the Managing Director of the Certification Commission of Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) since October 2013, one of its founding Commissioners, and the past Chair of CCHI. Since 2003, Natalya has been teaching a variety of courses to healthcare interpreters of various facilities in Ohio. She is the author and instructor of courses for interpreters of languages of lesser diffusion. Natalya has delivered a variety of presentations for healthcare and social service providers on cultural competence, working with interpreters, and serving refugee populations.
, CCHI Director

12:10-13:10 EST

Language Access and the Law – Post-Election

When the 2020 election is over and done, what happens next for language access? 2021 will likely see many new developments, regardless of the winner. Join us to learn what 2021 and the next president have in store for language access and the language services industry. For example: What will the Supreme Court decide about the Affordable Care Act and the law’s language access rules? What new regulations and enforcement priorities should we expect next year? Is tele-health a new opportunity for interpreters and translators? What about interpreters and translators as independent contractors or employees?

Panelists:
Bruce Adelson, Esq. Bruce is a CEO of Federal Compliance Consulting LLC, and nationally recognized for his compliance expertise concerning federal laws. Mr. Adelson is a former U.S Department of Justice Senior Attorney. During his Justice career, Mr. Adelson had national enforcement and policy responsibility.
, Federal compliance expert,
Carla Fogaren Carla has served as System Director of Diversity Initiatives, Interpreter Services and ADA/504 and Section 1557 Coordinator for the 35 hospitals in 9 different states for Steward Health Care. A registered nurse since 1988, Carla oversees the implementation of best practices across the Steward system including maximizing interpreter efficiency and creating diversity training programs. Carla’s experience as a trained medical interpreter and certified medical interpreter trainer combined with her experience as a multilingual provider afford her an interdisciplinary awareness of health care priorities essential for forging a group consensus in diverse settings. Additionally, in 2015 Carla received her certification as an ADA Coordinator from the University of Missouri.
, System Director of Diversity Initiatives and Interpreter Services at Steward Health Care

13:10-13:30 EST

BREAK

13:30-14:30 EST

Interpreting 2020: pivoting in the time of quaranteams and doomscrolling

The panelists will discuss challenges of the pandemic summer and fall, and what they have been doing to work through obstacles and achieve results.

Panelists:
Liz Essary Liz Essary began working as a healthcare interpreter in 2002, and in 2012 she earned national Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ credential through CCHI. In 2013, she was sworn in as a certified court interpreter through the Indiana State Supreme Court. In 2016, she completed a Master’s of Conference Interpreting at the Glendon School of Translation at York University in Toronto. Liz currently works as a freelance healthcare, court, and conference interpreter, and interpreter trainer in Indianapolis.
, Certified healthcare and court interpreter,
Ernest Niño-Murcia Ernest is a state and federally certified legal interpreter and translator with B.A. in Anthro-Linguistics. He has interpreted legal proceedings and prepared translations, transcriptions and expert witness reports/testimony for clients in the private and public sectors. He is a member of the Iowa Judicial Branch’s Language Access in the Courts Committee. Outside of court, he has interpreted for public figures such as House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He is currently working with Iowa PBS providing live interpretation for broadcasts of Governor Kim Reynolds’ daily press briefings on the COVID-19 crisis., Federally certified court interpreter.
, Federally certified court interpreter,
Janis Palma, Janis Palma has been a federally certified English<>Spanish judiciary interpreter since 1981. She worked as an independent contractor for over 20 years in different states. Her experience includes conference work in the private sector and seminar interpreting for the U.S. State Department. She joined the U.S. District Courts in Puerto Rico as a full-time staff interpreter in April 2002. She has been a consultant for various higher education institutions, professional associations, and government agencies on judiciary interpreting and translating issues. She is a past president of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators.
Federally certified court interpreter

14:30-15:30 EST

Expanding skills and careers

This panel will discuss the potential to diversify your career by acquiring new knowledge. Topics we will cover are content writing, live subtitling and voiceover.

Panelists:
Natali Lekka Natali Lekka has a MA in Translation Studies from the University of Warwick in the UK and has been translating professionally from English and French into Greek since 2008. She specialises in marketing, advertising and transcreation. Natali is also a bilingual content writer and feature writer for brands and publications. In 2020, she launched “Content Writing For Translators”, an e-course that helps translators branch out to content writing. She was also named #11 of top 50 influencers in the localization industry by Nimdzi Insights.
, One of the top 50 influencers in Localization industry,
Alessandra Checcarelli Italian native conference interpreter, translator and respeaker for the English, German and French languages. Alessandra has studied in Rome and Munich and she has mainly worked in Italy and Europe after obtaining a BA degree in linguistic and cultural mediation in 2007 and a MA degree in conference interpreting in 2010. She is a board member of Association onA.I.R.-Intersteno Italia, the Italian delegate association of Intersteno international federation for information and communication processing.
, Conference and community interpreter,
Rafa Lombardino, Rafa has B.A. in Social Communications and majored in Journalism. She started working as a translator in 1997 and is certified by the American Translators Association (English > Portuguese) and by the University of California, San Diego Extension (Spanish > English), where she teaches classes on the role of technology in translation. Currently the President and CEO of Word Awareness, a small network of professional translators established in 2004 and incorporated in 2009, she specializes in technology, communications and literature.
Certified translator and author of Tools and Technology in Translation


Previous conference feedback

15:30-16:00 EST

How to break into emerging language access needs in education

Many school districts struggle with providing language access to growing multilingual communities. The lack of awareness and understanding of interpreting creates barriers for educators and administrators who genuinely wish to provide access, but do not understand the needs of their student demographics and language delivery systems.

Presenter:
Victor Sosa, Victor Sosa is the co-founder of Indigenous Interpreting+®. He co-authored The Indigenous Interpreter®, A Training Manual for Indigenous Language interpreting. With this manual he has trained over 200 indigenous speakers as professional interpreters in California’s Central Coast. In 2013 Victor became the recipient of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care award, the Language Access Champion. His work in the fields of language access and Indigenous communities has been featured nationally in NPR 2014 & PRI the World 2016. He is a California court-certified interpreter since 2006 and a Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI) since 2010, as well as a licensed trainer.+
Co-founder of Indigenous Interpreting+

16:00-16:30 EST

Navigating language access in education: interpreter's perspective

Staff interpreters in K-12 school districts are often faced with little to no support with T&I systems and procedures. Oftentimes, the school district has the role filled without a clear path for interested parties to navigate language access. Creating T&I systems and procedures does not have to be a daunting task, but it does involve work from the interpreter and/or translator in order to create meaningful change. Are you up for the challenge? In this workshop you will learn: a) how to collect data to support your objective; and b) how to use data to create T&I systems and procedures within your local institution.

Presenter:
Mireya Perez, Mireya Pérez has been a professional interpreter for over 10 years. She began her interpreting career as a certified medical interpreter after obtaining her certification from NBCMI. Currently, she works as a K-12 school district interpreter/translator in California, where she’s led the efforts in the development of district-wide systems and procedures to help brand the role of the interpreter and translator in education. She holds a Master’s of Science in Communications from Purdue University and in February 2020, she launched the Brand the Interpreter Podcast, a platform dedicated to assisting language professionals tell their stories.
K-12 interpreter and translator

16:30-16:40 EST

BREAK

16:40-17:30 EST

What the job market says

This panel will discuss new requirements, employment opportunities and career suggestions from courts, companies and end clients.

Panelists:
Virginia Joplin Virginia, Chief Executive Officer, began professionally translating French, Spanish, and English in 1996. Since then, Virginia has grown Verbio from one legal translator into a full-service company addressing 200 languages and all forms of communication, plus specialty consulting. Virginia is a Sworn Translator for the Consulates of France and Spain. She has been an Active Member of the American Translators Association and similar professional organizations since 1998. Virginia was twice elected by her national peers as Administrator of ATA’s Translation Company Division (2012-16). The U.S. Secretary of Commerce appointed her to the Export Council of Oregon & SW Washington (2018-2022). She joined the Board of the French-American Chamber of Commerce in 2019.
, CEO, Verbio Group,
Ksenia Boitsova Ksenia has been specializing in the field of court interpreting since 1994, and has served as a certified court interpreter in New York City, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. She is also a former interpreter trainer and coach. Under Ksenia's leadership and guidance, the Maryland Court Interpreter Program has significantly grown and evolved with hundreds of new qualified and certified interpreters added to the Court Registry and various language access tools implemented in the Maryland courts. Ksenia and the Court Interpreter Program team have been collaborating with various Judiciary departments to provide training on the use of Zoom for Government in interpreted proceedings.
, Maryland Court Interpreter Program Administrator,
Beth Podber, Beth has been an American Sign Language Interpreter for over 7 years interpreting in various settings and locations across the United States. She earned a bachelors in American Sign Language-English Interpretation from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf in 2014 and a Certificate in Healthcare Interpretation in February of 2020. She is currently the Coordinator of Interpreter Services at New York Presbyterian Queens where she oversees daily operations of the interpreting department, educates staff, and interprets for Deaf patients and families. She sits on a diversity committee and is an advocate for equity in healthcare for limited English proficient communities.
Coordinator of Interpreter Services / American Sign Language Interpreter at New York Presbyterian Queens,
Paul Tracy, For the past ten years Paul has led business development and operations at Partners Interpreting. His background and training is as a National Certified ASL interpreter for over 22 years. Paul’s introduction to the language and Deaf community was through family: his father is Deaf-blind, and Paul is a native/heritage user (CODA) of ASL. He provides consultations to language companies on industry technology as well as on the management of sign language interpreting services. Paul is active in the language industry both locally and nationally, serving on various committees. Currently he serves on the RID Diversity Council and is the Co-Chair of RID’s Interpreter Service Managers Member section. Paul is also on the Board of the Association of Language Companies (ALC) serving as a Treasurer.
Co-Founder of Partners Interpreting

17:30-18:00 EST

Giving back to our global communities

A brief spotlight on the work of several amazing language industry non-profits and how you can get involved.

Speakers:
Karen Walker Karen was born in Massachusetts and is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica. She studied psychology and Spanish at Oberlin College and later studied school psychology at Tufts University. Karen has worked as a school psychologist in the public school system working with students from pre-school through high school. She spent a number of years working with homeless youth providing academic and career development services first as a classroom instructor and later as an administrator. Karen also spent four years working at a community college in Massachusetts overseeing a dual enrollment program for high school students with disabilities.
, Program Director for Career Advancement at Found in Translation,
Cecilia Maldonado With a degree in translation from the National University of Cordoba, Ceci's 18-year experience in the industry includes co-founding, managing and merging language service companies, co-founding the first language industry association in Argentina, volunteering with different international organizations, as well as organizing more than 30 training events such as the Language & Technology Conference, Think Latin America, and the Vendor Management Seminar in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, Peru and the United States.
, Vice President of Women in Localization,
Manuela Noske, Manuela is the Community Manager for TWB where she is responsible for community outreach strategy, developing scalable engagement programs, creating training and development opportunities for the community, and supporting community-initiated projects.
Community Manager at Translators without Borders,
Jeannette Stewart, Jeannette Stewart is a strategic leader helping brands achieve global growth, business revitalization and transformation. She founded Translation Commons, an online volunteer nonprofit community, offering free tools and resources, helping graduates acquire working experience and creating visibility through global impact programs such as the Language Digitization Initiative. As the CEO of CommuniCare, a life-science language services provider with offices in London, Paris, Athens, Budapest and Los Angeles, she has been involved in high-profile projects such as the Genome Project and prototyping the online Unified Submission Process for the European Medicine Agency. She is committed to volunteerism and has founded, served on the board of directors, moderated and participated in various educational, women's and health charities.
Founder, Translation Commons

18:00-18:55 EST

Advocacy

After several years of stresses being piled on by politics, civil unrest, and natural and health disasters, we can hardly be faulted for feeling fatigued! The price of these stressors is felt both personally and professionally; it's time to organize around actions we can take, both as individuals and collectively, to effect positive change. By bringing our voices together, we can more effectively advocate for our professional standing, and that empowerment will bleed over into our personal lives.

Presenter:
Caitilin Walsh, Caitilin is an ATA-Certified French-English translator who delights in producing publication-quality translations for the computer industry and food lovers alike. A graduate of Willamette University (OR) and the Université de Strasbourg (France), and a past President of the American Translators Association, she currently chairs the ATA Education & Pedagogy Committee. She brings her strong opinions on professionalism as an instructor of Ethics and Business Practices at the Translation and Interpreting Institute at Bellevue College, Chair of the T&I Advisory Committee for the Puget Sound Skills Center (both in Washington State), and the Executive Board of the Joint National Committee for Language (JNCL-NCLIS). When not at her computer, she can be found pursuing creative endeavors from orchestra to the kitchen. You can follow her on Twitter @caitilinwalsh.
certified translator, past President of the ATA

18:55-19:00 EST

Closing remarks by

Jinny Bromberg Jinny is the Executive Director of Interpreter Education Online and the Founder of Bromberg & Associates, a Language Solutions Company, a WBE and DBE certified business and a holder of the GSA Federal Supply Schedule award. Jinny is the first court-certified Russian Interpreter in Michigan, Corp Magazine’s Most Valuable Professional awardee and a passionate advocate for language access for all. To improve quality of interpreting services worldwide she developed Interpreter Education Online training platform in 2009 and has grown it into a cutting edge globally known organization. Jinny’s strongest quality is tenacity. She is a workaholic whose favorite thing about her job is having never-ending opportunities to learn, as well as seeing the passion of people who are in this industry.
, Executive Director of Interpreter Education Online

RID: 0.6 CEUs

ATA: 6 CEPs.

Healthcare: 6 CCHI instructional hours,

0.5 IMIA/NBCMI CEUs.

Court: 6 CIMCE with CA, 6 CO, 6 KY, 6 MD, 6 MI, 5 MO, 6 NC, 6 NE, 3 OR, 6 PA CEUs.