Do you want to speak up for our profession and the people we serve, but aren't sure where to start? Come be inspired by a diverse panel of California language professionals, many without prior advocacy experience, who in response to recent labor law Assembly Bill 5 were compelled to stand up for their freedom to freelance. Working together as part of a broad coalition, they forged new bonds with colleagues, supported one another in their visits to lawmakers, and were ultimately successful in securing an exemption from AB 5. By hearing their stories, you will be empowered to make a difference both on a state and national level.
Panelists: Jennifer Santiagos
Jennifer holds a BA in Spanish from Wheaton College (IL) and is a freelance Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ with 12 years of professional experience. When California Assembly Bill 5 threatened her livelihood and put language access at risk in September 2019, Jennifer decided to become a grassroots advocate with CoPTIC (the Coalition of Practicing Translators and Interpreters of California). She met with lawmakers multiple times, mobilized colleagues, and wrote an op-ed which was published in CalMatters in August 2020 during the home stretch of CoPTIC's advocacy efforts. Jennifer currently serves on the ATA Advocacy Committee. She resides in Orange County, California with her husband and their son. , Certified Healthcare Interpreter™,
Lorena Ortiz Schneider
Lorena Ortiz Schneider, CT is an ATA-certified Spanish>English translator (since 1996), an ATA-credentialed interpreter, and a California state-certified administrative hearing interpreter. She has worked for the U.S. Department of State as a liaison and seminar interpreter, as a conference interpreter for private industry, and as a community interpreter in mental health and workers’ compensation settings. She is also an interpreter trainer, a practicing translator and interpreter, and a business owner. She founded the Coalition of Practicing Translators and Interpreters of California, a nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy group. She was a board member of the California Workers’ Compensation Interpreters Association, interfacing with government agencies and state lawmakers to improve working conditions and pay for interpreters. She is a Chair of ATA’s Advocacy Committee and served as an assistant administrator of ATA’s Interpreters Division for four years. She has an MA in translation and conference interpreting from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. , ATA Director, Chair of the ATA Advocacy Committee and Founder of CoPTIC,
Kseniia Topolniak,
Kseniia is a freelance Conference & Certified Russian Medical Interpreter based in Los Angeles, CA. She holds an MA in Conference Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) and has 13 years of professional experience in the language industry in Russia and the United States. After California Assembly Bill 5 was passed, her workload started to drop and her existing agency clients put a hold on the work with California-based freelancers. That's when Kseniia began her involvement with CoPTIC, where she met other colleagues and made connections. Together with her colleagues she met with local politicians and discussed issues regarding AB5. She shared her experiences with a professional FB group and inspired other interpreters and translators to make their voices heard. After language professionals got their exemption from AB5, Kseniia continues to enjoy the freedom of being a freelancer serving the Russian-speaking community in Los Angeles. Conference Interpreter,
Stephanie Webb,
Stephanie Webb has worked as a professional American Sign Language/English Interpreter for 24 years. Having a close relationship with her deaf grandmother who did not use sign language, while in college Stephanie signed up for an ASL class out of curiosity and immediately found an unanticipated life path. Multiple circumstances allowed for an immersive experience rare for sign language interpreters not raised in a Deaf family, and set the foundational framework of her work as a professional interpreter.
Stephanie currently works as a full-time freelance interpreter in Southern California, maintains a business that offers educational and professional development materials for ASL interpreters, and serves as the President of the Southern California Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. It was this board service that led to her involvement in AB5 efforts. ASL Interpreter and President of SCRID