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InTouch

A publication of San Diego County Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf

Volume 17, Number 1 Jul–Sept 2014

Outgoing President’s Report 1, 3

Incoming President’s Report 1, 3

Link to Last Meeting’s Minutes 2

Election Results & Vacancies 4

Workshop Report 5

Community Interpreter Report 6

Deaf Rep Report 6

Student Rep Reports 7

RID Cares Results 8

YPIN Info 8

Outgoing/Incoming

Presidents Reports

Mala Poe & Judith Kroeger

A s I sit down to write my final column as

President of this fine organization, I think

about all the wonderful things that I have witnessed

over the last four years as President. I am honored to

have served during a time of growth and change. I am

standing taller today than I was when I first took on the

position. Our membership has grown, our bank account

has grown, and our knowledge has grown. San Diego

has a vibrant interpreting community that embraces

Deaf people and welcomes interpreting students into

our assignments, our homes, and our hearts.

We had a record attendance of over 500 people at the

RID Region V conference the last week of June, in-

cluding staff, working interpreters, and exhibitors! It

was a wonderful conference with a lot of big names,

great conversations, and insightful new concepts. This

conference would not have been possible without the

hard work of the executive team consisting of the Con-

ference Co-Chairs, Liz Mendoza and Branton Stewart,

and our Region V Representative, LaVona Andrew.

The conference committee was a hard-working group,

mostly comprised of SDCRID members, which of

course made me proud. Because of the diligence of the

executive team, this year’s Regional conference profit-

(Continued on page 3)

T o see this article in American Sign Language CLICK HERE. This new fiscal year marks both a continuation

and a beginning with SDCRID for me. It is my pleasure to continue serving on the Board and I am thrilled to be beginning this year as president of SDCRID. I know that previous presidents, Board members, volunteers, and members have built a foundation within SDCRID for us all to come together now and achieve even more for our community, our organization, and our profession. Over these next two years I am excited to envision what SDCRID can and will be. I am excited to see the creation of a place where everyone can feel involved, volunteer-ism is encouraged, multi-media communication is en-hanced, and where we as an organization can continue to effect change locally, regionally, and nationally. I see SDCRID as the place for everyone. I envision SDCRID as a place where every member of the commu-nity, Deaf, hearing, CODA, IDP, certified, pre-certified, student, or GAP member can come to network, learn, and grow the field of sign language interpreting. To this end I am excited about SDCRID partnering and partici-pating in community events and seeing students and GAP members (interpreters in between the ITP and pro-fessional interpreting phases) have more participation within our organization.

(Continued on page 3)

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InTouch is printed quarterly, beginning July each year. Submissions may be sent via mail or email to:

Publications Chair P.O. Box 600004

San Diego, CA 92160-0004 publications@sdcrid.org

Any submission not meeting the following guidelines or which is deemed inappropriate will not be published. Articles: InTouch prints articles of interest and concern to the membership. Articles should be 1000 words or less. Un-signed articles will not be accepted. Letters to the Editor: Letters should be 250 words or less. Unsigned letters will not be published. However, a name can be withheld upon request of the writer as long as the identity of the writer is known to the editor and there is valid reason. Editorial Policy: InTouch publishes articles on matters of interest and con-cern to interpreters and transliterators. SDCRID encour-ages representation of various views and opinions within the interpreting field. SDCRID reserves the right to edit, excerpt, or refuse to publish any submission. Articles do not necessarily represent the opinions and endorsement of the SDCRID Board of Directors or the membership at large.

SDCRID Board & Committees

Board: President Judith Kroeger

president@sdcrid.org Vice President [Vacant]

vice-president@sdcrid.org Secretary [Vacant] secretary@sdcrid.org Treasurer Billieanne McLellan treasurer@sdcrid.org Past President Mala Poe past-president@sdcrid.org Community Rep Abby Coyer (Working Interpreters) rep1terp@sdcrid.org Community Rep Marla Marks (Deaf) rep2deaf@sdcrid.org Community Rep Jennifer Johnson (Palomar) (Interpreting Students) rep3palomar@sdcrid.org Community Rep Sabrina Vieira de Vasconcelos (Mesa) (Interpreting Students) rep4mesa@sdcrid.org Committees: Bylaws [Vacant] bylaws@sdcrid.org Communications Liz Mendoza communications@sdcrid.org Fundraising [Vacant] fundraising@sdcrid.org Historian [Vacant] historian@sdcrid.org Legislative [Vacant] Librarian Jillean Reitz librarian@sdcrid.org Membership Laurel Fisher membership@sdcrid.org Mentorship Lisa Sands mentorship@sdcrid.org Nominations Barbara McIntosh-Love nominations@sdcrid.org Professional Development Lynette Miller pdc@sdcrid.org Public Relations [Vacant] pr@sdcrid.org Publications Andrea Pond publications@sdcrid.org Scholarship Karen Boyle scholarship@sdcrid.org Webmaster Ed Balentine webmaster@sdcrid.org

executive-board@sdcrid.org (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Past President)

board@sdcrid.org (Executive Board plus four Community Representatives)

committees@sdcrid.org (all Committee Chairs)

InTouch Editorial Policy

Have Your Ideas Published Speak your mind in a professional forum

through InTouch SDCRID’s InTouch is currently accepting:

Reviews of local workshops

Reviews of regional and national conferences

Interviews of San Diego interpreters

Current research in the field of interpreting

Announcements of interpreting events

Letters to the Editor Submit to publications@sdcrid.org by September 1, 2014.

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Secretary Needed Are you a duel SDCRID and RID member in good standing? Have you been in good standing with SDCRID for at least 9 months? Do you hold a RID-recognized certification? You are a candidate! Duties include:

• Keep complete and accurate record of the proceedings of the Board of Directors

• Supervise the keeping of all organizational records

• Issue meeting notices as are required to es-tablish duly called meetings and actions

For a complete list of responsibilities, look on the

SDCRID website.

You can also express your interest or ask questions

by emailing nominations@sdcrid.org.

Disclaimer: Please note that pictures may be tak-en at any SDCRID event which may be uploaded to the SDCRID Facebook page or used for other

marketing or public relations purposes.

If this is a concern, please notify any SDCRID Board member.

ed more than $40,000—yes that is forty thousand dol-

lars! Of which, SDCRID will receive $10,000 since we

had so many committee chair commitments.

So, you can see why I am feeling real good about end-

ing my term on such a positive note. Judith Kroeger is

an excellent leader and will be a great president. I will

remain co-chair for PDC and serve as Past President for

two years, and look forward to taking a little break.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve this commu-

nity. Thank you for the support and respect.

- Mala

Minutes to Review Please take a few minutes to review the Minutes from our last General Membership meeting on June 14, 2014. We will be voting to approve the Minutes at our next General Membership meeting. Minutes may be accessed on our website:

http://www.sdcrid.org/meeting_minutes.php.

I see SDCRID encouraging volunteerism more than ever. I envision SDCRID as a place to initiate, grow, and establish local career-long volunteerism within the field of sign language interpreting. To support this, I see SDCRID fostering social events that bond Board and Chair members together as a team and bind their com-mitment to the organization. In addition, I see the leader-ship team working together to mentor new leaders and encourage each of our leaders to develop their own goals that align with the mission of SDCRID. I see SDCRID enhancing multi-media communication with our members. I envision SDCRID communicating using a variety of media to bridge linguistic, geographic, and functional gaps between our members. I am interest-ed in pursuing the use of video technology so that all of our members can be involved and supported in our com-munity and, like this message, am committed to provid-ing links to information in American Sign Language as well as written text. Lastly, I see SDCRID as a catalyst to effect change. I envision SDCRID utilizing collective discussion with our membership to continue to effect change within our local community, within our Region, and nationally. Through our discussions we will ensure time for action items and a plan to communicate information shared in discussions locally, regionally, and nationally. As we transition to this new term, I ask that all members who share in my vision for SDCRID to get involved by volunteering, whether as a Board member, chairperson, or committee member. We have room for everyone! Stay informed through the variety of media we offer, whether it be our newsletter, website, Yahoo Group, or Facebook page, and participate in our events, including meetings, community partnerships, facilitated discussions, and Think Tanks. I look forward to seeing and connecting with each and every one of you.

- Judith

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Hello SDCRID! Thank you all for welcoming me as your new Nomi-nations Chair. Our previous nominations chair, Katey Bartie, has made a tough act for me to fol-low. I want to thank her for passing the torch onto me. Also, thank you to all who showed up to our General Membership meeting on June 14th. All posi-tions that were up for election were uncontested. Everyone’s a winner! We welcomed a few new mem-bers to the Board, moved some Board members around in new positions, as well as said goodbye to others as they had ended their terms. Student Representatives for Mesa and Palomar A cheerful “Thank you!” to Eric Brown and Clennie Foster for their service as Mesa and Palomar stu-dent representatives for the 2013-2014 year. Both have completed their terms and are now moving forward as ITP graduates, continuing their higher education toward certification. As they step down, we welcome Jennifer Johnson as the Palomar Representative and Sabrina Vieira de Vascon-celos as the Mesa Student Representative. We look forward to seeing your visions of contribution to our organization come to light. President It is with a heavy and thankful heart that we say goodbye to the lovely Mala Poe as our Affiliate Chapter President. This strong woman has be-stowed amazing energy to SDCRID, through thick and thin. It is an honor to have experienced her as our mighty leader. Behind every successful presi-dent is an outstanding Vice President. Congratula-tions to our very own Judith Kroeger for ascending up the ladder from her role as our Vice President to our new President. We are excited to see what SDCRID’s future has in store. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing and working more with everyone. See you next meeting!

SDCRID Election Results: 2014-2015 FY

Barbara McIntosh-Love

Nominations Chair . . . for SDCRID Board and Chairs! The chaos of re-structuring is dying down and we are looking to fill a number of positions. Envision yourself in a role within the Board & Chairs. We are interested in your participation in our grand organization. Why be just a member when you can be more? Join a wonderful fun team of people. The Board positions available are: Vice President Behind our newly appointed successful president we are looking for a newly appointed outstanding Vice President. To qualify you must: be an SDCRID member in good standing for a minimum of 9 months, a duel member of SDCRID and RID, have 5 years of interpreting experience, AND hold an RID recognized certification. One year remaining of two-year term. Secretary We are looking for a master of words. For the best operating SDCRID Board, this position needs to be filled as soon as possible! Consider yourself or someone you know for placement on our Board. To qualify you must: be an SDCRID member in good standing for a minimum of 9 months, a duel member of SDCRID and RID, AND hold an RID recognized certification. Two-year term. Appointed Chair and committee positions available include: Bylaws, Fundraising, Historian, Legisla-tive, and Publications. These all ask a two-year commitment. If you are interested in any of the above, information about position duties and re-sponsibilities are found on the SDCRID website. For Chair and committee positions: http://www.sdcrid.org/chairs.php. For Board positions: http://www.sdcrid.org/board.php. If you would like more direct information, of course, I am here to answer any questions regarding your interest. If you believe that you or someone you know would be a perfect fit, do not hesitate to con-tact me at nominations@sdcrid.org.

Vacant Positions

WE WANT YOU . . .

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Workshop Write-up

Boundaries with Professionals: Social Media and the Deaf Community

Panel Discussion Moderated by Liz Mendoza

Written by Cami Miner

Does the “status” above look familiar? Hopefully not!

Aside from merciless abuse to the English language, social

media presents a series of sticky decisions and ethical

dilemmas for the professional interpreter. The rise of Fa-

cebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social networking

sites has not only changed the way we interact with each

other, it has also challenged the very concept of privacy.

Is anything on the Internet really private? Yet we post

pictures, opinions, feelings, and sometimes talk about

work on our social media sites.

Guided by Liz Mendoza, those of us at the SDCRID mini-

workshop last month discussed the ramifications of what

we, as interpreters, share online. Interpreters are in the

unique position of working as professionals exposed to

highly sensitive information, while balancing Deaf com-

munity involvement as an important part of earning and

maintaining the trust from our clients, as well as main-

taining the language skills necessary to do our job. A care-

less post that divulges too much information can shatter

that trust so quickly. It's easy to think that as long as

names and locations are not mentioned, confidentiality is

upheld, but often overlooked are selfie backgrounds,

"checking in," or even seemingly innocent information

that, in a tight community, can be a dead giveaway. Also,

"public" events are still events that the interpreter is only

a part of because of a Deaf client, so even something that

seems "safe" to post about should be handled with cau-

tion. A good tool in evaluating posts is to consider: What

would your Deaf clients/friends think? What about fellow

interpreters? Or your boss/scheduler?

After Mendoza's presentation, the discussion was contin-

ued via a panel of hearing and Deaf interpreters, consum-

ers of interpreting services, and professionals. Interest-

ingly, the one common theme was that for every issue

(aside from preserving confidentiality), there was no

strong consensus. Free speech vs. professional responsi-

bility, Constitutional right vs. the CPC, professional bound-

aries vs. community involvement. Can we post pictures

with alcohol? What about other sensitive issues like politi-

cal and religious beliefs? Should we accept or send "friend

requests" with clients? What does a profile say about you

as a professional? There were those who stated strong

conservative opinions and those that took a more liberal

stance on each issue. We discussed the options for main-

taining privacy and image: untagging yourself from pic-

tures, setting your profiles to private, being selective in

who you accept as your "friends," and keeping posts

vague, neutral, and positive. What we all agreed on was

that each issue comes down to a personal ethical decision,

and while we are free to make those choices, we must ac-

cept the consequences that come with them.

-feeling bored. Time 2 terp another boring meeting. May-

be they'll cancel = easy $$$!!! #selfie #terping #boringjob

-at Confidential Location

NOTE: The next SDCRID General Membership

Meeting is TBA

Look for upcoming emails with details.

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Hiya Terps in San Diego! I wanted to give a shout out to Mala Poe for getting the Distinguished Service Award at the Region V RID Conference, last month. The Interpreter Educator was awarded to our own Melissa Smith!!! Woot! I am so proud to call myself an SDCRID member; I get to work with and know a multitude of peers at conferences like RID Region V and throughout the year. Thanks for all of your hard work!! I am about a year into my tenure here at San Diego County RID and it has been a growing experience. My position is for you to let me know what your con-cerns are in the local interpreting community. We can't fix everything, (I lost my magic wand), but we can discuss and see what ideas come from there. Please feel free to email me at rep1terp@sdcrid.org with anything interpreting-related. The next Think Tank will be postponed. It will be at the Applebee's in Chula Vista on Wednesday, August 13, from 6:30p to 8:30p. It tends to take us a while to get settled, so come early. If you know you are going to come please email me so I can make a good reservation and give the restaurant a heads up. Hope to see you at or before the next General Mem-bership meeting!

As Jillean Reitz says, "Make good choices." ;)

Community Interpreter Report

Abby Coyer

Community Representative for Community Interpreters

Hope you all are having a great summer! I must say what a busy year it was for the Board with planning the recent regional conference, having new mem-bers joining, and changing new positions within our Board and Chairs. It was sad to see some Board members retire from their seats as their terms end-ed, but I am also anxious to start working with the new replacements among the SDCRID Board and Chairs. I have recently been added to DCS’s Deaf Advisory Council membership email list so I can become an active member among the Council and attend their quarterly meetings. This will be a great opportunity for me as a Deaf Representative, to be able to attend the meetings and seek to build a bridge between the Deaf community and interpreters. For those who don’t know, Deaf Advisory Council, a.k.a DAC, comes together to discuss what’s happening within the Deaf community. I will have more understanding about this council after I attend their next meeting in August and as I continue to attend upcoming ones. For the next newsletter, I can present my experienc-es and thoughts from the DAC meetings. This summer, KODA West will be hosting a beach day at Huntington Beach on August 23rd. They pro-vide fun activities for both for the whole family. Booths are set up for KODA West charity donations and items to buy. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Deaf Representative Report

Marla Marks

Community Representative for the Deaf Community

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First off I would like to say thank you for allowing me to have this great opportunity. I look forward to working closely with the Board and learning even more about the processes that occur at SDCRID. I am excited to work with such a wonderful group! A little about me: I am part of the interpreting pro-gram at Palomar College and I look forward to rep-resenting the goals and hopes of the students there. I look to continue the traditions set up by previous representatives! My goal is to maximize time students get to have

with professional interpreters, either in groups or in

one-on-one situations. In addition, I look to open up

different areas to students such as medical and legal

for observations, and I will continue to encourage

student involvement in all areas of interpreting. I

would like to know if any interpreters would be

willing to allow students from Palomar to observe

their assignments. I know the students would love

to get to know the field better through experienced

eyes and would be extremely grateful for your time!

I look forward to working with all of you and getting

to know you better!

Student Report—Palomar

Jennifer Johnson Community Representative for

Interpreting Students: Palomar College

Student Report—Mesa

Sabrina Vasconcelos

Community Representative for Interpreting Students: Mesa College

I joined SDCRID as a student member at the very beginning of my ITP enrollment at Mesa College. I've attended several meetings and have been impressed with the level of commitment of the members to-wards the organization. It was one of the facts that made me wish to join the Board. My goal for this year is to motivate my fellow stu-dents to join us and participate in the meetings; there is a lot to learn from interacting with profes-sional interpreters. There are also awesome work-shops offered before the meetings. "Boundaries with Professionals: Social Media and the Deaf Communi-ty" was the last one. What a great discussion about social media ethics!! From the perspective of an ITP student, it was valuable to learn how to navigate through social media within professional bounda-ries. I wish more students took advantage of the workshops. I'm looking forward to an exciting year!

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The SDCRID Lending Library has resources, and in some cases multiple copies of resources, for any RID Standardized Test, such as:

NIC Written sample tests NIC Performance prep resources Study materials SC:L resources EIPA DVD’s Many Deaf History and Deaf Culture books

These resources are easy to pick and drop off, and ready to loan to test-takers who are SDCRID mem-bers. See the SDCRID website for a full list of availa-ble books and DVDs: http://www.sdcrid.org/library.php

SDCRID Lending Library

RID Cares

Contribution Report

Sendy Medina and Victor Medina RID Cares Co-Chairs

As part of the 2014 Region V Conference, the 2014 RID Cares Initiative partnered with Deaf Education and Families project: San Diego Parent Links. The initiative originated as way to give back and to incor-porate philanthropic efforts that benefit the Deaf community. As such, the 2014 Region V Conference leaders elected a group that provides programs and services for parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing chil-dren in the San Diego area. To begin our task, we wrote a formal letter and met in person with a rep-resentative of San Diego Parent Links to announce their nomination and get an itemized list of their needs. We developed a Facebook page to urge our interpreter & D/HH affiliates to contribute. We sent numerous emails petitioning donations and permis-sion to set a collection bin in many key Deaf commu-nity locations. Per the request of Parent Links, RID Cares set a goal of collecting new or used ASL dictionaries, books, and DVDs to help expand their lending library to hearing parents. We also had an initial financial goal of raising $800, which was surpassed. To date, a to-tal of $1,100 in funds was collected. A total of seven ASL (dictionary) book drives were hosted through-out San Diego, collecting a grand total of 2 gas cards, 36 ASL books, 106 VHS/DVDs, 40 ASL posters, and a board game. We also hosted a successful art sale fundraiser event in the Silent Auction hall of the con-ference, where the talented Deaf artist, Jon Savage, graciously donated a high percentage of his sale pro-ceeds towards RID Cares. On June 28th we awarded the representatives of San Diego Parent Links with all the collected materials and grand total RID Cares donations at the 2014 Region V Conference. We would like to thank the interpreting community in San Diego and all conference attendees for their contributions and support.

Young Professional Interpreters’ Network

(YPIN)

YPIN will soon be hosting a planning meeting to schedule events through the end of 2014. If you are an ITP graduate with less than 7 years experience in the field, join our email list to get involved! We want to hear what you’d like to see happen in the San Die-go interpreting community that can contribute to your professional development. Email ypin@sdcrid.org with any questions. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/YPINSanDiego YPIN beings together motivated, emerging interpreters from var-ied backgrounds to promote advanced interpreting preparation, networking opportunities, and volunteer experiences to benefit the interpreting field and Deaf community, at large.

Click here to view an article from CSUN reporting on the donation!

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For the most current information on upcoming workshops, SDCRID meetings, Think Tanks, and more, please visit SDCRID’s Calendar of Events at:

http://www.sdcrid.org/calendar.php Also, if you know of any events that would be beneficial to fellow SDCRID members and you would like them posted on the calendar, please email Vice-President@sdcrid.org to have it added to the calendar.