Interpreter Organizations

The Community

A selection of links to interpreter organizations.

#	Web Link	Hits
1	Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf RID is a national membership organization representing the professionals who facilitate communication between people who are deaf or hard of hearing and people who can hear. Interpreters serve as professional communicators in a vast array of settings such as: churches, schools, courtrooms, hospitals and theaters, as well as on political grandstands and television. RID’s function is to support our membership by providing the foundation needed to launch and sustain careers while ensuring quality service to the Deaf community. We do this through a four-pronged approach. * Education: Continuing education in any profession is a demonstrated commitment to the advancement of skills for increased quality service. RID focuses efforts on providing educational opportunities for new and professional interpreters through the Professional Development Committee (PDC) and the Certification Maintenance Program (CMP). CMP monitors the continued skill development of certified interpreters. It ensures that practitioners maintain their skill level and keep up with developments in the interpreting field. * Standards: Maintaining standards helps to define a profession as well as the professional. Possessing RID certification is a highly valued asset for an interpreter and helps you to stand above the rest. For the betterment of both the profession and service to the consumer, RID has a tri-fold approach to the standards it maintains for membership: o National Testing System (NTS) strives to maintain strict adherence to nationally recognized testing industry standards of validity, reliability, equity and legal defensibility. o Certified Maintenance Program (CMP) is an avenue through which the continued skill development of certified interpreters/transliterators is monitored and nourished o Ethical Practices System (EPS) and NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct (CPC) are two vehicles which provide guidance and enforcement to professionalism and conduct. The EPS provides an opportunity for consumers to address concerns or file complaints regarding the quality of interpreter/transliterator services, and the CPC sets the standards to which all individuals holding RID certification are expected to adhere. * Relationships: As a growing, recognized profession, interpreters need valuable networking opportunities with each other as well as key stakeholders to further advance the profession through relationship-building. RID provides international, national, state and local forums in addition to an organizational structure for this growth. * Resources: Serving as an information clearinghouse, RID seeks to provide members with the necessary tools to succeed in their career and move the profession forward. We do this through such means as member benefits, affiliate chapter and regional support, a monthly member newsletter, publications offered through RID Press, current and user-friendly Web site, biennial conference and much more.	533
2	Mano a Mano Tantas fuerzas poderosas empiezan en la pequeñez, sí, pequeñez, sin embargo, con el potencial más grande. El arroyo minúsculo se convierte en un riachuelo, un río, un océano. La semilla minúscula se convierte en un plantón, una ramita, una secoya grande. Incluso la vida humana empieza con el ADN tan ínfimamente pequeño; sin embargo, sorprende a la inteligencia cuando se convierte en una fuerza de vida como no hay otra igual, con la capacidad de aprender, enseñar, explorar, imaginar; para crear. “Mano a Mano” empezó con la primera conferencia en el año 1999, con el apoyo de la señora Mary Mooney de la universidad “El Paso Community College” de Texas, del director del proyecto nacional “National Multicultural Interpreting Project” fundado nacionalmente por 5 años y de la líder de la agrupación “NMIP Hispanic Team”, Angela Roth. Desde el principio, el potencial de la organización era evidente. En los congresos del 2001 en Orlando y del 2003 en Chicago, como se decía en nuestro tema del congreso, “Unidos y Adelante” la presencia y la influencia de la organización eran claras. Tenemos unos orígenes humildes que ahora están unidos con la efervescencia de las comunidades extraordinarias que se han agregado, compartiendo información y experiencias beneficiosas para todos los grupos lingüísticos y culturales. Hemos alcanzado unos objetivos críticos. Somos una fuerza creciente. El potencial ahora es una realidad, y “Mano a Mano” está preparada para seguir adelante e impactar positivamente. Esta página web está dedicada a los intérpretes del lenguaje de señas y a las comunidades influidas lingüística y culturalmente por el idioma español a las cuales sirve proporcionándoles recursos profesionales, debates comunitarios, noticias sobre acontecimientos, intercomunicación y otros recursos más. Sin embargo, todos los organismos vivientes y dinámicos necesitan apoyo, “nutrición” para el crecimiento. Les damos las gracias por su apoyo. Les damos las gracias por creer en el poder de la comunidad. Y les damos las gracias por trabajar unidos “Mano a Mano”. Nosotros seguiremos buscando la fortaleza en usted, pues es usted, su apoyo, sus habilidades, su tiempo, que facilitan la posibilidad de lograr que “Mano a Mano” continúe su travesía como un “ser” completo. Así qué, ¡Bienvenidos! La presidenta Angela Roth y la junta de "Mano a Mano"	118
3	Southern California Chapter of the National Alliance of Black Interpreters, Inc. We, the Southern California Chapter of the National Alliance of Black Interpreters, Inc. exist to serve as a networking structure for African Americans/Blacks engaged in the profession of sign language interpreting and actively support, empower and promote excellence among African American/Black interpreters and trainees in the Southern California area. (We endeavor to promote excellence and empowerment among African Americans/ Blacks in the profession of sign language interpreting in the context of a multi-cultural/ multi-lingual environment.)	59
4	National Alliance of Black Interpreters, Inc. NAOBI is the only national organization that supports sign language interpreters from the African diaspora. As such, we recognize that we stand at an important crossroads. We do not stand alone. The fact that many cultures meet and converge here is what makes our existence so important. * We are sign language interpreters. We constantly seek to recognize changes in American hearing culture and in American Deaf culture to improve our ability to contextualize communications between them. We work ably with all interpreters and are integral to interpreting organizations all over the U.S. We endeavor to be fit and ready to interpret in any mainstream setting. * We are interpreters of color. In the Deaf world and in the hearing world, we enjoy membership in both the mainstream culture and in a sub-culture that is unique and special to us. We celebrate that sub-culture and explore its nuances so that we can communicate it properly. We strive to be the best cultural fit for interpreting within the Black community and for providing an American Sign Language to Spoken English interpretation for Black Deaf consumers. * We are not the only interpreters of color. We have sibling groups in the Native American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian sub-cultures. We plan to partner with our peers, to help each other, and to provide references across the sub-cultures. * We exist along a continuum. Some of us are certified; some are qualified for certification; some are 'working'; some are volunteers; some are just beginning; some are in ITPs; some are just thinking about becoming an interpreter. We want to move each of us along that continuum to become "certified". We will provide support and encouragement to each other at each rest stop along the way.	71
5	Interpreters with Deaf Parents Member Section The Mission of IDP is to promote greater understanding and awareness of the values of the Deaf community as well as the skills, dedication and sensibilities that interpreters with Deaf parents continue to offer to the interpreting profession.	40