Welcome 2015-2017 ITOC Vice Chair: Michon!!

Image: Michon Shaw, a Black woman, wearing a light blue blouse, a braided pearl necklace and dangle earrings is signing in front of a tan color wall.

English Version:

Hello! Hi, I'm Michon Shaw. I'm from Tampa, Florida. I was born and raised here in Florida. In 2006, I graduated from the University of Southern Florida's (USF) Interpreter Training Program. Since that time, I have been working as an interpreter with 6 years in the VRS setting. While VRS is a wonderful field to work in, I wanted more, so I made the decision to return to school.

 

Now I am a graduate student and I have an expected graduation date of Dec 2015. I am studying interpreting pedagogy. That means that I am taking courses to become an interpreter educator. Specifically, in the college setting, for interpreter training programs. It's something that I am excited about.

 

I'm also excited about the future of ITOC. Yes! I know it will be a good one! Thank you for selecting me to be your Vice Chair. I am excited because I can envision us coming together and having a collaborative discussion about our field. Of primary importance, ITOC needs to think about how we can grow our membership. Also, we need to discuss the current state of the field. If you look around, there's not that many interpreters and transliterators of color. Right?! There's not many. And yes, while there are some areas that have more interpreters of color than others, there's not many of us. I want to see us sit down and figure out how we can help our field grow, with more interpreters and transliterators of color.

That's my goal.

So, do we need to go into high schools, and grab high school students and encourage them to take ASL classes? Maybe. The point is, let's come together, discuss and figure out what we, the ITOC members... what can WE do?

I look forward to meeting you soon. Take care, bye bye.

Welcome 2015-2017 ITOC Secretary: Kristeena!!

Image: Kristeena, a Latina woman, wearing a grey blouse and black headband is signing. In the background, is a white door, cream color wall, and an olive green dresser with various items on top.

English Version
Hello! My name is Kristeena! I am the secretary for Interpreters and Transliterators of Color. I will like to accomplish that we acknowledge the diversity of ITOC members  and increase awareness and honor our life experiences.  I love learning about different cultures of the world.  I am fascinated about Intersectionality because of our life experiences that we face as People of Color.

ITOC Update: Council and RID NOLA Conference Updates!

ITOC Update

Signed version

ITOC nominations update:

Nominations for the ITOC council 2015-2017 term were open from Jan - April.

The following individuals were nominated:

Chair: Stephanie Chao, NIC (California)

Vice Chair: Michon Shaw, NIC - A (Florida) 

Secretary/Treasurer: Kristeena Thaten, DI (California)

All of the positions were uncontested and the nominees have accepted their nominations. 

Their terms will begin at the conclusion of the 2015 RID National Conference. We will post more information to introduce you to the new ITOC council soon.

Council vacancies:

We have vacancies on the council. Region 1, 3 & 4 still need representatives.  If you are interested in filling the vacancy for your region please contact itoc.secretary@gmail.com. The new database from RID allows us to sort out our members by region. We will also begin to directly ask members to serve as region representatives. The term for current region reps ends at the conclusion of the 2016 RID Regional Conferences.

National conference update:

We are looking forward to the RID national conference! We have several conference activities planned.

·  Saturday, 8/8 ITOC member section forum at 12:30pm. We will provide an opportunity for networking, give an update on ITOC activities over the last two years, and will recognize an interpreter of color for their work in our community.

o Here is where we need your help! We would like to recognize an interpreter of color for their service to our community. We think it's time for us to make sure our contributions to the field are not only known, but documented! We have legends among us and we want them to be honored. If you want to nominate someone to be recognized, the requirements are simple.

1) Send an email or signed message to itoc.secretary@gmail.com.
2) Give us the name of the individual that you would like to see recognized. 3) Tell us why they should be recognized. What type of contributions have they made to their community (This may be volunteer service at the local, regional, or national level. It could be educational achievements that aim to advance the interpreting profession overall or specifically for interpreters of color. Or, something else not listed here that is worthy of recognition).
4) Send us your nominations by July 1, 2015 to give us time to review nominations and prepare to recognize the individual during the ITOC forum at the national conference.

That's it. The ITOC council will review all of the nominations and will select one award recipient. We hope this tradition will continue and that every two years at the national conference, we will recognize an interpreter of color for the excellent things they are doing for our community and for the field of interpreting!

·  Monday, 8/10 at 9am - Social Justice Plenary Session - a discussion on social justice and what it means for interpreters.

·  Tuesday, 8/11 at 2pm - Social Justice Round Table - an opportunity to engage in conscious, critical dialogue, covering a range of issues in our field. We will have panelists who will demonstrate the importance of vulnerability and how to engage in these important discussions, in a safe space. Participants will be given the opportunity to engage in similar dialogues in small groups. Anyone who wants to learn about social justice and how to engage in these discussions will want to participate. Those already actively aspiring towards social justice will also not want to miss the Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon sessions. 

o Note: The SJ plenary session and the SJRT are the result of a collaboration between ITOC, IDP, Deaf Caucus and BLeGIT and is also ITOC's way of directly responding to the survey of our members, who overwhelmingly wanted to see discussions of social justice, power, privilege and oppression, and multiculturalism at the RID national conference. We hope you can make it!

ITOC lanyards

We will have ITOC lanyards on sale again starting now, and during the conference. The cost is one for $3 or two for $5. The profit earned by the sale of these lanyards will help us continue to provide professional development opportunities that specifically address the needs of interpreters of color.

See you at the conference!