Court Interpreter Materials Here!

Meet the Founders

“Like many children of immigrants, I was a child interpreter. That’s really when my career began. Sometimes it was fun but what wasn’t fun was interpreting for adults in serious situations. I never knew what to expect when I’d hear, “Take the kid; she’ll help you with your English.”  Next thing you’d know I’d be trying to interpret transactions regarding tractor parts or bank accounts. ¡Ay, ay, ay!  Too much for my grade school bilingual brain to handle. But that training paid off because now, after many years as a Federally Certified Court Interpreter, I’ve had the opportunity to interpret in a myriad of interesting situations related to law, health care, yoga, and an array of other subjects. My work is never boring! It’s afforded me the opportunity to work as a staff interpreter in Federal Court for 7 years; interpret for Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, and Rigoberta Menchu; teach interpretation and translation at the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico; and to be a faculty member of the renowned Agnese Haury Court Interpreter Training Institute at the University of Arizona. And then, of course, is all the travel to exotic places. The fun never ends!”

“When you’re a kid, no one asks you if you want to move to another country… so by the age of 9, I had lived in Brazil, the United States and Mexico. I am very thankful for this now, and consider myself fortunate to have had this early exposure and connection to 3 different languages and cultures. In my professional life I started out as an Occupational Therapist, but I always loved languages and eventually I found a way to earn a living through them. I became Federally Certified as a court Interpreter in 2004 and as a Certified Healthcare Interpreter in 2011. I am now Staff Interpreter in Mendocino County, CA but my experience includes interpreting in Federal Courts, Federal Probation, depositions and conferences. My years of working in the healthcare field prepared me to teach and train Medical and Dual-Role Interpreters in hospitals throughout the country. For 3 years I taught as an Adjunct Instructor at the U of Arizona undergraduate program for Translation and Interpretation. In this my second career, I have encountered many supportive and kind colleagues,  – among them Yvette Citizen, with whom I am excited to share this project.”