Board of Directors |
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The work of the Council is overseen by a 14-member board, in addition to a treasurer and a secretary.
You can click on an individual board member's name below or scroll down to read more about each member.
The following are the members of the board of directors for 2009-2010:
Co-chair of the Board EnricaJ. Ardemagni, PhD Professor of Spanish Director, Certificate in Translation Studies Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis Department of World Languages & Cultures Fax: (317) 278-7375 Enrica J. Ardemagni is Professor of Spanish and Director of the Certificate in Translation Studies in the Department of World Languages & Cultures at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. She teaches translation studies, interpreting, Business, Legal and Medical Spanish. Professor Ardemagni is an adjunct professor in the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine where she teaches Spanish in the bilingual Introduction to Clinical Medicine course and How to Use Interpreters for fourth year medical students in clinical rotations. She has received fifteen prestigious teaching awards. Professor Ardemagni is frequently invited to give workshops on translation, interpreting, cultural competency, health literacy and diversity issues in legal interpreting. She holds undergraduate and graduate certificates in Medical Interpreting and she is an Indiana State Certified Court Interpreter. She was one of the founding members of the Midwest Association of Translators and Interpreters (MATI), a Chapter of the American Translators Association (ATA) and served as president of the MATI board 2006-2008 and 2010-present. Professor Ardemagni served as the Administrative Chair of the American Translators Association Literary Division from 2006-2010. She joined NCIHC in 2003 as a committee member on the Organizational Development Committee, served as Co-Chair of the Organizational Development committee from 2006-2009 and is currently Co-Chair of the NCIHC board. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Co-chair of the Board Senior Associate for Cross Cultural Consultation and Training Fax: (617) 626-8138
Joy Connell has 23 years of public sector experience working with multicultural populations at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health where she now leads the agency’s Person-Centered Initiative. Her extensive work with community-based organizations has focused on refugees and immigrants, while her training activities have encompassed issues of traditional minority groups as well as those of newcomers. She has consulted and/or presented to a wide array of human service providers in federal, state and private systems on a wide range of topics including ethnic-specific mental health needs, language access issues, and workplace diversity concerns. She was selected to be a trainer for the Multicultural Issues, Diversity Studies and Training (MIDST) program of the Boston University School of Social Work, and is certified as a Senior Trainer of Brandeis University's Diversity Curriculum produced for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is a former Board member of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, and is the former President of the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association.
Secretary Aida Cases National Program and HR Consultant Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc. MA Office: P.O. Box 2308, Woburn, MA 01888 NH Regional Office: 43 Technology Way, Nashua, NH 03060 Tel: (888) 678-CCCS ext. 121 Fax: (817) 380-1718
Aida Cases began her career as a cultural and linguistic advocate while living in Vermont and working for The Language and Cultural Affairs Program; a Title VI Federal Grant Funded Program under the supervision of the Vermont Department of Education. The work included working with school districts, non-English language students and families providing educational materials and cultural trainings to educators, superintendents and administrators. Aida’s educational background includes additional training in areas such as Teaching Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners (University of Conn Training Institute), VSHA (Vermont Speech-Language-Hearing Association) Workshop: Language, Literacy, Culture and School; The Inter-relationship Between Primary Language Acquisition, Culture and Secondary Language Acquisition with Dr. Li-Rong Lilly Cheng; and the University of Texas at Austin: (Training Institute Certificate) Improving Services for Linguistically Diverse Students with Disabilities.
Aida also co-partnered and contributed to a Vermont Dept. of Education instructional guide addressing the issues of NELB (Non-English Language Background) students.
She received her Art of Medical Interpretation training with Cross Cultural Communication Systems enhancing her understanding of issues such as lack of interpreters during medical sessions, mental health care disparities, non-compliance, etc. As a result, Aida wrote two guides for NH, funded by the Endowment for Health, “Guide for Hispanic/Latino families seeking Mental Health Access” and “Providing Outreach to Hispanic/Latino families with Mental Health Illness.” She also provided cultural sensitivity trainings to a local mental health center, hospital and school district. Aida has served on the Board of Directors of a NH Mental Health Center. In 2005 Aida was appointed to New Hampshire Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs by Governor Lynch. Aida continues her work with Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc. providing training and consulting work in the field of cultural sensitivity.
Treasurer Maria Michalczyk, RN, MA
Maria Michalczyk is the founder, director and instructor of the Healthcare Interpreter Training program at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon which was created in 1998. Her educational repertoire includes a B.S. in General Science, an M.A. in Anthropology from Portland State University and a degree in Nursing from the University of Guam.
Co-chair of the Finance Committee Vacant
Co-chair of the Finance Committee Jorge Ungo Pacific Interpreters, Inc. 707 SW Washington, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97205 Tel: (713) 725-6621
Having been raised in a bilingual home and spending summers abroad at an early age, Jorge developed an intense interest in other languages and cultures. After almost a decade working in guest relations at the Walt Disney Company and managing a small business, Jorge naturally gravitated to the language industry in 2002. As the director of an international interpreting program, Jorge was responsible for all business operations including sales and marketing, HR administration, operational logistics, and company-wide training. Today, Jorge is the Southwest Region Manager for Pacific Interpreters – a nationwide leader in healthcare interpreting. In his region manager role, Jorge consults with health and social service organizations throughout the Southwestern United States on how to design and implement cost-effective yet highly efficient language access programs. Jorge frequently presents at regional, national and international conferences on issues of language access and interpreter evaluation and training. In addition to his work with NCIHC, Jorge is President of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators (TAHIT) and has served the local community as both Liaison Office and Director of Professional Development for the Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA). Jorge was also the founding acting administrator of the American Translators Association Medical Division (ATA-MD). Jorge brings to the table a unique combination of boundless energy and creativity coupled with a deep understanding of the issues facing both individuals of limited English proficiency and the organizations that serve them.
Co-chair of the Membership Committee Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning Interpreter Network of Colorado 1610 Emerson Street Denver, CO 80218 Tel: (303) 831-4151
Dijana manages the Interpreter Network of Colorado (INoC), which is part of the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning in Denver, CO. She has been providing interpretation and translation services since 1995, and has been a Bridging the Gap trainer for medical interpreters across the state of Colorado since 2001. One of Dijana's responsibilities includes teaching a class for healthcare providers about how to effectively work with trained interpreters. She also provides intercultural and diversity trainings at the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning. Dijana started her career in refugee resettlement at the International Rescue Committee in Tucson, AZ, then moved to Colorado in early 1999, where she continued her work with refugee, asylum seekers, and immigrant populations at the Lutheran Refugee and Asylum Programs of Colorado. Dijana has been an NCIHC Membership Committee member since April 2009, and will serve as a Co-Chair of the same committee starting in May 2010. She is from Bosnia and migrated to the U.S. in 1993. Dijana has a background in journalism, and has a passion for writing.
Co-chair of the Membership Committee Pacific Interpreters, Inc. 707 SW Washington, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97205 Tel: (843) 637-0636
Jason Roberson holds an MA in Spanish Linguistics from Penn State University and an MA in Hispanic Civilization from New York University. He spent several years living, working and studying in Spain. Jason currently lives in Charleston, SC where he works for Pacific Interpreters as their Southeast Region Manager.
Formerly Jason worked as the Interpreter Services Coordinator for the MUSC Medical Center and the Program Coordinator for the Hispanic Health Initiative at the MUSC College of Nursing. He has over 12 years of experience teaching college-level Spanish, linguistics, dialectology, and medical interpreting courses at Kennesaw State University, the University of Georgia, Penn State University, and the College of Charleston. He has also worked as an interpreter and translator in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Co-chair of the Organizational Development Committee Translator and Interpreter Trainer Tel: (512) 731-5266
Esther is a self-employed medical translator and interpreter trainer, currently serving as President of the Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association, Secretary of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators, and Chair of the Advisory Committee on Qualifications for Healthcare Interpreters and Translators in Texas. She has served in a variety of capacities with the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care since 2001.
Esther created the seven-course Translation and Interpretation Certificate Program at Austin Community College and has presented interpreter workshops for refugee resettlement agencies throughout Texas.
She learned Spanish while living and studying in Mexico for ten years and is certified by the American Translators Association for translation from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. Esther received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Master of Education in Adult Education and Human Resource Development Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.
Co-chair of the Organizational Development Committee Cross Cultural Initiatives UMASS Medical School/OCP 333 South Street Shrewsbury, MA 01545 Fax: (508) 856-4850
Ms. Morris is responsible for coordination and delivery of the Medical Interpreter Training Program disseminated throughout Massachusetts for bilingual/bicultural staff at MassHealth provider sites. In addition, she established a translation bureau to provide culturally responsive and sensitive written materials. Responsibilities also include development of policy and procedure recommendations and revisions of assessment tools and curriculum.
Ms Morris works as an Adjunct Faculty member at two state community colleges training medical interpreters. She has worked as a telephonic interpreter since 1994. She has been a medical interpreter since 1985.
She serves as co-chair of the Organizational Development Committee of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.
She earned a Masters in Training and Development from Lesley College. She received her BA in Romance Languages from Boston College. Most recently she completed a fellowship in Cultural Competence Leadership with HRET in partnership with the American Hospital Association.
Co-chair of the Outreach Committee Fabio Torres, MACCM Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc. Fort Worth, TX Tel: (817) 289-2798 Fax: (817) 535-8779
Fabio Torres, Associate Director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc., Translation & Interpretation Network, is an experienced language teacher and interpreter trainer. He received his BA in Religion in 1996 and MA in Church and Community Ministries in 2000. Fabio has worked as a professional interpreter in various capacities since 1989, has been with Catholic Charities since 2000, and since 2005, has directed the Translation & Interpretation Network at Catholic Charities. Fabio is a bilingual medical interpreter (Portuguese<>English, Spanish<>English) and cross-cultural medical interpreter trainer and is responsible for recruiting, screening, training, and supervising hundreds of interpreters for Catholic Charities. He has also developed, implemented, and taught interpreter training and continuing education courses. Fabio currently serves on the Advisory Committee for Qualifications for Health Care Translators and Interpreters. He recently joined the NCIHC's Board as the Outreach Committee Co-Chair.
Co-chair of the Outreach Committee Paz Angélica Snyder, BA Tel: (734) 544-3250 Fax: (734) 482-1707
Paz Angélica Snyder currently works for the University of Michigan Health System's (UMHS) Interpreter Services Program as a staff Spanish Interpreter and Translator. Her main role as an interpreter also involves assisting patients during all phases of their care while receiving medical services at the UMHS. Angélica is also the Spanish On Call manager, a service that is provided on week nights and all day on the weekends. She joined the NCIHC back in 2007 as a committee member, role which evolved with time.
Co-chair of the Policy and Research Committee Wilma Alvarado-Little, MAWilma Alvarado-Little Fax: (518) 442-4563
Wilma Alvarado-Little is a medical interpreter and trainer with over 25 years of experience in the health care field. She is a member of the Board of the Chicago Area Interpreter Referral Services which provides interpreters to the deaf and hard of hearing populations, a founding member of the Association of Medical Interpreters of New York (AMINY), serves on the Multicultural Advisory Board for the State of New York Office of Mental Health and is the immediate past Co-chair of the Board of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.
Ms. Alvarado-Little provides education to health care institutions on the implementation of hospital and community-based interpreter programs and the role of the medical interpreter. Along with having extensive presentation experience on these issues and related topics, she has also been involved with the media in presenting to the public information on the importance of the role and participation of the medical interpreter for the provision of quality health care services. In May 2009, she received a grant from the NIH, as part of an award to the University's Center for Elimination of Minority Health Disparities, to support research to identify access and barriers to health care for populations in smaller cities.
She has a Master of Arts degree in Spanish Literature and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Psychology. Currently residing in New York, Wilma dedicates her time to the issues of language access for the limited English speaking population nationwide.
Co-chair of the Policy and Research Committee Doreena Wong, J.D. Before coming to NHeLP, she worked in the area of civil rights for a number of public interest organizations including the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, CA, the ACLU of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., and a Los Angeles civil rights firm specializing in enforcement of consent decrees in race discrimination cases. She graduated from New York University School of Law in 1987 as a second career after having worked as a health care professional for nine years.
Co-chair of the Standards, Training and Certification Committee National Consultant 350 NW 189th Street Shoreline, WA 98177 Tel: (206) 546-1194 Cynthia E. Roat is a national consultant on issues related to language access in health care. A native of upstate New York, she spent many years working in rural areas of Latin America before moving to Seattle to earn her MPH in International Health from the University of Washington. Ms. Roat entered the interpreting world in 1992 and quickly became certified by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services as a medical and social service Spanish-English interpreter. Her interest in systems change, however, led her out of the exam room and into the classroom to teach interpreters, trainers and medical providers the basics of the interpreting trade. Today, she also spends significant time in boardrooms, advising administrators on how to improve their health systems’ language access programs.
Over the past decade, Ms. Roat has made significant contributions, both in the U.S. and abroad, in many areas of the language access field: training, program development, research, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational development. She is the author of a wide array of key resources in the field and the primary developer of Bridging the Gap,the country’s most widely-offered training for health care interpreters. Ms. Roat is a founding member of Seattle’s Society of Medical Interpreters (SOMI), the Washington State Coalition for Language Access (WASCLA) and the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), where she spent nine years on the Board. She is known nationally as an engaging speaker, a knowledgeable resource, and an energetic advocate for language access in general.
Co-chair of the Standards, Training and Certification Committee Karin Ruschke 2707 N. Halsted Street Chicago, IL 60614
Karin Ruschke is founder and president of International Language Services, Inc., a full-service agency providing on-site and telephone interpretation, written translation services, and training to clients nationwide. Karin received her M.A. from the School of Translation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. and has dedicated her career to bridging language and cultural differences in the health care setting.
In addition to running a community-based interpreting agency in Chicago, Karin provides consultation on effective set-up and implementation of language interpreting services to a variety of clients such as health care facilities, government agencies and community organizations. She has developed a comprehensive training program for interpreters in health care which addresses the rigorous standards of accuracy, confidentiality, role and cultural-sensitivity, improving the effectiveness and professionalism of interpreting. She also trains providers in how to work effectively with interpreters.
Karin has played an integral role in raising the awareness of equal access issues. In addition to being co-chair of the Standards, Training and Certification committee of the NCIHC since 1999, Karin serves as Vice-Chair, Certification, of the Certification Commission for Health Care Interpreters (CCHI), which is committed to developing standards for a valid, credible, inclusive and transparent national certification process to ensure competency of healthcare interpreters. She was a technical advisor on The Joint Commission research project Hospitals, Language and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation and was one of only 26 members on the expert advisory panel for the Commission's current project Developing Hospital Standards for Culturally Competent Patient-Centered Care. She was also an expert advisor for the American Medical Association on a project to assess ways in which physicians can overcome language access barriers of their limited English-speaking patients.
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