SESSION SPEAKERS

Agustin de la Mora

Agustin de La Mora is the founder of the De La Mora Institute of Interpretation. A state and federally certified court interpreter, and a certified medical interpreter, he has been a key figure in the profession for the last 28 years. He served as the lead interpreter for the Ninth Judicial Circuit for over a decade and is a lead rater for the federal and consortium oral exams for court interpreters. He served as a member of the Project Advisory Committee responsible for the creation of the National Standards for Healthcare Interpreter Training Programs for the NCIHC, a member on the Florida Court Interpreter Certification Board, and a voting member of the Technical Committee of the National Consortium for Interpreter Certification. A sought-after trainer, he has led interpreter workshops in 15+ states and presented at national conferences, including NAJIT, ATA, IMIA, and NASCA. His latest book is Weightlifting for Court Interpreters: Mastering Performance Through Deliberate Practice.

Bill Rivers

Dr. Bill Rivers is Principal at WP Rivers & Associates. A former Russian<>English translator and interpreter, Russian teacher, academic researcher and administrator, and for-profit and non-profit executive, he has more than 30 years’ experience in language advocacy at the national level, with significant work in language access, culture and language for economic development and national security in the Intelligence Community, private and academic sectors, and publications in second and third language acquisition research, proficiency assessment, program evaluation, and language policy development and advocacy. Dr. River’s chairs the AAITE Advisory Board, the SAFE-AI Task Force, and the National Language Access Coalition. He earned the Ph.D. in Russian from Bryn Mawr College.

Cecilia Berzunza

Cecilia Berzunza holds a B.A. in Speech and Hearing Sciences from California State University Fullerton. She has extensive experience as a Spanish-English Interpreter and Translator in school settings. She currently works as a district interpreter at West Covina Unified School District. She is a proud member of AAITE. She is a Behavioral Health Interpreter Trainer in School Settings through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. She advocates and promotes language access in her community. Before moving to California in 2006, she was a TESOL Teacher Trainer at Interlingua, an English School in México City, for over 20 years.

Eliane Sfeir-Markus

Eliane Sfeir-Markus is a court-certified English-Arabic interpreter in Pennsylvania and Delaware, as well as a Certified Healthcare Interpreter. She is an adjunct professor at Widener University Delaware Law School, a licensed Community Interpreter Trainer, and an Interpreter Expert. A dedicated leader, she served on the Board of Directors of the Delaware Valley Translators Association (DVTA) since 2017 and as its president from 2020 to 2024. A certified coach and speaker with the John Maxwell Team, Eliane is recognized for training interpreters and leading sessions on cultural intelligence, unconscious bias, and ethics. Fluent in Arabic, English, and French, she holds a B.A. in Translation from Holy Spirit University in Lebanon.

Gabriela Seibach

Gabriela Siebach, Director of Interpreting Services at Cesco Linguistic Services and Adjunct Professor at UMass - Amherst, has accumulated more than 15 years of professional experience as a linguist, interpreter, translator, trainer, coach, and mentor. She has spearheaded the development of multiple training and assessment programs throughout her career. Gabriela holds a graduate degree in Spanish translation and interpretation from the world-renowned Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Gabriela also Chairs the American Association of Interpreters and Translators in Education Job Task Analysis Committee, sits on the ATA Government Division Leadership Council and Interpretation Profession Advisory Committee, and volunteers on several initiatives of the NCIHC. She is also a member of CATI, NAJIT, and ASTM.

Leonor Prian

Leonor Prian is a professional interpreter, and translator with over 17 years of experience. She is a professional interpreter and translator with over 17 years of experience. She specializes in educational interpretation and currently works as an Interpreter/Liaison for Jefferson County School District in Colorado. Leonor has provided language services in Colorado, California, and Tennessee across educational, legal, medical, and community settings. With a background in music and Spanish education, she is passionate about mentoring future interpreters. She promotes interpreting as a career path and helps others understand the skills needed to succeed. Her experience and dedication make her a strong advocate for language access and effective cross-cultural communication.

Madj Haddad

Majd Haddad is the founder of Glory Language Services and a former District School Community Liaison for Arabic, and is passionate about serving the community & reducing language barriers. Majd has a Bachelor's degree in Risk Management from her native Jordan, and a Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University, Fullerton. She has over 80 hours of training in Community Interpreting, completed a Training of Trainers and is a Certified Trainer for the “Community Interpreter International” 40-60 hours program by Cross Cultural Communication. Majd is also a Certified CCHI Arabic interpreter.

Marisela González

Marisela González is an experienced Spanish/English translator and interpreter with 10 years in the field, specializing in educational interpretation and translation for the past eight years. As a licensed trainer for The Community Interpreter International®, she is committed to fostering professional standards in community interpretation. Her background includes extensive experience as a translation services specialist in the medical sector, where she managed end-to-end translation projects in 10 threshold languages and led efforts to convert materials into alternative formats such as large print, audio, and braille. Currently, she serves as a District translator and interpreter for Special Education with Newport Mesa Unified School District.

Natalia Abarca

Natalia Abarca is the Language Services Coordinator at the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE), with over 20 years of experience in the language access field. She founded the OCDE Multilingual Consortium in 2014, supporting translation and interpreting services in schools. Natalia holds a Bachelor’s in Biology and a Master’s in Coastal Management from Ecuador’s Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral. A licensed medical interpreter and trainer for The Community Interpreter International, she also hosts the annual OCDE Interpreters and Translators Conference. Natalia is a founding member of AAITE and serves on ATA’s Interpreters Division Leadership Council.

Stacey Brown-Sommers