SESSION SPEAKERS

Agustin de la Mora

Agustín de la Mora is the founder and president of the De La Mora Institute of Interpretation and a respected figure in the industry. He is a federally and state-certified court interpreter and a certified medical interpreter with over 28 years of experience. He served as lead interpreter for the Ninth Judicial Circuit and as a lead rater for federal and consortium oral exams. Agustín has trained interpreters and interpreter trainers in over 20 states and presented at major conferences such as NAJIT, ATA, IMIA, and NASCA. His innovative methodology, Weightlifting for Court Interpreters™, is valued by interpreters of all fields for its focus on deliberate practice and performance improvement. He is also the author of the acclaimed book Weightlifting for Court Interpreters: Mastering Performance Through Deliberate Practice.

Amairiany Amador

Amairiany Amador, CMI-Spanish, is a Certified Medical Interpreter with over six years of experience in healthcare and educational settings. She works at Texas Children’s Hospital in outpatient Psychiatry and at the Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics and Autism. There, she supports evaluations, diagnostic intakes, and follow-up care. She previously worked as an independent contractor interpreting school evaluations, IEP and ARD meetings. Certified by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, she has completed healthcare and court interpreter training at HCC Coleman College for Health Sciences and University of Houston–Downtown. 

Ashley Jones-Lewis

Ashley is a community interpreter with over 4 years of experience working in educational settings. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Costa Rica and is working towards becoming a certified medical and mental health interpreter. She is passionate about ensuring the families she works with receive equitable access and a positive experience in their school and community. Ashley values professional collaboration among fellow interpreters and translators, not only as a means of personal professional development, but also as a way to improve the environment in which people benefit from language services. 

Dr. 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.

Carolin Menéndez 

Carolin Menéndez is an English–Spanish translator, editor, and linguist with over twenty years of experience in the language industry. She holds a B.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Translation Studies from the University of Puerto Rico. Carolin specializes in educational publishing and serves as an editorial consultant translating and editing materials for teachers and families. She also works in environmental, audiovisual, and marketing translation and provides interpretation services in school settings. Carolin is the owner of Prose Language Services in Southern California and volunteers with the American Translators Association while remaining an active member of AAITE. 

Christina Green

Christina’s linguistics leadership began after studying Modern Languages at Universidad Central de Venezuela. She is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, and French, with conversational skills in Portuguese. Three years after moving to the U.S. in 2000, she founded her agency, Green Linguistics. Christina has served as an expert witness for both the defense and prosecution and has interpreted for nationally televised live gubernatorial and presidential events. She devotes her time to various
causes, including supporting children with disabilities and international refugee relocation efforts. She served as the President of the Midwest Association of Translators and Interpreters (2012–2014, 2020–2022) and on the Board of Directors of the American Translators Association (2022–2025).
Additionally, she was the Administrator of the Interpreters Division and is the current Chair of Advocacy for the ATA. Christina was elected Chair of FIT North America, the Regional Center of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs / International Federation of Translators (2025–2028).

As an ATA-certified Spanish translator, Christina was one of the first certified judicial interpreters in the State of Wisconsin. She is also an authorized Italian interpreter for the courts. She provides dedicated services to various Wisconsin school districts, translates textbooks and standardized testing materials, and interprets at educational conferences.

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

Eliane Sfeir-Markus, CHI, is an experienced interpreter, trainer, and industry leader fluent in Arabic, English, and French. She is a Certified Healthcare Interpreter and court-certified interpreter in Pennsylvania and Delaware. As an Interpreter Expert, Eliane advises on industry standards, develops training materials, and provides guidance on interpreting ethics and best practices.
Additionally, as an Adjunct Professor at Widener University Delaware Law School, Eliane teaches court and medical interpreting and foundational interpreting skills.
Eliane is also a trainer with De La Mora Institute, where she co-designed and teaches a "Train the Trainer" course. She offers training in medical and court interpreting and webinars on professional development topics like cultural intelligence.
She is a certified John Maxwell Leadership coach and speaker.

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 Espinoza Siebach, Spanish Interpreter and Adjunct Professor at UMass - Amherst, has 20 years of professional experience. Gabriela holds a graduate degree in Spanish translation and interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Gabriela served on the AAITE Job Task Analysis Committee, and currently sits on the ATA Government Division Leadership Council and Interpretation Profession Advisory Committee. She also volunteers on several initiatives of the NCIHC Policy, Education & Research Committee. She is a member of ATA, NCIHC, AAITE, CATI, and NAJIT.

Janis  Palma

Janis Palma is a professional English-Spanish interpreter and translator with over 43 years of experience working as both staff and independent contractor in state and federal courts, as well as for private clients in conferences on a broad spectrum of topics. She is certified by NAJIT, the U.S. Courts, and is a Texas Master licensed interpreter. She holds a Ph.D. in Language Studies, a Master’s in Legal Studies (MLS), and an M.A. in Caribbean History and Literature. Janis Palma has been a volunteer with the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) since 1986 and was awarded a Life Membership in 2006. She has presented at conferences, taught, written, and published extensively on subjects related to interpreting, language access, and language rights. Her research interests are mainly focused on the intersection between language, law, and interpreting in legal contexts. She is currently working towards a second PhD in Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design, where she plans to develop a new line of research into the rhetorics of justice and language access in the United States.

Katharine Allen

Katharine Allen is a community and conference-trained interpreter with over three decades of experience. She currently serves as Director of Language Industry Learning at Boostlingo, a SAAS technology company providing remote interpreting solutions. Katharine is a licensed trainer and co-author of The Indigenous Interpreter®, The Community Interpreter® International, and The Remote Interpreter® textbooks and training programs. She served for 10 years as co-President of InterpretAmerica, working to raise the profile of interpreting. A founding member of both the American Association of Interpreting and Translation in Education (AAITE) and the SAFE AI in Interpreting Task Force, Katharine is a long-time industry observer of technology trends. She is also a former president of the California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA) and holds an MA in Translation and Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS). 

Kelly (Grzech) Henriquez

Kelly (Grzech) Henriquez, CMI-Spanish, CHI-Spanish (she/they) is a community interpreter in Richmond, Virginia, interpreting predominantly in educational and medical settings. She has a BA in Spanish from VCU and completed their Spanish/English Translation and Interpretation program. Kelly began their career in language services at a safety net clinic and has since been interpreting both on-site and remotely, as a contractor and staff interpreter. In 2020 she also began her YouTube channel for interpreters. Shortly thereafter, Kelly became an interpreter trainer with Americans Against Language Barriers (AALB) and was recognized as the 2023 AALB Interpreter Educator of the Year. 

Lea Reyes

Lea Reyes has dedicated more than a decade to supporting multilingual families and advancing language access in education. She began her career as an interpreter and later served as a parent engagement assistant and translator, building a deep understanding of the linguistic and cultural needs of school communities. For the past three years, she has served as Interpreting Services Coordinator for Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD).
In her current role, Lea leads a team of more than 80 interpreters and oversees thousands of interpreting requests monthly. She has been instrumental in designing and facilitating professional development that strengthens interpreter practice and promotes continuous growth. A Train-the-Trainer with Community Interpreter International (TCII), she successfully implemented a TCII Summer Institute to build capacity and professional standards within the school system. Lea is a widely respected collaborative leader committed to equitable engagement.

Mireya Pérez

Monica Wilson

Nora Díaz 

Omari Jeremiah 

Sarah Stockler-Rex

Stephanie Sanyour

Stephanie Sanyour is a CCHI-certified Spanish interpreter and translator with over 18 years of experience advancing equitable language access across healthcare, education, and public institutions. Originally from Chile, she has lived in the United States for more than twenty years, and her personal journey informs her commitment to culturally responsive, community-centered language access.

She serves as District Interpreter/Translator for Pflugerville ISD, overseeing language services for 35 schools and collaborating with district leadership to ensure communication with multilingual families is clear, inclusive, and meaningful. Stephanie is also a founding member of the district’s Hispanic and Latino Heritage Fair and ALMA (Advancing Latino Minds through Action), supporting cultural representation and youth leadership in her community.