Origins: The ITE Workgroup

AAITE originally started as the Interpreters and Translators in Education (ITE) Workgroup: a group of individuals interested in professionalizing interpreters and translators in education. Its intent was to launch a national conversation to build momentum towards the creation of a formal process for creating ethics and standards for educational interpreters and translators.
_
On September 27, 2019, we held an inaugural conversation that was attended onsite and online. The event was hosted by the Orange County Office of Education during their 3rd Annual Interpreter and Translators Conference in Irvine, California. We had approximately 35 onsite attendees and 65 who attended virtually. As a result of this meeting, there was a clear mandate to move forward with the goal of launching a formal effort to create national ethics and standards. Over the next 18 months, the founding members of the ITE Workgroup worked tirelessly to build the foundation for a bona fide professional association for interpreters and translators in education. Along the way, it created committees that started the work of researching and creating a code of ethics, best practices, and a job task analysis, among others. 
_
On April 30, 2021, the Leadership Committee, composed of the co-chairs of each ITE Workgroup standing committee, held its last meeting and the inaugural interim AAITE Board of Directors was voted in. Our deepest thanks go out to our founding members, who gave their valuable time as volunteers. We also want to thank all our current committee members, who have continued the valuable work of creating the building blocks for this specialization, as the leadership has worked on formalizing the organization. 
_

Founding Members

Natalia Abarca Alejandro Méndez
Katharine Allen Leslie Padilla-Williams
Llubinka Brikch-Breyfogle Mireya Pérez
Giovanna Carriero-Contreras Gabriela Siebach
Andrew Dafoe Holly Silvestri
Loana Denis Daniel Tamayo
Luis Hernández Eva Vargas
Elizabeth Maciel