For accommodation requests, please contact James Wells at James.Wells@courts.wa.gov.
Registration Link: Introduction to Court Interpreting: Speaking the Language of Justice (alchemer.com)
Please SAVE THE DATE for our Annual Membership Meeting which will be held on Saturday, November 4th at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA.
The Board is now seeking nominations for members to join the WSRID Board of Directors to fill a vacant position and also for the upcoming election.
Representation from Eastern Washington is highly desired!
Our board currently has eight (8) members, and our Bylaws state the number of board members will be "at least nine (9), but not more than twelve (12)". There is one vacancy for a term ending December 31, 2023. As directed by the Bylaws, this position will be elected by the current Board from nominations received from members.
We will again be holding our election online this fall. This is an early call for nominations! The positions that will expire at the end of 2023 are: Vice President, Treasurer, Deaf/DeafBlind Community Representative, three Director positions, and one Student Director position.
SUBMIT NOMINATIONS (<---click here)
The board has reviewed our committees and focused committee work to meet our goals and needs. Current Committees are as follows: Budget/Finance, CMP, Communications, Conference 2025, Community Outreach, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Governance, Membership, Professional Development, Scholarship.
All of our committee work needs some level of member involvement. Whether you have a few hours for a one-time project, or a few hours a month for something bigger; Whether you like working with others or getting things done on your own time; Whether you’re visionary or detail driven; Whether you love working with numbers or people… Whatever your interests or inclinations - we have a place for you to plug in! Curious? Please reach out!
Below are a few current announcements. More info from all committees will be coming in the next month or so. Recent committee reports.
Community Outreach Committee
Interpreter Social, June 28th, 6-9 pm at Optimism Brewery, Seattle.
Spring Scholarship
Thank you to all who applied for the Spring Performance Exam Scholarship. We have contacted applicants and are excited for the opportunity to support our colleagues on their journey to certification.
We will begin accepting applications for the Fall Scholarship in August. Please visit the WSRID Scholarship page for more information.
Certification Maintenance Program Sponsorship
WSRID was recently approved as an RID CMP Sponsor. Big thank you to Ashley Cavallaro who will be functioning as our administrator. We are working on developing our systems and plans, and will be ready to share more information with our members soon. If you’re interested in being involved with this work, please email Ashley Cavallaro, CMP Administrator.
Governance Committee
Seeking members interested in discussing Sociocracy as a governance model for WSRID - as recommended in Ritchie Bryant’s 2020 DEI Recommendations Report. Looking to find at least one long time member and at least one member familiar with Sociocracy. If interested, please email WSRID Secretary, Claudia Kienholz.
The following info is from our recent June 2023 E-Blast which should have landed in your inbox on 6/8/2023.
2023 Board Meeting Minutes
The Board has gathered four times this year. Linked here are notes and meeting minutes from these sessions:
The document linked below includes our FY24 Budget, our FY23 Budgeted and Actual financials through March (and projected through the end of our fiscal year - June 30) and brief notes for each line item. Quarterly Profit & Loss Statements are also available by request. Overall - our finances are in good shape. Our income and expenses were both reduced. We had budgeted for multiple workshops, but these were not possible without an active PDC committee.
To all of the fabulous interpreters in our community,
Happy Interpreter Appreciation Day! We are thankful for your dedication to your work and the communities you serve.
Have a wonderful day,
WSRID Board <3
Hello WSRID Members!
I am conducting a research project about Legal Interpreting as part of my senior year at UNH-Manchester, New Hampshire.
Whether you love or hate legal work, please take a little time ASAP to fill out the survey (link below). By doing so you will help Deaf and Hard of Hearing citizens get access to justice (by deepening understanding of resistance to the specialty and contributing to making legal training more approachable).
Thanks in advance!
~ Polly Lorien
p.s. The survey will expire Nov. 22
https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Hy4xzFbDESioYu
Legal Interpreting Survey
Polly Lorien's senior Research Project: Collecting data on in-court legal interpreting.
unh.az1.qualtrics.com
WSRID’s 2021 Annual Meeting will be held online Saturday, October 23, 2021, 10:00am–12:00pm.
As announced in February, based on feedback from members and a discussion with WSAD, we will not be hosting a conference this year but we are planning to host a joint conference with WSAD in 2023. We are still eager to connect with you during our online Annual Meeting on Saturday, October 23rd this year!
For WSRID to be effective, the board and members must work together. The responsibility of the board is to coordinate the activities of WSRID to ensure that what we do supports our purpose and mission, while fulfilling legal and contractual obligations. The responsibility of members is to be engaged with the profession, with the communities we serve, and with your professional organization in ways that are meaningful.
The Nominations/Elections/Referenda Committee is asking you to stop and think. Look back. Look ahead. Look around. Ask yourself four questions:
All nominations and motions for this year must be submitted by Monday, September 6, 2021 to the Nominations Committee.
We’re eager to work with you ~ Together we can thrive!
This year, elections will be held electronically.
There will be seven WSRID positions open for the upcoming 2 year term (January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023). Positions, roles and responsibilities are listed below.
To nominate a colleague for a position on the Board, please email the name to the Nominations Committee by Monday, September 6, 2021
The Vice President must be a Certified member of WSRID in good standing for at least the past two consecutive years. The Student Director requirements are listed below. All other candidates must be voting members of WSRID (Certified or Associate) in good standing for at least the past two consecutive years.
WSRID Board Directors: [2-year term]
WSRID Vice President: [2-year term]
WSRID Treasurer: [2-year term]
WSRID Deaf/DB Community Representative: [2-year term]
WSRID Student Director: [1-year term]
Qualifications for Student Director:
The Judie Husted Member of the Year Award is presented to a WSRID member who reflects the character traits and commitment to our organization as displayed by the award's namesake. Those traits include dedication, mentoring, service, and involvement to better our organization and support colleagues.
The Theresa B. Smith Distinguished Service Award is an award WSRID gives to express its deep appreciation for dedication, inspiration, and vision, as well as many other contributions to the organization and the profession. Named after Theresa B. Smith, CSC, PhD has served WSRID as an active member since WSRID’s founding in 1968, serving as board member, mentor, and conscience of the organization.
Please submit name and reasons why you support this person receiving this award to the Nominations Committee.
Learn more about these awards and past recipients.
Do you have a proposal, or an idea for a proposal, for how WSRID can improve?
We want to know! All motions brought to membership for vote will need:
The Nominations/Elections/Referenda Committee can help you prepare and format your motion if needed. Please send motions, questions, ideas to the Nominations Committee.
The N/E/R Committee is responsible for doing the work that involves members in the democratic process to ensure that WSRID represents and serves the best interests of our members, our communities, and our profession.
What does that mean? Between now and the end of 2021, the committee will:
Do you want to see WSRID thrive for years to come? Are you able to commit a few hours per month (give or take) during the next 6 months? Do you miss the opportunity to work with colleagues, doing something that will have a lasting impact? Do you have questions? Email Nominations Committee.
Hello WSRID Members,
I am WSRID Board member Claudia Kienholz (CK). In June, the RID board members announced their resignations one after the other. We, your WSRID board members were rocked by this. It’s taken us some time to over the past month to gather our thoughts and prepare our message to you all about this situation and our ongoing commitment to our work. We have prepared two letters, both of which can be found online at WSRID.com.
The first letter below is an open letter to the board of RID, and the second is a letter to you, our WSRID and community members. The letters are available to read or to watch in ASL. The videos aren’t short, but we felt it important to convey our message fully and clearly. You’ll notice a round robin between some of the board members. We tried to keep it brief, but that felt superficial and audist. So instead, we give you our heart.
We hope you’ll read and/or watch if you have the time. We also hope that you will work with us and join us in reaffirming our commitments to the future of WSRID.
July 15, 2021
To the current RID Board, we send our heartfelt gratitude, our sincerest apologies, and our commitment to do better.
We know that serving in these roles is not easy. We know that doing this work requires sacrifice, courage, and perseverance. So first, let us say thank you. Thank you for your willingness to take on such hard work. Thank you for representing the people in our profession and in our communities, many of whom have been marginalized by society and our field for far too long. Thank you for leading fearlessly and showing us what we are all capable of. Thank you for donating countless hours, often giving up paid assignments or time with your loved ones, to do this work. Thank you for being vulnerable, for having hard conversations, and for being willing to unpack bias and call out oppression.
To those of you who have endured personal attacks, bullying and harassment, and who have been the targets of ugly racist agendas, we recognize that as a member driven organization, we have failed you. We did not do enough to support you in your time on the board, and we did not do enough to interrupt these attacks when they began. Although we know this comes too late, we want you to know that we have always been rooting for you. You gave us hope and you inspired us in our work as affiliate chapter members.
We commend you for the work you have done, and although we are devastated to see you go, we support your decision to resign. We hope that you will be able to prioritize your health and safety moving forward.
Our affiliate chapter will continue our anti-racism, anti-audism, and anti-ableism work, and it is our sincere hope that all of the members of RID will work harder to embrace diversity and recognize the talents and positive transformations that come with it. WSRID will continue pushing to raise the bar and to hold ourselves accountable. We are on a path of change and although we may continue to slip or falter, we won’t stop.
Sincerely, Washington State RID Board of Directors Anna Mansell Karagiannis Kristin Deverin Paula Bazinet Elizabeth Bass Mark Hoshi Claudia Kienholz Gabby Hopkinson Caroline Allen Rhesa Durgin Michelle Miles
WSRID Members:
As you are all by now aware, last month marked the resignation of the entire RID Board of Directors. One by one, these announcements came after months of personal attacks, racist comments, public harassment, bullying, and more. August 31st will mark the end of their terms.
Although we know this sentiment may be too late, we wish to express our deep gratitude to the individuals willing to volunteer their time and energy to take on the work of representing us at the national level, and while it pains us to see them go, we fully support their decisions to resign.
This group brought with them diverse backgrounds, talents, and experiences. They gave us hope for our profession. They inspired us in our work as affiliate chapter leaders, yet as an organization of 14,000 people, we collectively failed to support them in their roles as volunteer leaders of our parent organization. To say we weren’t paying attention is merely a reflection of our own privileges. To those who stood up, who called out what was happening, we thank you, and to those who didn’t, we hope this serves as a wake up call. Sadly, it comes at a great cost.
As a profession, as individuals, and as an organization, we have so much work to do. We will not be beholden to a racist, audist, ableist past. We do not and will not tolerate the perpetual -isms that infect our field and our society, and we will hold each other accountable when we fail. WE are all called to action to ensure that our profession and our communities thrive in a more just world. This call to action is not new, and it is not just necessary today. It is necessary everyday.
Last spring, the Board members of WSRID made a commitment to you. Today, we ask you to join us in reaffirming our commitments to all current and future members of WSRID and to the diverse communities we serve as sign language interpreters. WSRID will continue to prioritize anti-racism, anti-audism, and anti-ableism goals through our actions as individuals and in the functions of this organization. We ask each of you to consider how you can help impact change, and how we can work together to ensure that this profession is not beholden to its history of oppressive behaviors.
Our April 2020 Pledge:
We are committed to action that will promote and ensure equity of all diverse people, and we know this is not possible until we can ensure racism has no presence in our organization. We strive to work in partnership with organizations and individuals who share these same priorities, and we welcome the participation of all members in this process.
Our 2021 Pledge:
We commit to being agents of change, to hold ourselves accountable for our failures and shortsightedness, and to constantly work to create a world without white supremacy, racism, audism, and other systems of oppression. We strive to work in partnership with organizations and individuals who share these same priorities. We ask for the participation of our members in this work.
Below are a few of the ways we have begun our work. We don’t pretend to be perfect, but we know this work has to start somewhere.
If you would like to learn more about our efforts, have feedback, or want to get involved, please email any one of us through the Board Contact Us page.
In 2020, the board members of WSRID committed to the following actions:
We ask for your involvement, input, criticism, and support as we continue in this work.
Sincerely, Anna Mansell Karagiannis, WSRID President And your 2021 WSRID Board of Directors
An Open Letter July 6, 2021
(View this message in ASL)
May 2021
Anna Mansell Karagiannis, WSRID President, a white woman with dark hair pulled up into a bun, wearing a blue shirt and black coat signs to the camera.
Hello WSRID,
Welcome to this month’s E–Blast. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get an email out last month, but we have been busy planning and hosting several workshops, starting up monthly social meetings via zoom, planning the budget for next year, developing a new scholarship program for WSRID members, and more!
It’s been a busy couple of months, so let’s get caught up!
Anna Mansell Karagiannis WSRID President 2021-2022
Email Anna
April’s board meeting brought with it some exciting changes related to our student membership dues for 2021 and our future scholarship offerings!
1. The board approved a motion to waive the student membership dues for the remainder of the calendar year 2021, and retroactively reimburse the students who have already joined.
2. The board accepted a motion to revise our current scholarship program. Rather than offering 9 scholarships a year for smaller increments, WSRID will offer a minimum of 4 scholarships per year to cover the total cost of performance exams for qualified applicants. The current scholarship offerings are still temporarily available, and we will be sharing more info about the new scholarships this summer via email and on our website.
Rationale: For many years the WSRID scholarships have been underutilized. In an effort to eliminate the barrier of cost for a few candidates, we have decided to raise the scholarship amount to cover the entire exam. When funds are available to do so, the Board may decide to award more than 4 scholarships in one year.
June 9th:
Thank you to the members who have joined us for our recent board meetings! We are enjoying meeting new people, and appreciate your participation. For those interested, our next board meeting will be on June 9th, 6pm-8:30pm. If you’d like to attend, click here to register.
July–No Meeting:
After a very long “winter,” the WSRID board members are planning to enjoy a much anticipated summer break. We are taking a little time off to recharge our batteries, practice self-care, enjoy the weather and time outside with our families and loved ones, and prepare for fall work. Join us in August for our board meeting on 8/11/21.
WSRID Quarterly Report:
The WSRID Quarterly (Q3) Financial Report should be ready for members to view by the end of this month. It can be found by logging into the WSRID website and clicking on the "Member's Only" tab. From there, members can find past annual membership meeting minutes (which include financial reports), board meeting minutes (these are still being formatted for the web and are being upload as they become ready), and any other special reports members may be interested in.
Collaborating with peers to get things done that you care about is WAY more fun and interesting than you might think when you read “committee work." So much of our work as interpreters is isolating (much more so in the past year, but even pre-pandemic). Working with others toward a shared aim is a perfect antidote!
Sometimes a board can get caught up in doing the work it sees that needs to be done. While the intention is good, WSRID can be a much healthier and more effective organization when the thoughts, insights, experiences, and perspectives of many more people are included. That means... YOU! There are plenty of great opportunities to go around. This experience is too good not to share!
Some of the work we know we can offer:
Is there something else you want to make happen?
Look for more details in a separate email by the end of the month, or reach out now!
Contact info for committees is located on the committee page or email us below.
“Teamwork Makes Dreamwork” (AMK)
“We may not have it all together, but together we have it all" (CK)
Email Us!
Virtual Happy Hour Education Interpreters Meet-Up Wednesday, May 26th 6:30–7:30pm via Zoom
We will continue to host virtual social meet ups the last Wednesday of most months. The past two gatherings have been a great success! Thank you to those who attended! It has been fun to reconnect with old friends and meet new people all via video chat on Zoom.
Our next meet up will be on Wednesday, May 26th: “Educational Interpreter meet-up.”
Please check our website periodically for more info.
Info & Registration
Social & Racial Justice Series, Part 2 Saturday, June 5th Via Zoom Presented by: Dr. Lissa Ramirez Stapleton
We are thrilled to be hosting Dr. Lissa Ramirez Stapleton for a two part social and racial justice series. The first part of this series was on Saturday, May 15th: “What’s really Going On? Social Justice Basics and Interpreting.” In case you missed it, you can still sign up for the second part on Saturday, June 5th: “Anti-Blackness in Interpreting: How it is Embodied and What it Means for Racial Justice.”
Save the Date! WSRID Annual Membership Meeting Saturday, October 23rd 10am–Noon via Zoom
Information regarding elections, motions, and more coming in June! If you or someone you know has a great workshop to bring to WSRID, please let us know! We are now accepting workshop proposals for 2022! Proposals and questions can be sent to the WSRID president.
The Seattle Public Schools are working to compile a resource list of agencies, schools, community colleges, and colleges that offer ASL for credit or noncredit. This list will be shared with staff and families. If you know of a program that should be added to the list, please contact Ann Curry.
As an affiliate chapter member of Region V, you may be eligible for free or discounted registration at events being offered by other Region V affiliate chapters. Due to the constraints of COVID-19, many AC’s have moved to hosting trainings online, which make them more accessible for out-of-state interpreters than ever before.
Idaho RID Workshops:
Utah RID Workshops (LINK):
To check out our AC websites and learn more, visit RID Region V's webpage.
Nominations Announcement Video:
“The 2021-2024 Executive Board of Directors elections will open on Monday, May 3, 2021. All eligible voting members will receive an email from RID@simplyvoting.com, containing their elector ID and password to access their ballot. The elections period is open for two weeks from Monday, May 3 – Monday, May 17 at 11:59 p.m. EST.”
2021 RID National Conference:
RID's National Conference, "Re-Orienting," will be held on Zoom, addressing audism and systemic oppression within the ASL interpreting field.
Registration will begin in early May 2021.
RID Biennial Membership Business Meeting:
The business meeting will be held on Saturday, July 10th and Sunday, July 11th during the national conference. There is still time to submit a motion that does not impact the bylaws. More info here.
That’s a wrap for this month! If you have announcements or news to share next month please email us!
DONATE WSRID is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization WSRID [P.O. Box 48023, Seattle, WA 98148] WSRID © 2012 - 2023 CONTACT WEBMASTER
