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!
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