Annual Membership Meeting

Saturday, October 24th: 10AM–Noon

***Members: Please log-in before registering***

It is definitely that time of year again... in spite of COVID! However, it does mean that this year our annual membership meeting will be hosted virtually. This will require participants to have Zoom installed on their computer and have an adequate internet connection. The Zoom link will be sent out a day or two before the meeting. If you do not already have a free Zoom account, you will need to get one.

*Note: Only registered participants will be allowed into the meeting. Please do not share your link. Please DO encourage other members to register. You may register anytime, but registering the "day of" may delay your entrance into the meeting, so we highly encourage you to register early.

Nominations

For those of you who submitted board nominations, "Thank you!" No proposals were received in time for this notice; however, we be accepting additional nominations and proposals during the meeting. Time will be limited, so please take a moment to read the information below.

Requirements for Nominees

These qualifications can also be found on our website under BYLAWS.

Section 6. Qualifications

All candidates for Board shall have been voting members in good standing for at least two (2) consecutive years immediately prior to candidacy, with the exception of the Student Director. Candidates for the Student Director position must be a member in good standing for sixty (60) days prior to election.

A. Nominees for the positions of President, Vice-President, and Member-at-Large shall be certified members. Nominees for positions of secretary and treasurer shall be certified or associate members.

B. Nominees for positions as directors shall be certified or associate members, with the exception of the Student Director who shall be in the category of student member.

C. The position of Immediate Past President Member-at-Large shall go automatically to the immediate past President of the corporation. Should the immediate past President decline or be unavailable, the position shall go automatically to the immediate past Vice-President.

D. Membership shall promote the election of at least one (1) Associate member and one (1) Student member to the Board.

E. The Student Director must meet the following criteria:

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Current Nominees

Additional nominations will be accepted during the Membership Meeting.

Nominee for President: Anna Mansell Karagiannis, NIC

Anna is a freelance sign language interpreter living in Seattle. She has been serving on the WSRID Board since 2016, most recently as the interim VP. She is excited to continue her journey on the WSRID board, contributing her skills and experiences for the enrichment of interpreters here in Washington. In addition, Anna has been vital member of the Professional Development Committee-West (2014-2018), the Bylaws Committee, (2016-2018), and the Conference Committee (2019). She was also chosen as Member of the Year in 2019. When not working or volunteering, Anna spends her time with her young family and good friends. Although she’s not sure what a hobby really is, she thinks spending time with people she loves, eating, drinking, and laughing are hers.

Nominee for Secretary: Elizabeth Bass

Elizabeth is an educational interpreter who has been serving on the WSRID Board since 2017. Before that, she volunteered her time as the newsletter editor, designing flyers and publications for WSRID and other non-profits. Elizabeth is currently WSRID's webmaster and is serving as the interim secretary. She was chosen as Member of the Year in 2014. While she wears several hats within WSRID, her favorite hats are as wife, mother, and Grammie! When not working, she enjoys fishing, painting, and wine tasting with her sweetheart of 35 years.

Nominee for Director: Michelle Miles

Michelle Miles is a certified sign language interpreter splitting her work & family life between Washington & Kansas. She has been serving as a WSRID Director since 2019. She is not new to serving on Boards. She has extensive volunteer experience working with the Deaf Blind Service Center (DBSC) as president, vice president, secretary, and general board member. She worked with them for approximately seven years. She has worked as secretary and general board member for the Washington Quarter Midget Association (WQMA) for 4 years. When she isn't working, Michelle loves to spend time with her 5 kids & 2 grandkids whenever she can. She has a love for traveling and believes that it is possible to find adventure even in the everyday things.

Nominee for Director: Claudia Kienholz

Claudia spent her first 20 years in southern California, near the National Center on Deafness at CSUN in the San Fernando Valley. She started taking college ASL classes while in high school, and graduated from the ITP at LA Pierce College. She moved to Seattle in 1984 and began working and volunteering as an interpreter in the Deaf and DeafBlind communities in Puget Sound. She later returned to school and worked as a Registered Nurse for 20 years, while continuing to interpret part time most years. She earned IC certification in 1985, however certification lapsed while focused on nursing work. She returned to interpreting full time in 2015 and is preparing for recertification. 

While in ITP she became a student member of SCRID, and joined WSRID soon after moving to Washington. In the mid-late 80s, she was a member of WSRID's DB Special Interest Group. She has been working on WSRID's Bylaws Review Committee since 2015. 

Claudia is grateful to all of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and interpreting mentors who have shared so generously over these many decades. She is also grateful to her mother, who passed on a passion for social justice, a commitment for volunteering, a respect for the nitty gritty details of organizational documents, and a love of animals.