ASL-English Interpretation Faculty

Marla C. Berkowitz, M.A., CDI, ASLTA Certified, Ohio

Marla is an adjunct faculty member of the DO IT Center teaching advanced American Sign Language (ASL) at the University of Northern Colorado. She has worked in the deaf-related field for more than twenty years in different capacities from ASL instruction, mentoring, interpreter assessment to workshop trainings. Marla has taught in two and four year institutions and has led numerous workshops for ASL interpreters. In addition, she works as a certified deaf interpreter. She enjoys doing research projects in which some were published. Currently, she is co-authoring a book on the dimensions of deaf and hearing adult siblings.

Laurie Bolster, Ph.D., M.P.A., M.A., CI, CT,

Laurie has worked in support of the professionalization of K-12 interpreters since 1990, initially with the Colorado Department of Education (piloting the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment with its developers), and for the last 12 years with the University of Northern Colorado-DO IT Center in a variety of roles. She also trained and coordinated raters to use the EIPA and the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview.  A certified interpreter since 1975, she practices interpreting in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Karen Boyd, M.A., Colorado

Karen Boyd began her professional career in teaching American Sign Language at two and four year institutions in 1993. Currently, she teaches at the University of Northern Colorado and University of Colorado Boulder. Karen travels throughout the US to present ASL linguistics-related workshops. Her main areas of research are ASL linguistics and bilingualism, and her M.A. thesis at University of Colorado Boulder with School of Education in Bilingual Education examined second-language learner perceptions of spatial tracing constructions in ASL. Karen also mentored Interpreter Preparation Program interns and professional interpreters.

Susan E. Brown, M.Ed., Ed:K-12, Colorado

Susan has been with the DO IT Center since 2007 and is primarily responsible for marketing and recruitment within the ASL-English Interpretation BA program.  In addition to these responsibilities Susan has also taught in the Educational Interpreter Certificate Program and currently teaches in the ASLEI program.  Susan’s educational background includes a B.F. A. from the University of Arizona and a M.Ed. from Regis University.  Prior to working for the Center, Susan worked for 14 years as an educational interpreter and continues to be actively involved in educational interpreting issues on local, regional and national levels. 

Keith M. Cagle, Ph.D., ASLTA Professional, North Carolina

Dr. Keith M. Cagle is currently the chair and instructor at Central Piedmont Community College’s Interpreting Education program in Charlotte, NC.  He has been the chairperson of the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) Certification and Evaluation since 2000, and he has held several board positions as well.  Keith is a nationally recognized presenter and consultant.  He received his Ph.D. in Educational Linguistics from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.  He designed and has taught the Advanced ASL series in the baccalaureate program. He currently manages the ASL Demonstration of Competency screening for program applicants.

Franco Korpics, M.A., Colorado

Franco is a full-time ASL instructor for the university.  He was born deaf, and comes from a Deaf family. His previous teaching stops include the University of Minnesota, the University of California-San Diego and San Diego State University.  While in San Diego, he also worked as a research assistant at the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience. While there, he was involved in several of Dr. Karen Emmorey’s publications and research projects.  Franco received his bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language from Gallaudet University and his master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego State University.

Leilani J. Johnson, Ed.D., IC, TC, CI, NAD III - Colorado

Dr. Johnson has been involved in the administrative aspects of establishing the UNC-DO IT Center curricula and programs.  She was also actively engaged in the instructional design, development and delivery of the Educational Interpreter Certificate Program (EICP).  Leilani currently serves as the Instructional Manager of the BA program, and provides administrative supervision of all aspects of the Center’s instructional work.  She co-teaches the foundational BA course (INTR 115) in the portfolio series. 

Judy A. Shepard-Kegl, Ph.D., CSC, CI, CT, NIC-M, SC:L, OTC, Ed:K-12, NAD-IV, Maine

Dr. Shepard-Kegl coordinates the ASL/English Interpreting concentration of the Linguistics major at the University of Southern Maine, where she teaches linguistics and interpreting and directs the Signed Language Research Laboratory. She works as a freelance interpreter with specializations in legal and medical interpreting.  She was the project director for a grant that put two cohorts of Maine interpreters through the EICP program. She completed a 6-month training through the DO-IT Center for distance specialists in interpreter education. She graduated from the LITP and went on to facilitate the Introductory Course and serve as a skills mentor in that program.

Amy Kroll, B.A., B.S., NIC, Colorado

Amy is the Project Coordinator for the Mid-America Regional Interpreter Education Center. She has six years of interpreting experience within the post-secondary, community and VRS settings. Amy teaches the portfolio assessment courses within the UNC-DO IT Center’s ASL-English Interpretation program. Her academic background includes two B.A. degrees (one in ASL-English Interpretation and another in Audiology) from UNC and an A.A in interpreting from Front Range Community College. She has leadership roles at the local and national level. Amy is the treasurer for the Northern district of Colorado RID and served as a member of RID’s Professional Development Committee.

Lauri Krouse  M.Ed., CI, CT,  Minnesota

Lauri Krouse works as a freelance sign language interpreter and interpreter educator in Minnesota. She has worked as a certified interpreter for 30 years in legal, governmental, legislative, performing arts, medical, mental health, educational and community settings. Lauri has taught as adjunct faculty at St. Catherine University and the DOIT Center at University of Northern Colorado. She currently teaches the simultaneous interpreting series in the BA program. She has a Masters of Education in Interpreting Pedagogy from Northeastern University. She is a co-author of the MRID Educational Interpreter Self-Study Modules and her action research on cooperative learning in interpreting education was published in the International Journal of Interpreter Education.

Carla M. Mathers, Esquire, CSC, SC: L, Maryland

Carla facilitates the legal interpreting emphasis area classes in the BA program.  She practices law in a private firm in Maryland and practices legal interpreting in the state and federal courts of Virginia.  As a practicing lawyer and trained interpreter, she works with participants in the program primarily in the content areas of court interpreter ethics and roles, criminal law and procedure and civil law and procedure.  This combination of areas of expertise provide participants with a unique insight into the legal interpreting process.  Ms. Mathers also sits on the Advisory Group for the American Bar Association's Language Access Standards Project which is tasked with drafting standards for access to courts for limited English speakers.  Ms. Mathers currently serves as the Vice President for the Conference of Interpreter Trainers.  In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and spending time with family. Education: Howard University School of Law, Juris Doctor Licensed attorney in Maryland and the District of Columbia Certified court interpreter Maryland

Pasch McCombs, CI, CT, SC: L, NIC Master, NAD V, California

Pasch McCombs, CI and CT, SC: L, NIC Master, NAD V is a freelance sign language interpreter in San Diego, CA.  He is also serves as the co-chair of the Legal Interpreting Member Section (LIMS) of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).  In addition, Pasch provides mentoring and training in interpreting skills development, NIC certification preparation, and in the specialty area of legal/court interpreting.  He has taught in the DO IT Legal Interpreter Training Program (LITP) and also serves as a consultant to RID, the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Center and the Mid-America Regional Interpreter Education (MARIE) Center.

Julie Moore, M.A., CSC, Oregon

Julie has been an interpreter for over thirty years and has worked in both K-12 and community interpreting settings.  She recently retired from Portland Community College in Portland, OR, where she taught interpreting for over 20 years, and currently works as a staff interpreter at the Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, WA.  She has an Individualized Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations from Antioch University, a BA from Oberlin College, and a Certificate of Professional Development: Teaching ASL and Interpreting, University of Colorado, Boulder.  She has been a course facilitator for the DOIT Center since 2006.

Jean Parmir, M.A., IC, TC, CI, CT, ED:K-12, ASLTA Professional, Ohio

Jean is the Administrator of Interpreting and Sign Language Resources at the Ohio School for the Deaf. She has degrees in interpreting, elementary education, and deaf education. She holds a Master Mentor Certificate, Professional level certification from the ASL Teachers Association, and RID certification, and she received a rating of 4.9 on the elementary ASL version of the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment. She worked as a field consultant for the Demand-Control Schema FIPSE project “Optimizing and Disseminating Proven Reforms in Interpreter Education.” With Linda Ross, she wrote model curriculum for interpreting competencies for the DO-IT Center entry-to-practice curriculum project. Jean currently teaches the foundational Demand-Control class in the BA program.

Ann Reifel, M.S., M.A., Indiana

Ann currently chairs the Vincennes University American Sign Language Program, housed on the Indiana Deaf School campus in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ann has earned Master’s degrees in Deaf Education from Ball State University and Teaching American Sign Language Program from Western Maryland College (aka William McDaniel College). She has been teaching for the DO IT Center– ECIP for a number of years; and recently joined the BA Interpreting program teaching advanced ASL. She has conducted various workshops pertinent to language and cultural issues for Educational Interpreters in the state of Indiana, Vocational Rehabilitation counselors, and persons in the workplace.

Linda L. Ross, Ph.D., CI, CT, NIC Master, Ohio

Linda has been involved in the field of interpreting as a freelance interpreter, interpreter coordinator, and interpreter educator since the mid 1990’s.  In addition to work with the DO IT Center, she is the Founding Associate of Hallenross and Associates, LLC, a sign language interpretation and professional development company.   Linda has been teaching for the DO IT Center since 2006.  She teaches the consecutive interpreting series (INTR 220, 321 and 322), the observation supervision courses (INTR 330 and 331) and the community and identity course (INTR 311).  In addition, she occasionally teaches upper division courses in both the community interpreting and the educational interpreting strands. 

Amy Seiberlich, M.A., CI, CT, Colorado
 
Amy is a life-long student of communication and interpersonal dynamics.  She believes that a large percentage of the work that we do as interpreters revolves around managing our own thoughts so that we can become clearer vessels for facilitated communication.   Amy is the founder of the Leadership Institute where she teaches and serves as a professional coach.  She is also a co-founder of the Rie Centre; an organization dedicated to incorporating alternative health care methods in a holistic approach to interpreting.  Amy facilitates coursework for the BA program in Supervision and Leadership in Interpreting. 

Kelli Stein; M.Ed., CI, CT, Washington, DC

 Kelli has been interpreting since 1993, when she moved from Washington State to Washington, DC, and discovered a robust and challenging interpreting environment and a community of colleagues whose work continues to inspire her. Her freelance practice involves an extensive range of settings and consumer partners.  An adjunct instructor since 2004 in the interpreting departments at the Community College of Baltimore County and Gallaudet University, she received a master’s degree in adult learning, specializing in interpreter pedagogy.  Kelli enjoys teaching courses, leading workshops, and presenting in the US and abroad.  The only thing she likes better than interpreting is teaching interpreting.

Kellie Stewart, M.Ed., CSC, CI, CT, North Carolina

Kellie is currently a part-time instructor for the University of Northern Colorado, teaching primarily in the upper division classes of the BA, and is a full-time faculty member of the ASL and Interpreter Education Program at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC.  For the past 23 years, Kellie has taught countless professional development seminars and courses on a variety of subjects, both on-line and in traditional classrooms. In 2006, she and colleague, Anna Witter-Merithew co-authored a workbook entitled, Dimensions of Ethical Decision-Making: A Guided Exploration for Interpreters, published by Sign Media. In August 2010, Kellie was the first recipient of the Betsy Reifman Interpreter Educator Award, an honor she received during the Region 1 Conference.

Anna Witter-Merithew, M.Ed., CSC, SC:L, OIC:C, SC:PA, CI, CT, North Carolina

Anna is the developer and instructional manager of the Interpreting in the American Legal System Certificate Program (LITP) and the Leadership and Supervision Certificate Program (LSCP).  She was the primary developer for the baccalaureate program courses.  She currently manages course challenges and internship placements for baccalaureate students, and oversees the baccalaureate capstone portfolio assessment rating process.  Anna teaches INTR 492: Internship and INTR 461/561: Conducting Diagnostic Assessments.