Category Archives: 2018 Conference

Wink, MA, MBA, NIC Master, enjoys researching and creating various workshops that focus on skill building through deliberate practice, which he wrote about in the RID Views, Winter 2012 issue. Presenting workshops the last ten years at national conferences (NAD, RID, Silent Weekend) regional conferences (RID I, II, III, IV, V), state conferences, and local workshops across the nation has given Wink experiences to enhance applications for interpreters of all levels. Wink is widely noted for the comfortable atmosphere he creates and the passion he exudes. Currently Wink travels full time performing, presenting workshops, and managing Winkshop, Inc, through which he has developed a dozen training DVDs. A fun fact: in 2016 alone, Wink traveled professionally enough miles to circle the earth over three times.

(ASL: https://youtu.be/o4Pv0mAqETA)

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Coming into the world from a Deaf family, Scott grew up with two siblings, one older brother and one younger sister. Scott grew up all over the United states by chance of his father’s wanderlust attitude, which has now influenced Scott today. Scott has been stationed in San Diego for four years now, previously employed as a manager of three years for a Deaf daytime recovery center for adults struggling with homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues. Scott is now employed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a Disability Integration Advisor. In May of 2017, Scott graduated and received his masters’ degree in Leadership studies at the University of San Diego. Additionally, he has a bachelor’s degree in Communications and English from Gallaudet University. Scott has a passion for traveling the world and immersing himself in the beauty of cultures and languages. Scott has visited nearly twenty-five different countries to date. Scott is passionately dedicated to his community, where he coordinates the San Diego DeaFestival for the past two years. He also dedicates his time on the Board of Directors for Disability Rights California. Scott is a native signer who is in the process of obtaining a CDI certification, he is also learning a third language (Spanish), and enjoys the presence of animals.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Betsy Bennion, Jed Patton & Samond Bishara (VRS)

What is behind the curtain of the “great and powerful’…? VRS can feel shrouded and mysterious. As a VRS interpreter have you been faced with a situation you weren’t sure how to answer? Have you worried about potential situations with VRS and don’t know how to handle them, or what resources you have at your disposal? Are you curious about VRS bit have some questions you need answered? Are you an experienced VRS interpreter facing breakdown? If any of these questions have crossed your mind, or the world of VRS interpreting is part of your life or could be, then this workshop is for you. We will guide participants, with our experiences, how to maintain resiliency as a Video Interpreter.  We will discuss best practices as a VRS interpreter while juggling business, FCC compliance, and interpreting ethics.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Stephanie Mathis (Domestic Violence)

We have recently been inundated with the concept of “Deaf Heart”. What that means and how it is quantified comes with a myriad of answers from a myriad of people. It is not only what we do, but “why” we do it that can identify our level of engagement and partnership with the Deaf community. This workshop will focus on why we do the things we do and subtle behaviors that either empower or dis-empower our Deaf community members. Understanding the reason behind our actions can lead to our becoming better allies with the community as a whole.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Scott Keller (Leadership)

In the workshop titled, “Finding the Leader Within”, I aim to reach all members of the audience in doing an interpersonal work that will motivate them to find the leader within. There have been an increased need for leaders in our society, our community, but the amount of available leaders are scarce. People nowadays have a misconception of what qualifies as a leader. The usual conception is that somebody that is a leader is somebody with power, authority, a big corner office. While in fact, the guy on the street, your neighbor, your mother, can be the leader. There are a plethora of leadership styles and one of those styles are bound to match the qualities of somebody. My workshop aims to motivate the hidden leader within, personal and professional development, and to create a sense of community development when more leaders are available and working together towards a common goal.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Dawn Duran & Pamela Mower (Community)

We have recently been inundated with the concept of “Deaf Heart”. What that means and how it is quantified comes with a myriad of answers from a myriad of people. It is not only what we do, but “why” we do it that can identify our level of engagement and partnership with the Deaf community. This workshop will focus on why we do the things we do and subtle behaviors that either empower or disempower our Deaf community members. Understanding the reason behind our actions can lead to our becoming better allies with the community as a whole.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Teddi Von Pingel (Medical)

Teddi von Pingel is currently enrolled in the Ed.D. Program in Leadership and Innovation at Arizona State University. As a doctoral student, she has engaged in preliminary cycles of research to collect data on the interactions between ASL/English interpreters and Deaf consumers prior to medical appointments. The data collected will shed some light on perceptions of both Deaf consumers and ASL/English interpreters related to the ‘first impressions’ prior to any appointment. The presentation will highlight themes found in the research and provide participants an opportunity to share their own experiences as interpreters or consumers in a medical setting. Together, the participants will brainstorm solutions to common issues faced when meeting a client/interpreter prior to a medical appointment. The presenter will share narratives from past research participants on their ideas about improving ‘first impressions’.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Priscila Monteiro  (Self-Care)

In this workshop you will learn about The Resilience Model, by Dr. Glenn Richardson. The Resilience Model tell us the solution to every problem, the guidance for every dream, and all that anyone ever needed, wanted, or hoped for reside in the sea of energy, vitality, enlightenment, and power that dwells within you and within the world around you. With this workshop, I am going to help you access that energy, vitality, and wisdom that guide you to thrive through adversity and maximize your potential. This process is called resiliency. You are going to learn about the resilient journey and resiliency, which is the process and experience of being disrupted by life challenges, going through stages of emotional distress, experiencing insights and aha moments, and then accessing innate strengths to not only recover but grow through adversity. At the end of the day, you will know how to identifying personal sources of strength and flexibility to access your own ability to thrive throughout challenges in life. You will learn how to deal with burnout, vicarious trauma, and how to increase your support system. You will take control of your life story and all the short stories that happen every day.

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*Presented in ASL*

by Wink Smith  (Interpreting Skills)

ASL Link: https://youtu.be/g9aQu07lik

The meanings of words do not reside in the words themselves nor do they reside as pre-existing structures in the mind. Word meaning is dynamically created in our minds while we hear/see/create utterances. This inevitably causes problems when communicating, especially communicating something that was originally created in a completely different language — such is the plight of the interpreter and the translator. There are multiple problems that can arise; however, we will focus on one for this workshop: minimal utterances that communicate a maximal amount of information conceptually and how to manage the conceptual transfer into another language. In other words, when should I expand when using depiction? Relying on cognitive studies we see how language works in the mind. This has lead to a working proposal for how to manage a situation where the source does not explicitly say something, but it does communicate it conceptually. In addition, when is too much? What kind of parameters should we impose on ourselves so that we do not change the meaning of the source utterance? These points will be discussed in this workshop with the aim to provide tools on how to determine what can be brought from our conceptual world into the target language.

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