I began learning Sign Language from my older Deaf cousin in 1970. He taught me much more than Sign Language. My Cousin taught me that you could communicate anything if you just have imagination and patience.  He never fingerspelled to me just mimed and signed until I understood. In 1979 I began formal training in ASL.  I did what most people with Deaf family members do; I “interpreted” in informal situations without knowing what I was doing. I attended a Deaf church, I joined a group called “Figures of Speech” which interpreted songs for hearing audiences and at Deaf events and later on interpreted for Deaf members of a hearing church. All this time I did not think of myself as an interpreter.

         I attended Millersville University, Millersville PA but due to family and financial responsibilities I did not complete a degree. Instead I became a certified nurses aid and a certified pre-school teacher. I was also Pastor for a nondenominational Church, and held 35 other part time jobs in a wide variety of fields. I did not consider becoming a professional interpreter until two events nudged me in that direction. I was struggling financially because I couldn’t find a second job and my full time job would not pay the bills, and a Deaf man approached me and told me that there was a great need for men in the interpreting profession. His encouragement and my need for a second job lead me to finding a job interpreting at a high school in 1992.

       The teacher of the Deaf at the school where I was interpreting put me in touch with RID and many other resources and that is when I began my interpreter training in earnest. In the early 90s AA ITP’s were few in number and many interpreters were still being trained in 6-week programs. I developed my own program by cobbling together every training opportunity I could as constrained by my lack of finances and geographic location. Since beginning interpreting I have maintain an average of 30 to 45 hours of training annually in Interpreting / Sign Language

         I have interpreted within religious, educational (pre-school to PHD level), medical, and community based settings. I interpreted in various locals in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, NYC and New Jersey.

         My first attempts at RID testing, I took and passed my RID Written test in 12-1999, and then took my Certificate of Interpreting 10-2001, and lastly my Certificate of Transliterating 11-2001.  I have also taken the Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment with a level of 5.00 Most recently took RID/NAD NIC and passed.

I have been an active member of professional organizations; RID, PCRID, PARID, NAD, and Metro NYCRID, NJRID, NJAD