BLeGIT 2011-2013 Member Section Leadership:
Chair: CM Hall [email protected]
CM Hall, Ed.M., NIC Advanced; EIPA Ed K:12; is project coordinator of the Western Region Interpreter
Education Center at Western Oregon University (WOU). She holds a bachelor's in the ASL/English Interpreting
program from WOU and completed WOU's one year interpreter training program (1992-93). She holds a
Master's in Education from Oregon State University in College Student Services Administration. She has
worked in K-12 and various post-secondary environments as a staff interpreter and has considerable experience
with platform and Deaf-Blind interpreting. In the fall of 2011, CM began a second Master’s in NonProfit
Management from Portland State University.
CM teaches in WOU's interpreting program and is president of Oregon RID. She also serves as secretary for the
Deaf-Blind Member Section. In her professional work, she actively contributes to the
www.DiscoverInterpreting.com initiative, participates in leadership on the National Task Force on Deaf-Blind
Interpreting, and trains educational interpreters on Guam and Saipan who have limited access to professional
development opportunities.
In addition to her background as an interpreter and interpreter educator, CM has had a successful career as
fundraiser and political strategist for nonprofit organizations, as well as having worked on several national and
statewide Democratic and initiative political campaigns.
CM is a proud native Oregonian committed to equality and social justice. She lives with her wife Kendra and
two pups Riley and Lucy in Portland.
Vice-Chair: Dylan Geil [email protected]
Dylan Geil
Dylan Geil, B.A., NIC Master, ED K:12; is a freelance interpreter. He graduated
with a bachelor’s degree in Sign Language Interpreting from California State
University Fresno. He is currently attending the University of Oregon where he is a
candidate for a Master’s degree in International Studies, specializing in Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Identity Development.
Dylan has experience interpreting in a wide variety of settings, including: government affairs, international
business, education (K-12 and Post Secondary), VRS, platform, deaf-blind, and travel interpreting.
In addition to interpreting, Dylan is an active aviation enthusiast and is currently working on obtaining his
private pilot license. He lives in Eugene, OR but you won’t find him there often. Dylan is an avid traveler on a
mission to get to each continent!
Region I Co-Rep: Nick Dionne [email protected]
Nick Dionne
Nick Dionne is a 2011 graduate of the Interpreter Training Program
at Northwestern Connecticut Community College and has since transferred
to The University of Southern Maine to pursue a degree in Linguistics. He
has interned at a variety of local organizations ranging from community
mental health clinics, to stage and platform, to government and ceremonial.
He currently works as a substitute interpreter for the American School for
the Deaf - Outreach Department. Nick also works as an Office Assistant,
Residential Counselor and Employment Specialist for the Mental Health
Association of Connecticut - specializing in Deaf adults with cognitive and
behavioral disabilities.
In addition to his newly appointed position as Region 1 representative for
BLeGIT, Nick also holds the position of vice-chair for the newly
established
Student Member Section of RID. Nick has been a regular advocate and
participant in GLBTQI rights since the beginning of high school and is
eager to get involved with RID in this manor. In his spare time, Nick
enjoys film, traveling, and nature.
Region I Co-Rep: Ryan Kraft [email protected]
Ryan Kraft
Hi everyone, my name is Ryan Kraft and I am thrilled to be a part of the
BLeGIT Council as Region 1 Co-Rep. I am currently in my final year of
the ASL-English Interpreter Program (AEIP) at George Brown College in
Toronto, Ontario, and I'm looking forward to getting out into the working
world come spring 2012. I have a bachelor's degree in communication and
publishing, and I still enjoy doing video production and doing the odd
graphic design project. I started getting involved with RID back in 2009,
when I met then-chair of BLeGIT Amanda David, who encouraged me to
come out to the national conference that year in Philadelphia and to get
involved.
I'm looking forward to working with the board and membership, and
meeting everyone reading this. I'm also serving this term as the chair for RID's Student Member Section, as well
as being involved with the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC) up here in Canada.
In my spare time I love to travel, meet new people, read, and wander around new parts of whatever city I
happen to be in at the time.
Region 2 Co-Rep: Debbie Mandigo [email protected]
Debbie Mandigo
(picture N/A)
Debbie worked as an educational interpreter when she joined RID in 2000. She underwent radial tunnel surgery
to her dominate signing arm the following year, but refused to give up her career as the doctor had insisted. She
taught herself to sign left handed and even took and passed her CI/CT with her non-dominant hand just 5 weeks
after the operation. She was later promoted from classroom interpreter to lead. She also worked for a period of
time as the coordinator for the educational training program at the community college in her area. Then, in
2005, a head injury caused her to lose all cognitive processing, and she lost, among many other things, the
ability to sign altogether. She retired from the school system but refused to give up her dream of an interpreting
career. After months of rehab and cognitive therapy, she relearned ASL and the processing skills necessary to
be able to interpret again. She began taking on simple assignments until she was able to regain the skills needed
to fully do the work she loves. She now does strictly freelance work and loves platform and medical
interpreting.
Debbie came out in 1980. She met her partner in 1981 but did not begin dating her until four years later as
they both were involved in other relationships. Finally, in 1985, they were both single at the same time and
wasted no time in getting together. They share their home in Virginia Beach, VA, with their four legged
babies. Debbie has two grown children, three step children, twelve grandchildren and three great
grandchildren. She was an army brat growing up and went to eleven different schools before she graduated
from high school. She has been in seventy different countries, mostly interpreting on cruise ships for Deaf
passengers.
As for the LGBT community, Debbie has always considered herself an activist. She had never been secretive
about anything in her life and wasn't about to start when she came out. She marched in her first gay parade in
1984 behind the Virginia Gay Alliance banner. Her car was dubbed the lesbobile by friends and family because
of her stickers and license plates. Her life has been spent trying to change people's minds and stereotypes about
what 'the face of gay' looks like. She has been involved in helping fix broken governmental policies such as the
right to marry and adopt or foster children. She has worked to help overturn DOMA and Don't Ask Don't
Tell. She works with youth programs like the Gay/Straight Alliance and GLSEN. She believes our
community's strength lies within the children who are growing up Out, Proud and Vocal. She looks forward to
being an active participant and working with BLeGIT's board and membership.
Region II Co-Rep: Angela Johnson [email protected]
Angela Johnson
I have been interpreting for the last 9 years and currently hold NIC-Advanced
certification. Currently, I work for the local Deaf school as a staff interpreter, but
have worked in the VRS field as well as in the gamut of settings that freelance
interpreting brings. On a non-professionally related note, I currently live in
Jacksonville, FL with my wife, Shawna, and our "furry children" (5 cats and 2
dogs). We are currently in the adoption process and are looking forward to the
opportunity to grow our family. In my spare time, I am involved in the education of
issues affecting LGBTQI families as well as dabbling in scrapbooking, cooking and
traveling. I embrace an "open door" type policy with all those I meet, so if you have
any questions about who I am and what I do that was not already answered, please feel free to email me
anytime. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to serve as Region II's co-chair and hope to get to know
everyone soon!
Region 3 Rep: David Evans
David Evans
David Evans, RID CI & CT, NIC Master, has a comprehensive
history providing ASL-English interpretations services in a
variety of settings, specializing in music/performing arts and
conference work. He has interpreted for numerous conferences
from the local to international levels. Additionally, David
presents in-service training workshops to interpreter students
and practitioners across the country. When not on the road,
David makes his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he
recently purchased his first home.
For my time as a BLeGIT rep, I want to make sure students and
practitioners from our community (and allies) continue to be
visible to the general RID membership.
Region 4: Cody Francisco [email protected]
Cody Francisco
My name is Cody Francisco and I am your Region IV representative for
RID’s BLeGit Council. I am from Tulsa, Oklahoma as this is my hometown.
I am a deaf interpreter along being a Community Outreach Specialist for the
Deaf and instructor for a local community college’s Interpreter Training
Program. I am also an alumnus of Oklahoma State University (BS) and
Rochester Institute of Technology (MS).
My goal being Region IV’s representative for RID’s BLeGIT is to be
available for resources, provide support, and to be an advocate for the
members of BLeGIT who are in the interpreting profession. You may reach me at
[email protected]:[email protected] I look forward to working with Region IV and
our new RID BLeGIT Council!
Region V Co-Rep: Alonna Lamb [email protected]
Alonna Lamb
I am Alonna Lamb CI,CT,SC:L. I am an Interpreter first and foremost
but now teach, consult and develop curriculum. I have been in the
field, and loving it, for about 25 years. I am currently in the Seattle
area. My wife and I have enough children to make a soccer team, I teach Sex Positive education classes to the
general public, coordinate interpreting service for festivals, work in the courts, and - if I had time for yet another
job - I would be Julie McCoy, your Cruise Director on the Love Boat. However, I would not be in love with
Doc.
I have worked national and international events /committees in a variety of capacities and look forward to
working with Bob, represent Region V BLeGIT SIG, and ensure our diverse community stays visible.
Region V Co-Rep: Bob LoParo [email protected]
Bob LoParo
Bob LoParo, B.S., CI, CT, a Midwestern guy at heart (still!), calls Long Beach,
CA, his new home, but also works nationally and internationally. He earned his
National Certification from RID (CI & CT, ’99). He loves to interpret for Alcohol
and Drug Rehabilitation, Post-Secondary Education, Medical, Theatrical, Mental
Health, Vocational Rehabilitation, Minimal Language/Gestural-Visual Consumers,
Cruises, and Conventions/Conferences (local, state, regional, and national) for
Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf Blind and hearing consumers. A love for English,
ASL, and the communities in-between has always drawn him to Sign Language
Interpretation and the search for that “perfect” text to be parsed, analyzed, and reformulated! He is currently an adjunct ASL/ITP instructor at El Camino College
and works as a Private Practice/Independent Contractor.