Austin Interpreters for the Deaf presents “Systems Thinking for Interpreters – An Approach To Role Conception and Application Based on Relational Autonomy” with Anna Witter – Merithew
Date: September 20, 2014
Time: 9:00 AM—5:00 PM
Location: Austin Community College (Campus TBD, based on registration)
Session Language: This session will be provided in ASL.
Space is limited, register soon. BEI (partial ethics) and RID CEUs pending.
Workshop description:
Interpreters are often very interpreter-centric in their view of their work. This seven-hour workshop will focus on how to apply a more holistic view to the work of interpreters through the use of System Thinking. System Thinking is a way of approaching the role and responsibility of an interpreter that is based on an understanding of the systems in which their work is performed—such as the healthcare system, the legal system, the educational system. By understanding the way systems function, the parts that create a system, and how these parts work together to create the whole of the system, interpreters can identify more effective strategies for fitting-in, navigating the system, and impacting change in terms of service delivery to Deaf individuals.
Anna is the Assistant Director for the University of Colorado Distance Opportunities in Interpreter Training Center (DO IT Center) in Denver, Colorado. She has over forty years of experience in the field of ASL-English interpreting as a practitioner, educator and program administrator. She is the architect of a number of programs, including a four semester program for interpreters working in the American judicial system and an online baccalaureate program. Anna also serves as the Director of the MARIE Center housed at UNC DO IT Center, which is a member of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC). She served on the national board of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf respectively as Vice President (1983-1987) and President (1987-1989) and is one of the co-founders and past Vice President of the Conference of Interpreter Teachers (CIT).
