Cathy Cogen, a long-time member of the Northeastern University (NU) faculty and professional staff, is currently the director of the Regional Interpreter Education Center and one of the six directors of the NCIEC.  Her lead projects on behalf of the NCIEC include investigating effective practices in Deaf interpreting and the Discover Interpreting initiative. Cathy was the first director of the NU ASL Program from 1977-1986, when she was privileged to have, as colleagues and friends, Marie Jean Philip, Nancy V. Becker, and other luminaries in our field. Cathy was instrumental in the Conference of Interpreter Trainers’ early efforts to establish the National Interpreter Education Standards and the interpreting education program accreditation process now conducted by the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education.  As a community advocate and organizer, Cathy has co-led lobbying efforts to further the political aims of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind communities of Massachusetts. She holds a BA in linguistics from UC Berkeley and a M.Ed. in higher educational administration from Northeastern, and she has been a certified interpreter for more than 30 years. In recent years, she has pursued her interest in training others in the exercise of leadership.

Lillian Garcia Peterkin, CDI, was born to Puerto Rican parents in New Haven, Connecticut. She graduated from the American School for the Deaf in 1981. She received a Bachelor’s degree in ASL/English Interpreting from Northeastern University in 2001.  As Project Coordinator of the National Interpreter Education Center (NIEC), Lillian facilitates communication and reporting among the NCIEC’s 12 work teams. She is, herself, an active member of both the Deaf Interpreting work team and Deaf Advocacy Training work team, and co-chair of the Linguistic and Cultural Diversity work team. Recently, Lillian traveled to 10 states to interview Deaf consumers on behalf of the NCIEC’s needs assessment efforts. Lillian has presented trainings to Deaf community members on topics such as medical interpreting, Deaf interpreting, and consumer rights to interpreting services. In her work prior to joining the NCIEC, Lillian spent ten years as coordinator of interpreting services in Massachusetts and Connecticut, providing supervision, outreach, mentorship, and education to interpreters. Lillian is proud to have two young girls and is currently living in Hamden, CT.

Alberto Sifuentes was grew up in Mexico and Texas and attended the Texas School for the Deaf. He studied Computer Graphics at NTID. While in Rochester, he worked in communication therapy at the Hillside Children’s Center, a facility providing mental health, youth development, and child welfare services. On moving to Boston, Alberto worked as Outreach/Case Manager at DEAF, Inc.’s Project Hope. In 2006 he joined the Regional Interpreter Education Center at Northeastern University as Program Assistant. Among his many regional duties, he serves as RID Local Test Administrator and Certificate Maintenance Program coordinator. He is also an active member of the NCIEC Deaf Advocacy Training work team and provides technical/media support to the Deaf Interpreting work team and the Discover Interpreting work team. He has also lent his acting skills to Legal Interpreting and Deaf Interpreting team projects. An aspiring Deaf Interpreter, Alberto is currently involved in the mentorship component of the Road to Deaf Interpreting, a DI training series offered in Massachusetts from 2008-2009. He is very active in the Boston Area Deaf Community, currently serving as chairperson for the MSAD/MassRID Retreat scheduled for Fall 2009. Alberto is an avid volleyball player!