Jimmy Beldon, CDI, M.A., has been a professional involved in the interpreting field on many levels. He used to teach in the Interpreter Training Program at St. Catherine University in St Paul, Minnesota. Jimmy received his master’s degree in Deaf Education with an ASL Specialty from Western Maryland College. He is a nationally renowned interpreter educator. He is a popular presenter requested to travel across the United States giving workshops on a variety of topics and has served as vice president for RID.

Stephanie M. Clark, CDI & SC:L, is a certified Deaf interpreter with years of experience in settings ranging from legal/court to platform interpreting work after participating in Northeastern University’s Interpreter Preparation Program for Deaf Interpreters in the mid-1990s and community workshops on Interpreting. She holds a Bachelors degree in Social Work from Salem State University and a Masters degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts with a special focus on Instructional Design and has presented workshops to both Interpreters and Deaf community members on various topics related to Language, Culture, and Interpreting. Stephanie was the co-coordinator of the Road to Deaf Interpreting training series in the Northeast region. She holds an ASLTA – Professional certification and is active with local, regional, and national organizations.

Eileen Forestal, PhD; RSC, was the Coordinator and Professor of ASL/Deaf Studies and ASL-English Interpreting Programs at Union County College in NJ for many years. She has been a certified Deaf interpreter (RSC) with RID since 1979. She earned a PhD degree from Capella University, specializing in Postsecondary Education and Adult Learning. Her dissertation focused on Deaf Interpreters, which explored their processes of interpreting, and it is the first of its kind to be researched by a Deaf interpreter. A nationwide trainer and consultant on ASL, Deaf interpreters, and interpreting topics, Eileen was a member of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers’ Deaf Interpreter Work Team and Outcome Circle. She is also a published author of articles and research on interpreting, and co-wrote and co-directed a DVD production, Deaf Interpreting: Team Strategies, through Gallaudet University.

Dr. Chris Kurz is associate professor for the Master of Science in Secondary Education for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing program and co-director of the Research Center for Teaching and Learning at NTID@RIT. He holds a doctorate in Foundations of Education from University of Kansas. He also holds a bachelor degree in mathematics from RIT and a master degree in deaf education from University of Kansas. Dr. Kurz is a former high school Mathematics and Science at the Kansas School for the Deaf as well as a faculty member in the Mathematics Department at Johnson County Community College. With expertise in mathematics education and deaf history, he has published papers, made numerous presentations, conducted workshops and developed educational curriculum materials for K-12 teachers of the deaf and educational interpreters. In free time, he enjoys playing sports with his four sons and spending time with his wife.

Jim Lipsky, CDI, has been an ASL/Deaf Studies/Interpreter instructor at Northeastern University and Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts since 1992. He was one of the first graduates of the Northeastern University Interpreter Preparation Program for Deaf Persons (IPPDP) in 1996. He is now nationally RID Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI). He has been a freelance Deaf interpreter for sixteen years and a Deaf-Blind community interpreter for twenty-five. He has received a Masters degree in Deaf Studies at Boston University in 1999. He has also completed a legal interpreter training program by Advancement Seminars, Inc. in 1997. He has Professional Certification through the National ASLTA.  Starting in April 2008, he has been co-coordinator and co-instructor for the Road to Deaf Interpreting Workshop Series for Deaf participants who want to learn how to become a Certified Deaf Interpreter.  Jim offers workshop on a variety of ASL-related topics Deaf Interpreter training, and interpreting with Deaf-Blind consumers. He has served as a Massachusetts State Screened Interpreter Evaluator for Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MDCHH) in Boston since 1999. He also served as a screener for New Hampshire State Screened Interpreters since  2009. From 2004 to 2008, he was President of MassRID after serving as Vice President for two years, and President of the Massachusetts Chapter of ASLTA from 1998 to 2002.

Cynthia Napier is a Certified Deaf Interpreter living in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She has worked in the field of interpreting since 1981 and obtained her certification as a Deaf Interpreter (CDI) from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. in 2001. She has mentored interpreters and intern interpreters and has developed several trainings and presented workshops to improve the interpretation skills and knowledge of interpreters working in the legal, educational and community settings as well as trainings for aspiring CDIs. She was a member of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Center’s (NCIEC) Deaf Interpreter Work Team, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. CDI Exam Task Force and currently works as a freelance interpreter.