Presenter Bio

2010
3rd Annual National Sign Language & Interpreting Conference Presenter Information

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Gerald Burstein is known as "Bummy" for his beloved love for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He obtained a Bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University and a Master's degree from CSUN. In October 1986, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Gallaudet University. Her began his teaching career in 1950, at the Minnesota School for the Deaf, Faribault, he remained there for 15 years, then became a teacher and an administrator at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, for 37 years. He retired May 1, 2002 after serving 52 years in the field of education of the deaf. He was also an adjunct teacher at the Riverside Community College. He held many offices in different organizations including president of the National Congress of Jewish Deaf, California Association of the Deaf, and Gallaudet University Alumni Association. He has served 30 years on the board of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association of which 13 years was its president.

"Bummy" is credited with importing the French Applause, the Waving Hands in the Air, which caught on the USA and has since became very popular. "Bummy" is a Certified Professional Parliamentarian with the American Institute of Parliamentarians and a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians. He has presented over 200 parliamentary workshops all over the nation including Hawaii and Canada to student groups, local, state, and national conferences, and many other places. He, also, has served as a parliamentarian at many conferences and meetings. He received many honors and awards.

In 1991, he was named recipient of the prestigious International Platform Association Award for "... popularizing parliamentary procedure." He is the only known deaf person to be honored by this 182-year old international organization which also recognized the contributions of John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, Nanette Fabray and others. "Bummy" also received from CSUN, The National Center on Deafness, "Distinguished Alumni" award in 2006. In 1986, while serving as president of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association, GUAA, he wrote a 11-page booklet, "The Basic of Parliamentary Procedure" written especially for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. It is a simple, easy to understand, primer on how to run meetings which GUAA printed and distributed 10,000 copies as a public service to schools and organizations. The booklets have been used in Singapore, Columbia, and Tibet. The second book, 94 pages, "Bummy's Successful Meeting Procedures," A Parliamentarian's Basic Guide, was printed. He also produced a 90-minute, voice-over and captioned, videotape: "Bummy's Basic Parliamentary Workshop." The Gerald "Bummy" Burstein. '50, Endowed Chair in Leadership, at Gallaudet University, is the first chair to be fully endowed established by a deaf alumnus. At present he serves on Advisory Body, Telecommunications Access for the Deaf and Disabled Administrative Committee of the California Public Utilities Commission. He was appointed by the Riverside Mayor and City Council to serve on the Riverside's Model Deaf Community committee of which he is the chair.

My academic credentials include an AA in Dance, an AS in Sign Language Interpreting, and a BS in Deaf Studies from Cal State University at Northridge with a focus in performance. I also hold certification from the National Association of the Deaf and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Presently, I am in the last phase of my Comprehensive Pilates Certification with Body Arts and Science Inc.

I have danced professionally for over twenty years with Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Ethnic and site-specific companies in Europe and Japan. I continue to choreograph with ASL and other foreign sign languages for my own company, Pas d'ASL, while collaborating with my husbands circuit bending music. I have taught most dance genres to adults and children with all different abilities. As a presenter, I have lead workshops and master classes in creating Dance and Poetry with ASL and my newest endeavor Pilates for Interpreters.

A few of my accomplishments I am most proud of are my scholarship to the Julliard School in NYC for theatrical interpreting on Broadway, being chosen for the National Theater of the Deaf's Actor's Academy, being a competitor and an interpreter at the National Poetry Slams for eight years and for the Paris International Poetry Slam. For fun, I have played a psycho-sign-go-go dancer with rock bands and created several rituals for the Burning Man festival. In the future, I dream to choreograph with every sign language in the world.

DENNIS DAVINO, MA Pacifica Graduate Institute, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - Worked as an interpreter in the educational setting at all levels from K-12. Established and team taught in a Preschool program in a Public Day Program for the D/HH incorporating the Montessori Philosophy. From the time the SEE Center f/t Advancement of Deaf Children was established (1984), Dennis conducted seminars and inservice training, both nationally and internationally about the SEE sign system and for training pertaining to interpreting in the educational setting. Served on the National Task Force establishing the Role and Responsibilities of the Educational Interpreter. Presently, serves as Director of the Educational Interpreter program at Cypress College in Cypress, CA, one of the very few ITP programs that devotes the entire training to the educational setting. Skilled in many spoken languages as well as in different signed systems.

Patrick Fischer

Patrick Fischer is from several generations of fine artists and actors from Europe, and has seen many theatre productions which gave him an extensive interest in all things relating to theatre and art. These interests led Patrick to be involved in a variety of artistic positions (artist, board member, actor, director, producer, teacher, and consultant) as well as participation in a variety of performances (storytelling, poetry, emcee, skits, and comedy) all around the nation.

From Patrick's experiences and training in different aspects of theatre, he grew to enjoy sharing and passing on his exposure and knowledge. Patrick launches his theatrical business in 2005 providing various services to those who ant to learn more about theatre through deaf's eyes. When Patrick is not "working" in theatre, he teaches American Sign Language (ASL) and currently is a certified ASLTA instructor at Portland Community College under the Sign Language Studies Program and Sign Language Interpretation Program in Portland, OR. Patrick is also a professional artist and owner of a freelance design business, "Infinity Design".

Bonnie Gibson-Brydon is a professional American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter who has been working in the profession for more than thirty years. For the last twelve years she has been the Executive Director of PULA Legal Interpreting Network (www.legalinterpreting.org), and for the last three years has been acting as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mojave Deaf Services. Bonnie is a graduate of California State University Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English. She is also a graduate of The University of Transformational Studies and Leadership at Agape, (ALSP). Professionally, she is nationally certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) with a Certificate of Interpretation (CI) and a Certificate of Transliteration (CT). Additionally, she carries the NAD: Level V – Master Certification. Bonnie is currently completing an additional RID certification-- that of Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC: L). Bonnie travels the U.S. as a workshop presenter and she is an awesome mentor who is thrilled to help instill confidence in novice interpreters as well as to help them achieve a higher level of skill.

Kristine Hall

Kristine Hall was born to a Deaf family and attended California School for the Deaf in Fremont and Maryland School for the Deaf. She received her B.A. in Communication Arts at Gallaudet University. Mrs. Hall teaches Language Development of the Deaf at the North Valley Occupational Center. She is an adjunct instructor teaching American Sign Language at the College of the Canyons and California State University Northridge. In her spare time, Kristine enjoys cooking and traveling with her family.

Tamara Hill is an educational and freelance interpreter in southern California and is the South Bay representative for Southern California RID. She is a married mother of four boys. In her spare time, she loves reading, writing, spending time with family and volunteering her time in the Deaf community.

Born and raised in Great Falls, Montana. I attended the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB). I went to Gallaudet University and transferred to CSUN. I worked with school kids at TRIPOD in Burbank, California and taught signs to hearing parents with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children. After graduating from CSUN, I worked as an ASL Instructor at the University of Minnesota for almost 10 years, and I was a workshop presenter for MRID for several different workshops there. I am currently a Deaf Studies Instructor at the Antelope Valley College located in Lancaster, California since Fall 2002.

Alex Jackson Nelson has over twelve years of experience working in and for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer/Questioning (GLBTIQ) community. He provided services to homeless and at-risk youth in the Twin Cities, working as a street-based outreach worker, before becoming the Interim Executive Director at District 202. While doing this work Alex attended the St Paul College Interpreting/Transliterating Program and graduated in 2004. He has worked as a professional sign language interpreter since then and recently became a certified interpreter. He provides consulting and training to service providers around the country on GLBTIQ issues and best practices in working with marginalized youth populations.

Tamar Jackson Nelson is an interpreter who graduated from Gallaudet University with an MA in Interpretation. Tamar loves the career for which the program prepared her. She enjoys presenting to promote growth and development of the interpreting profession. Workshop topics she has presented on include fingerspelling, omission, processing time in interpreting, medical interpreting, and others. She has worked as a certified community interpreter, mentor, ER on-call manager & interpreter, VRI & VRS interpreter and is an adjunct professor, in the Interpreting/Transliterating Program, at St. Paul College. Tamar has interpreting experience on both coasts and now resides with her partner Alex in Minneapolis.

Annie L. McElroy-Domingo is a Certified Interpreter who has been working in the field of Deafness for over twenty years. She began as an Educational Interpreter and now is working as a Post Secondary Interpreter and Freelance Interpreter. Annie worked as a Voice Interpreter at a local California high school, for five years. She has experience in various forms of interpreting. She was a staff interpreter for LiNKS Interpreting Service for three years. She was born abroad in Athens, Greece to two loving parents. Annie has no Deaf in her family. She became curious about the language while attending Del Vallejo Jr. High School in San Bernardino CA where she befriended an oral Deaf girl who did not use an interpreter. She then taught herself how to sign by reading books. In college, Annie worked at Camp Bloomfield in Malibu CA for five years. Camp Bloomfield, a camp for blind children and Deaf children was the event that changed Annie’s destiny. While working at Camp Bloomfield, Annie was able to improve her signing skills and she obtained her first interpreting job after her experience at camp. Since that first experience she has become a nationally certified interpreter through the RID and NAD. She is the former president of her local chapter of the National Alliance of Black Interpreters, Inc –NAOBI, Inc known as NAOBI –SoCal.

Karla Reynolds is a certified interpreter with over 15 years of experience working in post-secondary and community settings. In addition to educational and freelance interpreting, she also enjoys teaching as an adjunct instructor for the Deaf Studies Program at Antelope Valley College. She demonstrates her commitment to professional development and life-long learning by participating in and presenting a variety of workshops that highlight interpreter skill-building strategies and examine sign language interpretation as a complex, creative, and collaborative process.

Born Deaf to a large family using Spanish, English and eventually, ASL. Attended a high school where the Deaf were required to take Spanish. Earned BA degree in French and Mathematics and Gallaudet University and masters degree in French and Spanish at George Mason University. 30 hours of doctoral studies at University of Maryland, concentrating in Spanish and French literature and as second languages. Instructed written French and Spanish at Gallaudet University for eleven years and also taught French Sign Language (LSF) there. In Paris, interned at a regional institute for the Deaf and earned 240 hours of LSF linguistics, language and culture at Academie de la Langue des signes Francaise, a Deaf-run academy in Paris. 40 hours of Spanish Sign Language (LSE) in Toledo, Spain. Experience as an Interpreter for the Deaf-Blind, relay and minimal language skills interpreter and International Sign interpreter. Conducted filmed interviews over three months in Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina, using respective sign languages and translated teh interviews into Spanish. Worked with the Japanese Deaf at deaf-related venues, learned some Japanese, Japanese Sign Language and its history. Resided with Deaf hosts in Japan, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Spain Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile.

Dr. Juti Seshie has been interpreting for over 40 years in the deaf community. She has over 30 years experience interpreting in the Superior and Federal Courts. A certified interpreter and mentor. As a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA) she imparts to her students all of her sign language expertise, knowledge and a lifetime of deaf cultural experiences. Her website is www.love2asl.com.

PATRICE STEPHENSON, B.F.A. Friends University A new career was created by being a parent of a deaf son, needing to learn a different way to communicate in sign language with him. Worked as an Educational Interpreter for 15 years and as a contract Interpreter trainer for Kansas Department of Education for 19 years. For 3 years was a Sign Skills Specialist and Mentor for the Educational Interpreter Certificate Program at Front Range Community College in Denver, CO. For the past 9 years and presently is the Instructor/Coordinator of Wichita State University Educational Interpreter Development Certificate Program for Interpreters using SEE. Conducts seminars and inservice training for the SEE Center f/t Advancement of Deaf Children, both nationally and internationally pertaining to the SEE sign system and for training Educational Interpreters. Is an evaluator for KQAS and a past evaluator for EIPA.

John Yingst is an adjunct instructor of Advanced American Sign Language classes at Golden West College and Santiago Canyon College. He also teaches Deaf Culture at GWC. He is also a Lab Technician at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Anaheim. He has a BA degree in Biology at Gallaudet University. He has a wife, Sylvia and two big children plus a son in law. Both he and his wife have taught the Annual Summer ASL workshops in Orange County since 1990. He also served on the boards for Southern California Recreation Association of the Deaf – Orange County and two churches: Catholic Deaf Community and Orange County Deaf Worship Center.

Sylvia Yingst is currently an adjunct instructor for the American Sign Language classes at three different community colleges: Golden West College, Santa Ana College and Cerritos College. She has a B.A. degree in Human Services at California State University in Fullerton, CA. She and her husband, John have been hosting an Annual ASL workshop in the summers. Her husband is also teaching ASL classes. She is the mother of two grown-up children and has a new son in law.

ESTHER G. ZAWOLKOW, CSC, Co-founder of the SEE Center f/t Advancement of Deaf Children, Co-author of Signing Exact English (SEE). In the late '60's was hired as one of the first full time interpreters in a public mainstreamed program (middle school and later high school) for the D/HH. Being a CODA was the reason for being hired because of fluency in sign language, but knew nothing about interpreting in the educational setting. That was the beginnings of a journey that lead down many different paths pertaining to interpreting and the field of deafness. Because of the newness of interpreting at the K-12 level, no workshops pertaining to this level were available at that time. This lead to many firsts---such as speaking at the 1st RID Convention (1970) in Delavan, WI. Much had to be done at establishing job descriptions, pay scales, the role and responsibility of the interpreter, location of interpreter and students in the classroom, interpreter relationships with the mainstreamed teacher and the rest of the faculty, as well as relationship with the students, etc., etc. Developed the first evaluation tool (ESSE) for assessing sign language skills for both teachers of the D/HH and Interpreters working in the Educational Setting which is now accepted for certifying Educational Interpreters in several states. Worked with the National Task Force on establishing the Role and Responsibilities of the Educational Interpreter. Conducts workshops, seminars, and training pertaining to sign language and educational interpreting both nationally and internationally. Presently is President of Modern Signs Press, Inc., publisher of sign language materials, co-director of the SEE Center f/t Advancement of Deaf Children and teaching SEE classes at Cypress College for over 30 years.