NCIHC Committees

The NCIHC consists of the following committees that support its organizational goals and mission, along with an advisory group of individuals who provide expert insight and support. Members interested in active participation in the work of the NCIHC, either on a committee or a specific project, should click here to learn more!

Eliana Lobo (President) - WA
Carla Fogaren (Vice President) - MA
Debbie Lesser (Treasurer) - GA

Rosemary Ford (Secretary) - NH
Andy Schwieter (Member-at-Large) - OH

The Organizational Development Committee is responsible for developing the policies and procedures needed by the Council to function fairly and openly over the long term. This committee develops draft policies and procedures for the Board to review, both at the request of the Board and at its own initiative. The Committee provides monitoring and oversight for much of the Council's activities, assuring that activities stay within the policies and procedures that have been established.  To this end, the Chair or the Vice-Chair serves on the Executive Committee.

Lisa Morris (Chair) - RI
Tim Moriarty (Board Liason) - MA
Wilma Alvarado-Little - NY
Enrica Ardemagni - AR

David Brackett - CA
Kevin Cunningham - OR
Graciella Zozaya - TX

Looking for new volunteers

Tatiana Cestari - FL
Vonessa Costa - FL

Carla Fogaren - MA

The Policy, Education, and Research Committee serve in an advisory capacity to assist organizations and individuals that want to carry out educational and research activities. It also tracks and responds to policy initiatives affecting interpreters and/or limited-English proficient, D/deaf, or hard of hearing individuals while promoting dialogue regarding research in language access and health care.d

Andy Schwieter (Board liaison/Chair) - OH
Tatiana Cestari (Vice-Chair) - FL
Hank Dallmann - NJ
Linda Golley - WA

Michelle Scott - CA
Gabriela Siebach - NC
Tracy Young - NV

The Education Work Group (EWG) was created to spearhead the development of an annotated bibliography of resources of interest to NCIHC members. Volunteers are not only responsible for creating and maintaining the annotated bibliography, but also for establishing and enforcing clear guidelines for the incorporation of member-suggested resources and ensuring the continued relevance and availability of resources to NCIHC members and the public at large. 

Volunteers interested in serving on the EWG will also have an opportunity to share and develop…

• Experience accessing, reading, and understanding research articles

• Experience concisely summarizing complex research articles d

The Journal Work Group (JWG) was created to spearhead ACCESS: The NCIHC Journal. Volunteers in the JWG act as the Editorial Group for the journal and are responsible for planning each issue, recruiting contributors, reviewing submissions and negotiating edits with the contributors, and overseeing all processes required for publication.  

Volunteers interested in serving on the JWG will also have an opportunity to share and develop…

• Experience identifying articles that provide new, original, and important contributions to language access in health care

• Experience modifying written copy to serve the goals of the journal through constructive feedback

• Experience adhering to strict deadlines like those required for journal publication d

Tatiana Cestari - FL
Linda Golley - WA

The EWG was created to spearhead the development of an annotated bibliography of resources of interest to NCIHC members. Volunteers are not only responsible for creating and maintaining the annotated bibliography, but also for establishing and enforcing clear guidelines for the incorporation of member-suggested resources and ensuring the continued relevance and availability of resources to NCIHC members and the public at large. 

Volunteers interested in serving on the EWG will also have an opportunity to share and develop…

• Experience accessing, reading, and understanding research articles

• Experience concisely summarizing complex research articles d

The Research Work Group (RWG) was created to not only serve in an advisory capacity to assist members that want to carry out research activities but to also conduct research that will benefit language access in health care and the NCIHC membership at large. Volunteers are responsible for responding to research requests, as well as, planning and conducting surveys that will provide valuable insights and identify areas of improvement for language access in healthcare.

Volunteers interested in serving on the RWG will also have an opportunity to share and develop…

• Understanding of key research principles

• Experience collecting and analyzing data

• Experience conducting literature reviews

• Experience preparing articles, reports, and presentations of findings d

Linda Golley - WA
Maichou Lor - WI

Fabiola Munafo - OH
Erin Rosales - WI
Maria Schwieter - IN
Yuliya Speroff - WA

The Webinar Work Group was created to help interpreter trainers address training issues and improve training content, methods, and techniques to better meet the National Standards for Healthcare Interpreter Training Programs, providing such support by setting up a series of Webinars with pertinent instructional opportunities and related resources. Each webinar is presented by an expert Trainer of Trainers to address specific areas of content and particular teaching competencies.  Recordings of past webinars may be accessed 24/7, and a new live Webinar is presented every two months. d

The mission of the Languages of Lesser Diffusion (LLD) work group is to support trainers working with interpreters of languages of limited diffusion.  Their focus includes, but is not limited to, the identification of resources, as well as information and guidance on dealing with language proficiency testing, help developing technical terminology, and supporting interpreting students who speak LLDs, including those for which there is no written form or only minimal diffusion of a written form. Contact us at: [email protected] if have resources to contribute to the database, if you want to comment on a listed resource or if you have other questions or comments. d

The National Ethics and Standards (NES) Work Group focuses on ensuring that the National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care (NCoE) and National Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care (NSoP) documents stay relevant and up to date. In response to member feedback, we published the paper Interpreter Advocacy in Healthcare Encounters: A Closer Look, and the webinar Interpreter Advocacy in Healthcare Encounters: A Closer Look. https://www.ncihc.org/nsop-interpreter-advocacy-healthcare-encounters-recorded-webinar

The NES Work Group promotes the use of the NCoE and NSoP in any healthcare interpreting training program to ensure interpreters are equipped to make ethically informed decisions in every interpreted encounter.

The NES Work Group will be holding focus groups in 2024 to learn from interpreters and other stakeholders whether any of the National Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care should be added, omitted or changed to improve clarity and/or to remain current in our developing field.

Jane Kontrimas (Chair) - MA
Maria-Paz Beltran Avery - MA
Lorena Castillo - FL