Meet the 2018 cohort

The DeafBlind Interpreting National Training and Resource Center (DBI) is proud to introduce the 2018 DeafBlind Interpreting Institute (DBII) cohort! This amazing group of interpreters has committed to participate in over 60 hours of online learning, facilitated discussion, a week long face-to-face training, community service in the DeafBlind community, 1:1 mentorship with a DeafBlind mentor, and post-training internship placements.

Learn more about this great group of interpreters who are committed to changing the practice related to DeafBlind interpreting! Click on their photos below to read about them.

White female with straight shoulder length brown hair; smiling face; wearing black graduation robe; small silver hoop earrings; blue lanyard around neck; background shows someone standing by a white folding chair.

Short black haired man with black glasses and blue button-downed shirt standing in front of full-planted background.

CoCo, a white female with blue eyes and curly brown hair, is wearing plum colored lipstick and resting her head on her hand. She is smiling at the camera

Close-up of Jen. Caucasian, brown hair long only on her right side (left side in the picture) shaved on the other side. Brown eyes. She is wearing a grey hoodie, and there is a house plant in the bottom left of the picture behind her.

Latina woman with curly brown hair and brown eyes with sun glasses on head smiling at camera.

African American female, long black hair, brown eyes, white and black polka dot shirt with a black jacket, background is all white

A 25 year old white female, brown hair, smiling at the camera with plastic round rim glasses.

Close up picture of a red haired, green eyed female smiling wearing a black sleeveless shirt. Partial colorful tattoos on the upper right arm.

I’m a 37-year-old Latino male with light colored skin. I am 5’10” tall and weigh 190 lbs. with an average build. My hair is short, dark brown, and my eyes are light brown. I have a brown beard cut short with some white hair in it. In the photo I am smiling and wearing a black shirt.

A lady in black shirt standing with background of burnt wood cabinets. Short and spunky brown hair with blue eyes and big smile on face.

She is almost half Native American (Mexico) / Iberian (Spain) and pieces of East Asian / North & West African. Light skin without the besos del sol, brown eyes, dark brown hair meeting new silver hair, black V top with a New Zealand mountian jade Koru pendant and is smirking at the camera. Background, green.

I’m wearing a black polo shirt and tan jeans in front of a rock brick wall next to California Association of the Deaf banner. I’m smiling at the camera with my thumbs tucked in my pants pockets.

Darcie is white woman, light brown and gray, light brown eyes, standing in front of gray weathered fence on sunny day, and wears purple shirt smiling.

Short-curly-haired person wearing dark gray shirt looking at the camera with a small smile. Green foliage in the background.

A smiling white woman with brown eyes and shoulder-length curly hair that is happily graying from brown. She’s wearing a black shirt and behind her is a blue wall.

Close up of a smiling dark-haired woman standing in front of a interior brick wall. Her long hair is parted on the right side. She wears glasses and white shirt with a dark brown wrap cardigan.

Woman with light skin and dark shoulder length curly hair stands in front of a brick wall in the sunlight and smiles at the camera.

White, smiling middle-aged woman with light brown hair, green eyes and glasses.

Stacey (white female with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, glasses and wearing a black shirt standing in front of a tree, smiling.)

White woman with shoulder length brown wavy hair, blue eyes and sunkissed cheeks,wearing a black shirt with a pearl necklace, pearl earrings, standing outside in front of a brick building.

White woman smiling directly at the camera. She has curly brown shoulder-length hair, glasses, and freckles. She is wearing a light green zip-up jacket with a yellow zipper. In the back ground is the white and red faded wooden overhang of the carousel at the Oregon Zoo.

Judy is a white female with short gray hair, blue yes, smile with dimples.
She has hanging earrings on and an "I Love You" necklace on.

Deaf, white, male, brown hair, blue eyes, and is wearing purple/blue long sleeve shirt along with checkered black, blue and purple boxes tie. The background has combination of blue, dark blue and black fuzzy background.

A Caucasian man in his 50's with short cut, slightly greying hair. He is smiling and has glasses. He is wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and sitting in front of a red and tan colored wall.

White female smiling, brown hair pulled back on top, hazel eyes, wearing a v neck black top, necklace with three circles in a row getting smaller as you go down. Circle earrings. Backgrown is brown/blackish in color.

Brown-skinned Chicano with black hair wearing a sweater with a grey-scaled checker pattern down the front and black long-sleeves in a background of outside. He smiles at the camera.

Rebecca, wearing a red shirt, with green eyes smiling softly at the camera is a Caucasian female with brown wavy hair.

A Caucasian woman in her late 30's with long curly brown hair and blue-green eyes smiles at the camera. She is wearing a pair of pearl-rimmed eyeglasses and short-sleeved navy blue blouse.

Female, African American, black hair in a updo bun, big brown eyes, and a friendly smile.

Protactile Language Interpreting National Education Program strives to be a culturally-responsive program. We acknowledge that our work happens within systems that often perpetuate discrimination based on race, gender, and disability. We affirm the need for ongoing self-reflection and analysis as a project and as individuals who are doing this work. Systems of inequity will not be dismantled on their own, but instead through purposeful planning and action. To that end, PLI is committed to continuous improvement and welcomes feedback related to your experience.

Protactile Language Interpreting National Education Program Research and Resource Center with Deaf communities (RRCD)
Richard Woodcock Education Center
Western Oregon University
345 N Monmouth Ave
Monmouth, OR 97361
[email protected]

Federal Disclaimer: The contents of this website were developed under grant number H160D210002 from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government.

PLI is grant-funded by the US Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration, and is a project under the Research and Resource Center with Deaf communities at Western Oregon University.
2016-2022: RSA Grant H160D160005; 2021-2026: RSA Grant H160D210002

Meet the 2018 Cohort