Meet the 2020 cohorts

The DeafBlind Interpreting National Training and Resource Center (DBI) is proud to introduce the 2020 DeafBlind Interpreting Institute (DBII) cohorts! This amazing group of interpreters has committed to participate in over 100 hours of online learning, facilitated discussion, immersion 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! Bios coming soon.

Photo of a woman. She is Caucasian and a “brunette “ with bangs. Her hair is pulled up high on her head in a bun. She has brown eyes and minimal makeup. She is wearing an avocado colored zip up turtleneck sweater. Background is a wall. It is mostly painted chocolate brown. The upper portion is painted olive green.

Side view of Jess (they/them) wearing a black shirt, sporting a key earring and an inquisitive smirk with their pointer finger under their chin, in front of a red backdrop. Their eyes are looking up as if they are thinking “whodunnit?”, as this was a promo picture from a play they were recently involved with.

"Background city hall white line design with sunroof light
Hair curly and glasses black dress smile lady"

(Petite Female Caucasian lady with short blonde hair and hazel colored eyes in a champagne and black trim dress, standing facing the Caribbean ocean enjoying the nice breeze.)

ID: A selfie of Scott, a white male in his 30s. He has short, somewhat spiky light brown hair and a reddish-brown beard and mustache. He has eyebrows raised and a half smile. He’s wearing a navy blue polo shirt, and standing in front of trees and mountains in Alaska.

Justin, a white male with gray hair and beard, eyeglasses. He is wearing a purple Bowler hat with purple bow tie, purple dress shirt, and black suit. With a light green background.

Image description: A slightly tan skinned Mexican / American woman in her 40’s with brown and thick curly hair. She is smiling and wearing a green, light blue and darker brown striped tank dress

A young Asian-American male with dark brown almond-shaped eyes, gold-rimmed glasses, and thick shaped eyebrows is staring into the camera. He has a wide nose, stud-pierced ears, stubble, full lips, light tan skin, and wavy dark brown hair. He is wearing a forest green Henley shirt and gold chain. In the background are multiple objects, including a red paisley quilt, a floor lamp with a rainbow shade, and a radiator.

A female identifying, blonde, white woman is looking and grinning at the camera. Her shoulder-length hair is swept to the right side and her left hand is curled into a loose fist on her left shoulder. She is wearing a black shirt and is sitting in a dark brown chair in front of a white wall.

Closeup photo of Salwa, with dark curly hair, a streak of white at the crown, a huge grin on her face. Red-framed glasses, wearing a dark gray jacket. Background is green shrubs and out of focus.

White cis male with light brown hair and some gray strands, blue eyed, retro eyeglasses, small silver hoop earrings and coiffed red beard wearing black shirt with black background.

"She/her/hers
Black Female
Black faux locs curly hair
Wear clear glasses, brown eyes with nice smile
Dark grey shirt
A great tree with colorful leaves behind me"

Hispanic female smiling at the camera, has shoulder length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Caucasian woman (She/her) centered on her face framed with curly blonde hair down past shoulders. She is smiling accentuating her laugh lines with bright green eyes.

White woman in her 40’s looking directly at the camera with brown wavy hair partially down, glasses, with a smile. She’s standing in front of a white door, wearing pearl earring and a navy dress.

A curly-haired white woman is smiling. She is wearing a black shirt and has a pink scarf around her neck.

Carie is shown outside in front of a tall fence dressed in a black leather jacket and a bright blue scarf which matches her eyes. She is a white middle aged heavy set woman with straight brown hair.

Female with long brown hair, smiling with mouth and eyes closed. Wearing a winter coat with furred hood on, red knitted scarf around neck. Winter setting in background

Autumn, white woman (she/her/hers), is standing in front of a dark backdrop. She is seen from the chest up. She has short dark brown hair, green eyes, and glasses with dark teal and metal frames. She is wearing a navy blue men’s button-up shirt.

White tall male with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He is wearing a black t-shirt and smiling.

A white male, he, his, him, with bald and a beard mixture of brown/white hair, blue eyes, a thick built looking at camera with light purple buttoned up shirt and a black with white design tie in sitting position. Yellow background.

"Brown hair
Brown Eyes
Female
Stand front of tan wall"

Lindsey has just her face framed in the photo. She has auburn (reddish brown) hair, dark brown eyes and is wearing purple rectangular glasses. She is slightly smiling at the camera enough to spot her dimples.

Male-appearing white person with dark brown eyes wearing a black button-up shirt with a cream colored background. Their brown hair is shaved short and they are smiling. They also have some red scruff on their face, with a slight tinge of white hair on the chin.

I am a white woman with blue eyes and blonde hair.

BIack, cis gender female, with dark brown eyes and hair in a high bun is smiling looking straight at the camera. Candice is wearing a crisp white jacket, with a bright yellow shirt on with an aqua colored background.

Female, caucasian, shoulder length wavy hair and eyes both brown. A bit overweight “stocky” 5’8” body. Posed behind chroma blue background drop

Head shot of myself - a white woman with brown eyes. Pronouns: she/her/hers. I am smiling and wearing thick rimmed glasses, Brown turning gray very thin, straight hair is pulled back.

Jennifer, white woman with short curls and an undercut, wears pink tinted glasses and a black top, smiling into the camera in front of a wall of green leafy plants.

Caucasian woman smiling wearing black shirt. Blonde hair bob cut to chin, blue eyes, glasses in front of a teal blue background. She, Her, Hers.

The photo shows a smiling 45 year old white woman with very short brown hair, green eyes and large square black glasses. She is wearing a navy blue sweater with a white and blue striped shirt peeking out of the sweater. She is sitting in an office with a sunny window and a desk in the background.

Close up photo of on person, Erin Frost. She is a female, caucasian, in her early 40s, with brown eyes, and shoulder-length dark brown hair, parted on the side. She is standing in front of a rock waterfall, wearing a green and white scarf around her neck and smiling at the camera.

A black and white photo of Susan Gonzalez; Susan has short curly brown hair that is parted on one side. She is wearing black square glasses and has a very big smile. Susan is wearing a black scoop neckline shirt; her chest tattoo is visible. Susan is Mexican American with white presenting privileges. Susan's pronouns are she/her/hers.

"My pronoun is He, Him,& They. The background picture of Hunta in color. He is a Black Man with glasses with a blue frame, mustache, beard, wearing a brown hat and an orange dress shirt.

** I have a black top locs with ends of blonde, and left eyebrow pierced under my brown hat.**"

38-year-old nonbinary person with light skin, brown eyes, and short black hair, small and thin, wearing a black shirt and jacket. The person is bi-racial (Asian and white). The photo shows their face and torso and has a light gray background. Pronouns: they/them.

An African-American woman (brown eyes, black hair in two-strand twists) sits smiling, in a white dress shirt against a black background.

A smiling white woman (her, hers, her) with short brown curly hair and brown eyes standing in an old European street lined with old brick and wooden buildings.

Tricia Vazquez, a Brown-Skinned (skin color like adding medium amount of creamer to your coffee) Chicana taking a selfie. She is outside standing in front of an open window. There's blinds behind her and a reflection of the front yard in the window. The sunlight is hitting her face. Her hair length is touching her shoulders and the color is a rich brown. She has black round glasses on, dark brown eyes, and squinting. Her nose septum is slightly crooked. She's smiling at the camera.

woman, short brown wavy hair, red framed glasees, big smile, black turtle neck, straight teeth and crow lines

Tammy, white non-binary long strawberry dirty blonde hair with blue eyes in flower blue dress and blue jean jacket.

Irene Robles, female Mexican-American, fair skin, brown eyes, dark brown hair, wearing navy shirt with black blazer and navy necklace. Background is red brick wall with vines hanging down from it.

Standing in front of a dark brown wooden bookcase filled with a variety of hardback books, binders and an 8" x10" photo of Tablerock mountain in western NC, is a photo of a smiling (no teeth showing), caucasian female (photo is from waist up) -- wearing a dark burgundy turtleneck layered with a charcoal-colored sweater. She is wearing dark-rimmed eyeglasses and has short salt/pepper hair with feather bangs and dark brown eyes.

Selfie photo of biracial Amalia sitting in the chair with right arm on the armrest in dark blue blouse with silver buttons/zippers and brown hair and escalators and stairs in the background.

A smiling bearded bald white man wearing brown button shirt with rolled up sleeves. He is standing and leaning on an off-white pillar with his arms crossed and plants in the background.

In the photo is Latina woman standing with her arms crossed and bright smile on her face looking up towards the future. She is wearing a light blue collard shirt with a dark blue blazer. The background is faded out with a fountain and water shooting out and lots of white lights.

Keri, a white female, is smiling at the camera. She has wavy brown-blonde hair slightly past her shoulders. On her ears are silver leaf earrings; the one on the left ear is shown more prominently in the picture. Her top is dark pink and she is wearing a large decorative necklace with multiple pink/white stones in various shapes and sizes laid flat on her chest. Behind Keri is a light gray sky.

A picture of a middle aged woman with shoulder length blond hair parted on the side, blue eyes and is smiling. The woman is wearing a black top with a gemstone button at the neckline. The background is black.

ID: black/white photo of a white woman, wavy hair down smiling without showing teeth in a light shade of lipstick. She is wearing a black top.

A smiling white female with brown hair wearing black eyeglasses and black shirt, with trees and University of North Florida buildings in the background

Smiling white male with dark short hair, blue eyes, trimmed gray and black beard, wearing a black shirt and black coat

"Woman
White
Dark Brown with Blonde highlights curly hair (sometime straighten hair)
Brown eyes
Tone/Firm body from Crossfit"

[ Background: grey wall and wooden door. Latin woman smiling wearing red libpstick. Dark hair a few inches below shoulder level. Dark eyes. She is wearing large silver ring earings and a black shirt]

she/hers, white jewish, dirty short brown hair, blue eyes with brown tan glasses

White, chubby woman photo from the chest up, standing against a light woodgrain background. She has long curly light brown hair with a few hidden blonde highlights framing her face as it rests 5 inches past her shoulders. She is wearing a black suit with a silver center zipper. Her skin is lightly tanned as if she just got back from vacation(she did, Florida) She is smiling accentuated by a baby pink lipstick. You cannot tell her eye color because she looks like she is squinting, even though the photo is taken indoors.

a white woman smiling with brown hair in ponytail with silver long earrings sitting in front of a tan curtain with purple glasses and black shirt

A brown-skin male with black wavy hair, wearing see-through grey sun-glasses, and a very light beard looks at the camera. He wears a light blue sports jacket and a tan t-shirt inside. He is in front of a glass window. In the background, there are tall buildings. The picture appears to be taken from a high floor.

A light skinned Latina with brown and blond curly hair. she is smiling at camera and is wearing eye make up, brown glasses, a black nose ring, and magenta lipstick. She is wearing a salmon color shirt and an earrings are a mix of colored beads in turquoise, white, and black, though you can only see one.

Brown shoulder-length layered hair, brown eyebrows, brown eyes, silver hoops earrings, and black long sleeve shirt. Pronouns- She, Her. Gender identity- Cisgender. Race/Ethnicity- Native American & Latinx

A white masculine person looking directly ahead, a neutral smile. They are blond with blue eyes, has a short beard of varying brown and blond colors, have glasses that are clear on the top and silver rims on the bottom, and is wearing a black button shirt. Behind him, there are oddly angled walls that are a white color, but they are completely plain with no decoration.

White, female with brunette shoulder hair length, green eyes. Her pronouns is she, her, hers. She looked into photo smiling with teeth showing and wearing light blue long sleeve shirt.

Feminine presenting smiling white woman with blue eyes behind large black rimmed glasses is looking straight into the camera. Her long blonde hair is held back by a tan and pearl headband with some strands flying in the wind. The background is peach-orange with black hills, indicating a sunset.

"She/Her/Hers
White female
Brown mid-long layered hair
Dark Blue-gray eyes
Smile with clear braces
Petite, 5'0"

Close up portrait of Tullos' face in white background, a man showing slightly smirks with dark curly brown hair and beard, brown eyes with black-ish glasses frame, he is wearing gray t-shirt with orange necklace.

White female with red/brown long hair, rusty orange shirt with denim jacket, and wearing a gold necklace "Malena". Her face is big smile.

"He/Him/His
Hispanic/Latinx

A light-skinned young man smiles at the camera. He has long brown dreadlocks that reach halfway down his chest. He has square-shaped, black-framed glasses and a reddish-brown goatee that reaches 1 inch off of his chin. There is some stubble of facial hair around his upper lip and cheeks. He is wearing a black/grey sweater with an orange shirt underneath. Behind him is an open door and a tan/beige wall with black trim."

Picture of an older Latinx male with a long mostly white beard wearing a gray sports coat and tie. white wall background

The U.S. Department of Education has terminated grant funding for the Protactile Language Interpreter National Education Program. This website is no longer maintained and will be taken offline in early 2026.

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 2020 CohortS