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Story Goes On / 4
This last year, 2020, was certainly remarkable. I am of the personal mindset that when we are dedicated to growth it means we are dedicated to addressing the challenges before us. Growth comes from pressure. And conscious growth comes from being conscious of the pressure. The only way I have been able to maintain courage in the face of pressure and growth is through a recognition of who I am and gratitude for such. Part of who I am is RID, and while RID is a lot of things to a lot of different people, much of how I think about this organization is how I think agony of seeing and hearing recording after recording of Black people’s government-sanctioned executions.
Transformation. Pandemic. Black Lives Matter. To say that 2020 took a toll is the understatement of the year.
And yet, growth.
I do not need to recreate the pain and trauma of the year. We all went through it in our own way. But, to the earlier point of
When we take a breath and slow down, it allows us to shift how we perceive reality.
about our Board of Directors. This board has been an incredible model of courage under fire. When we first came together and decided to run we simply knew that having a seat at the table was not enough. We knew we had to actually take the seat and set the agenda. We knew we wanted to position ourselves and the association in a way that allowed underrepresented voices to be heard so that we could shape RID into something that was both responsive to us as professionals and responsive to us as members of communities. We knew the journey would be difficult and that there would be resistance. We also knew that there would be love, support, and encouragement along the way. For those who have offered that to me and this board, I am grateful.
What we most certainly did not know is that we would be navigating the transformation of an organization in the midst of a pandemic all while surviving the emotional and mental gratitude, I would like to spend a moment highlighting a small part of the experience of board members relative to RID and what was done in 2020.
With another failed CEO search the board determined to take a look at RID and what was keeping us from moving forward, amidst misinformed speculation that we were attempting to hoard power. We did the hard work of looking at ourselves and our organization to determine what was realistic and healthy. We identified a CEO and began the work of preparing them to step into this service during 2021.
The board hosted multiple virtual town halls, encouraging members to see the work we are doing. We all know that board service is never easy. But we were willing to make it even more difficult by continuously opening ourselves and our work to feedback and critique. We hosted several town halls with membership and leadership groups across
the nation and learned a lot about ourselves along the way. We then participated with other leadership groups’ town halls, especially those of our member sections.
The board hosted a national roundtable to encourage membership participation in setting the direction for the association. In particular, we framed this roundtable around the Monthly board meetings were converted into space for members to engage in the business of RID and provide direct feedback to the board on our evolution. Membership presence at these meetings has skyrocketed, and the insight we’ve gained from our members has been invaluable.
And speaking of meetings, our biannual face-
discussion of audism and racism. While the roundtable was not what many of us hoped for, the membership was able to see for themselves what we all struggle with. And to heal means to first identify the problem. As leaders we set the tone and framed the conversation. We addressed the false binary question that has been asked for many years: Who does RID serve? We helped set our collective trajectory by establishing the principle that we serve our diverse Deaf communities through the promotion of standards in excellence for sign language interpreters. We held numerous conversations about what it means to be member-driven and what it means to be a professional certification organization.
Deaf interpreters were highlighted this last year as the board determined to use their privilege to promote an underutilized segment of our profession. In doing this, we were able to shift the public image of sign language interpreters, not only here in the United States but also in other countries around the world who look to RID as a model. to-face meetings were held virtually. While not optimal, this also allowed members around the nation the opportunity to observe and engage in the hands-on work we grapple with daily.
We’ve worked to reimagine RID Member Sections, calling on the member section leadership to co-lead the process in determining the form and function of these longtime underutilized constituencies of RID. The board worked with our HQ staff to empower them in revisioning their departments and the trajectory of RID in the context of a professional certification organization.
We worked closely with a variety of stakeholders to get a better grasp on how those imprisoned within the criminal justice system are being exploited as quasi-interpreters to then further exploit imprisoned Deaf peoples.
Things like the RID Policies and Procedures Manual were updated. While this type of work seems mundane, documents like this define how we accomplish what we set out to do. It took years to go through our wieldy
PPM, and of course much of that hard work and credit goes to past boards. This board was fortunately positioned and driven in a way that enabled us to complete that work. The board began to tackle the issue of VIEWS and its relevance to our membership. While the work is not finished, numerous conversations were held around what a relevant platform for the exchange of knowledge, insights, and views might look like for our membership.
The board worked with committees, HQ staff, and others to determine how to sup-
port member renewal in the midst of a pandemic that has no clear end date in sight. This required making the bold move to suspend a portion of the bylaws in order to ensure members had ample time to do what was needed to keep up their professional affiliation with the association. During meetings with RID Affiliate Chapter leadership we attempted to foster a sense of stewardship and a vision for being the caretakers of the profession in their state or area. The Ethical Practices System was leaned into in order to understand their needs. While this is still being worked on, groundwork has now been laid to ensure our EPS is living up to everything our Deaf communities and colleagues expect from it.
Due to not having a CEO, the board assisted HQ in recruiting a diverse staff. RID has an unprecedented amount of diversity in HQ staff, especially of those who are Deaf and those who are staff of color. With the position statements that came out relative to Deaf interpreters in the spring and department of corrections interpreting in the fall, the board crafted a way to finally get the huge project of updating the Standard Practice papers underway in a manner that is achievable. While RID holds relationships with numerous entities within and without the organization, we definitely leaned into the incredible work being performed by the Ethics Committee and the Certification Committee. We have attempted to prioritize the Councils and utilize their expertise and advice.
And relationships with organizations like the National Interpreter Associations Coalition were re-established.
Additionally, a responsive budget was co-created with the HQ staff that addressed not only RID’s typical needs, but the unique needs that arose from running an organization during a pandemic.
These are just a few of the things your board of directors worked on this year. The list is certainly not exhaustive. In fact, some of you are likely surprised that certain initiatives and actions are not included in the list. Frankly, even the simple naming of these is borderline deceptive; hours upon hours of work reduced to a sentence or two will never truly convey the full magnitude of what was really accomplished this year.
So, gratitude. Why am I grateful? I have the privilege of working with a board who never gives up.
While most aren’t aware of the amount of work this board engages in, simply to make our profession a better thing for our Deaf communities and ourselves, people are certainly unaware of the personal loss and challenges that board members have faced. While engaged in service to this association, we have lost loved ones, experienced traumas, spent copious hours in hospitals, attempted to love on one another as we witnessed targeted violence, navigated our own health concerns, homeschooled our children, marched in protests; the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, no one’s personal life has been put on hold in order to serve.
To borrow and modify a Zen Buddhist koan:
Before board service: chop wood, carry water. After board service: chop wood, carry water. I would like to express gratitude to so many people for this last year of tremendous challenge and growth. But to my friends Paul Glaser, Kelly Decker, Yakata Nichols, LaTanya Jones, Branton Stewart, Jason Farr, Eliezer Sierra, Brenda Sellers, Marva Johnson, Kenya McPheeters, Deb Martinez, Krystal Sanders, Mish Ktejik, and Melvin Walker, I am deeply humbled and grateful for their service, despite everything that we have been through professionally and personally. Because of their love for the membership and the Deaf communities we serve, I have been able to witness for myself how we do not just chop wood and carry water before or after something.
During board service: chop wood, carry water. 5
Region I Report:
https://youtu.be/T0MU9Nxc5WQ
Christina Stevens, President CRID
Christina Stevens, NIC President, Connecticut RID
Connecticut
Hello from Region I. My name is Christina Stevens; I am the president of Connectict RID (CRID). We hope you had a nice enjoyable holiday season. We would like to thank those who donated to RID CARES. These donations went to support St. Francis De Sales, a school for the Deaf in Brooklyn, N.Y.
A friendly reminder: if you joined our virtual conference, you have two months left to watch, enjoy, and earn those CEUs! March 31, 2021, is your deadline. We are looking forward to working with you all in 2021.
