The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020 - 15

Figure 3: Sample Polling Results from InterpretAmerica 2020
this crisis, the most important pathway to
save our jobs and protect those who need
our services.
During the ensuing weeks, we've seen
a full-scale effort to go remote. And the
generosity of our field continues in plain
sight. Multiple free webinars guiding
interpreters onto remote platforms have
been given and hundreds of existing
trainings are now available for free.
Professional associations are also compiling
resources and advocating for the health and
safety of those working alongside doctors
and nurses with sick patients, and fighting
to have our independent contractors
included in federal relief funding. Others
are focused on preserving important
professional standards for safe working
conditions and appropriate compensation.
For InterpretAmerica, our big next
step to help where we can in this crisis is
the launch of the clearinghouse website,
RemoteInterpreting.info.7 By the time
this article is published, the public will
have access to a starting point when
looking for information about remote
interpreting, whether you're a buyer
who needs interpreting services or an
interpreter trying to become remotewww.atanet.org

interpreting enabled. Soon to follow
will be similar information for language
services companies looking to offer remote
interpreting and for interpreter trainers
who need to learn how to teach online.
We all know the world will not be the
same when we come out the other side
of this crisis. Many will have died. Many
more will experience disruption and
financial loss. But we'll also have gained
something immeasurably valuable in our
profession: solidarity.
NOTES
1.	
www.interpretamerica.com/
interpretamerica-2020
2.	

www.mentimeter.com

3.	

www.kudoway.com

4.	

https://bit.ly/GALA2020-San-Diego

5.	

https://bit.ly/think-interpreting-San-Diego

6.	

https://bit.ly/GALA-roundtable

7.	

http://remoteinterpreting.info

Katharine Allen is a health care
and community interpreter with
over three decades of experience
interpreting, training, and
designing curricula. She is the
co-founder and co-president

of InterpretAmerica. She was the lead developer
and author for The Indigenous Interpreter 60-hour
training course. She also helps embed professional
interpreting into medical missions in Mexico. She
is also co-author of The Community Interpreter
International: An International Textbook and The
Medical Interpreter: A Foundation Textbook for
Medical Interpreting. She has taught for the Master
of Conference Interpreting program at Glendon
College's School of Translation and the online
interpreting certificate program at the University
of Massachusetts Amherst. She has an MA in
translation and interpreting from the Middlebury
Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Contact: sierraskyit@gmail.com.
Barry Slaughter Olsen is a
veteran conference interpreter and
technophile with over two decades
of experience interpreting, training
interpreters, and organizing
language services. He is an
associate professor at the Middlebury Institute
of International Studies at Monterey, the founder
and co-president of InterpretAmerica, and general
manager of multilingual operations at ZipDX. He is a
member of the International Association of Conference
Interpreters. For updates on interpreting, technology,
and training, follow him on Twitter @ProfessorOlsen.
American Translators Association

15

http://www.interpretamerica.com/interpretamerica-2020 http://www.interpretamerica.com/interpretamerica-2020 http://www.mentimeter.com http://www.kudoway.com https://www.bit.ly/GALA2020-San-Diego https://www.bit.ly/think-interpreting-San-Diego https://www.bit.ly/GALA-roundtable http://www.remoteinterpreting.info http://www.atanet.org

The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020

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