Founders of ASL Interpreter Collaborative

Erin (she/her)

Professionally:

Erin took a class in basic ASL in high school as an elective and fell in love with the language. She got a Bachelor's degree in Athletic Training, but it just wasn't the career for her. She graduated from the SWIC interpreter training program in 2004. She worked with DeafWay interpreting services from 2005 until it's closing in 2022.

She loves interpreting in the medical field, and other science related topics. She's also spent several years mentoring other new interpreters through DeafWay's former mentoring program and is looking forward to creating more opportunities the future generation of interpreters.

Erin is a white female wearing glasses on the left middle of the image wearing a sweater. Joshua is on the right middle of the image wearing a coat. The two are standing in front of a background of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" that fills the rest of the image.

Personally:

Caden is in the back right of the image dressed as Kylo Ren and wearing a mask covering his face. On the left of the image, Owen is wearing a Halloween costume from Halo and holding a colorful candy bag. Jackson is on the right side of the image, dressed as Woody from toy story, also holding a colorful candy bag. Owen and Jackson are smiling, getting ready for a trunk or treat.

Erin is an introvert. She tends to be on the quiet side, but loves getting to know people one on one.
She has three rambunctious boys: Caden (who also uses the name Reuben, working towards his black belt in karate, 11), Owen (almost 7, and a ball of energy), Jackson (3 and still my sweet baby).
Her husband, Joshua (deaf in one ear) is a graphic designer and the official maker of kettle corn for our summer time venture, Tricerapops kettle corn.
Erin spends her free time (ha! What's that?) getting chocolate milk, chicken nuggets for the littles and putting Paw Patrol on the kindle. She also watches Peppa Pig, Mr. Beast, and Let's Game it out (YouTube stuff my kids watch).
Erin dreams about naps, and not stepping on toys.

Xane (they/them)

Professionally:

Close up shot of Xane and their partner. Partner is white and has light brown coat on. black hair and gotee and some scruff on his face. smile is closed but warm. Xane is white with brown hair, chin length on the left side of their face. short hair on the right. Closed but warm smile. White, grey, and black scarf with a black jacket.

Xane became fascinated by sign language in second grade when their teacher gave them an alphabet book in ASL. From there, they followed that interest and started to self teach signs as well as songs.

Starting college in 2009, working towards an accounting degree, they became bored with the monotony and started researching new degrees. At this point, this is where they learned that being an ASL interpreter was a true profession and they never looked back!

Starting the SWIC interpreter training program in 2010, they graduated in May of 2012 with their degree for Sign Language Studies: Associates in Applied Science. Received their first certification in 2013 to now being a nationally certified interpreter as of 2021.

They love interpreting in a variety of settings such as post-secondary, performance, medical, alternative lifestyle events, and are starting to dip their toes into court room settings.

Personally:

Xane is 34 years old (far from neurotypical but of what? who knows!).
If you know True Colors, they are: Green, Gold, Blue, Orange.
They are open and willing to talk about the "hush hush" topics like mental health, religion, sex, gender, and all the things. All of which they have struggled with in the past. Now they love supporting people through their journeys and also validating folks for where they are and their experiences.
Xane is actively trying to learn about new cultures and communities whenever they get the chance. They are always willing to ask questions and be called out on places for growth.
Xane is a part of the Queer, Trans, polyamorous, kink, and BDSM communities.
They are a parent of two kiddos: Jason (15 years old, ADHD) and Sadie (4 years old, autistic).
They are a partner to Phillip (35, ADHD and autistic).

small fire pit in the middle of the photo with a four year old with ear protectors on and has long light brown hair standing on the left. In the middle is a 15 year old kid in all black with light brown almost red hair. On the right is Xane with a black and white beanie, black jacket, jeans. All three are white and are warming their hands with the fire.