2011 Board of Directors

Eloisa Williams, of Spokane, Washington, served as WSRID Director for 2 years before becoming the current President. She graduated from the ITP at Spokane Falls Community College in 1997 and later earned her CI, CT, and NIC certifications. Since 2002, Eloisa has been deeply involved in the Professional Development Committee in the Spokane area and firmly believes "If you want something done, you must be willing to assist in making it happen." In addition to her primary work in post-secondary education, she is a freelance interpreter with a special interest in medical assignments. For fun and relaxation, Eloisa loves working in her garden and is a voracious reader.

Donna Walker, CI, CT, NIC-Advanced, SC:L is the Vice President of WSRID and lives and works as a community interpreter in Spokane, Washington. She graduated from Spokane Falls Community College in 1996 and has great passion for the profession of Interpreting. Not only does she enjoy working in the field of interpreting she greatly enjoys teaching interpreter workshops and mentoring new interpreters. Donna has served as the East Side Professional Development Chair person from 2000-2006 and 2008-2011. She was co-chair for the 2004 and 2009 WSRID State Conferences. She also served on the 2005-2007 WSRID Board as a director. For fun Donna loves to scrapbook, golf, hike, camp and spend time with family and friends. Her greatest joy is spending time with her 2 year old grandson, Waylen.

Angela Riggs is WSRID’s Secretary--her first time on the Board. She lives in Elk, Washington, a small town north of Spokane and works as a community and post-secondary interpreter as well as VRS and VRI. Angela received her NIC in 2009. In 2004 she received her A.A.S. Degree and Certificate of Interpreting from Spokane Falls Community Community College. She has been active in WSRID’s PDC-East for the past two years. She began signing at age 13 when her family moved to Spokane and became friends with several deaf families. Angela has two “babies”--son-21 and daughter-20. She enjoys camping with family and friends and loves cats.

Jarren Kinch is the treasurer for WSRID, in his 2nd year on the board, and first year as treasurer. He currently lives in Lynnwood, WA, and works primarily in the post-secondary education setting, with some VRS and freelance. He is certified NIC-A, and also a trained TypeWell transcriber. He first became involved with sign language and interpreting after working with a Deaf coworker, and enjoyed ASL as his foreign language requirement so much that he continued through the ITP program at S.C.C.C. He then got his B.A. in General Studies: Humanities from Central Washington University. He also plays the tenor saxophone, and is a lifetime member of the Husky Marching Band Alumni Association.

Emily Hill is the current Member-at-Large of WSRID. She began learning sign language at Central Washington University while pursuing her business degree, and fell in love with both the language and the people in the community. After graduating from Central, she moved to Minneapolis, MN, to receive a second degree in Deaf Studies. She moved back to Washington in 2003 and began working for the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She now manages the statewide sign language interpreter contract for DSHS. Emily is certified NIC Advanced and lives in Lacey, where she enjoys reading and cross-stitch, being active in church, and captaining a Relay for Life team.

Melissa Klindtworth is a Director for WSRID, in her second term. She currently lives in Spokane, WA, and works primarily in freelance settings. She earned her NIC-Advanced certification in 2007. Melissa has enjoyed developing and presenting workshops, and is passionate about keeping interpreting a healthy profession. She first became involved with sign language in high school with a friend, and later went to school for interpreting after her two children started school. She began her A.A.S. degree at S.C.C.C and finished the last quarter at S.F.C.C when she moved to Spokane. She enjoys being an active member of the PDC-East and looks forward to a productive year on the board!

Mark Hoshi is a Director of WSRID. Former ASL instructor at SCCC. Formerly RSC (now called CDI) certified. Previously served three or four terms as Director on WSRID Board in ’80 and early ’90. Staunch supporter of interpreter’s process and growth. Demands professional integrity and continuous self-assessment. Licensed commercial electrician. Current chairperson for TADA! Enjoys surfing, fishing, camping, traveling, concerts, reading his NOOK, runs the Children’s program at Deaf Family Retreat (Ellensburg) and is a Senior Facilitator for the Deaf Teen Leadership camp at CISPUS, last but not least has been to over 125 Grateful Dead shows.

Laurel Bunker is a Director of WSRID, in her first term. After earning a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania in spring 2004, she enrolled at ASLIS in the fall. After graduating in 2007, just 3 days after the birth of her daughter, she took a year off to be home with her new baby. Laurel returned to freelance work in 2008 and earned her NIC Master certification in 2009. It was at UPenn where Laurel first developed a love for signing. She is very grateful to her first ASL instructors, Erin Wiggins and Ritchie Bryant, CDI for encouraging her to pursue interpreting. Laurel’s hope for her future as an interpreter is that with mentoring and industry experience she can mesh her engineering background with her interpreting abilities to specialize in technical interpreting. Currently, Laurel continues to do freelance interpreting with a passion for Christian, religious interpreting. Laurel’s main focus is being a mom to her 4 year old, Marissa, and 4 month old, Frankie. Her hobbies include fishing, painting, embroidery, and most important of all, watching her husband play video games.

Schawn Hardesty is excited to serve her first term as a Director. She was exposed to sign language when she made two deaf neighborhood friends as a child. After graduating from the University of Washington with a BA in Sociology, she took ASL classes at SCCC and continued her training at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts while working as an Administrative Support Manager at D.E.A.F. Inc, a statewide nonprofit agency that provides culturally and linguistically accessible programs and services to Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind individuals. She moved back west to Spokane to take a position as the Interpreter Coordinator at the Eastern Washington Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and found her true passion: community interpreting. She has earned her CI, CT, NIC Advanced and SC: Legal and has volunteered for the Deaf and interpreting communities in many capacities: WSRID Conference Planning Committee interpreter coordinator; Spokane Falls Community College Interpreter Training Program advisory committee member, Capstone Project panelist and guest speaker; Spokane Mentorship Project mentor; SCADHH Rest Stop Fundraiser cookie-baker and wee-hour volunteer; Hearing Loss Center's Kids' Fun Day volunteer; and Eastside Professional Development Committee member. She enjoys hanging out with her husband and 1st grader, traveling, sewing aprons & baby quilts, yoga and training for her second marathon.

Cheryl Jackson is happy to reprise her role as a Director with the WSRID board and looks forward to collaborating with her fellow board members to continue a path of support and excellence for Washington State Interpreters. She has been involved in the Interpreting Profession for the past 17 years. She brings with her the experience of living and working in California, Spokane, and has been in the Seattle area since 2001. First certified through the NAD, she then pursued and attained her RID CI and CT. She lives in Issaquah where she and her husband enjoy the nearby mountains and trails!

Paul Glaser is a Director of WSRID in his first term. Paul is a high school teacher for Deaf students at the public school in the Seattle area and Mathematics instructor at Edmonds Community College. Paul has a teaching certification in advanced mathematics, Deaf Education and American Sign Language. He is pursuing to obtain a CDI certification. Paul had taught Math and ASL for few years at several colleges and schools before relocating to Seattle, Washington. Outside of his teaching, Paul has been involved with interpreting for Deaf and Deaf-blind people, presenting Math signs workshops, and mentoring. He has a Bachelor's degree in Math and Communication Studies from Gallaudet University and a Master's degree in Deaf Education from Rochester Institute of Technology. Paul lives in West Seattle and Whidbey Island. Paul enjoys skiing, travelling, and photography.

Priya May is the current Student Director of WSRID, and is currently in her 2nd year at the SCCC ITP program. She first became interested in ASL when taking it o fulfill her foreign language credits for her AA Degree. ASL instantly became her favorite class and she decided to follow that path and the next logical step was to enter the ITP program in 2010. Priya looks forward to her year as Student Director of WSRID. She enjoys reading, cooking, yoga, and spending time with her 2 crazy cats..