Succession planning as a community interpreter

[Brace Aaron]

Hi all,

I’m just wondering if other interpreters of a certain age have taken steps to bring younger interpreters into their contracts, in preparation for whatever retirement will look like. I don’t expect I’ll completely stop interpreting as long as I can perform well in the relevant settings, but I do expect I’ll stop working in some settings if I feel my acuity or stamina are no longer at the level required.

Has anyone else given succession planning some thought, or actually taken steps in this direction?

Cheers,
Aaron

[Lianne Moccia]

Thanks for starting this thread, Aaron.  I'm definitely "of a certain age" and have adjusted my practice over the last several years.   Without thinking explicitly about succession planning, I have switched a significant part of my interpreting work to mentoring and working with younger colleagues.  Paying it forward, investing in the future by supporting the next wave.   

I'm interested in seeing what others are doing.

Lianne Moccia

[Stephanie Feyne]

Thanks for the thread.

I've been teaming with younger interpreters.

And my go-to list of referrals has my BIPOC colleagues first, and my younger friends of all categories are on that list. 

Usually, I don't have contracts, but I do a lot of recommendations :)

Stephanie

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[Judi]

I’d love to hear more about this 

Judith Rackovitch CI and CT

516.712.8147

On May 9, 2024, at 8:03 PM, Stephanie Feyne <stef...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Richard Laurion]

Aaron,

Thank you! This is an important and timely question. As with you and Lianne, this is also an issue to which my colleagues and I have been giving a lot of attention.  

You might be interested to know, in 2021 our state RID chapter conducted a comprehensive census of our membership. We received 590 validated responses, about an 80% response rate.  Included in the results was the fact that nearly 33% of respondents planned to leave interpreting or dramatically reduce their work through retirement or job changes, 

Even before the census data was identified a group of us had been adding transition planning and active mentoring to our work.  A couple agencies in our area (KIS, ASLIS) had set aside funds and created and launched programs supporting novice interpreters' development and work. In addition, these same agencies have provided ongoing financial support for mentors across our state and beyond. 

The Census findings have spurred on additional actions from our state. The MN Commission launched the, Interpreting Forward 2030 study.  Together with key stakeholders and guidance from Dendros Group, the Commission is studying the issue and trying to identify what the state might do to prepare for the potential reduction in interpreters.  

Individually I believe there is a lot we can do in addition to mentoring. Ideas we have used include: allocating a percentage of our charitable contributions to our state or national scholarships for Deaf Interpreters or interpreters of color. Financially supporting individual novice interpreters attending key programs or conferences; reaching out and supporting (with time and talent) novice interpreters; supporting interpreters from under-represented groups and living in rural areas; working with our job sites to identify those opportunities where we can bring novice interpreters in; looking for pro-bono work opportunities, creating mock work and other settings that might allow or be appropriate for mentored work (this is an area we've had surprising success and support from the Deaf Community).  

We have also explored partnerships with large public events. In Minnesota, these include the Renaissance Festival, Duluth Pride, Twin Cities Pride and the Minnesota State Fair. All have had varied and slow success. The latter two have incrementally taken on more of the paid responsibility and include a mix of pay and free giveaways of food or products. All have allowed for extraordinary mentoring opportunities for interpreters. 

To expand on these illustrations, I'll use the Fair as an example.  Over several years and with varied success, the Fair has continued to expand their on-demand interpreting program. It allows two teams (CHI and/or CDI, novice and student) to roam the fairgrounds and cover pre-scheduled events or last minute needs (e.g., lost & found, 4-H competitions, vendor demonstrations, etc.). The on-demand interpreters are add-on services and separate from the long-standing, ADA regulated headline stage acts. The main stage is still managed by teams of CHI and CDIs.   

None of these are perfect ideas and all require active work and support from the Deaf Community. I think the greatest success has been from stakeholders giving us the permission to try. Nothing happens overnight and some programs take years to fully develop. 

Too often our colleagues have been quick to criticize or try to shut down what they might see as threatening or not immediately delivering results. Clearly with demand increasing and our traditional supply lines unable to keep up, we need to experiment, explore and try new things or ways of doing our work.

In addition to working with the interpreters coming through traditional interpreter education, I believe we need to identify and work to develop possible future interpreters. We can support and work with Deaf and novice hearing interpreters, look for future interpreters among high school students, CODAs, Communities of Color or from New American Deaf Communities.

My own success and growth came from the support of my Deaf friends, colleagues and community. I will always consider myself part of this larger community and will try to honor the support and investment in me. The ideas above are just a sampling.  I hope each of us can find ways to repay the years of investment and support from others and help find strategies to share our time, talent and treasures with the interpreters to come.

Again, thank you for posting this important question.  I look forward to hearing the many ideas, examples and successful strategies used by others in their succession planning.

Respectfully,

Richard Laurion

     

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Richard Laurion

Minneapolis, MN 55413

612-237-4419

   

[Brace Aaron]

Thanks all who have responded, keep ‘em coming!

You’ve expanded my thinking beyond what I originally had in mind, which was getting newer interpreters into the small pool of people who work in a particular setting, which is on my mind as I contemplate what some form of semi-retirement might look like.  Clearly, we have to increase the number and commitment of up-and-coming interpreters for that to happen.

Cheers,

Aaron

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[Betty Colonomos]

Thanks, Aaron for bringing this issue to the forefront. As you know, we at BMC have been working on these needs for a while. We offer discounts for interpreters of color, Deaf interpreters, and students of interpreting. We work closely with the SIGN program that gives scholarships for the professional development of under-served interpreters in twelve southern states.

Given the inability of ITPs/IEPs to adequately prepare their graduates for work, we have been focused on mentor training that supports mentees in developing the cognitive skills that promote self-reflection and problem-solving. We focus on processes needed for successful interpreting and support further language acquisition efforts in both ASL and English. Having this type of support early in one's career helps graduates shed the machine-model prevalent in programs and among working interpreters.

As interpreters who care about the communities we work in and who have years of experience, we make an impact by modeling behaviors and frameworks that display integrity.  Recent graduates and novices look to us for quick fixes, answers, and tips to improve their product and it feeds our egos to share our knowledge. It is a much greater gift to give them our time, our attention, and our engagement as they work on their own unique challenges.

We can be part of the needed change in our field, even if we are moving on from active interpreting. Your journey, your growth, your wisdom can be a light to those who have not had the opportunities to see interpreting from our lens.

Take good care,

Betty

[Dwight Godwin]

As many others have posted, Yes I am of a certain age. I have no intention of stopping as long as I have my brain and my hands are working. But for more than a few years, I have been mentoring students from a BA degree program in Pennsylvania. I have recently stopped because I am doing 95% of my work from home (VRI).  I am not allowed to have budding interpreters observe.

The main place I have had to slow down has been in driving all over the place.  Last year, for interpreting alone, I drove almost 18,000 miles.  I just can't do that any longer. Especially in the Winter with snow and ice and jobs that I have to leave the house at 4am to get to on time.

I also have no contracts to pass on, but I do refer a lot of community work to the younger folks I have mentored.  I am also always available to them if they have questions or need help.

At 66, I hope to have at least 5 to 10 more years left in me, but I am  slowing down in what I will take and how many hours I will work

Dwight Godwin, NIC

Link to RID Certification Validation

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