Welcoming Four New Commissioners in 2024

CCHI welcomes four new Commissioners, representing different stakeholders of the medical interpreting field, to start their three-year term on our Board this year: Amanda M. David, MA, BEI:III, Medical, & Master; RID CI/CT; CoreCHI-P™, William Giller, M.A., CHI™-Spanish, Michael Paasche-Orlow, MD, MA, MPH, and Marisa Rueda Will, CHI™-Spanish.

Amanda M. David has been a practicing sign language interpreter since 2000.  She holds an undergraduate degree from McNeese State University (Lake Charles, LA) in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, a Certificate of Interpreter Apprenticeship from Collin County College (Plano, TX), and a Master’s in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity from St. Catherine University (St. Paul, MN). Amanda specializes in interpreting for Deaf and hard of hearing medical professionals in their training programs, and interpreting with Deaf/hoh professionals in conference environments.  In 2020, she joined the staff at Dell Med School at UT Austin as a Designated Medical Interpreter. Originally from southwest Louisiana, Amanda has lived in Texas and Florida.  She currently splits her time between Austin, TX, and her hometown in South Louisiana.

William Giller grew up in a bilingual household and was exposed equally to English and Spanish during his formative years. He was educated in both languages and have lived, studied, and worked in both the United States and Spain. He holds a master’s degree in Translation and Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in English, French, and Spanish. William has been working for Stanford Medicine Children’s Health as a Lead Interpreter and Translator for 5 years. As an interpreter at a pediatric teaching hospital, he has encountered every specialty under the sun and the energy and variety in his day-to-day work has solidified his passion for this field in the profession. Additionally, William sits on the Board of Directors of the Northern California Translators Association as the Digital Content Director.

As a primary care clinician and an internationally recognized expert in the field of health literacy, Dr. Michael Paasche-Orlow has dedicated his career to improving the care of vulnerable populations. He is currently an investigator with ten clinical studies that examine health literacy and doctor-patient communication, various modes of patient education, and empowerment. Dr. Paasche-Orlow has been the lead designer of 12 patient-oriented interactive behavioral informatics programs and have helped create and evaluate a range of patient empowerment and decision support tools. With over 300 peer-reviewed papers, his work has brought attention to the role that health literacy plays in racial and ethnic disparities, improving self-care for patients with chronic diseases, and improving advanced care planning, as well as to the fact that appropriately designed information technologies can be empowering for patients with low health literacy. He has also been active as an investigator and advocate for improving cross-cultural communication and the role of medical interpreters.

Marisa Rueda Will has been a medical interpreter at a Mayo Clinic for over 18 years. She earned a degree in Spanish from Luther College in 2006. She became a Certified Healthcare Interpreter-Spanish in 2012 and a Licensed Interpreter Trainer through Cross Cultural Communications in 2017. In 2020, she became a Simulation Center Instructor. She joined the NCIHC Webinars Work Group in 2022. That same year, she was promoted to a Level III Medical Interpreter at Mayo Clinic. Marisa has presented for the CHIA and ATA conferences, CCHI Summit, Atrium Health Symposium, and NCIHC Home for Trainers Webinar Series. She was accepted to the Masters of Interpreting Studies program through Western Oregon University and will start in fall 2024. In addition to being a full-time staff interpreter and student, she owns an interpreter training and translation business. Marisa specializes in education through storytelling. Her company, Tica Interpreter Training and Translations provides interpreter training based on real patient experiences.