Summit Speakers & Panelists

Ignatius Bau is an independent consultant, working with consumer and patient organizations, community-based organizations, physician and health care provider organizations, state health departments, and foundations on both health care and immigration policy issues. Bau has worked as an immigration and civil rights attorney, policy director at a national minority health organization, interim executive director at a statewide minority health advocacy organization, and program officer at a statewide health foundation. As a program officer at The California Endowment, he supported the work of the California Healthcare Interpreting Association, National Council for Interpreting in Health Care, Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters, National Health Law Program, and hospitals and health systems, and physician organizations to expand language access and support health care interpreters. He has served on expert advisory groups focused on health equity for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; and for the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, National Quality Forum, Joint Commission, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and Families USA.

Mara Youdelman, J.D., is a founding CCHI Commissioner and was CCHI’s first Chair. Mara is a Managing Attorney of the National Health Law Program’s Washington D.C. offices. She has worked at the National Health Law Program since 2000 on issues that include Medicaid & CHIP, the Affordable Care Act, language access, and civil rights. Mara coordinates the National Health Law Program’s federal regulatory and administrative work, including authoring and/or editing many of its comments on proposed regulations. Mara also leads the National Health Law Program’s work as language access. Recognized as a national expert on language access in health care settings, Mara has written a number of reports and participated on expert advisory panels on the subject. She was named a 2011 Language Access Champion by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) and a 2010 Health Reform Champion by SHIRE (the Summit Health Institute for Research and Education).

Johanna Parker is Lead Interpreter for Education and Training at Stanford Health Care.  She is a CERTIFIED HEALTHCARE INTERPRETER™ and Federally- and California- Certified Court Interpreter, and holds a Master’s Degree in Translation and Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (Spanish<>English). She also works as a contract seminar interpreter for the US Department of State and a freelance conference interpreter. She teaches medical interpreting at MIIS and continuing education workshops for medical and legal interpreters.

Katharine Allen, M.A., is a healthcare and community interpreter with over 3 decades of experience interpreting, training, and designing curricula. She is co-president of InterpretAmerica. She is lead developer and licensed trainer for The Indigenous Interpreter® 60-hour training and has helped embed professional interpreting into medical missions in Mexico. She was an instructor for the Glendon College Masters in Conference Interpreting and currently teaches for the UMASS Amherst Translation and Interpreting Studies online certificate program. Katharine is co-author of The Community Interpreter® International: An International Textbook and The Medical Interpreter-A Foundation Textbook for Medical Interpreting. Katharine has an MA in Translation and Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Since 2003, Catherine Anderson, a founding commissioner for the Certification Commission of Healthcare Interpreters, has been the manager of the Language and Cultural Services department at Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) of Kansas City, Missouri where she supports an interpreter pool with language capacity in 35 languages. This program also provides Bridging the Gap™ interpreter training in its effort to deliver quality interpreter services and improve the health and well-being of the region’s non-English speaking residents. She offers cultural competency training in Kansas and Missouri and serves on a local health care advisory committee. She is also a member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care’s (NCIHC) Languages of Limited Diffusion workgroup. Previously, Catherine worked in Boston for 22 years as a teacher, advocate for immigrants’ rights and journalist. Her fourth book of poetry, published this year, Everyone I Love Immortal, weaves together themes of language and culture through the lives of working people.

Zarita Araujo-Lane, MSW, LICSW, has 30 plus years of experience and is recognized as one of the leading presenters on cross-cultural communication tools for small and large institutions servicing an array of professionals working in educational and healthcare fields. She is the president and founder of Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc. ™ (CCCS, Inc.™), a small woman minority owned business since 1996 with 250 interpreters and translators. CCCS, Inc.™ provides qualified cultural-linguistic services to healthcare, educational, legal and business by creating a seamless environment of teamwork and collaboration between customers, freelancers and staff members while delivering innovative, respectful, and reliable quality interpretation, translation and training services to a diverse population with regional, organizational and individual needs. Ms. Araujo-Lane was the director of a mental health cross-cultural team for over ten years at Health and Education Services in the North Shore area. She has published articles on cross-cultural management including chapters written in 1996 and 2005 on “Portuguese Families” for the second and third editions of the book, Ethnicity and Family Therapy, by Monica Mc Goldrick.

Marjory Bancroft directs Cross-Cultural Communications, the only national training agency for medical and community interpreting, with more than 340 licensed trainers in 38 states, DC, Guam and six other countries. She has lived in eight countries and studied seven languages. In addition to a BA and MA in French linguistics from Québec she holds advanced language certificates from universities in Spain, Germany and Jordan. Her career spans interpreting, translation, teaching English or translation for two universities in Quebec and Jordan, teaching French for two immigrant schools in Montreal, teaching English or French for continuing education programs and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, and running a nonprofit interpreting service in Maryland (while interpreting and translating herself). She has authored numerous publications, including interpreting textbooks, workbooks and trainer guides sold in 29 countries. A past board member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care, she has sat on several national and international committees and was the world project leader for an ISO international standard on interpreting.

Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, M.A., CHI™-Spanish, is a founding CCHI Commissioner and the Chief Diversity Officer at UW Health, an integrated health system serving 618,000 patients each year in Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and beyond with 1,400 physicians, six hospitals, and 80 outpatient sites. In this capacity, Ms. Bidar provides vision, coordination and strategic leadership for the design and implementation of UW Health’s initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. During her tenure at UW Health, Ms. Bidar has developed a model interpreter-services program and served as an organization-wide resource on cultural competency and diversity issues. From 1999 – 2010, Shiva was co-chair of the Standards, Training and Certification Committee (STC) of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care. Shiva has made significant contributions to her local community holding many key roles, including co-chair of the Latino Health Council of Dane County, member of the Madison College Board of Trustees, Madison Community Foundation board member and United Way of Dane County Vision Council member. Ms. Bidar is a founding member and co-chair of the Madison Area Diversity Roundtable, a coalition of employers committed to diversity and inclusionary practices.

Frederick Bw’Ombongi is Vice President, Access Management at Allina Health. Before joining Allina Health, Fred was the Interim Vice President, Operations at KentuckyOne Health, accountable for leading the Access Center, Staffing Office, Laboratory Services, Pharmacy Services, Clinical Engineering, Facility Engineering, Palliative Care, Podiatry Resident Program, Food and Nutrition and Patient Transport.  He served other roles as the Division Director, Access & Workforce Management and Director, Access & Logistics. Before joining KentuckyOne Health, Fred worked at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the Director, Contact Center, with responsibilities for Transfer Center, Nurse Triage, Central Scheduling, Language Services and Spiritual Care. Fred has volunteered as a member on the boards of a number of organizations like The World Affairs Council of West Michigan. He currently serves as the volunteer President and Board Chair of Opening Village Doors Foundation, an international not-for-profit organization he co-founded that is focused on fighting poverty in Kenya through entrepreneurship and education. Fred also served for over ten years on the board of directors of another organization he co-founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, The Refugee Education Center, that supports refugee children and families to gain the necessary skills for seamless and successful integration into the community by providing comprehensive educational support and youth development services, along with fostering cultural knowledge and understanding. Fred was among the founding Commissioners of Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI), serving as a Commissioner from 2009-2015.  Part his tenure Fred served as Treasurer.

Kathleen Diamond is a consultant, entrepreneur, and business leader in the language services industry. In 1979, she founded Language Learning Enterprises, Inc. (LLE®), a full-service language company based in Washington, D.C. She is recognized as an early pioneer in Telephone Interpreting, launching LLE-LINK in the 1990s. Over the next two decades, under her leadership, the company grew from a sole proprietorship to a dynamic, multimillion dollar corporation, serving a wide range of clients, in both the private and public sectors, across the United States, and worldwide. In 2009, Kathleen negotiated the sale of LLE to CyraCom International, a language service company in Tucson, AZ. In 2018, Burke&Herbert Bank in Alexandria, VA elected Kathleen to their Board of Directors. Kathleen continues her work advocating for the importance, and relevance of language services as Chairman of ASTM F43 Language Services and Products and serving as a Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Association of Language Companies (ALC). Kathleen is the Founding Chair of ALC Bridge, an initiative launched to connect ALC companies to universities for the purpose of collaboration on the preparation of students for careers in the language industry. She completed a six year term as a Founding Commissioner on the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) in 2015. Kathleen’s consultancy focuses on helping companies grow by increasing value, maximizing resources, diversifying revenue streams and building a strong succession plan. She earned her M.A. and B.A. from the University of Florida, and is an alumna of IES Abroad, Nantes, France. She is fluent in both Spanish and French.

José García is a Language Access consultant with more than 15 years of experience as interpreter, translator, trainer, and in interpreter services program development. Since 2005, José has been a member of CHIA (California Healthcare Interpreting Association); CHIA’s President from 2013-2018, and Chairman of the Board since 2019. José works as the Language Access Services Manager at Northern Inyo Healthcare District, in Bishop, California. José graduated as Cirujano Dentista (Doctor of Dental Surgery) from “Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,” and he is a CCHI Certified Healthcare InterpreterTM. José received CHIA’s Interpreter of the Year Award in 2010, in 2013 he was recognized as Person of the Year by La Causa, an organization dedicated to improving the Hispanic community in Bishop, and in 2019 he received CHIA’s President’s Award. José is a Board member for the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce, and a commissioner for the City of Bishop Planning Commission.

Graduate of the first class of the University of Houston (UH) Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE) at Bauer College of Business, Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine, years later, runs the global language solutions company she presented in her class business plan and then started in 1993.  She has grown MasterWord into a top-ranked multi-million-dollar company that delivers language access and enables success of international organizations, projects, and initiatives in over 400 languages globally. Golovine, who speaks Russian and English, is the driving force behind MasterWord’s mission to Connect People Across Language and Culture.  She is respected nationally and internationally for her innovative management processes and industry-leading client solutions. Golovine believes community involvement and service on both personal and corporate level are the backbone of any organization. She serves on the Board of the Rothko Chapel, Advisory Board for the Mind, Body, Spirit Institute of The Jung Center, chairs the Advisory Subcommittee for the Translation and Interpretation Program at the Houston Community College, is the Texas Chapter Manager for Women in Localization and a member of several professional organizations. She is an advocate of social justice, and a nationally and internationally recognized speaker. Her work has been recognized by numerous awards, including:  Houston Business Journal’s 2019 Most Admired CEO, HBJ Outstanding CEO of a Medium-Sized Company (2017), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Gulf Coast Area Finalist (2017), and Congressional Recognition G7 “Excellence in International Service” award (2015).

Richard Laurion has 35 years of experience as an interpreter, mentor and educator. He has served on interpreter association boards, state commissions of the Deaf, non-profit and for profit businesses. Richard’s career has focused on developing resources that respond to the needs of interpreters living in rural and remote areas. He has built a reputation for leadership within the field and as a promoter of professional competence through life-long-learning.  During the last decade, he has spent much of his work life developing innovative and creative resources for interpreters working in all healthcare settings. Richard is a grants manager and adjunct instructor at St. Catherine University and works as an on-call emergency medical and behavioral health interpreter for most of the Twin Cities’ healthcare providers.

Alejandro Maldonado serves on different committees related to language access to reduce disparities to people with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) while they access information and services in healthcare and social services in the state of Minnesota. He is a nationally recognized speaker on diversity, compliance with federal language access requirements, Civil Rights, healthcare interpreter certification, leadership, communication, brain development and attachment theory. Currently, he is the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, psychotherapist practitioner at several Twin Cities clinics including his own private practice serving the general community at large and the Latino community, an active healthcare interpreter for a major MCO and local community organizations. Part of his professional dedication has been devoted to work with government agencies and nonprofits, including Angel Flight.

As a member of the executive committee, Alejandro helped to produce a report for the state legislature on access and interpreting services in the medical field in 2008. He served as the vice chair of the Interpreting Stakeholder Group (ISG) and At Large Member of the Board of Directors of ISG; past vice chair of the Latino Advisory Committee, which provided advice to the Minneapolis Mayor’s Office and City Council; and has been a well-recognized and respected professional healthcare interpreter and translator by his colleagues in the medical field for almost three decades. In addition to the study of linguistics, interpreting, and management, Alejandro earned his Master’s of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy. Alejandro founded Avante Enterprises; he is a Certified Coach Practitioner (CCP), a Certified Healthcare Interpreter™, Certified Yoga Instructor. As an FAA licensed commercial pilot he flies charitable missions for Angel Flight Central.

Tim Moriarty is System Manager of Interpreter & Translation Services for Baystate Health, a not for profit health system consisting of 4 hospitals, including a level I trauma center, regional cancer center, children’s hospital, and approximately 90 locations throughout Western Massachusetts.  Baystate’s department comprises 60 staff interpreters who speak English and 11 languages, hospital manager, as well as a full-time staff translations coordinator.  Tim obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Hispanic Studies and a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration on Social Service and Welfare Policy from Columbia University after living in Guatemala and Panama working with street kids, handicapped children, and inner-city youth.  Tim initially became a Certified Healthcare Interpreter via CCHI in 2012.

Kristin Quinlan serves as CEO of Certified Languages International, a U.S. based on-demand telephone and video remote interpreting company founded in 1996.  Kristin joined the company in 1999, rising to CEO in 2006. A recognized leader known for approaching business with a unique blend of industry-wide collaboration and “bottom up” management style, she’s led CLI to be named eight times to the Fortune 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing companies and named third among leading telephone interpreting companies worldwide. Kristin’s commitment to the language industry earned her a position on the Association of Language Companies’ (ALC) Executive Board of Directors (2010-2014) and January 2015 was nominated to serve on the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) Board of Directors in Washington DC. , a national advocacy organization which raises public awareness of language as an enterprise vital to the U.S. She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for 7000 Languages, a nonprofit that connects endangered language groups with free tools and technology to preserve their languages.

Dr. Bill Rivers has more than 25 years’ experience in culture and language for economic development and national security, with publications in second and third language acquisition research, proficiency assessment, program evaluation, and language policy development and advocacy. He is the immediate past and founding Chair of ASTM Technical Committee F43, Language Services and Products and chairs the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 232, Education and Learning Services. He serves as a member of the America’s Languages Working Group of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an honorary member of the Association of Language Companies. Before joining JNCL-NCLIS, he served as Chief Scientist at Integrated Training Solutions, Inc., a small business in Arlington, Virginia, where he focused on strategic planning, management, and advanced technologies for language and culture programs in the public sector. While at ITS, he served in a contractor role as the Chief Linguist of the National Language Service Corps. Prior to working at ITS, he was a founding member of the Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) at the University of Maryland, and was a staff member of the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland from 1994 to 2003, leaving NFLC as Assistant Director. During his career, Dr. Rivers has also taught Russian (beginning through advanced), language policy, and second language acquisition at the University of Maryland, worked as a freelance interpreter and translator, and conducted field work in Kazakhstan, where he regularly returns to teach at several universities. He received his PhD in Russian from Bryn Mawr College and his MA, BA, and BS (Aerospace Engineering) from the University of Maryland. He speaks Russian and French.

Cynthia E. Roat is an international consultant on language access in health care and patient navigation. Over the past 25 years, Ms. Roat has made significant contributions to the field as an interpreter, teacher, consultant, organizer, researcher, mentor and author. Her most recent book, Healthcare Interpreting in Small Bites, is being adopted as an ancillary text in many interpreter training programs. From 2012-2015, she managed Seattle Children’s Hospital’s innovative Bilingual Patient Navigation program. She is a founding member and former board chair of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care, a founding member of the Washington State Language Access Coalition, and current chair of the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society’s Community Interpreter Division. She is known nationally as an engaging speaker, a knowledgeable resource, and an energetic advocate for language access in general.

Angelica Villagrán de Gonzales was born and raised in Mexico City where she got her accounting degree from De La Salle University. Following her heart, she became an ESL teacher and then an Administrator at Universidad Motolinia. Angelica started working at Stanford Healthcare In 2007 as a Spanish Interpreter. She was awarded the CHIA Interpreter of the Year Award in 2011.  She then became the VMI Coordinator and is now the VMI Supervisor. Under her leadership, the VMI program has grown tremendously. It is now installed in 1,300+ units across Stanford Clinics all over California. Currently, Angelica is working on deploying 650+ VMI stations to the new in-patient units at Stanford Health Care’s new hospital. Angelica provides training to interpreters and end users. She also coordinates deployment of VMI and is the liaison between IT and Administrators.