Our Faculty and Advisory Board
Leila Hagi Abdirahman has been manager of Pacific Interpreters’ QA staff for nearly two years. Prior to that time she was a QA specialist and also worked as both on-site and telephone interpreter. When present duties permit, she continues to interpret in Somali, Turkish and Arabic. She received her education in Somalia, Kuwait and Turkey before coming to the U.S. in 2002. She has been active in the Somali Women’s Group and African Women Coalition in Portland, Oregon.
Marina Braun, PhD, is an experienced interpreter and translator (legal, health-care, business, conference). She is accredited by American Translators' Association, as well as State Court certified. She also works as a language and cultural consultant, interpreter/translator trainer, and instructor on cross-cultural communication issues.
Joy Connell. BA, has over 20 years of public sector experience working with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) on health care and language access issues for multicultural populations. She has consulted and/or presented to a wide array of human service providers in federal, state and private systems on topics ranging from ethnic-specific mental health needs to broader workplace diversity concerns. Joy’s work at DMH includes oversight for the agency’s statewide Interpreter Services program, the oldest and largest among all state agencies in the Commonwealth. She has been involved in the training of health care interpreters through curriculum development, training coordination, and presentation delivery. Joy is a former board member of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition; immediate past president of the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association (now the IMIA); and current board co-chair for the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.
Lois Feuerle, PhD, JD, holds a law degree from the New York University School of Law and a Ph.D. in German and Linguistics from the University of Kansas. She was accredited for German > English translation by the American Translators Association (ATA) in 1991 and has been a practicing legal translator and interpreter since 1988. From 2000-2008 Dr. Feuerle was Coordinator of Court Interpreting Certification, Testing and Training for the Oregon Judicial Department, and from 1996-2000 she was the Coordinator of Court Interpreting Services for the State of New York.. Prior to that Ms. Feuerle spent 5 years administering the Translation and Interpreting Studies program at the New York University School of Continuing Education in addition to teaching German > English translation classes in that program. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT), the Oregon Governor’s Commission on Healthcare Interpreters and was recently elected to the Board of the ATA. She is a frequent presenter on topics relating to court interpreting and legal translation and has presented at both national and international conferences in Canada, Mexico, Germany and Australia.
Valerie Garza-Collins, Associate Science Radiologic Technology, is a Spanish interpreter working for multiple interpreting companies in Oregon. She is currently Adjunct Faculty for Portland Community College’s Healthcare Interpreter Program and has taught English-Spanish Medical Terminology, mentored practicums, participated in multiple indigenous interpreter trainings, and is currently in charge of the oral entrance exam. She was a Founding Member, Co-Chair, and VP of the Oregon Interpreter Association (no longer operational). She has been involved in language issues at state and national levels and as a volunteer for multiple agencies in Oregon. She is currently a member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care and the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters.
Robin Lawson, BA, President, Passport to Languages. Robin Lawson is a Portland based entrepreneur, whose diverse career has included stints of teaching, owning, and developing several successful companies. Her successled to a 1991 Profile in “Entrepreneur’s Magazine”. Robin received degrees in Education and Dramatics from the University of Washington. In 1989, she created a company called Passport to Languages, offering language classes for travelers as well as for companies doing business with overseas companies. Passport to Languages’ main emphasis is now offering interpreter services for hospitals, clinics, courtrooms, hotels, and multi-national businesses.
Emma Mackintosh, BA, Professional Healthcare Interpreter, was born in Mexico City and raised in Guadalajara City and Mazatlan City. She graduated from Motolinia University with a BA, in Administration, worked 20 years in the U.S. American Embassy in Mexico City, and came to the United States in 1986. Ms. MacKintosh has worked at Oregon Health and Sciences University since 1988 and as a Spanish Medical Interpreter since 1989. She also has been adjunct faculty for the Healthcare Interpreter training program at Portland Community College since 1999 and presently teaches Spanish English Medical Terminology.
Marcia Maynard, BA, RID Certified Sign Language Interpreter, has received a certificate in Sign Language Interpreting from Western Oregon State College and holds an Interpreter Certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). For over a decade, Ms. Maynard was the Interpreter/Accessibility Services Manager at Southwest Medical Center, where she developed an interpreter program. She also has been active in interpreter training at Seattle Central Community College. She presently is an Interpreter-Consultant-Educator and is self employed. Her experience in interpreting is vast and she has been contributing to the community, in this field, since 1982.
Maria Michalczyk, RN, MA, is an Education Coordinator at Portland Community College and has been in healthcare for over 40 years. She was the manager of OHSU’s Medical Interpreter program from 1992-2000. Ms. Michalczyk has served on the Board of Directors of the National Council on Interpretation in Health Care since 2001, serving as Co-Chair of the Organizational Development Committee and Co-chair of the Board and is presently serving as the treasurer. Ms. Michalczyk has just completed a four year term as being the chair for the Governor’s Council on Healthcare Interpreting in Oregon. Since February 2006 Ms. Michalczyk has been serving as the honorary Chair for the Japanese Association for Healthcare Interpreting . In April of 2006 Maria was awarded the “Governor John Kitzhaber Public Health Leadership Award” granted by Multnomah County Health Department in Oregon.
Rosa Mosqueda, BS, presently works at Oregon Health Sciences University as an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Assistant. Rosa received her BS at Portland State University in 2005 and received a Dental Assistant Certificate in 2000 from Chemeketa Community College. In 2003 Rosa received a certifcate from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Takayuki Oshimi M.D.,
Assistant Professor, Nihon University School of Medicine and is a Certified trainer of the “Bridging the Gap” and a NAATI Accredited Professional Translator. Dr. Oshimi teaches English for Medical Purposes (EMP) at Nihon University School of Medicine. He is a board member of the Japan Association for Health Care Interpreting in Japanese and English (J.E.), and has been involved in various projects and activities in the field of health care interpreting, including designing training programs, organizing seminars, editing newsletters, translating medical materials, editing, proofreading, and writing for several publications.
Samer Salti, MD, received his medical training in Damascus. He has had a variety of experiences in health care, such as medical interpreting at OHSU, research assistance at OHSU, and clinic coordinator at the Neighborhood Health Clinics for 3 years. Dr. Salti has also spent considerable time in health education both in the United States and in the Middle East.
Gene Tonry, MA, VP, Interpreter Resources, Pacific Interpreters, Inc. Gene Tonry is Vice President for Interpreter Resources at Pacific Interpreters, Inc. a national company headquartered in Portland that provides telephonic healthcare interpreting. He is responsible for Pacific’s Recruiting, Testing and Quality Assurance departments. Gene developed the company’s program in Pediatric Interpreting as a specialty, and is also focused on improvements in testing and assessing of language and interpreting skills. His background includes ten years on the faculty of Molloy College where he specialized in religion, culture and ethics.