Board Members
About the NAIE Board
The NAIE Board will act on behalf of the association by actively participating in organizational planning and decision making, acting as trustees, and ensuring a sustainable future by practicing sound, ethical, and legal governance.
The NAIE Bylaws outline minimum qualifications to be a board member while the Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM) describes roles, responsibilities, and expertise necessary for each board position to fulfill NAIE’s mission.
Board Members
Deborah Cates, Ph.D
President
Nebraska
Dr. Cates (Deb) is the Sign Language Program Coordinator at the Iowa School for the Deaf. She oversees staff sign language development, the administration of the SLPI program, and educational interpreter professional development in the state of Iowa. Deb has a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, Davis, where she studied sign language structure and processing under Dr. David Corina. She has a long-time affiliation with Gallaudet University’s Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2). Her research interests include the relationship between form and meaning in signed languages, bilingual education, and the cognitive demands of simultaneous interpreting. She actively develops research-based practices for interpreter skill development. Deb also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Deaf Studies with an Interpreting Emphasis and a Master's degree in Linguistics from California State University, Northridge. She has been in the field of educational interpreting in middle school, high school and university settings since 2003. She is a licensed interpreter in the state of Iowa with her EIPA score of 4.7 in Secondary PSE, as well as a licensed interpreter in the state of Nebraska with her Mid-America QAST Level V in Interpreting.
Keith Burisek
BA, BEI Basic
Vice-President
Wisconsin
After graduating from the interpreter program from NTC, in Wausau, WI in 2010, Keith began working for the Wisconsin School for the Deaf as a teaching assistant. He also worked for the Wisconsin Lions Camp. During his time at WSD, he was able to chaperone a trip to Gallaudet University, as well as to Paris, France with the first Deaf French Student Exchange pilot program in 2011. Keith also worked in Eau Claire, WI as an educational and freelance interpreter working in a variety of settings and completed his BA interpreting degree in 2014 through Siena Heights University. He joined WESP-DHH Outreach in 2018 as the Interpreting Specialist supporting Educational Interpreters throughout Wisconsin through mentoring, workshops, advocacy, and assessments as a proctor for the EIPA through BoysTown Research Hospital. Keith has also achieved EIPA 4.2 and BEI Basic (community and educational license in WI). In 2019, Keith became a state ambassador for NAIE. Keith is married to his beautiful wife Angela. They have one dog, Bonnie, and a cat, Beau, who make their house a home in Janesville, WI.
Kalen Beck (she/her)
BA, CI and CT
Secretary/Treasurer
Nevada
Kalen brings more than 30 years of language access expertise to the field as a nationally certified interpreter, a consultant, national presenter, and formal mentor to community and educational interpreters. Kalen earned her degree in Interpreter Education from George Mason University with a focus on teaching adult learners. Additionally, Kalen provides consultative services on topics such as language access, disability access, health literacy, and cultural readiness. Her business expertise comes from experience in executive level positions within the interpreting industry, healthcare, government, and private sector. Kalen has served on numerous language access boards in a variety of roles. She currently resides outside Reno, Nevada with her husband and her adorable dog, Thor.
Allyson Caruthers
BA
State Ambassador Director
Arkansas
Allyson currently holds a QAST, Elementary EIPA 3.1 & Secondary 3.6 and an Arkansas license. After graduating from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock with her BA in ASL/English Interpretation, she has gone on to work in the local Deaf community in Arkansas. She is also a Support Service Provider (SSP) through Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS) for individuals who are DeafBlind. Allyson has worked in a variety of settings. Currently, she works as an Educational Interpreter for a public school district in Central Arkansas. Her favorite setting to interpret is Education and working with the DeafBlind community. Allyson currently serves on several committees for the Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (ARID). Allyson serves on the DeafBlind Camp Planning Committee for Arkansas DeafBlind Community (ADBC). Allyson currently lives in Central Arkansas. She has a Bearded Dragon named Anderson and two dogs, Levi and Rudy.
Karen King
BA, NIC
Professional Development Director
Virginia
Karen is a certified interpreter (NIC) SODA (Sibling of a Deaf Adult) from Portsmouth, Virginia, with almost 30 years of educational interpreting experience and over fifteen years of video relay interpreting experience. She graduated from Danville Community College's Weekend Educational Interpreter Training (WEIT) in 2004 and Regent University with a Bachelor of Arts and Biblical and Theological Studies in 2022 (Magna Cum Laude 3.96). She is currently pursuing a Masters in Liberal Arts from Rutgers University.
Anne Donnelly
MFA
Credentialing Director
Ohio
Anne is an Educational Interpreter for Cincinnati Public Schools and an Adjunct Instructor at Cincinnati State's ITP. She serves on various committees working to establish or raise interpreter standards in the state of Ohio. Anne graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences, and from Cincinnati State with a degree in Interpreting. She is a licensed interpreter through the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, and her EIPA score is a 4.6 in Elementary ASL with an EIPA Knowledge Test certificate.
State Ambassadors
State Ambassadors represent NAIE at the local level and connect with state leaders in education, deaf education specialists, as well as the educational interpreting community to help promote the mission of NAIE. State Ambassadors also seek out opportunities in their respective states to represent NAIE and share resources with the community.
If you are interested in being a State Ambassador please contact our State Ambassador Director for more information.
Current State Ambassadors
| State | State Ambassador |
Email Address |
|
Alaska Arizona California Florida Idaho Maryland Michigan Montana Nevada New Jersey Ohio South Carolina Tennessee Utah Wisconsin |
Tim Peck Jeremy Tuttle Tracy L’Angelle Dawn Zamot Caitlin Quiroz Renee L.B. Gordon Megan Seipke-Dame Brandy Reinhardt Naomi Rosen Ryan Soule Colleen Ticherich Sarah Clardy Danielle Petersen Jennifer Rawlings Jessica Alter |
alaska@naiedu.org arizona@naiedu.org california@naiedu.org florida@naiedu.org idaho@naiedu.org maryland@naiedu.org michigan@naiedu.org montana@naiedu.org nevada@naiedu.org newjersey@naiedu.org ohio@naiedu.org southcarolina@naiedu.org tennessee@naiedu.org utah@naiedu.org wisconsin@naiedu.org |