Welcome New Board Members to the Illinois Board of Interpreters!

The Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of new board members Ayanna Dowd and Amy Miller to the Illinois Board of Interpreters.   

Ayanna Dowd
Homewood, IL
Term Expires 12/31/25
Interpreter - General Intermediate

Ayanna Dowd is a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) with a passion for the Deaf community. She has worked with Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing clients from birth through 22 years of age.  In addition to being a licensed SLP, she has intermediate certification with the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) and a Professional Educator’s License (PEL).  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Truman State University, her Bachelor and Master of Health Science in Communication Disorders from Governors State University, and her Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education. Ms. Dowd is currently the Deaf Ministry Coordinator at the Apostolic Faith Church, which hosts an annual conference for both Deaf and interpreters and has a 100-year history of serving Deaf parishioners.  She is a member of the National Association of Black Interpreters (NAOBI), the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA). She is an avid reader and also enjoys bowling.

Amy Miller
Glen Carbon, IL
Term Expires 12/31/25
Interpreter - General Master

For 30 years, Amy Miller has had the opportunity to work in most every setting related to interpreting.  She also has over 10 years of management experience providing interpreting services in community and education settings. Miller got her start at John A. Logan College (JALC), graduating with a certificate in interpreting in 1993. She also holds an associate in applied science in interpreter preparation from JALC. Miller earned a bachelor’s in workforce education and development from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2008. In 2014, she graduated with honors from Capella University with a master’s in mental health counseling. She holds national certification with the Registry of Interpreter for the Deaf (RID) and has master certification with the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI).  Currently she is employed in the ACCESS Office at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the Deaf Services department as a sign language interpreter.

Ayanna and Amy join with the current members of the Interpreter Licensure Board: Hershella Ashford, Kimberly Berger, Laura Braucht, Teri Hedding, and Barbara Pawlica.