Presenters Biographies

Todd Agan, MA, RID CI & CT, BEI Master & Medical is an interpreter practitioner, educator, and consultant. Currently he is the Senior Designated Interpreter for the Division of Hospital Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Austin Dell Medical School. Todd began interpreting professionally in 1994 and received his bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language/English Interpretation from Western Oregon University (formerly Western Oregon State College) in 1996, and his master’s degree in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity from St. Catherine University in Minneapolis, MN.  In 1999, he completed a professional medical interpreting mentorship also through the College of St. Catherine’s, after which time his work centered on in medical settings, specifically interpreting for deaf medical professionals. He also provides consultation and continuing educational opportunities to working interpreters at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Todd is a former member of the Texas Health and Human Services’ Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Advisory Committee and was a subject matter expert for the Texas BEI Medical Interpreter Certification. Additionally, Todd spends time working as a performing arts interpreter and is a 2002 graduate of the Juilliard School’s Interpreting for the Theater summer workshop.

Andrea M. Bright-Fontana, M.A., BEI Court, Master, IV, and RID NIC-Advanced. Andrea began her career in Deaf Education after completing her undergraduate studies, spending six years teaching at the Texas School for the Deaf. However, interpreting eventually became her true calling to best utilize her skills, knowledge, and abilities, where she has worked for over 20 years in various settings. During that time, she and her husband decided to become foster parents. Her family, including their 3 boys, became a foster family for 8 years, ultimately adopting 3 amazing Deaf daughters. These experiences required interfacing heavily with Child Protective Services, highlighting the dearth of information and education for interpreting services, especially working with children who had experienced trauma. This became the impetus for developing training to address this unmet need in the field. Her “free” time is spent enjoying time with her husband & 6 kids at their sporting events as well as camping, going to movies, and working in her yard.

Denise Campbell is a proud native of San Antonio, TX. She is an international traveler and speaker and shares out of her personal experiences as well as her research. Denise’s life goal is to assist people in improving their lives from the inside out and assisting them in discovering the “aha” moment. She is a wife, a mother of two sons, and a mentor to many.

She is currently employed at the Alamo Colleges District as the Interpreter Services Coordinator, providing accessible services to Deaf and Hard of Hearing faculty, staff, and students. Denise recently completed a Master of Organizational Leadership and looks forward to the incorporation of that degree in her every work and life space. 

Allisun is an ASL & English interpreter practitioner, educator and Deaf community member of almost 35 years. Allisun began her education in the CSUN Deaf Studies Department, College of Education earning her BA in 1993 and her MA in Deaf Education in 1995. Allisun went on to work at the National Center on Deafness (NCOD) as an hourly interpreter, staff interpreter, and providing in-service training on a federal grant before she moved to the Deaf Studies Department at  CSUN to join their faculty in 2001, where she coordinated the Interpreter Education Program (IEP) until 2016. At that time she was chosen for a Tenure Track position at Los Angeles Pierce College’s Interpreter Training Program (ITP). She has worked as a consultant for school districts, agencies and organizations on the provision interpreting services and interpreter skill development. Allisun’s interpreting experience includes freelance, medical, legal, theatrical, postsecondary, conference, television and film set, travel/tour interpreting and two World Games for the Deaf. Allisun is currently certified by the RID holding a CI & CT, NIC Adv. and has EIPA 4.9. She has two daughters and is a native Southern Californian.

Amy Kalmus has a passion for people, learning, and leadership. She currently serves as the lead interpreter for strategic accounts for Sorenson Communications. Prior to that, she held a variety of management and leadership positions and established the professional development and training department as the director for Sorenson VRS. As a sign language interpreter, Amy spent more than a decade working in the Kansas City and Austin communities with specialized concentration in the legal, mental health and corporate settings. Amy has trained interpreters at the college level in Missouri and Texas for many years. Since 2001, Amy has worked with the Board for Evaluators of Interpreters (BEI) as a member of the board and of the panel of experts that developed the testing and certification model currently used in several states. Holding a CI/CT interpreting credential from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf as well as a Texas BEI Master, Medical, and CIC (legal), Amy continues to interpret in the medical, legal and VRI setting. A proud graduate of the University of Kansas, Amy and husband, Mark, two cats, one collie and three horses reside at the foot of Pikes Peak in downtown Colorado Springs.

Lauri Metcalf retired as the chair of the American Sign Language, Interpreting, World Languages, ESL and International Studies Department at San Antonio College in September of 2018.  Lauri established the ASL and Interpreting program in 1994.   Before coming to San Antonio, she was a teacher for the Deaf for 20 years and taught Interpreting and Deaf Education courses at the Post-Secondary Level. Lauri was a member of the Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters from ’95 to 2007 and served as Chairperson for 11 years. Since 2009, Lauri has worked as a consultant with the National Center on Interpretation at the University of Arizona and the Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters in the test development and the certification of sign language interpreters. Lauri continues to serve as the Coordinator and Lead Instructor for Rater Trainings as well as Summer Institutes and Workshop presenter.

Sharon Neumann Solow works with great commitment and joy as an interpreter, trainer, performer, lecturer, author and consultant. Her career, spanning almost 60 years, has taken her around the United States, and to Canada, South America, Mexico, Europe, Scandinavia, New Zealand and Australia. She is the author of two books, Sign Language Interpreting: A Basic Resource Book and Say It with Sign along with numerous professional articles and handbooks and is presently working on an exciting new book.

Her television appearances include talk shows, variety shows and documentaries and she co-stars with her husband, Larry Solow, on the Emmy award-nominated NBC Knowledge series, "Say It With Sign" which still airs on PBS throughout the United States. Sharon performs as an emcee and storyteller and does theatrical translation and production work. As the female lead in "The Electric Sign Company", she and Gary Sanderson delighted audiences for over three decades. She is a working interpreter, primarily in legal, community and conference settings, with a long history of classroom interpreting and educational interpreter training and administration. She specializes in work with individuals with atypical communication.

Her travels and some of her conference work have involved interpreting using international gesture (a gestural, pantomimic form of communication across language barriers). Along with teaching sign language interpreters at all levels, she has been involved in the education of spoken language interpreters and interpreter educators through the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Sharon is honored to be a longstanding member of efsli (The European Federation of Sign Language Interpreters). She is an active member of the RID (Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf - US) and CIT (Conference of Interpreter Trainers - US), holding the NAD (National Association of the Deaf - US) SIGN (Sign Language instructor) Comprehensive Permanent Certificate as well as the RID Specialist Certificate: Legal and was certified as a Happiness coach in 2022.

The 2016 recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award from Region V RID, the 2016 RIT/NTID Award of Appreciation as well as the 2010 joint RID – CIT Mary Stotler Award, she was honored with the 2005 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) President’s Award and the President’s Award for 2005 from the National Association of Black Interpreters (NAOBI). She also received the 1987 national Virginia Hughes Award for outstanding contributions to the field of sign language interpreting. Sharon has lived in California on the Monterey Peninsula since 1984. She and her husband have two wonderful children and 5 delicious granddaughters.

Stephanie Rotheram was certified in 2001, after graduating from the San Antonio Interpreter Training Program. She continued her studies, earning a Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, and a Master’s in Special Education, focusing on American Sign Language Interpreting, from the University of North Florida. She holds national certification, and the Texas BEI Master. She has provided in-house trainings for the San Antonio Independent School District interpreters, the Alamo College district interpreters, and has taught as an adjunct faculty for the San Antonio College (SAC) Interpreter Training Program. She is employed full-time as a Staff Interpreter for the Alamo Colleges, in San Antonio, and works as a freelance interpreter, as well as a Video Relay Service (VRS) interpreter.

Connie Sefcik retired from the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters, where she worked for 27 years. She has over 30 years of experience teaching ASL and Deaf culture at Austin Sign Language School and the Statewide Outreach Center of Texas School for the Deaf. She also presented at conferences on various topics, including Deaf language, culture, deaf youth development, and BEI. She was a member of the expert panel developing the testing and rating system for BEI with the National Center for Interpretations Testing, Research, and Policy at the University of Arizona. In addition, she was involved with the Texas Assessment of Sign Communication.  

In addition to her identity as a Deaf individual, she is the fourth documented deaf generation on her paternal side. She also has two Deaf daughters and four grandchildren, of whom three are the sixth deaf generation. In her free time, she loves to spend time exploring hill country and, of course, swimming in the coldest freshwater.

Jasi Sefcik, proudly identifying as a Deaf individual, is a Communication Assessor at Robert G. Sanderson Community of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services in Salt Lake City, Utah. A graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos, near Austin, she has several years of experience teaching American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture at the Austin Sign Language School. Jasi has shared her expertise through presentations to various state agencies and interpreters who work with Deaf clients. Her contributions in these areas highlight her dedication to improving communication and understanding within the Deaf community. Outside of her professional pursuits, Jasi finds joy in exploring the great outdoors through hiking in national parks. She also enjoys the creative outlet of crocheting and knitting, as well as dabbing in various other hobbies.

Carla Shird, CDI, LPC is an African American Deaf female. Carla is an RID Certified Deaf Interpreter and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Washington D.C. Carla  is a freelance interpreter, therapist, mentor/supervisor, adjunct professor, and freelance domestic and international presenter. In all roles, she is passionate about helping people to create self-awareness, self-care, and becoming more connected with themselves, others, as well as with their personal and professional goals. Also as a presenter, she is passionate about teaching interpreters on topics relevant to mental health interpreting, self care, power and privilege, and other topics to any providers who want to increase their knowledge and understanding on working with the Deaf community. In her different roles, Carla uses a holistic approach that allows her to see the individuals she works with as a whole person with the goal of providing effective services. 

Alaina has been an interpreter since 1989 and an interpreter educator since 2003. She holds BEI Master, Court, and Level IV certifications, as well as the RID NIC Advanced. She has a BA in General Studies from Texas Woman’s University and an MA in Applied Linguistics from Texas Tech University. Alaina has interpreted in multiple settings including medical, education, mental health, court and more. She has taught workshops across the state and the nation providing interactive workshops in a safe environment. She served as chair of the BEI Advisory Board for seven years and remains on the Advisory Board as a member. Alaina is the Chair of Languages at San Antonio College.