Stephen Ellis-Menton (Spain)

Stephen is a qualified British Sign Language interpreter based in Spain. He has worked across a wide range of interpreting domains for over 20 years and now specialises in Video Relay Service (VRS) and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI).

Stephen originally trained as a teacher at Liverpool Hope University, gaining a BA Ed (QTS). He had been signing since the age of 15 and, after qualifying as a teacher, decided to change direction and formally train as a sign language interpreter, bringing together his educational background and long-standing experience with sign language.

Alongside his interpreting work, Stephen has extensive experience in professional development, assessment, and mentoring. He worked for 11 years as the lead assessor and tutor for the Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting at BSL Interpretations. He is a Senior Practitioner with NRCPD and works as a mentor, supporting interpreters at different stages of their professional development. Stephen also delivers CPD courses and is one of the organisers of The Together Conference.

Kimberley Wright (United Kingdom)

Kimberley Wright is a Registered Sign Language Translator working across a range of domains, including finance, education, and social care. Her work includes in-vision translation, and she brings a considered, audience-focused approach to producing clear and accessible content.

Kimberley draws on over 15 years of professional experience from roles across different sectors, which strongly informs her translation practice. This background supports her ability to work with complex information, varied registers, and sensitive subject matter.

A native British Sign Language user, Kimberley was raised in a Deaf family and brings deep cultural and linguistic knowledge to her work. Her lived experience shapes her understanding of language access and the responsibilities involved in translation.

Outside of her professional work, Kimberley is a mum to two young boys. She enjoys family travel, discovering good food, and making time to read, catch up with friends, watch Grey’s Anatomy, or get absorbed in a Lego build when life allows.

Kate Shearer (United Kingdom)

Kate Shearer has spent her career working in roles centred on communication. She began in the corporate sector before moving into executive recruitment and coaching within the charity sector, where her work brought her into close contact with the Deaf community. After returning to study, she qualified as a British Sign Language Interpreter in 2010.

Kate later completed an MA in Psychosynthesis alongside further coaching accreditation. Her work draws on a holistic psychological framework that focuses on self-awareness, internal roles, and how people regulate themselves under pressure. This has become particularly relevant to her work with interpreters, given the cognitive, emotional, and relational demands of the profession.

She currently works as both a Senior Practitioner interpreter and a coach, supporting colleagues, private clients, and young people. Across these roles, Kate is especially interested in how people make sense of their experiences, manage role boundaries, and sustain themselves in complex professional environments.

Magnhild Røed Michalsen (Norway)

Magnhild Røed Michalsen has worked as a sign language interpreter since 2002 and spent around 18 years in full-time interpreting practice. She now works at Oslo Metropolitan University, where she teaches on the Bachelor programme for sign language interpreters.

She holds a Master’s degree in Academic and Professional Communication and is currently a PhD candidate researching the use of haptics in training settings involving Deafblind participants. Alongside her academic work, Magnhild continues to interpret on a freelance basis and also works as an interpreter for NRK, Norway’s national broadcaster.

Magnhild is a co-founder of Tolkehjørnet, a platform developed to encourage shared learning, reflection, and discussion across the interpreter community.

Hilde Henrud (Norway)

Hilde Henrud is a full-time sign language interpreter with experience across a wide range of interpreting contexts. She has been working professionally since 2014 and is based in Vestfold, where she works within the public interpreter service.

She holds a Master of Science in Disability and Society from NTNU and brings a strong interest in reflective practice and professional learning. Alongside her interpreting work, Hilde is a co-founder of Tolkehjørnet, a professional website established in 2023 to support shared reflection, discussion, and development within the interpreting profession.

Professor Jemina Napier (Scotland, UK)

Jemina Napier is Professor of Intercultural Communication at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Since joining the university in 2013, she has held several senior academic leadership roles, including Associate Principal for Research Culture and People, Director of Research for the School of Social Sciences, Director of the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies in Scotland, and Head of the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies.

Before this, Jemina worked at Macquarie University in Sydney, where she established postgraduate programmes in Auslan–English Interpreting and later led the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Research. She is currently seconded part-time to the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science as Associate Director for Supervisor Engagement.

Jemina has practised as a sign language interpreter since 1989, working between English and BSL, Auslan, and International Sign. She has authored and co-authored numerous books and over 150 publications, with research interests spanning interpreting pedagogy, intercultural mediation, and language access in sensitive contexts, including safeguarding and work with Deaf survivors of domestic abuse.

Dr Ben Saunders (United Kingdom)

Dr Ben Saunders is Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Signapse, a UK-based company developing photo-realistic sign language translation using artificial intelligence.

He completed his PhD in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Surrey’s Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing, following earlier degrees from the London School of Economics and Queen Mary University of London. His doctoral and postdoctoral research has focused on AI-generated sign language production, translating spoken or written input into continuous, human-like signed output in both British and American Sign Language.

Under Ben’s technical leadership, Signapse launched in 2022 to support access to information in settings where human interpreters are not available, such as transport environments. Alongside technical development, Ben places strong emphasis on ethical design, advocating for Deaf-led involvement and for AI to support, rather than replace, human interpreters and translators.

Nene Ekufu (United Kingdom)

Nene Ekufu is a speaker, trainer, coach, and NRCPD-registered British Sign Language interpreter with over a decade of professional experience. Her work focuses on supporting interpreters, translators, and language professionals to build confidence, steadiness, and clarity in their professional practice.

Her journey into interpreting began with a desire to communicate with a Deaf community member. Growing up with dyslexia, Nene experienced self-doubt early on, which later shaped her interest in the internal challenges many interpreters face, including confidence, identity, and performance pressure.

Nene combines practical interpreting experience with coaching and brain-based approaches. She is also a Dual Elite Neuroencoding Specialist and a certified Law of Attraction coach, supporting professionals to manage emotional load alongside technical skill development.

Layne James Whittaker (United Kingdom)

Layne James Whittaker is a qualified Registered Sign Language Interpreter (RSLI) with over 22 years’ involvement in the Deaf community. She has worked as a freelance interpreter for the past 10 years across a range of professional settings.

Alongside her interpreting work, Layne has a strong interest in psychology. She holds an undergraduate degree and an MSc in Occupational Psychology, with a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion within the interpreting profession. Her work is informed by an understanding of how inclusion, identity, and professional culture intersect in everyday practice.

Dr Russell Aldersson (United Kingdom)

Dr Russell Aldersson works as both a BSL–English interpreter and a teacher. His interpreting practice is primarily community-based and includes work with the BSL999 service. He also supports registered trainee sign language interpreters as a senior practitioner and practice assessor.

As a qualified teacher, Russell delivers English language courses for Deaf adults at the City Literary Institute and provides academic and language support to Deaf students in higher education through the Disabled Students’ Allowance. He also delivers short CPD sessions for interpreters in both BSL and English, focusing on English grammar, structure, and language awareness.

Russell completed his Doctorate in Education in 2021, examining the role of BSL in the teaching of English through a translanguaging lens. He is known for sharing practical, assignment-based strategies with trainees, particularly in complex real-world settings such as medical and clinical environments.

Dr Emma Ferguson-Coleman (United Kingdom)

Dr Emma Ferguson-Coleman is a Deaf British Sign Language user and researcher specialising in dementia and ageing within Deaf communities. She has worked with Deaf BSL users living with dementia and their carers since 2010, with a focus on access to culturally appropriate support following diagnosis.

Emma completed her PhD in 2016, examining Deaf community knowledge of dementia and associated symptoms. Her research was the first globally to include direct interviews with Deaf people living with dementia and their close family members. The findings highlighted both the resilience of Deaf people facing cognitive change and the significant barriers they continue to experience when accessing healthcare and community-based support, within both mainstream services and Deaf-led spaces.

She is currently a lecturer in dementia and ageing at the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory, University of West London, where she teaches postgraduate students on the Dementia Studies programme. Her work continues to inform practice at the intersection of healthcare, interpreting, and Deaf access.

Joseph Musabyimana (Rwanda)

Joseph Musabyimana is Executive Director of the Rwanda Organization of Persons with Deaf-Blindness (ROPDB) and Chairperson of the Rwanda National Union of Sign Language Interpreters (RNUSLI). His work sits at the intersection of disability rights, community advocacy, and professional interpreting.

Joseph has extensive experience in community organising and national advocacy, leading work that promotes the legal recognition, inclusion, and empowerment of persons with deaf-blindness in Rwanda. Alongside this, he has played a central role in strengthening the interpreting profession through mentorship networks, peer collaboration, and advocacy for high-quality training in both Rwandan Sign Language and tactile sign language.

His leadership draws on lived experience, professional practice, and community knowledge, with a strong emphasis on sharing learning across generations of interpreters and advocates. Joseph regularly contributes to regional and international discussions on human rights, professional standards, and inclusive access.

Jacqui Beckford (United Kingdom)

Jacqui Beckford is a Registered British Sign Language interpreter with over 30 years’ experience working across theatre, broadcast, mental health, and community settings.

Her work in theatre began in the early 1990s through Graeae Theatre Company, where she progressed from workshop training to national touring productions as an integrated interpreter and performer. This marked the start of her long-standing practice in performance interpreting and led to her Equity membership. Jacqui’s background in contemporary dance, supported by an ILEA scholarship in Laban-based training, has strongly influenced her embodied and performance-led approach.

Between 2003 and 2006, Jacqui worked as an in-vision interpreter for the BBC, covering BBC News 24 and a range of other programmes. She continued working in television broadcast, including a period at Sky News, until 2014. Alongside performance and broadcast work, she has extensive experience in mental health settings and works confidently across a wide range of interpreting domains.

In 2023, Jacqui ran a pilot course in BSL interpreting for performance at Rose Bruford College, reflecting her ongoing commitment to developing practice within the arts. She has been an active member of Clapham Deaf Club since the age of 12 and has undertaken voluntary work within the Deaf community throughout her career.

Adam Price (United Kingdom)

Adam Price is a registered British Sign Language interpreter and a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA), with a professional background in musical theatre. He began his career as an actor at the age of 20, working across regional, London, and international productions.

Adam qualified as a registered interpreter in 2019 and has since worked across a range of interpreting domains. His lifelong connection to the Deaf community, combined with his experience in performance, strongly informs his interpreting practice, particularly in creative and live performance settings.

His work brings together embodiment, precision, and ethical awareness, shaped by long-term engagement with theatre, rehearsal processes, and collaborative creative environments.

Jen Bird (United Kingdom)

Jen Bird is a British Sign Language/English interpreter with nearly twenty years’ experience and co-founder of Signalise, a Deaf- and interpreter-led social enterprise delivering interpreting and communication support through a co-operative, community-focused model.

Her work explores the relationship between access, technology, and social value, with a strong commitment to systems that genuinely work for Deaf people and the professionals who support them. Through Signalise, Jen has helped reframe traditional agency models by centring Deaf voices and shared ownership in service design and delivery.

Jen has a particular interest in technology for good and how digital tools can support, rather than replace, human relationships in access provision. This informed her Churchill Fellowship, during which she examined interpreting and accessibility systems internationally to understand what enables sustainable, community-led practice.

Beyond interpreting, Jen engages with social enterprise, public procurement reform, and alternative service models grounded in collaboration, transparency, and shared responsibility.

Robyn K. Dean (United States)

Dr Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT, PhD, is a nationally certified signed language interpreter with over thirty years’ experience, with a particular focus on healthcare interpreting. She is widely recognised for her scholarship on interpreter decision-making, ethics, and professional reasoning within community interpreting contexts.

Robyn’s work has had a significant influence on how interpreters understand and articulate the moment-to-moment decisions they make in practice. Through her research and writing, she has contributed to the development of theoretical and pedagogical frameworks that support interpreters to move beyond rule-based approaches towards more reflective, context-responsive practice. She has authored over twenty publications, many of which are used internationally in interpreter education and professional development.

Robyn is currently an Associate Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, where she serves as lead instructor on the postgraduate degree in healthcare interpretation. In this role, she is deeply involved in interpreter education, curriculum design, and mentoring, with a strong emphasis on preparing interpreters to work ethically and effectively in complex, high-stakes environments.

Alongside her academic work, Robyn remains closely connected to professional practice and continues to engage with interpreters across career stages through teaching, research, and professional dialogue. Her work consistently bridges research, education, and real-world interpreting, supporting the ongoing development of the profession.

Catherine King (United Kingdom)

Catherine King is a Glasgow-based BSL/English interpreter specialising in performance interpreting. She began her career in further education before working in social services and tertiary education, later spending ten years as an interpreter trainer and academic interpreter.

Catherine is widely recognised for her work as a stand-up comedy interpreter and has toured with comedians including Frankie Boyle and Sarah Millican. She was the first interpreter in the UK, and second worldwide, to be filmed live for inclusion on a DVD, and has appeared on Adam Hills’ Happyism(2013) and Clown Heart (2017).

She is a founding partner of Creative Licht, a Creative Scotland–funded project supporting interpreters and performance professionals through workshops and shared exploration. Catherine is currently in the final stages of her PhD at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of St Andrews, researching the hybrid nature of performance interpreting practice.

Donna Jewell (United Kingdom)

Donna Jewell is a BSL/English interpreter and Director of Just Sign Ltd, based in the Central Belt of Scotland. She has extensive experience across a wide range of settings and primarily identifies as a community interpreter, valuing the adaptability and person-centred nature of this work.

Alongside community interpreting, Donna has developed a strong reputation in legal settings and is widely recognised as a specialist legal interpreter. Her work includes courts, tribunals, police interviews, solicitor consultations, and other high-stakes justice environments.

Donna also undertakes theatre and performance-related interpreting, including pantomime and work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has a strong interest in professional standards, interpreter wellbeing, and reflective practice, and is committed to supervision, peer support, and ongoing professional development.

Katy Smillie-Wilcox (United States)

Katy Smillie-Wilcox is a Scottish BSL/English interpreter currently based in North Carolina, USA. She began interpreting in 2012, initially training as a regulated trainee before qualifying fully.

Katy specialises in educational interpreting, working with both Deaf teachers and Deaf students, and has experience across psychology settings, the arts, remote interpreting, and performance interpreting. Her performance work spans a wide range of contexts, including music festivals, drag cabaret, stand-up comedy, and scripted performances.

In 2025, Katy completed a Diploma in Integrative Supervision of Individuals and Groups. She brings a flexible, responsive approach to supervision and is keen to support interpreters through reflective practice. Katy is currently developing her American Sign Language skills to engage more fully with local Deaf and interpreting communities.

Jeanette Nicholson (Canada)

Jeanette Nicholson graduated from Trent University with an Honours BA and completed the ASL–English Interpreter Program at George Brown College. She later earned an MSc in ASL–English Interpreting with a concentration in Interpreter Pedagogy from the University of North Florida.

She is Manager of Professional Practice and Education at Asign Inc., where she also works as a staff interpreter and mentor. Jeanette holds the Certificate of Interpretation (COI) from the Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters and has extensive experience in interpreter education and mentorship.

Liz McClounie (Canada)

Liz McClounie holds a BA in Politics from Queen’s University and graduated from George Brown College’s ASL–English Interpreting Program in 2005. She has over twenty years’ experience in the interpreting profession, with a strong focus on mentorship and professional development.

Liz is currently a staff interpreter, Communities of Practice Specialist, and Lead of Asign’s Mentorship Program. She designs and delivers structured learning pathways that support skill development, ethical decision-making, and sustainable professional practice across Canada.

James Etheridge (Canada)

James Etheridge is a Deaf Interpreter and Deaf Educator with over a decade of experience teaching American Sign Language and interpreting. He holds a BSc in Business Administration and a Master’s in Sign Language Education from Gallaudet University.

James currently works at Asign Inc., where his work focuses on curriculum design, mentorship, and applied interpreting practice. He brings a Deaf-centred perspective to interpreter education and is recognised for his contributions to inclusive communication and professional development.