PRESENTERS

[Image description: Image of a Dominican male wearing a blue buttoned down collared shirt. The image is zoomed in to his head and shoulders. He is sitting in front of a body of water smiling directly at the camera.]

Roberto Cabrera is a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened (DDBDDHHLD), and in evening hours Roberto is teaching American Sign Language at local community colleges. Roberto is a member of the core team with DeafBlind Interpreting National Training and Resource Center and one of the leading mentors with DeafBlind Interpreting Training Institute at Western Oregon University. Roberto is representing different organizations: Council de Manos, California Manos del Corazon, and Southern California Association of the DeafBlind. As an active community member, Roberto has embraced his intersectional identities—Second Generation DeafBlind, Dominican and Queer. Besides community involvement, Roberto loves chatting with people in ProTactile American Sign Language.

[Image description: Close up of Colombian female wearing gray halter top. Her brown hair is worn down with curls and goes past her shoulders. The image zooms from her head to just below the shoulders. Background is gray. She is smiling right at the camera which is at a lower angle.]

Martha Villar is an interpreter and business owner based in Southern California. She graduated from the California State University Northridge Interpreting Training Program and received formal training in using ProTactile communication through DBII (DeafBlind Interpreting Institute). As an interpreter, Martha mainly works as a freelance ProTactile and Trilingual interpreter (English, Spanish, & ASL) as well as a relay interpreter for Sorenson VRS. As a business owner she established Love Communication Services in 2015 to not only provide services such as interpreting, coordinating, & consulting, but also to create opportunities for on-site mentoring and supported hands-on experience for interpreters from the early years in the field and beyond. Martha is dedicated to prioritizing love & inclusion in everything she does.

[Image description: Outside. Background blurred (depth effect). Water foundation, bushes, trees, pink/coral building walls. An Indian male wearing a solid aqua blue shirt  is standing in the center of the picture, grinning toward the camera.]

Jerrin George works as a freelance Deaf interpreter in the Greater Los Angeles area. He graduated from True-Biz ASL Deaf Interpreter Training Online (DITO) in May 2017. Jerrin also completed DeafBlind Interpreting Institute Onsite Training at Western Oregon University in August 2018. Jerrin served as a Board member with California Association of the Deaf South Chapter (CADSC) as a Treasurer and with Southern California Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (SCRID) as Deaf Member at Large. Jerrin have been involved with the DeafBlind community from a young age and is eager to experience the coming transformation emerging from the ProTactile movement. Jerrin is passionate about being an agent of change through his work.