Since our first Cycle in July 2017, our Washington, D.C. Chapter has seen a lot of growth and community partnerships. Our Chapter has given back over two hundred hours of pro bono work to the community in the DMV area. We have mentored over fifty early career interpreters in our program. If you are interested in joining us for a future Cycle, please complete the "Get Involved" form on our website. If you are interested in joining us in the DMV, please email us at coreinterpretersdc@gmail.com.
TOTAL PRO BONO HOURS clocked since estd: 338
COACHES
Kevin Dyels
Kevin Dyels, CI, CT, is The Director of Interpreting and Captioning Services at TCS Interpreting. Kevin has served as a board member for both NAOBI-DC and PCRID. Originally from northern California, he has split his career between ASL interpreting and management positions in the Baltimore/Washington DC area. Kevin holds a partner position at a performing arts interpreting company called First Chair Interpreted Productions and presents workshops regularly on a national level. As a Coach, Kevin believes that CORE firmly stands in a position to guide new interpreters to the next level.
pATRICIA PATTERSON-COLE
Patricia Patterson-Cole, CI, CT, SC:L, and B.S In Leadership and Organizational Studies from the University of Southern Maine. She currently works as a staff interpreter at Gallaudet Interpreting Services. She also currently serves as a board member of the Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT-ASL) as the Professional Development Committee co-chair.
Patty identifies as a coda interpreter and is a trained mentor. She worked with Project CLIMB for 3 years teaching hundreds of legal interpreters across the U.S. Her primary interest is delving into the cognitive processing of an interpreted message, leadership, ethics, and legal work.
sARAH BLATTBERG
Sarah Blattberg, a nationally certified ASL-English interpreter, has been interpreting professionally since 1994. She interprets in various settings including legal, theater, government, professional conferences, Jewish, and university. In addition to the Certificate of Interpretation (CI) and Certificate of Transliteration (CT), Sarah holds the Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L). She has presented to audiences domestically and internationally.
Sequoia Taylor-El
Sequoia Taylor-El, MA, NIC is currently a staff interpreter at Applied Development, LLC. Graduating from Gallaudet University's Department of Interpretation and Translation in 2011, she ran to the interpreting world gaining experience in government, medical, mental health, K-12 and the secondary education settings. Sequoia was former board member of PCRID and president with NAOBI-DC, amongst other activities to support the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing communities. She now lives in Silver Spring with her wife and child. Sequoia is excited to bring her nearly 15 years of experiences and perspectives to the CORE community!
SUPPORT CREW
khera colbert
Khera Colbert is an American Sign Language/English Interpreter who has been involved with the Deaf community for over 6 years. She was born and raised in the DC Metropolitan Area and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Deaf Studies from Towson University and an Associates degree in ASL/English Interpretation from Northern Virginia Community College. Ms. Colbert is the current Vice President of National Alliance of Black Interpreters - DC Chapter (NAOBI-DC) and a member of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), Potomac Chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (PCRID). After obtaining her National Certification in 2022, she made a career change from a full time government employee to be a freelance Interpreter. Thrilled to be a part of the growing team!
courtney thomas
Courtney Thomas, NIC, is originally from Illinois. While she misses her family, she does not miss the Chicagoland area winters, brrrr! After completing a two year Interpreting Training Program at her local community college, she moved to Washington, D.C. in 2016 to pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpreting at Gallaudet University. Courtney has been working in the DMV area as a freelance interpreter ever since. A lot of her interpreting journey and growth has been nurtured by many fantastic mentors and internship opportunities along the way. Courtney received her EIPA and NIC Certification in 2018, and has enjoyed gaining work experience as a freelance interpreter. Because of the vast amount of support her mentors provided, as well as her desire to give back, Courtney joined CORE as a Mentor for Cycle 5. She is thrilled to be joining the support team for a program that has been so beneficial to her own growth. She feels CORE is a wonderful place for local interpreters to benefit from one another's experiences and a safe space for shared support. In Courtney’s free time, she enjoys working out and lifting, along with many outdoor activities such as hiking and rollerblading around the streets of D.C.
Xavier James
Xavier (James) is, yet another interpreter in the DMV area. Business stuff out the way first, he started learning ASL in high school, continued into community college, transferred to Gallaudet in 2017, graduated in 2020 (not the best year to enter the field), and started professionally interpreting in 2021. He is also a CORE Cycle 7 alumni and has also held student support positions at Gallaudet University so if you need anything, he got you.
Now for the fun stuff, if you like any of the following: K-pop, Hip Hop, Pro-Wrestling, Anime/Manga, Superheroes, Language Learning, Clothing/Sneakers. He'll be more than happy to talk to you about them. If not, he is all for listening not only to your experiences in CORE but you experiences and interests out of CORE. He is very much looking forward to meeting and supporting you all.