MIRID Executive Board
President - Andi Chumley, B.S., NIC, BEI 2 Andi received her BS degree in deaf education from MacMurray college in 1998. She was employed at the Illinois School for the Deaf for seven years before returning to her native Michigan in 2005. Since that time she has worked as both a staff and freelance interpreter. She works primarily in post-secondary, medical and community settings. When Andi is not interpreting, she enjoys exploring the great outdoors with her daughter, Evelyn. They can also be found checking out museums, art shows, music venues, and great restaurants where they are likely to try the most obscure items on the menu! |
Vice President - Katie Fitzpatrick Katie Fitzpatrick has been a “word nerd” as long as she can remember, and is happy to have made learning languages, interpreting between languages, mentoring, tutoring, and teaching interpreting into an actual career instead of just a well meaning obsession. Katie has held NIC Advanced certification since 2008, and has been teaching in some capacity since 2015. She works primarily in post-secondary education, theatrical, medical settings and video relay service in order to add to her regional sign variation collection. Her educational path has included multiple colleges, programs, fields and degrees and culminated with a MA in Linguistics from Gallaudet in 2013. |
Treasurer - Cindy Wood, MAI, NIC Born and raised in Pure Michigan, Cindy moved around the U.S. for many years before returning home in June of 2015. She joined MIRID as Treasurer in April, 2016. She received her Bachelor's degree in Business Marketing and Management from Adrian College and her Master's degree in Interpretation from Gallaudet University. She has held her national certification since 2007. Cindy has worked as both a staff and freelance interpreter in various cities and states including, Milwaukee, WI, Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach, VA, and most recently here in the Metro Detroit area. She and her son Trevor reside in Milan, Michigan. They love spending time outdoors, exploring and finding adventure wherever they go. |
Secretary - Danielle Ward
Danielle slipped into the Deaf community while her mother was a teacher at Michigan School for the Deaf. She gained informal interpreting training in church, and took the scenic route to a formal education at Gallaudet University. Danielle is nationally certified and has worked in the VRS setting, and also as a staff and freelance interpreter. She currently serves in the public sector. Outside of interpreting, Danielle volunteers as a narrator, copy editor and is a published author. She enjoys the simple things in life and values spending time with family and friends, outdoor activities, traveling and reading. |
Deaf Member at Large - Angela Laguardia |
Member at Large - Andrea Tomaszewski Andrea became BEI I certified in December of 2015. In May of 2016, she graduated from the Interpreter Training Program at Madonna University with a B.A. in Sign Language Studies. Since then, she has become DeafBlind endorsed and is working as a freelance and VRS interpreter. She is currently working towards her ultimate goal of becoming nationally certified. |
Member at Large - Manda Duda, NIC
Manda Duda is a nationally certified interpreter and a proud alumna of Madonna University. She didn’t start her college career in Michigan though, she started in Ohio at Bowling Green State University majoring in Deaf Education. After two years she transferred to Madonna and earned her BA degree in Sign Language Studies. Immediately upon certification, Amanda began work as a freelance interpreter full time. In 2018, she was hired by a VRS company and is enjoying VRS while still doing community work. Manda recognized how important her mentors were throughout her journey to become an interpreter and felt motivated to pay it forward. She is involved with ITPs and their mentor programs to help students advance into the interpreting field. While she enjoys working with students, she also wants to help improve the interpreting community for interpreters and Deaf clients. That is why she joined MIRID. When Manda isn’t working or mentoring, she enjoys a variety of activities: crocheting, hiking, disc golfing, any outdoors activity, and most importantly – spending time with her family. |
Publications Manager - Nick Goodman, AAA, BEI I, DB Nick is a 2016 graduate of the Interpreter Training Program at Lansing Community College. It was there, he met his wife, Haley, who is also a certified interpreter and LCC graduate. When he is not working as a freelance interpreter, you can find him at Elder Law of Michigan as a MiCAFE Network Specialist. With his Associate degree achieved, Nick is pursuing his Bachelors degree from Siena Heights University. Nick's college career originated at Kirtland Community College in Roscommon, which is where he discovered his passion for Sign Language. As Publications Manager for MIRID, Nick oversees the MIRID website, event flyers, and social media presence. |
MIRID P.O. Box 1143 Temperance, MI 48182 www.mirid.org |