Questions for Shane Feldman, New Executive Director of RID
Brandon Arthur interviews the newly appointed Executive Director of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), Shane Feldman. It takes a special blend of skills to effectively run a large organization with a diversity of needs like RID. Shane shares how RID is working to restore confidence in the NIC test and how as the new Executive Director he will work to maintain the historical values of the field while preparing RID for the future. He also provided insight on his vision for the Government Affairs Program and what members can expect regarding communication with the national office.
Highlights
“The other thing that has impressed me is our ancestry of volunteers and staff who have built a strong organization with core programs that include, certification, ethical practices system, continuing education, and advocacy.”
“…it seems there is a perception that RID isn’t attending to the members and isn’t interested. That is simply not true. We are listening and want the best for the membership.”
“Over many years, we have built a strong certification program that is reliable and valid. You asked how we restore confidence in this program? In my view the larger issue is that more people need to understand what is occurring within the certification program…”
“In the past, it was Codas and Deaf Community members that were the ones who develop practices within in the field. Is that still occurring today? If not, what are we doing to ensure we are focused on the relationship and partnership interpreters have with the Deaf Community and how to strengthen that?”
“Interpreters are important to me and to my connection to the world. We need to ensure the profession is valued.”
“Licensure will recognize interpreters as professionals. I will be sitting down with the new Director of Public Policy and Advocacy to discuss how to ensure that interpreters continue to be recognized as professionals.”
“I would ask that group back in 1964, do you believe that RID’s purpose is solely to serve the Deaf or to facilitate language between the Deaf world and the Hearing world? It would be my hope that this would help them make a determination to adjust the name to be more reflective of the organization.”
Shane Feldman
Shane H. Feldman, M.A., CAE
Shane Feldman serves as Executive Director of RID. Previously, he worked as COO of the NAD. Feldman has a distinguished history of civic advocacy for accessibility rights especially those related to closed-captioning, although he serves the community in several other areas including his work with VRS and the FCC, the Maryland Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Maryland School for the Deaf.
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Category: Politics & Regulatory, Talks & Interviews
About the Author (Author Profile)
Brandon is a nationally certified sign language interpreter and passionate industry entrepreneur. He has worked on both the practicing and business sides of the industry for the past 15 years. He is a devoted father and husband and enjoys the sport of triathlon.Subscribe
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I have to be blunt toward Shane Feldman. All he said frequently are good questions and need of dialogues, however, no actions? I think the number one is that the RID lacks to provide the outreach program to educate the public, including governments, medical providers, and employers that the effective communication is a key point – using the qualified interpreters. Most providers rely on the interpreting agencies who claim that their interpreters are qualified, even without showing the credential proof, rather than rely on deaf consumers who complain that they are not. I have preached to deaf consumers to tell them, “this interpreter is not qualified for me. Please reschedule with the qualified interpreter.” However, this is not feasible in such case where there is an immediated need, i.e., serious emergency situation. I think RID needs to maximize the outreach program! It is not fair that we, deaf consumers, are suffering from ineffective interpreters.
Louis – We need to collaborate with both the interpreter and Deaf communities to reach out to hiring entities to educate them on the reasons why they must provide interpreting services using only qualified interpreters. The issue of agencies, and in particular spoken language agencies, has been rising to the top of the public policy issues for RID to address in concert with the Deaf community. RID has a reputable agency task force, in collaboration with NAD, to identify how to ensure best practices in the placement of sign language interpreters are adopted by agencies. With more efficient communication and outreach efforts through the work of this task force and in the programs and services that support interpreting excellence, we will create the necessary changes that propel us towards our goal — excellence in interpreting.
First of all Congrats to Shane for his new position. It’s great to have a Deaf person in that role, and I know you bring ample qualifications and experience to this job!!!
Can you share anything about RID’s plans (if any) to be more involved with K-12 interpreting? I am sure you are aware that things are “happening” with EIPA, research being conducted, papers being written, etc. So can you share anything on this topic?
Thanks, and again congrats,
Gina Oliva
Gina – Thank you for your vote of confidence. While I bring qualifications and experience, it is only with your, and other members, support that we can together, raise the bar for the organization and meet our member’s needs.
Educational interpreting is an area that needs our respect and support. There is a wealth of passion for that within RID. Over the past week or so, I have had the chance to talk with some of RID’s leaders within the educational interpreting discipline. It is becoming clear that we need to create a more welcoming environment for this important field within the interpreting profession.
I, myself, have had my own experiences with educational interpreters as language models in my education. They were critical in my success and enabled me to learn from my teachers and peers to become the person and professional I am today.
The advocacy and public policy efforts through the RID Government Affairs Program will advance the educational interpreter profession throughout the country as states address qualifications and regulations. We have a responsibility to uphold the pursuit of our mission by ensuring that educational interpreters receive the support that they need to carry out their duties. In achieving this, we will make inroads in providing full access to Deaf children in mainstream programs.
I would love to learn more about the research and papers you mentioned. Please feel free to send me that information to help with my learning tour.
Wow! Great interview. I love our new RID Executive Director, Shane Feldman. It’s not “us and them” anymore. He’s taking us back to our roots. As a matter of fact, my father was one of those original people in the 1964 group at Ball State that you discussed. I can tell you that it was a different day for Deaf people – pre-DPN, but they were a group of people with “deaf heart”.
As to the Public Policy/Advocacy work, please remember that it’s not just about interpreter issues – it’s also about partnering with Deaf community on Deaf community issues.
Great job, Brandon! Looking forward to more such interviews. Thanks.
Carmen – That is wonderful that we have someone who has a connection to that first meeting that spurred the creation of RID!
We would love to learn more from you and see how we can incorporate your story at the upcoming 2013 RID National Conference – 50 and Forward: Building on the Legacy in August. Please connect with Tina Maggio at tmaggio@rid.org so that we can incorporate your father’s involvement in our efforts to commemorate our founding.
Your comment about collaboration between the interpreter and Deaf community is spot on. We need to discontinue the “us vs. them” mindset and focus on strengthening our partnerships as we advocate for excellence in interpreting.
I enjoyed the interview. I agree with Louis that there needs to be more DOING and less talking by RID as a whole. But we need to talk before we can do so that things are done right. I hope that there are time frames and goals set so that action can be taken from the discussions. I look forward to seeing how the talks, meetings, dialogues, etc etc progress into action and meeting Shane in Indy this summer – unless he stops in Pittsburgh first. Thanks Brandon for your questions and forum for discussion.
Danielle – I would love to visit Pittsburgh (which I stopped by to visit friends while I was a student at RIT) but I am not certain my schedule will get me there before the RID Conference in August. If not, it would be great to connect at the conference.
We are creating an approach at RID HQ that strives to meet our member’s needs and to communicate our plans and goals, as well as our progress towards them, as frequently as we can. We want members like you to feel connected with your professional organization.
Shane,
Welcome to RID!
Thank you for letting Brandon pepper you with questions and in turn answering those questions in a way that appears to be authentic and thoughtful. I can only imagine that the learning curve on the complicated and passionate perspectives toward our professional organization has been steep.
In this interview when you were asked about misconceptions you believe people have about RID, you stated that since you started at RID you have heard repeatedly that members do not feel heard. The misconception I understand you to say is that we, the membership, is actually heard by RID. You say that you are seeing a National Office staff and RID Board of Directors that are thoughtful and caring in response to members’ concerns. You say that it is not true that we aren’t heard.
While I don’t doubt that there are thoughtful and caring National Office staff and RID Board of Directors who are discussing and examining issues that the membership brings to their attention. I know a few of them.
I don’t doubt that RID wants the membership to be satisfied and happy with their professional organization.
None of this negates the fact that the RID membership feels like they/we are not heard.
There have been calls for transparency and action that have not been acted on. There have been pleas and cries for more Deaf-Heart imbedded in the structure of committees and decision making. There have been requests for transparency over certification. There has been a push for RID to take more of a stand for our profession with the Department of Education and with the FCC.
Most of the above calls, pleas, cries, requests, and pushes have not resulted in communication back to the membership in any substantial way. How are we to know that we are being heard?
I very much appreciate your perspective that communication is KEY. I could not agree more. As long as we, the membership, feel heard and see action on the issues we raise then RID can get back to it’s goal of excellence. As it has stood in years past, many have felt that RID is a black hole of ‘no response’ and have not felt heard. If this is a misconception, then I look forward to your assistance in showing the membership that we are, in fact, being heard.
Amy – RID members who share their thoughts with our volunteer leaders and staff are heard; however, what members truly want is for RID to meet their needs. We must identify the inherent need in each of the comments and feedback sent to RID HQ and then plan our endeavors to meet these needs. Members will know that they are heard when RID meets their needs.
Identifying these needs require that we constantly learn about new issues and challenges facing our members. As Executive Director of RID, I will be on a constant learning tour – learning about the needs of the members such as addressing the dynamics of the Deaf community and interpreters; advocating for our mission through regulations and licensure, providing support through professional development, upholding ethics, and more.
We are committed to enhancing our communications at RID HQ and I hope you have seen this progress – although it has been only a few weeks – with more videos, more social media posts seeking dialogue and discussion, and more announcements about our programs and services.
But the answer isn’t always “more” – we need to constantly improve the quality of our communications. While we won’t be able to launch a new website until probably 2014 – we will seek ways to connect with members that reflect the creative, visual access and interconnectivity that is representative of our members. Until we can get to that level, RID staff will continue to do our best to communicate through social media, virtual hangouts, and even StreetLeverage.
Brandon & Shane; Thanks for this engaging, hopeful conversation. As a long-time certified & previously active member, I’m another who became disgruntled, who lost faith, and who dropped from the registry. I’m now looking forward, more watchful for action steps to follow the dialogue. Best of luck.
Rubin,
I am pleased that you are feeling more optimistic toward RID and that you found the interview beneficial. What three things could RID do that would have you exit the bleachers and join up again?
Thanks for participating, Rubin.
Brandon
Rubin – I’m sorry you became disgruntled with the organization. I hope that our renewed commitment to the field will demonstrate why it is critical for interpreters like you to support our mission.
I look forward to your response to Brandon’s question and further talk about and identify your needs. We will continue to explain how our organization is working toward the mission set by our members so that we can prevent you and other interpreters who may share your sentiments from losing faith in their professional organization again.
Interesting conversation Brandon. Thanks for putting forth this effort to open up a dialogue regarding RID and their responsiveness to concerns. With new energy, goals, timelines and transparency, there is an opportunity here to re-engage with many. Here’s to looking forward with optimism.
Hey there, Evelyn.
You are very welcome for the effort. It is a lot of fun and I learn a ton.
I would agree with you that new energy, timelines, and transparency create engagement opportunities. I am hopeful that this particular engagement opportunity is one that continues to push the change we need in the industry while honoring our historical core values.
I do have to say what a pleasure it was working with Shane. He was very welcoming of the invitation and accommodating as we did the interview. Early signs are that we are in good hands.
Brandon
The Sign Language Company – Thank you for your positive response. Engagement epitomizes what we must do as an organization with and among our members, the interpreter and Deaf communities, stakeholders, hiring entities and anyone connected to our mission. We hope through the continued support such as yours, we will achieve our goals together.
Thank you Brandon for doing a terrific job with Street Leverage and for this excellent interview with Shane. I am hopeful but guarded after watching this, as we all know, actions speak louder than words/signs. I know there is much to learn in Shane’s new position and many issues to tackle and wish him all the best. I know personally, I will no longer attend national conferences due to the expense. After all is said and done, it adds up to a few thousand dollars and the workshops offered are really mostly something to just sit through since they have lately been geared to special interest groups or newly certified interpreters. Why not just have regional conferences every year with a representative from RID conducting, could save on travel expenses for us and we could have more say in what workshops would be offered. Additionally, why not require volunteering in the Deaf community (maybe once a year) as part of our CEU’s. This may help in some small measure to get us back to “Deaf-Heart” that many (including myself) have noticed is lacking within RID. Anyway, again, best of luck on your new adventure Shane and hope you make it out to our neck of the woods in N. California!!
john – Thank you for your feedback regarding all of the conferences we offer, both national and regional, and areas of focus for professional development.
Our national conference is unique, entertaining, and educational and also includes the important national social networking aspect that will build the energy and enthusisam for our 50th anniversary celebration this August. We will constantly evaluate our conferences to ensure that they meet our member’s needs, including an affordable conference, during these important in-person professional development opportunities.
Your idea for a new professional development requirement will be shared with the Professional Development Committee (PDC) which is looking into improvements for our Certification Maintenance Program (CMP).
John,
Thanks for joining the discussion. I am please to know that you are enjoying StreetLeverage and that you found the interview beneficial.
Yes, Shane has much to experience within the industry and that is going to take him some time. With that, I will say -from my experience in the past and with this particular interview- he is anxious to learn and is not one to rush to a position. Both of those will serve him well as he navigates the new landscape and becomes familiar with the issues before the field.
I know Shane has been monitoring comments and is crafting his responses. So, perhaps, he will address your idea and push that forward to the Board for consideration.
Thanks for sharing, John.
Best,
Brandon
First, I want to thank those that have posted comments for your patience in a response to my interview with Brandon Arthur. I have been catching your comments throughout the week but have been in back to back meetings and working to fill current vacancies at RID as well as continue on my RID Learning Tour. In addition, we are gearing up for our big open house week next week – a first for RID HQ as we look for more opportunities to engage our members in meaningful dialogue about the future of our organization. So, if you are around, please join us on Monday, February 25th Wednesday, February 27th, and Friday, March 1st next week from 1 – 7 pm.
I love how the Street Leverage interview created unique and individual comments from each of you. This has been my experience over the past month or so through my conversations with RID members. Each member brings a perspective in what RID means to them and a vision for what we should be doing. While there are different perspectives and expectations, each contributes towards our goal for the profession — excellence in interpreting.
This forum and others, provide the opportunity for the dialogue we need to explore our profession and ourselves. It will help determine the best path for the future of our organization. I wanted let you know I appreciate your participation in the dialogue and wanted to thank you for your support.