Angela is a RID certified ASL interpreter with over 20 years experience. As an Indigenous woman, Angela, like many others, is acutely aware of destruction of language. Her father was Isaŋti Dakota and had not only been forcibly removed from his family, but the traditional Dakota language was taken from them as well. This would not be the last time this language deprivation would happen to a family member, as shortly after, her cousin would be born Deaf and Blind. The lack of resources in rural Wisconsin affected her cousin greatly. He was denied entrance to school and was unable to communicate until he was much older.
At that time in Angela’s life, a belief was formed that language is not a gift; it’s a right that no one should be denied. She works to honor what her upbringing taught her about the importance of creating connections in innovative ways, tenacity, and grit. Angela’s values of reciprocity, justice, and integrity has made it her calling to develop the solution that ensures correct treatment and autonomy for Deaf and non-English speaking people.
She attended the University of Arizona and received her degree in Special Education and Rehabilitation and graduated from St. Catharine University with a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from both programs. She earned national certification as a sign language interpreter and won Interpreter of the Year in 2012, a national recognition.
Through her transformational leadership, she focuses on inspiring and motivating teams to create innovatively and work towards a shared vision. As a respected interpreter, she has personal relationships nationwide in the interpreting community, the Deaf community, businesses, and senior health systems leadership teams. She has created a strong leadership team that, together, shares a unique 360-degree view of the complicated needs of the interpreting industry, and attributes her tenacity, and collaborative spirit to the Indigenous values of her family, Isaŋti Dakhota Wičoȟaŋ, mitakuyeowas’iƞ.
