Anne Leahy
Freelance Writer and
Sign Language Interpreter
RID CI/CT, NAD V
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I am now based in Utah, but continue to balance a heavy travel schedule back to Washington, DC. Given my limited availability, please open the Referrals section below and contact one of my colleagues who will be happy to work directly with you! Thank you for visiting.
About Me
Anne Leahy is a freelance nonfiction writer and nationally certified sign language interpreter. Since 1992, she has worked in corporate, educational, medical, legal, mental health, technical, scientific, and social service settings. Anne has managed and staffed government contracts at the Federal, state, and municipal levels, and served hundreds of private and non-profit businesses all over the United States.
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Interpreting strengths with ASL users, high-register English, and platform sign-to-voice and voice-to-sign work. Content specialties in public policy, the humanities and social sciences. No referral services, please.
Writing Samples password protected
Columbia College South
Loop Review, Volume 2, 2000.
“A
Wookie’s Week in Guatemala”
Open
Directory Project Newsletter, March 2001.
“Calling
ODP Sophomores”
eHow
Article, January 2009.
“How
to Find a Freelance Sign Language Interpreter”
eHow.com Article, January 2009.
“How
to Grow a Sign Language Interpreter Peer Network & Direct
Clientele”
For access to other documents, please send an e-mail to schlussel (at) anneleahy.com. Within ten minutes, the server will respond with the user name and password needed to log into the link above. If your e-mail is rejected, or the auto-generated response never arrives, please let me know. Thank you so much for your interest.
Interpreter Resources
eHow Article, January 2009.
“How to Find a Freelance Sign Language Interpreter”
eHow.com Article, January 2009.
“How to Grow a Sign Language Interpreter Peer Network & Direct Clientele”
Utah Bar Association
“Serving the Client Who is Deaf”
American Bar Association
“State Statutes for Courtroom Interpreters”
Supreme Court of Ohio
“Working with Interpreters in the Courtroom”
U.S. Department of Justice
“Model Policy on Law Enforcement for Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing”
U.S. Department of Justice
“ADA Pocket Guide for Law Enforcement Officers”
U.S. Department of Justice
“Communicating with People Who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing in Hospital Settings”
American Medical Association
“Americans with Disabilities Act and Hearing Interpreters”
Washington, DC Terms & Conditions .pdf .doc
Last updated January 2009.
Thank you for keeping my information on file. Below are my terms and conditions, which reflect industry standards and local market demands. See here for Small and Woman-owned Business Certification. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Rates
Rates are billed to the nearest quarter hour. Law enforcement and medical emergencies only on Sundays.
$150.00 initial fee, covering up to two hours
$60.00 per hour thereafter
$160.00 initial fee, covering up to two hours for subcontractors
$70.00 per hour thereafter for subcontractors
Discounts or differential rates for platform, performance, legal, international, or otherwise more demanding assignments will be negotiated at the time a request is made.
Requests received ten full business days or more in advance of the beginning of the assignment are discounted a flat $10.00.
Travel
Day rates for offsite travel will be negotiated separately. Per diem will be assessed at the standard GSA Rates, and expenses incident to travel and lodging will be reimbursed at cost. Local parking, mileage, and travel costs may be negotiated at the time a request is made.
Coverage
Assignments over 1.5 hours long generally require a second interpreter. I can personally arrange for this at the subcontractor rates quoted above, or provide you with referrals at no charge. A full day of work will not be billed as a series of shorter assignments.
Short Notice Fee
A $40.00 fee may be added to requests made with less than three business days’ notice.
Cancellations
Cancellations made less than two business days in advance of the beginning of the assignment are considered untimely and will be billed. Multi-day assignments will only be billed within the two-day billable cancellation period.
Payment
Net 30 days from the invoice date. Late payments will be assessed an additional 3% after 14 days past due, and 5% after 30 days past due. MasterCard and Visa accepted with no additional fees.
Open Access
Due to overwhelming demand, I provide services only where Deaf and Hearing people legitimately need to communicate. If registrants are identified at entry, and no consumers are present or expected, I or my designees do not provide "open access" interpreting. If the event is televised/recorded, held in a public place, or the identified individual is confirmed to arrive late, we will work in anticipation of the need. I uphold the concept of accessibility, but can't justify denying services to others.
Tax Credits
Your business may qualify for an annual tax credit between $250.00 - $10,000.00 for all of your reasonable accommodations expenditures under the Americans with Disabilities Act Download IRS Form 8826 and the Tax Incentives Packet for more information.
Résumé/Vitae .pdf .doc
Credentials
- Certificate of Interpretation (CI) and Certificate of Transliteration (CT), Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
- Level 5 Master, National Association of the Deaf
Professional Experience
Aug 1992–PresentFull-time private practice interpreter in Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, St. Louis, MO, and Seattle, WA metropolitan areas.
Teaching/Presenting/Evaluation
Jun 2010NAOBI Preconference: Interpreter Boot Camp
2006–presentRegular guest lectures at Utah Valley, Gallaudet, and Brigham Young Universities
Oct 2000‘Toward Colorful Voicing’ guest lecture to Gallaudet Interpreting MA students
Jun 2000Poster Session on the Cuban Deaf Community at Deaf History International, Gallaudet University
Dec 1999Presented on North American Deaf Culture and Arts in Havana, Cuba
May–Nov 1998Member of new statewide interpreter evaluation team in Illinois
Jun–Nov 1998Volunteer advanced ASL instructor for local Chicago Latino Parents’ group
Jun–Sep 1998Developed and taught first fingerspelling course at Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Jun 1996–Nov 1998Mentor for Chicagoland Mentorship Consortium and Columbia College
Sep 1996Participated on Workshop Panel: ‘What do Deaf People / Interpreters Want?’
Formal Education
2000–PresentMA, Professional Writing and Editing; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
1998BA, English (with writing emphasis); Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Jul 1987–Jul 1990Junior class standing as an English major; Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
Professional Memberships
- National Association of the Deaf
- Utah Supplier Development Council
- Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
- Midwest Center for Law and the Deaf
- American Association for Applied Linguistics
Continuing Education Highlights
2002–2007International Sign Interpretation (50 hours total)
1997–presentSpanish Independent Study (toward interpreting application)
Sep 1999First Int’l Conference of Sign Language Interpreters in Santiago, Cuba
Aug 1999Mano a Mano, first meeting of trilingual RID interpreters in Boston, MA
Nov 1998Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research (Int’l Sign Linguistics)
May 1998Mexican Sign Language Competency Certificate, Apache Creek, NM
Jan–Dec 1997German I and II at Goethe Institut, Chicago, IL
Dec 1996–Apr 1997Gallaudet University ASL Linguistics Series: ASL Morphology, ASL Syntax, Sociolinguistics of the Deaf Community
Conference Work .pdf .doc
These are some selected highlights of my conference work. I have included ample work in the interpreting field, demonstrating my colleagues’ confidence in my skills at their own events. Numbers listed under ‘Days Booked’ indicate how many times the group hired me that year. ++ indicates multiple days; * indicates working with a Deaf presenter; # indicates coordination services for regularly scheduled events or large-scale conferences. (All events took place in the Washington, DC metro area unless otherwise indicated.)
2007
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Scientific Presentations and Colloquia | 50+ | *# |
| Georgetown University Center for the Study of Learning | Neuroscience Research | 20+ | *# |
| Department of Homeland Security | Legal and Public Policy Events | 50+ | *# |
| American Association of People with Disabilities | National Meetings and Events | 12 | *# |
| Federal Communications Commission | Policy Meetings | 12 | * |
| World Bank | International Development | 4 | |
| Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. | Policy, Advocacy, and Internal Meetings | 7 | * |
2006
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Scientific Presentations and Colloquia | 50+ | *# |
| Georgetown University Center for the Study of Learning | Neuroscience Research | 20+ | *# |
| Department of Homeland Security | Legal and Public Policy Events | 50+ | *# |
| American Association of People with Disabilities | National Meetings and Events | 11 | *# |
| National Emergency Management Association | Mid-year Conference | 2 | *# |
| Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf | Committee Meetings | 3 | |
| Take Back America | National Conference | 4 | *# |
| Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. | Policy, Advocacy, and Internal Meetings | 6 | * |
2005
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Scientific Presentations and Colloquia | 50+ | *# |
| Georgetown University Center for the Study of Learning | Neuroscience Research | 20+ | *# |
| Department of Homeland Security | Legal and Public Policy Events | 20+ | *# |
| Heller Ehrman White & McAullife | Mock Trial Legal Training | 6 | *# |
| World Bank | International Development | 9 | * |
| American Association of People with Disabilities | National Meetings and Events | 11 | *# |
2004
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Scientific Presentations and Colloquia | ++ | *# |
| Department of Homeland Security | Legal and Public Policy Events | ++ | *# |
| Georgetown University Center for the Study of Learning | Neuroscience Research | ++ | *# |
| American Sign Language Teachers Association | Legislative Policy Training and Advocacy | 3 | *# |
| National Council on Disabilitly | Public Policy Meetings and Media Events | 6 | * |
| World Bank | International Development | 6 | * |
| Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf | Regional Conference | 3 | * |
| American Red Cross | National Policy Development/Review | 2 | *# |
| American Association of People with Disabilities | National Meetings and Events | 11 | *# |
| National Organization on Disability | National Preparedness Conference | 3 | * |
2003
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amer. Assoc. of People w/ Disab. & Natl Org for Women | Combined Forum: Women with Disabilities | 2 | *# |
| Potomac Chapter, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf | Board Meetings | 2 | *# |
| Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (Chicago, IL) | National Conference | 6 | * |
| Deaf History International (Paris, France) | International Conference | 5 | *# |
| Department of Education: Region 10 (Seattle, WA) | Rehabilitation and Deafness Conference | 3 | * |
| NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Scientific Presentations and Trainings | 50+ | *# |
| American Sign Language Teachers Association | Legislative Lobbying Forum and Conference | 3 | *# |
| National Council on Disability | Policy and Legislative Meetings | 5 | * |
| “History Through Deaf Eyes”: PBS Documentary | Documentary Pre-Interviews | 3 | * |
| Atlantic Corridor Cultural Exchange | Irish Delegation Tour | 2 | * |
| United States International Council on Disability | Board Meetings | 2 | *# |
| Heller Ehrman White & McAullife | Mock Trial Legal Training | 6 | *# |
2002
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Scientific Presentations and Trainings | ++ | * |
| Potomac Chapter, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf | Affiliate Chapter Conference | 2 | * |
| MD Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | Town Hall Meeting | 1 | * |
| World Health Organization (Trieste, Italy) | International Conference | 5 | * |
| Paralympics | Board Meeting | 1 | |
| Gallaudet University | Graduate and Undergraduate Open House | 3 | * |
| Potomac Chapter, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf | Business Meeeting | 1 | |
| MD Governor's Advisory Board for Telecom. Relay | Board Meetings | 2 | * |
| National Council on Independent Living | National Conference | 1 | |
| The Deaf Way II | International Conference | 7 | * |
| JFK Center for the Performing Arts | Audio Describer Training | 5 | * |
| Heller Ehrman White & McAullife | Moot Court / Mock Trial Training | 2 | *# |
2001
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Association of School Psychologists | National Convention | 3 | |
| American Association of People w/Disabilities | Board Meetings | 2 | * |
| The Deaf Way II Artists Symposium | Planning Committee | 1 | * |
| Gallaudet University | Graduate and Undergraduate Open House | 2 | * |
| Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing in Government | National Training Conference | 3 | * |
| Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (Orlando, FL) | National Conference | 6 | * |
| National Federation of the Deaf of Mexico (Mexico City) | International Conference | 3 | * |
2000
| Organization | Event | Days Booked | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microstrategy, Inc. | Annual Business Meeting | 7 | |
| American Association for Advancement of Science | National Convention | 3 | * |
| Very Special Arts of Mexico (Mexico City) | Third International Congress | 3 | * |
| International Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Association | National Convention | 3 | |
| American Behavioral Association | National Convention | 3 | |
| USA Deaf Sports Federation | International Baseball Tournament | 4 | * |
| National Association of the Deaf (Norfolk, VA) | National Convention | 5 | * |
| Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf | Region II Conference | 2 | * |
| American Psychological Association | National Convention | 5 | * |
| Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) | International Conference | 4 | * |
| Maryland Association of the Deaf | Statewide Convention | 1 | * |
Referrals
Contact these private practice interpreters directly to inquire about availability and terms.