Transliterator Training

Lauren Pruett, TSC | Lauren Tribby Pruett is a nationally certified cued language transliterator (TSC) and a qualified transliterator trainer. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from Kenyon College, and participated in the Gallaudet summer training program designed specifically for cued language transliterators. Lauren is the President of Language Matters Inc. and is the one to call when you need more information about programs, products, and transliterator services. In addition to working as a transliterator, Lauren is a consultant for several school systems and provides training across the country.

Earl Fleetwood, M.A., CI, CT, TSC, holds a Master of Arts degree in Interpretation from Gallaudet University’s Department of Interpretation, where he has served as an adjunct instructor and technical specialist. He has worked extensively as a cued language transliterator and signed language interpreter in community, educational, and VRS settings, and has served as an interpreter educator since 1987. His research interests include the effects of mode upon variation, ranging from phonologic to pragmatic manifestations. His Master’s research examines the goal, role, results, and efficacy of signed language interpreting in educational settings, motivated by the outcomes of language and power inequities confronted by deaf and hard-of-hearing children who use signed language interpreters. Earl is co-founder of the TECUnit, the national certifying body for cued language transliterators, and a co-author of the Cued Language Transliterator National Certification Examination (CLTNCE). Earl is also co-founder of LMI, where he co-authored and produced training materials and coursework for cued language transliterators. He currently serves as co-editor of the Gallaudet University Press “Studies in Interpretation” series and is the Director of Certification for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.

Claire Klossner, MA, TSC, NIC| Claire got her start in 1982 when she and her family attended the Cued Speech Family Program at Gallaudet University. She began to volunteer at cue camps in 1986, and has since taught cueing to many. Claire works as a ASL-English interpreter in the Washington, DC area. She holds a Transliteration Skills Certificate (TSC) from the TECUnit, a National Interpreter Certificate from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). She has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the College of William and completed her master’s in ASL Linguistics.

Jane Dolan Cooper, TSC | Jane’s family was the first to learn to cue from the inventor of Cued Speech, Dr. R. Orin Cornett. Her family then began cueing English with her older sister, Leah. This makes Jane the first native hearing cuer and one of the first cueing transliterators. Jane worked for several years at the Cued Speech Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she taught many cued American English classes and did transliterator mentoring. For the last fifteen years, Jane has worked as a freelance cued language transliterator, primarily in educational settings. She is passionate about the proper practice of cued language transliteration and is an active transliterator trainer with LMI.

Suhad Keblawi, TSC | Suhad is a lead cued language transliterator in a public school system in Virginia and has been a transliterator for more than fifteen years. She is nationally certified as a cued language transliterator, holding a Transliteration Skills Certificate (TSC) awarded by the TECUnit. Suhad is among LMI’s first transliterator trainers. Suhad is former Coordinator of Interpreting Matters, the division of Language Matters, Inc. that provides interpreting/transliterating services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities locally and nationwide. Suhad has a Bachelor’s Degree in Multicultural Communication and is studying American Sign Language. In the near future, Suhad plans to begin a master’s degree program.

Melanie Metzger, PhD | Melanie Metzger is a professor in the Interpretation Department at Gallaudet University. She is an interpreter practitioner, an interpreter educator, and her research focuses on sociolinguistic examinations of interpreted interaction. Her publications include, Sign Language Interpreting: Deconstructing the Myth of Neutrality, as well as journal articles such as Salient Studies of Signed Language Interpretation (published in English and Portuguese), and edited volumes including Translation, Sociolinguistic, and Consumer Issues in Interpretation, co-edited with Earl Fleetwood. She also serves as co-editor of the series Studies in Interpretation published by Gallaudet University Press, where she aims to provide a forum for scholars of interpretation. Dr. Metzger’s research interests focus on discourse analyses of ASL and English, with a focus on constructed action and dialogue and non-manual signals, as well as on interpreted interaction, with a focus on interpreter-generated contributions. Dr. Metzger has co-authored the BAI curriculum and MAI revised curriculum at Gallaudet, and has served as primary author on the PhD in Interpretation designed by the faculty in the Department of Interpretation. Her areas of interest in interpreting practice include interpreting with Deaf youth in educational settings, as well as medical and performing arts interpreting. She has traveled extensively in the US and abroad, presenting workshops, seminars, and conferences presentations related to her research and practice.

Tom Shull, MS, CCC-SLP, TSC | Thomas Shull has worked as a cued language transliterator in both educational and freelance settings for nearly twenty five years. He has received the highest levels awarded by the Virginia Quality Assurance Screening and the Cued Language Transliterator National Certification Exam. Tom devotes much of his professional life to teaching and enjoys working at cue camps around the globe. He is one of the co-founders of DailyCues.com. He is a speech-language pathologist for Boston Public Schools and is adjunct faculty at the MGH Institute of Health Professions where he teaches phonetics.

Brad Buran, PhD | Brad is a deaf, native cuer who has been using Cued Speech for over 30 years. He received his PhD in speech and hearing bioscience and technology from MIT and currently works as an auditory scientist at Oregon Health and Science University. Brad is interested in helping transliterators develop the skills to handle unique and challenging (but fun) assignments. In his spare time, he works on DailyCues.com.