To Revitalize our profession, we must first Reunite to ensure our foundation is unshakable. This interactive session uses the Stop-Light Assessment Framework to help Deaf Interpreters honestly categorize their readiness for specialty assignments. Green means go: you have the training, the vocabulary, and the stamina. Yellow means proceed with caution: you need an experienced Deaf/hearing partner and thorough preparation. Red means stop: the ethical move is to decline and refer.
Through peer discussion and honest self-reflection, participants will examine the “Ripple Effect” of how a single under-prepared interpreter in a high-stakes setting does not just affect one consumer; it shapes how agencies and systems perceive all Deaf Interpreters. Participants will leave with a practical “decline and refer” script, strategies for professional self-monitoring, and the confidence to protect consumers and the profession by saying no and meaning it.