Someone You Should Know

Anne Orozco, Staff Interpreter

For many, deciding on a career is an arduous process that takes years of consideration and soulsearching. However, Equip for Equality's Anne Orozco realized her path while still in high school, and she now considers her position as a sign-language interpreter her dream job.

Anne Orozco, Staff Interpreter at Equip for Equality Anne recalls her experience: "A close friend of mine came to school one day showing off the signs he had learned in a class he was taking. I just couldn't get enough. I asked him to teach me what he knew and fell in love with the language." Anne's commitment to sign language at the time could have been considered unique, since she had never met a deaf person before she started learning sign. It was simply the act of signing and learning a new communication form that inspired her. "I was what they call a N.E.R.D. (No Experience Related to Deafness)."

Throughout college, Anne had a host of jobs, from teaching sign language to adults who were nonverbal and developmentally disabled, to working as an insurance claims agent, to selling antiques. Shortly after graduation, at the age of 22, she took a job with Howard Rosenblum, a promising young lawyer who is deaf. Anne, always interested in business and law, saw this relationship as a natural fit and has been working with Howard for the past 12 years.

"Anne brings to Equip for Equality the unique perspective of a professional sign-language interpreter," Howard says. "Whenever anyone thinks of accommodating deaf people, the input of an interpreter is crucial to making sure that communication flows smoothly and accurately. She has been an invaluable resource not only for my communication needs but also for making sure that Equip for Equality meets the communication needs of everyone whom the organization serves."

Anne, the only sign-language interpreter on staff at Equip for Equality, ensures that the organization's services and programs are accessible to the deaf community. She has provided support for Equip for Equality's Training Institute on Disability Rights and currently also interprets for Equip for Equality's newest staff member, Sarah Bianco, a disability community organizer in the Public Policy Program. After working solely for Howard for the past decade, Anne regards working with Sarah as "getting light from a different source."

In addition to her staff work, she maintains a freelance practice focusing primarily in the post-secondary, mental health, corporate and the Video Relay settings. She also presents on the local, regional and national levels on topics related to legal interpreting and ethics.

Anne has been a professional interpreter since 1993. She is nationally certified with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), which advocates for the increased quality, qualifications and quantity of interpreters. In her capacity, she was a case reviewer for the RID National Ethical Practices Committee (NEPC) and became its chairperson in 2001.

The RID Ethical Practices System provides a complaint filing and review process to address concerns regarding the quality of interpreter services. Anne also served on the oversight committee, writing policy and contributing to the writing of the current RID Code of Professional Conduct. In 2007, Anne has plans to run for member at large to become a liaison between RID members (interpreters) and the board of their national professional organization.

Interpreting affords Anne the opportunity to be around several diverse groups of people in all types of situations, from high-level business executives and lawyers, to grass-roots workers. It is challenging, rewarding and never boring. She says it allows her to get a glimpse into people's lives. Quiet in the background, Anne is witness to all that is said and unsaid. Despite Anne's preference to blend into the background, anyone who has ever met her knows that she far from disappears into the background. With a sophisticated wit and warm personality, she is always an undeniable presence.

Anne grew up in Crystal Lake, has an older brother and sister, and has loving parents who have been married for 45 years.

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