Sheridan Laine will be serving as President of NorCRID. She grew up in the small farming town of Hollister (nothing like the surfer clothing brand). She is a NERDA who fell in love with ASL while attending Community College in San Luis Obispo. Sheridan transferred to CSUN and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Deaf Studies with an emphasis in Interpreting. She spent the first 7 years of her career as a staff interpreter at Ohlone College. She left Ohlone to learn how to become the parent of a child with Autism. Freelance interpreting allowed her to spend more time with her kids, volunteer and learn new things. Sherida has three children, a husband and a big black dog. She enjoy reading, crafts and volunteering.
Vice President
CHRISTINE KANTA (SHE/HER)
Christine, as she says, really “began her life” when she was enrolled at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont at the age of 13 and graduated in 2003. This is where she found her identity, forged lifelong friendships and began her immersion and active support of her community.
Christine has a thirst for knowledge and loves to learn so she knew she wanted to attend college, but was not sure which career path she wanted to pursue. She began her higher education and took a plethora of classes, looking for her niche. In 2009 she also began doing some work as a Deaf interpreter; thoroughly enjoying the challenge and the service it provided to the Deaf community. Finally, in 2016, she enrolled in a two year Interpreter Preparation Program (IPP) at Ohlone College. She graduated in 2018 and was recognized as the first Deaf person to graduate from the program.
Currently, Christine is a local Deaf Interpreter who specializes in interpreting for Deaf-Plus, dysfluent and atypical language individuals and works at DPAC (Deaf Plus Adult Community).
Furthermore, Christine very actively supports and fights for Deaf rights, especially focusing on the Deaf LGBTQ and Deaf Plus communities.
When Christine has leisure time, she and her service dog, Abby, enjoy spending their free time white-water-rafting, camping, reading, painting, watching sitcoms, and going on walks. Christine is very excited to serve as the NorCRID Vice President and do what she can to make our community a better place.
Secretary
Micheal Boucher (He/Him)
No bio provided.
TReasurer Kate Lubeck (She/Her)
No bio provided.
DEAF COMMUNITY MEMBER AT LARGE Janaee Cobbs
No bio provided.
MEMBER AT LARGE 1 Valerie Avila
Valerie Avila is a transplant from Southern California and has lived in the Bay Area since 2016. She is a first generation Mexican-American who grew up in a Spanish speaking house hold. Valerie began learning ASL in 2009 while attending Community College and served as Vice President of the ASL Club there. She transferred to California State University Northridge (CSUN) in 2013 where she further delved into the Deaf community. While at CSUN, she served as board member of the Deaf Studies Association and frequently worked as a pro-bono interpreter throughout the city of Los Angeles. In 2016 she graduated with BA in Deaf Studies with a concentration in ASL-English Interpreting.
Shortly after, Valerie transferred to Mills College in Oakland, California to further broaden her knowledge as a Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical student. She worked in the Emergency room at Alta bates in Berkeley until 2017 when Valerie realized her passion to bridge the medical field and interpreting. She began working as a free lance and VRS interpreter, completed Mills with a Pre-Medical Certificate, and has since grown as a passionate full time tri-lingual interpreter. Valerie lives in Oakland with her partner and her two adorable puppies. She enjoys hiking, yoga, reading, learning, and a good cup of coffee (although McConnell’s toasted almond coconut chip ice cream- or any ice cream- is her weakness).
MEMBER AT LARGE 2
REID MICHAEL (THEY/THEM)
Reid is queer, non-binary, and trans (ftm). Originally from a small town in Western Massachusetts, they have been living in the Bay for the last several years with no intention of leaving! Reid holds a B.S. of Political Science from Salem State University, a Certificate of Deaf Studies from Holyoke Community College, and a Certificate of Interpreting from Ohlone Community College.
When they are not working as an interpreter or attending board meetings, you can find Reid serving as a mentor to trans and gender expansive youth, practicing in various sanghas around the Bay, crafting, reading, or watching their favorite tv shows.
They decided to join the NorCRID Board as a way of becoming more involved with and being of service to community. They joined as an Alternate Member in 2018 and became a Member at Large in 2019.
ALTERNATE MEMBER 1
OCTAVIA SPieGEL
No bio provided.
SECOND Alternate Member ANdrea K. Smith
Andrea
is a recent transplant to the Bay Area after having completed a
two-year assignment in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to that, she had a
private practice in the DC metro area. She started her career as an
interpreter at Seattle Central Community College and has earned her
Bachelors from the University of Cincinnati and her Masters through the
EUMASLI programme at the Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal. Her primary
practice is in legal interpreting and technical/scientific work. Andrea
has held several Board and committee positions with other affiliate
chapters and with the national organization and has a strong passion for
giving back to the profession. When not doing things related to
interpreting, Andrea can be found reading, crafting, Volksmarching, and
chasing her twins.
THIRD Alternate Member Shannette Fee
No bio provided.
NorCRID is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 1015 Fillmore St. PMB 10188; San Francisco, CA 94115
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![[image description White female sitting in car. She has long, straight, dark brown hair and is wearing a plaid shirt and white jacket. She is smiling at the camera.]](/resources/Pictures/Sheridan.jpg "[image description White female sitting in car. She has long, straight, dark brown hair and is wearing a plaid shirt and white jacket. She is smiling at the camera.]")
