Faculty/Staff Information

AAS in Sign Language Interpretation, Johnson Community College, Overland Park, KS.

B.S. in Organizational Management and Leadership, Friends University, Wichita, KS.

M.A. in Interpreter Pedagogy, Northeastern University, Boston, MA.

Amanda has been a faculty member in the Division of Special Education since 2007. She coordinates and teaches in the undergraduate ASL/English Interpreting and Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies programs. In addition to her work at WOU, Amanda continues to work as an interpreter out in the community (specializing in courtroom interpreting). She has been honored to serve as a Field Consultant for a FIPSE (Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education) funded Demand Control Schema dissemination project through the University of Rochester Medical Center (2007-2010). In 2009, she was invited to serve on RID’s NIC Task Force and continues in that capacity.

In 2007, Amanda completed her MA in Interpreter Pedagogy at Northeastern University. Her research was entitled, “Investigating the Gap:Disparities between Novice and Certified Interpreters’ English-to-ASL Work.” Her current research interest is in examining the nature of the gap between graduation and certification at WOU. Over the years, she has specialized in post-secondary interpreting (post-graduate coursework) and then in 2004 began pursuing an additional specialization in legal interpreting. Through the course of her career Amanda has worn multiple hats, in addition to interpreter, that of mentor, faculty member, RSA project coordinator, and trainer. From all angles, this work is fascinating and fulfilling.

Amanda lives in Keizer with her husband, Mike, and sons, Tobias and Avery. Though her passion for interpreting and education is fairly time consuming, she does enjoy crocheting, reading, and time with her family.