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Ponce de Leon Named Director of ITS

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TLC is pleased to announce our new Director of Interpretation and Translation Services (ITS) – Richard Ponce-de-Leon.
Richard joined TLC in 2019 as a project manager for ITS and most recently served as a training specialist. In that role, he coordinated several key programs, including our Medical Interpreter Training Course, Court Interpreter Workshop, Spanish for Medical Personnel program, and Spanish Toolkit program.
He earned a B.A. in Linguistics from the Catholic University of Peru and later completed a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Tennessee. Richard is a certified public manager, a certified Spanish court interpreter in the State of Tennessee, and currently serves as the president-elect of the Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators.
Congratulations, Richard!
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TLC Training Specialist President-Elect for TAPIT

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TLC Training Specialist Richard Ponce de Leon has been chosen as President-Elect for the Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators (TAPIT). TAPIT members are professional interpreters and translators of written, spoken, and signed languages across the state. TAPIT advocates for interpreters and translators, fosters ethical and professional standards, conducts training and workshops, and promotes communication and discussion about relevant topics.

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Maya Language Pilot a Success

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TLC Training Specialist Richard Ponce de Leon and Director of Vanderbilt Interpreter Services Hope Collins recently presented to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Office of Health Equity. The presentation, Expanding Mayan Indigenous Language Resources for Vanderbilt Health, provided a brief description of the two 10-hour interpreter training courses we offered to speakers of indigenous languages in 2024.
The training was supported by Vanderbilt’s Health Equity Innovation Awards (HEIA). HEIA support projects that help improve healthcare for underserved communities.

TLC Provides Simultaneous Interpretation for Nashville Mayor’s Speech

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TLC partnered with Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to provide simultaneous interpretation of his first State of Metro speech earlier this month. The speech was available in Spanish and Arabic through TLC as well as ASL. This was the first time that a Nashville Mayor has provided spoken interpretation for a speech.

In addition to providing the simultaneous, live interpretation of Mayor O’Connell’s State of Metro speech in Spanish and Arabic, TLC also did the voiceover for the recording of the speech.

TLC Attends AAITE National Conference

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TLC Interpretation Project Manager Genna Linton recently attended the national conference for the American Association of Interpreters and Translators in Education (AAITE). TLC does a lot of interpretation appointments for schools for parent-teacher conferences, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings, and more.

TLC Provides Interpreters for National Conference

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TLC recently provided two simultaneous Spanish interpreters for employees of IMCA, a Dominican Republic-owned construction company. The employees – along with the Minister of Public Works – were attending the World of Asphalt Show & Conference at the Music City Center.

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TLC Provides Portuguese Interpreters for Company Celebration

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Portobello America, a Brazilian-owned porcelain and ceramic tiles company, celebrated the grand opening of its U.S. headquarters and first production facility in Baxter, TN. TLC provided Portuguese interpreters for the leaders, managers, and stakeholders from Brazil for the several-day celebration. We provided interpreters for Nashville trolley tours on Friday, the grand opening celebration and event in Baxter on Saturday, and a tour of the Jack Daniels distillery on Sunday.

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TLC Presents at Equal Justice University Conference

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TLC Project Manager Genna Linton presented “The Intersection of Law and Interpretation within Special Education” at the Equal Justice University Conference held Aug. 30 in Murfreesboro. The annual event is sponsored by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. TALS’s mission is to strengthen the delivery of civil legal help to vulnerable Tennesseans.

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TLC Presents at Inaugural AAITE Conference

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TLC’s Training Specialist Richard Ponce de Leon and Project Manager Genna Linton recently presented at the inaugural AAITE Edu-Con in Denver. AAITE is the American Association of Interpreters and Translators in Education, a non-profit professional association for interpreters and translators who work in educational settings, along with interested stakeholders and other allies.

They presented “Filling the Gaps: A Case Study in Educational Interpreter Training” based on the 4-session training that TLC conducted for interpreters employed by Metro Nashville Public Schools last year.

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TLC Presents Spanish for Medical Professionals

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TLC’s Genna Linton presented a 4-hour long training to 30 nurses at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The course, “Spanish for Medical Professionals: A Linguistic and Cultural Toolkit,” was focused on words, phrases, and cultural norms to help non-Spanish speaking nurses better relate to non-English speaking patients. This will potentially impact hundreds of patients working with these nurses. Just being able to ask if they are in pain or if they need water in the language the patient understands will improve the quality of care they are receiving.