Workshops & Business Meeting: May 30 & 31

Register for the workshops

The 2026 workshop weekend is coming! This year will feature a choice of an advanced ProTactile Interpreting workshop or a CDI/HI Training and an Ethical Discussion Group. Please join us on Sunday for the board meeting to support the organization. View the flyer.

Earn up to 0.9 CEUs (0.9 PS/DeafBlind or 0.6 PS & 0.2 PPO).

Register for the workshops

Saturday, May 30

	Session A	Session B
9 AM - 12 PM	Advanced ProTactile Interpreting	CDI/HI Training
12 PM - 1:30 PM	Lunch on your own
1:30 PM - 4:30 PM	Advanced ProTactile Interpreting	CDI/HI Training

Sunday, May 31

	Session A	Session B
9 AM - 12 PM	Advanced ProTactile Interpreting	Ethical Discussion Group (2 hours)
12 PM - 1 PM	Lunch provided
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Business meeting

Workshop descriptions

CDI - CHI Teams

Saturday, 9:00am-12:00pm (part 1), 1:30pm-4:30pm (part 2) 0.6 Ethics or PS CEUS

Certified Deaf Interpreters are a vital and growing part of the work of interpreting between hearing and Deaf persons. This training will describe encounters that benefit greatly from the work of a CDI, outline practices that promote a successful interpreted session, encourage strong communication skills between hearing and Deaf interpreters, and provide hands-up work to demonstrate smooth and efficient relay interpreting.

Presented by Stevie Naeyaert & James Cech

Advanced ProTactile Interpreting

Saturday, 9:00am-12:00pm (part 1), 1:30pm-4:30pm (part 2)

0.6 PS CEUs

The Protactile Movement has already begun, connecting those to the DeafBlind Way through touch. You may have taken a PT workshop or two, or experienced moments of clarity when learning about mental health in the DB community. Maybe you have worked with the DB community before, and want to foster the movement with Co-Navigation. But what’s next?

Saturday’s workshop will focus on intermediate Protactile Language parameters/rules, with a collaborative review of DeafBlind/Protactile knowledge. Proprioceptive constructions (aka Protactile classifiers) will be introduced.

Presented by Isabel Florence, Kara Brown, Mitch Holaly

Interpreting for DB in Medical Settings

Sunday, 9:00am-12:00pm

0.3 PS CEUS

Sunday’s workshop will focus on the DB medical encounter experience and the introduction of medical proprioceptive constructions. DeafBlind community members will join and collaborate with attendees on best practices while attendees implement Protactile practices.

Participants will have the opportunity for hands on practice for standard medical appointments, procedures, and expansion techniques that incorporate the fundamentals of Protactile parameters.

Presented by Isabel Florence, Kara Brown, Mitch Holaly

Presenters

Isabell Florence

Isabell Florence, DeafBlind since birth, has a unique perspective on the communication needs of the DeafBlind Community. Ms. Florence has several college degrees that enabled her to work in specialty areas related to DeafBlindness. Ms. Florence has worked with families through the Parents of Visually Impaired Children to help guide families through the challenges they face having a DeafBlind child. Ms. Florence also taught ASL courses for K-12 and college level students to promote the use of ASL and to educate others on the D/DB/HOH Communities to help them gain an understanding of the needs and abilities of those Communities. Ms. Florence also contracts with the State of Michigan and other agencies teaching braille and tactile ASL to DeafBlind consumers. Ms. Florence also contracts with the ICC “I Can Connect” program which offers free long distance communication equipment to DeafBlind consumers who qualify under the FCC guidelines. Ms. Florence is a certified ProTactile Communication instructor, and has done training in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and Western Oregon University. Ms. Florence has had a lifelong dream to close the communication gap between the DeafBlind Community and the Hearing Community, to improve services for the DeafBlind and promote independence and access to the same things others enjoy in their daily lives. Her motto is, “Tell me what you’d like to do, and we’ll adapt it and make it happen (within the legal limits).”

Jame Cech

James is currently a human resource developer for the State of Michigan, State Licensing Consultative section where he works to promote better access for the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing in healthcare. He is a former staff Interpreter at Michigan medicine, University of Michigan Health system, and is the owner/performer of Stage Hands LLC, a company that provides ASL performers for the entertainment industry. He is a graduate of, and formally an instructor at, Baker College’s Interpreter Training Program, and he earned his BA in Interpreting Studies from Madonna University. He maintains his private practice and specializes in medical, political, business, and entertainment interpreting. He is also interested in physical health and repetitive motion injuries. He has been a certified interpreter since 2010, a licensed trainer of The Community Interpreter ® International since 2018, and a trainer of trainers for Cross Cultural Communications since 2022.

Kara Brown

Kara Brown (NIC & BEI Basic) has been a certified interpreter since 2014 in Flint, MI. Since then, she has focused on DeafBlind culture, Protactile interpreting, medical, mental health, and theatre/concert interpreting. DeafBlind interpreting led Kara to attend the 2022 Protactile Language Interpreter training cohort session at Western Oregon University.

Mitch Holaly

Mitch Holaly (BEI Master & NIC) has had the privilege of being a community interpreter based in Flint, Michigan since 2010. He is a graduate of the Lansing Community College Interpreter Training Program and has a BA from Michigan State University (Go Green!). In 2020, he earned a Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity at St. Catherine University, publishing his mixed-methods research entitled “Interpreting with DeafBlind People in Michigan.” It is with deep gratitude that Mitch attended the 2019 DeafBlind Interpreting Institute housed at Western Oregon University and continues to work within a community of Protactile language users. A father of three, Mitch especially enjoys time in the garden and at the lake with family and friends.

Stevie Naeyaert

Stevie Naeyaert is one of two Certified Deaf Interpreters residing in Michigan. She has taught in the ASL & Interpreting Education field for over 30 years. Now retired from teaching, she works as a full-time freelance interpreter and translator. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, traveling with friends, hiking, and hand-stitching small projects.