Hello! I'm Donna.
I graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with an associate's degree in Interpretation for the Deaf in 1991 and immediately moved to Georgia to join a staff of interpreters at a local high school in the metro-Atlanta area. In 1999, I left the educational interpreting environment to expand my career working in the community. As an independent contractor and owner of FingersCrossed, Inc., I have worked in a wide variety of settings, both in Georgia, across the States and abroad. I have taught numerous workshops specifically designed for ASL learners and working interpreters, and have also had the pleasure of teaching in the US and abroad around the subject of making large-scale events accessible and welcoming for people with disabilities.
I have 14 years of experience as the Lead Interpreter at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston, Georgia, interpreting for the staff and faculty, but also working on special interpreted projects related to the education of Deaf children nationwide. A large part of my work in the field of education has centered around interpreting standardized tests, teaching others to interpret test questions with fidelity, and as a consultant on a national level for test developers. I have served as the Secretary for the Georgia Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, the state chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, as well as the Interpreter Coordinator for StageHands, an interpreting agency specializing in performance work of all kinds.
While in quarantine in 2020, I relocated to the beautiful Tampa Bay area of Florida. This move was part of my family's long-term dream to live on the coast while preserving my desire to be a part of active Deaf and interpreting communities. At the same time, I have become an expert at providing interpreting services virtually and increased my online teaching through various organizations including Zaboosh, AQI Workshops, and the Florida Educational Interpreter Institute. It was at this time that I began my online teaching career, first with the University of South Florida and then at the University of North Florida as a full-time faculty member in the Interpreter Education Program. In 2022, I returned to Atlanta and began teaching as an adjunct instructor at Georgia State University. It has been a delight to teach the seniors in the Sign Language Interpreter Program there.
I believe in the importance of lifelong learning and self-improvement as illustrated through my adult education pursuits, having received a bachelor's degree in Sociology, and a master's degree in Interpreting Pedagogy from the University of North Florida after the age of 40. I strive to study a range of foundational courses to increase my general knowledge base, gain experience with a narrowed set of skills, and recognize the value of curiosity within myself and other learners. Professionally, I feel fulfilled being an interpreter educator and curriculum writer. But if I never taught again, my achievements in writing educational materials are still in line with my belief in remaining an inquisitive, lifelong learner with the ability to conduct research and continue independent study pursuits long after the college years.
Thank you for visiting my website. As you read my workshop descriptions, keep in mind that I can tailor any of my workshops to suit your specific needs. I have years of experience hosting conferences, presenting on a national stage, or in a web-based format, so my workshops are designed to engage small or large audience sizes, face to face or virtual.
I look forward to working with you as you prepare for your next event. We are better together!
For non-signers, click on CC to reveal captions.
EMPLOYMENT
EDUCATION
JANUARY - JULY 2020
INTERPRETER EDUCATOR, ADJUNCT
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA
Creating syllabi, lessons, and activities for students in their undergraduate- and graduate-level studies; actively engaging with students regularly and providing specific support to students at a variety of skill levels; participating in professional development.
2008-2020
STAFF INTERPRETER, LEAD
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Interpreting/transliterating in a variety of settings for students and staff; designated interpreter for a state school superintendent; evaluation of sign language skills of all faculty/staff for use in individual professional development plans; sign model and ASL consultant for the Accessible Materials Project, converting text to ASL videos; teaching in-house sign language enhancement classes for faculty/staff.
1999-PRESENT
FREELANCE INTERPRETER
FINGERSCROSSED, INC.
Soliciting contracts, interpreting/transliterating in various settings and situations to the satisfaction of all clients, billing, and keeping accurate records of all assignments. Nature of assignments have included:
National/international conferences, government, television, religious, video production, educational, community, legal, video relay, theatrical, technical, mental health, medical, children/teens/adults/seniors.
1991-1999
STAFF INTERPRETER
DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
Interpreting/transliterating in a variety of classes and situations and creating an environment optimizing the students' ability to learn.
EDUCATION
JANUARY - JULY 2020
INTERPRETER EDUCATOR, ADJUNCT
2008-2020
STAFF INTERPRETER, LEAD
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Interpreting/transliterating in a variety of settings for students and staff; designated interpreter for a state school superintendent; evaluation of sign language skills of all faculty/staff for use in individual professional development plans; sign model and ASL consultant for the Accessible Materials Project, converting text to ASL videos; teaching in-house sign language enhancement classes for faculty/staff.
1999-PRESENT
FREELANCE INTERPRETER
FINGERSCROSSED, INC.
Soliciting contracts, interpreting/transliterating in various settings and situations to the satisfaction of all clients, billing, and keeping accurate records of all assignments. Nature of assignments have included:
National/international conferences, government, television, religious, video production, educational, community, legal, video relay, theatrical, technical, mental health, medical, children/teens/adults/seniors.
1991-1999
STAFF INTERPRETER
DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
Interpreting/transliterating in a variety of classes and situations and creating an environment optimizing the students' ability to learn.
JULY 2020 - PRESENT
INTERPRETER EDUCATOR, VISITING PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, TAMPA
Creating syllabi, lessons, and activities for students in their undergraduate- and graduate-level studies; actively engaging with students regularly and providing specific support to students at a variety of skill levels; participating in professional development.
JANUARY - JULY 2020
INTERPRETER EDUCATOR, ADJUNCT
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA
Creating syllabi, lessons, and activities for students in their undergraduate- and graduate-level studies; actively engaging with students regularly and providing specific support to students at a variety of skill levels; participating in professional development.
2008-2020
STAFF INTERPRETER, LEAD
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Interpreting/transliterating in a variety of settings for students and staff; designated interpreter for a state school superintendent; evaluation of sign language skills of all faculty/staff for use in individual professional development plans; sign model and ASL consultant for the Accessible Materials Project, converting text to ASL videos; teaching in-house sign language enhancement classes for faculty/staff.
1999-PRESENT
FREELANCE INTERPRETER
FINGERSCROSSED, INC.
Soliciting contracts, interpreting/transliterating in various settings and situations to the satisfaction of all clients, billing, and keeping accurate records of all assignments. Nature of assignments have included:
National/international conferences, government, television, religious, video production, educational, community, legal, video relay, theatrical, technical, mental health, medical, children/teens/adults/seniors.
1991-1999
STAFF INTERPRETER
DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
Interpreting/transliterating in a variety of classes and situations and creating an environment optimizing the students' ability to learn.
EDUCATION
2019
Master's Degree
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA
Master's of Interpreting Pedagogy
2018
Bachelor's Degree
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY
General Studies: Sociology
1988-1991
Associate's Degree
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK
Interpretation for the Deaf
1988
High School Diploma
JOHN L. McCLELLAN HIGH SCHOOL
Little Rock, Arkansas
Honors Graduate
​
2019
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
​
Continuing Education Units earned in 2019:
Intersectionality in Behavioral Health Interpreting
Published article for GaRID FACES Newsletter
Language Acquisition Through Mimicry
Test Equity
Semantic Clusters: Developing a Powerful Vocabulary
Educational Interpreters: The Missing Piece of the IEP
CERTIFICATIONS
Educational Interpreter License Georgia, 2014
RID National Certification Transliterating Performance Test (CT)
2001
RID National Certification
Interpreting Performance Test (CI)
1995
RID National Certification
Written Test, 1994
GRID Quality Assurance Tests, Written and Performance, 1992
Arkansas Quality Assurance Tests, Written and Performance, 1990
CURRENT WORKSHOPS IN ROTATION​
Hover over titles to reveal workshop descriptions.
Finding Your Superpower:
​
What Do I Bring To This Community?
The ability to identify one’s strengths and weaknesses, particularly when under stress, can lead to goal-making and development of a path to self-improvement. This workshop will include an overview of Mindfulness Meditation and its application to the field of interpreting and stress management.
What's Up With
These Signs?
LATE
FINISH
UP-TO-NOW
NONE
This series of workshops tackles with commonly misunderstood or misused signs in ASL. In this workshop, we’ll take our time with each concept and watch video examples of native signers using each concept correctly in context.
Educational Interpreters:
The Missing Piece of IEP Teams
The specialized skills/knowledge that the educational interpreter can offer is not limited to actual interpreting. Interpreters have been/should be participating members of annual IEP team meetings. When allowed full access to the IEP document, which contains central guidelines for the classroom teacher & the interpreter as an accommodation, the interpreter can offer salient information to the team. This workshop will address the IEP's implications of the interpreter's role in the classroom, the interpreter as a member of the IEP team, and interpreting protocol during an IEP meeting.
The Q&A Quandary:
Interpreting for Standardized Tests
Interpreting standardized test items presents unique and difficult challenges for classroom interpreters. Because no two interpreters will sign questions the same way, the standardization of the test presentation is at risk. That being understood, this workshop will explore several strategies for dissecting test questions and answer choices in order to ease the task of translating content into ASL.
Language Acquisition Through Mimicry
​
It's How We Learn!
This workshop concentrates on building the skills necessary to identify, mimic and incorporate grammatical components of ASL. Participants will learn about and have a guided opportunity to practice this method of language acquisition and will be encouraged to continue their practice on their own.
Lost in ASL:
​
Time & Tense
This workshop concentrates on the signs and strategies for conveying the "when" and "how long" of an ASL utterance. Participants will learn about and have the opportunity to practice incorporating the information into their expressive ASL.
Lost in ASL:
​
Transitions
A study of transitional words/phrases used in ASL to divide thoughts into chunks, chunks into segments, segments into stories. Video clips of deaf people will be included as models of the use of transitions to clarify events in a storytelling. Effective use of transitions in ASL increases signer fluency and therefore prosody.
WDiLL:
​
What Does
It Look Like?
This workshop concentrates on building the skills necessary to turn English words/phrases/concepts into conceptually accurate ASL images. Classifiers, idioms, figurative language and other common stumbling blocks will be discussed. We'll also see how deaf people using listing behaviors to make the most mundane things, a list, into something visual. Don't miss this opportunity to discover what your work has been missing - the art behind showing what it looks like.
There's No Sign
For That!
​
Strategies for Finding ASL Equivalence
How often do you search for a sign for the specific word or concept you want to express and find yourself stumped? Often, there isn’t one sign for a specific word, so you need to be able to create a sign string to convey the meaning and intent (and not get too far behind the speaker!). This workshop will focus on the strategy of creating and incorporating “sign strings” and ASL “faceting” to deal with complex ideas and concepts.
There's No Word
For That!
​
Strategies for Finding English Equivalence
SICK-ME! GULP! CLOSE-THROAT! Great signs! But what are the English equivalents? As with any language, there’s not always a one-to-one translation. This workshop will review a body of ASL vocabulary generally considered “un-translatable.” We’ll investigate the meaning of the sign and learn how to brainstorm the most appropriate word or words for different situations.