Join our LIVE Beacon Cafe Chat!

"Invest in Yourself To Empower BIPOC Deaf Community: Navigate Imposter Syndrome"

BEACON Café Chat with 

Lydia Callis, Antonia Venesse Guy,

and Vanessa Molina!

0.1 PS CEUS

View the ASL Translation of this ad here!

Visual Description of flyer: light orange background with BEACON Cafe logo at the top. Title “ Invest in Yourself To Empower BIPOC Deaf Community: Navigate Imposter Syndrome” BEACON Café Chat with Lydia Callis, Antonia Venesse Guy, Vanessa Molina. 3 photos - Vanessa - A Mexican brown skin woman with long straight black hair, smiling at the camera. Vanessa is wearing a burgundy short lace-sleeve blouse. The background is plain white. Lydia - A woman of Mexican descent with medium brown skin and short straight black hair, smiling directly at the camera. Lydia is dressed in a mustard gold short-sleeved blouse, adorned with white dangling earrings, and is wearing a hunter green hat. On each arm, she has two prominent fine line black tattoos. The background features green shrubs, a white house, and a palm tree. Venesse - A biracial, light-skinned woman with short, curly dark brown hair styled with one side shaved. She is wearing round glasses with a thin, dark frame and small white earrings. She has a warm smile and a confident, approachable expression. She is dressed in a dark green button-up shirt with small white polka dots. Her arms are crossed, and she stands against a plain, soft green wall, creating a calm and neutral backdrop. Text on the bottom reads "Join us live on our website March 26th 7-8pm CST. Now 0.1 PS CEUs! Free for DAI Members, $15 for the public!"

Interpreting is more than just language—it’s about culture, identity, and community. For BIPOC and CODA interpreters, the profession comes with unique challenges, including power struggles, navigating trauma, and the pressure to align with dominant values that may not reflect our own. In this workshop, we will engage in open and reflective discussions about the complexities of interpreting for Deaf POC communities.

Through interactive conversations, we will explore:

•   How trauma and privilege intersect in the interpreting field and impact professional relationships.
•   The importance of self-investment, mentorship, and sustainable community work.
•   Strategies for ethical and culturally competent interpreting, including how to ask for clarification rather than assume meaning.

Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to advocate for themselves and the communities they serve, build networks that sustain BIPOC interpreters, and foster confidence without compromising cultural identity. This session is designed for those seeking growth, accountability, and meaningful action in their interpreting practice.

Come join us for this BEACON Cafe Chat on March 26th. You won't want to miss this!

Target Audience: Working interpreters

Educational Objectives: 

1.   Navigating Power Dynamics and Trauma in the Interpreting Field

Participants will examine the complexities of power struggles, ego dynamics, and the impact of trauma within interpreting. They will learn how misalignment in values and beliefs can affect communication and explore strategies to foster autonomy, self-awareness, and advocacy in their professional practice.

2.   Building Inclusive and Sustainable Community Networks

This session will highlight the importance of mentorship, investment in oneself, and reciprocal community work. Participants will discuss how to create and sustain spaces for BIPOC interpreters and Deaf POC communities, addressing barriers such as affordability, accessibility, and the decline of BIPOC interpreters in certain regions.

3.   Developing Ethical and Culturally Competent Interpreting Practices

Attendees will explore how open communication, humility, and accountability contribute to ethical interpreting. The discussion will emphasize the dangers of assumption-based interpreting, the need for confidence without whitewashing one’s identity, and the importance of advocating for accurate representation and linguistic integrity.

Vanessa Molina's journey as a deaf first-generation queer Mexicana shapes her passion for championing the rights of BIPOC disabled college students. After finding a sense of belonging in college, she dedicated her career to ensuring BIPOC disabled students receive the same support. With experience at the University of Denver, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, and National Deaf Center, her mission is to center BIPOC disabled students' rights and success. Now pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership, she researches how racism and ableism impact BIPOC disabled students to work toward transforming the higher education system. When she’s not working or studying, she loves discovering new coffee spots, walking her dog Champ, and indul koi ging in guilty pleasure TV shows.

Venesse Guy’s journey as a DeafBlind Black astrologer and activist fuels her passion for accessibility, empowerment, and community advocacy. As the founder of Astro Woke, she is dedicated to making astrology inclusive and accessible for Deaf and BIPOC communities. With years of experience navigating systemic barriers, she works to ensure that Deaf BIPOC individuals have the tools, knowledge, and representation they deserve. Beyond astrology, Venesse is committed to breaking down ableism in professional spaces, fostering mentorship, and creating opportunities for collective growth. When she’s not teaching or consulting, she enjoys painting, exploring spiritual practices, bookworm, and playing with cats. 

Lydia Callis is an RID nationally certified Sign Language Interpreter who comes from 3 generations of Deaf family. American Sign Language is Lydia’s native language because her mother and three younger siblings are all profoundly Deaf, and it is through ASL that she feels most able to express herself and connect with her roots. Growing up as a Latinx (Indigenous- Mexican) OHCoda, she realized at a young age that not many other people shared her intersecting cultural identities — the first time Lydia connected with other Codas of Color, she finally felt truly seen and understood, in ways that she never expected or had known possible. She graduated in 2006 from the Rochester Institute of Technology Interpreter training Program  and, after years of interpreting in the field, Lydia founded her own agency in 2014 called SignNexus where she is able to educate hearing entities, ensure equal access, and help raise the standards of quality within the interpreting profession. She is involved in various professional affinity groups, including Codas of Color and Diversity Academy, and is in the process of developing a mentorship program for BIPOC interpreters that creates a clear pathway for more passionate, aspiring young interpreters to pursue ASL interpreting as a career. In 2021, she completed the DeafBlind Interpreting National Training and Resource Center DBII Cohort training program for Tactile and Protactile interpreting to better understand, honor, and effectively meet the distinct communication needs of those who are DeafBlind. Coming from a Deaf family, Lydia is truly humbled to serve the expansive Deaf community, the interpreter community, and the hearing community through her work.