Spanish Translators

[Image description: A headshot of an older, smiling Latino man. He is bald with a long white beard and wearing a patterned shirt.]

Name: Caleb Miller
Role: Spanish Translator
Nationality/Ethnicity: Colombian
Residence: Sacramento, California
Pronouns: He/Him/His

Caleb Miller is from Colombia, South America. Before he came to the United States, he graduated with a degree in Finances and Management and was a Colombian Sign Language/Spanish interpreter. Caleb has lived in the United States since 2001. He is an ASL/Spanish/English trilingual interpreter with a bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language Interpretation and a master’s degree in Health Care Interpretation. He has co-taught interpreting classes at the local college and also has presented workshops for Sign Language Interpreters nationally and internationally.

[Image description: Brown-skinned women smiling at the camera, long black curly hair. She is wearing brown glasses, a nose piercing, and a blue sweater. She is standing in front of a yellow wall.]

Name: Claudia Mansilla
Role: Spanish Translator
Nationality/Ethnicity: Peruvian
Residence: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Pronouns: Ella/She/Hers

Mansilla was born and raised in Lima, Peru. As an immigrant and a native Spanish speaker, she experienced firsthand the communication barrier when she arrived in this country and is aware of the encumbrances this represents. Therefore, it is very important for her to support people who go through this battle. Communication is not just key for the social realm, but also for job opportunities and better living conditions. It is Manilla’s desire to support both the Spanish-speaking and Deaf communities, but her passion emerges when both of these two communities mesh together. In order to support the community, there must be support to the interpreters who work within it; since she obtained her ASL/English Interpretation degree at the University of North Florida, which was followed by her master’s degree in Spanish/English Interpreting and Translating at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, she has been providing support to her ASL/Spanish//English trilingual interpreter colleagues in New Mexico. Currently, she serves as the president of New Mexico Mano a Mano.

[Image description: A brown-skinned Mexican-American guy with dark hair and eyes looking at the camera; a tan colored background with a poster and shelves. He’s wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, a black, buttoned-up polo shirt, and a dark gray cardigan.]

Name: Efraín Rodríguez
Role: Spanish Translator
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican-American
Residence: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Pronouns: He/Him/Él

Efraín is a native New Mexican with a transborder upbringing, born to Mexican immigrant parents. As a first-generation Mexican-American, he witnessed his parents and his community experience language barriers and lack of access to information in many areas. This, along with a passion for studying foreign languages, led Efraín to learn about similar struggles in the Deaf community and obtain a B.S. in Signed Language Interpreting from the University of New Mexico. Since then, he’s been involved in ASL/Spanish/English trilingual organizations, such as New Mexico Mano a Mano – formerly serving as president. Efraín is currently studying for a M.A. in Spanish Translation & Interpretation from the University of Texas – Río Grande Valley.

[Image description: A white cis Latina with blond-brown curly hair smiling at the camera; she’s wearing brown-rimmed glasses, red lipstick, a red tank top, and a blue blazer. She is also wearing a gold colored necklace and gold hoop earrings. Behind her is green plants/trees including a red flower next to her on the left side of the image. She also has a heart tattoo on her chest. The colors are yellow, blue, and red to represent her Colombian heritage.]

Name: Mónica Gallego
Role: Spanish Translator
Nationality/Ethnicity: Colombian
Residence: Washington, District of Columbia
Pronouns: Ella/She/Hers

Mónica Gallego is a hearing sighted white cis Latina. She is originally from New York City and her family is from Colombia She currently resides and works in Washington, D.C. Mónica has worked with and been connected to the DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened communities for many years. She is involved in community education, coordinator/workshop presenter, access consultant, mentoring, and an ASL/Spanish/English trilingual interpreter. She is grateful to be part of the translation team for this important event.

[Image description: A light-skinned, smiling Hispanic woman with medium-length black hair; wearing a black blouse and red jacket. The background is black.]

Name: Yris Chavez
Role: Spanish Translator
Nationality/Ethnicity: Peruvian
Residence: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Yris Chavez is an ASL/Spanish/English trilingual interpreter. She currently works with the company Sorenson, exclusively with Spanish and ASL; she is also working in Spanish and English interpreting in the community including translations of texts and videos.

She studied in Peru and finished her Bachelor's degree in Education and Theology in Bolivia. Her experience interpreting was from a very early age, because there were no interpreters, the whole family had to take the responsibility of interpreting for her younger sister who is deaf. At that time, she realized that interpreting was what would be a big part of her life.

Yris Chavez, a native of Peru, enjoys spending time with her family, cooking traditional dishes from her homeland, and sharing with friends.