About Us
Who is CIT?
CIT is a professional organization dedicated to laying the educational foundations for interpreters to build bridges of understanding. While focused primarily on interpreters working between American Sign Language and English, we welcome educators who work with other languages, whether signed or spoken.
Message from
the President
Leslie C. Greer
The Conference of Interpreter Trainers Board proudly announces the launching of a new website, www.citsl.org, which is spelled out as Conference of Interpreter Trainers Signed Languages. We promote the quality of interpreter education,research and networking with professionals representing different parts of the world.
Our new site is designed to enhance communication, information sharing and networking among CIT members, who are signed language and interpreter educators, mentors, tutors, presenters and researchers.
As we further develop our new website, your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
CIT Board of Directors
President
Leslie C.Greer
Vice-President
Jenny Gough
Secretary
Royce Carpenter
Director of Communication
José-Ovi Velasquez
Treasurer
Max Williamson
Co-Directors of Professional Development
Eileen Forestal
Carole Lazorisak
Patricia Cole-Patterson
International Journal of Interpreter Education Editors
Dani Hunt
Kim Kurz
History
The Beginning of the Conference of Interpreter Trainers
The beginning of the idea of CIT began during the 1978 RID Convention in Rochester, New York, when interpreter trainers informally met to discuss the need for unifying as a group of professional interpreter trainers. They discussed interpreter educator’s needs and how to get professional development. One of the biggest areas of need was how could there be a more structured way for information exchange among trainers. This collaboration at the 1978 RID Convention between interpreter educators led to first National Conference of Interpreter Trainers Conference.
The first CIT convention was held at the St. Paul Technical Vocational Institute (TVI) on October 4-6, 1979. Additionally, the conference was organized by Ms. Anna Witter-Merithew and Ms. Becky Carlson. Consequently, the two organizers have become known as the co-founders of CIT.
It is important to note that the conference was cooperatively sponsored by the Council of Directors, the National Interpreter Training Consortium and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. In addition, the Conference was supported in part by an agreement with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and by a special grant from the Office of Handicapped Individuals.
It is important to note that during the first CIT Convention in 1979, seventy interpreter educators attended. Then, during the conference an organizational team of ten (each person represented different geographical regions and interpreter training program types) was selected to create the mission, bylaws, membership due structure and determine how CIT members could vote to accept or reject the bylaws created by the organizational team. Additionally, it was during the organizational team’s duties that CIT became a 501(c)6 non-profit organization in the state of Kansas.
Since the very first CIT convention in 1979, the CIT has become a well-known organization for sign language interpreting programs and interpreter training educators and holds national conferences every two years.
For a detailed history about CIT you can read: “Legacies and Legends: Interpreter Education from 1800 to the 21st Century, history of Interpreter Education from 1800 to the 21st Century” by Dr. Carolyn Ball