by Doug Bowen-Bailey
CIT webmaster
“All that you touch you Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God Is Change.”
~Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Talents
The quote above comes from Octavia Butler’s science fiction about post-apocalyptic world. At times this year, it felt to me like her vision was becoming a reality. COVID-19. The killing of George Floyd and the subsequent actions in support of Black Lives. Transitioning to online spaces for interpreter education. Change has been the constant.
Included in that change is my decision to step down from serving as CIT’s webmaster. Despite being a history major, I am not the best at keeping track of dates. I do know it has been at least 10 years that I have been in this role.
I have been honored to do this work. Creating a new website. Trying to help CIT to include more ASL in our communications. Supporting the publishing of the International Journal of Interpreter Education. I valued the opportunity to be a point person with our members – to help them navigate the challenges of technology and keep people connected.
This summer, I realized that I could no longer continue. The lack of communication from the board to me as webmaster and to the membership in general made it too difficult for me to continue to serving in this role. I decided that I needed to go back to being solely a member and spend some time being a CIT member who is interested in this organization in living out its mission.
I don’t know what the future will hold. I have been working with the board to transfer the institutional knowledge that I have. I have long said that it is not healthy for an organization to rely too much on any one individual – and it is now time for me to follow my own advice. My hope is that a new approach will be found that can take CIT to a new level and engage more of our membership in being actively involved in the important work of this organization.
To all of you who I have worked with over the years, I am grateful for the ways that you have changed me and helped me grow. I will continue to be involved, but from the margins instead of the center. I look forward to seeing what the future will bring.
If you wish to contact me in the future, you can reach me at dbb@digiterp.com.