Culturesmart,
Inc. Training Team
Our interpreter program trainers
are also practicing medical interpreters
and therefore can relate to their
bilingual participants. They help
increase motivation, learning skills
and confidence of participants through
an experiential approach, which
emphasizes the utilization and refinement
of skills that are already present.
When we engage participants in active
learning, they become more confident
are more likely to succeed. When
participants are motivated and confident,
their performance will likely improve.
Our expert Cross-Cultural trainers
are also experienced trainers
who bring exceptional learning
opportunities to each session.
Their approach is skill-based,
and their activities offer an
exciting opportunity for small
group interaction and skill-based
learning. These expert educators
work with a wide range of healthcare
specialties and cultural populations,
fostering dialogue among participants
and cross-fertilization of ideas
and strategies. Their goal is
to increase learning efficiency
and the transfer of problem-solving
skills to other content areas
and life experiences.
Gregory
Figaro
Gregory Figaro, a speaker of English,
Haitian Creole, and French, founded
Culturesmart in 1994. He worked
as a medical interpreter for about
ten years in dozens of New England
healthcare facilities. Greg draws
on his practical interpreting experience
when he collaborates with healthcare
organizations to create individualized
programs that improve the quality
and efficiency of interpreter services.
He works continually on designing
new training curricula and conducts
workshops and seminars throughout
the United States.
Greg’s background includes
developing and running Culturesmart’s
Medical Interpreter Training Program
for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Foundation during 2000-2005. Culturesmart
restructured the program with underwriting
from the Foundation, and Greg served
as its lead trainer.
As program coordinator for the
Office of Multicultural Health in
the Massachusetts Department of
Public Health, he managed assignments
of interpreters and translators
contracting with hundreds of state
agencies. In addition to creating
and delivering customized training
programs for numerous institutions,
Greg manages Culturesmart operations
and staff. Greg received his B.S.
degree through the Entrepreneurship
and New Venture Management Program
at Northeastern University’s
College of Business Administration.
Carolina Grooscors-Arnold
Carolina
Grooscors-Arnold has rejoined Culturesmart
as a lead trainer and Spanish language
coach. Carolina worked with Culturesmart
during 1999-2005, drawing on her
experience as a medical translator
and interpreter. She has provided
simultaneous and consecutive interpretation
at conferences, hospitals, health
centers, clinics, public forums,
and educational workshops, and
has run her own medical translation
business for over 10 years.
Carolina’s training experience
includes medical interpreting and
language programs at several Boston-area
hospitals as well as teaching Spanish
for medical students at Boston
University School of Medicine.
Carolina, who was born in Caracas,
Venezuela, has also lived in Bolivia
and Canada. She graduated from
Emerson College with a B.A. in
theatre/psychology. Carolina also
holds a Spanish Instructor Certificate
from Berlitz School of Languages
and a Certificate in Advanced Translation
from UMass Boston.
Carolina has twice participated
in medical mission trips to the
Dominican Republic through the
University of Southern Maine, augmenting
and coordinating the interpreting
efforts of Peace Corps volunteers.
She traveled with her husband,
a nurse practitioner. Carolina
describes herself as a voracious
reader and says she loves movies,
particularly foreign-language films.
She also enjoys trips to the beach,
playing the piano, and spending
time with her three dogs.
Rachel Herring, M.A.
Rachel, a Culturesmart language
coach, uses her Spanish skills
as a freelance interpreter, working
primarily at Cambridge Health Alliance,
where she also takes an active
role in training interpreters,
informing the hospital community
about interpreter services, and
participating in best practices
workshops. She is an active board
member of MMIA and developed a
two-day course on improving memory
and accuracy skills. This course
has been offered, among other places,
at Catholic Charities.
Rachel's path to interpreting began in rural Illinois, where she lived in a town
of 60 people and took her first Spanish class via satellite from San Antonio,
Texas. She went on to receive a B.A. degree in Spanish and English from Truman
State University, and an M.A. in Translation and Interpretation from the Monterey
Institute of International Studies. She studied abroad in Spain and Mexico, and
lived in Nicaragua for two years, working in a health education center. Rachel
and her husband, a composer, have been living in the Boston area since 2003.
When she is not interpreting or taking care of her baby daughter, Rachel enjoys
reading and volunteering in various settings, including occasionally serving
as a poll worker and precinct clerk in Somerville.
Cathi
Kroon
Cathi’s work at Culturesmart
with Spanish-speaking medical interpreters
draws on her 10 years of experience
at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where
she designed and managed the interpreter
services program. She recently
moved to Yale-New Haven Health,
a three-hospital consortium, where
her work includes interpreter assessment
and training, as well as collecting
and disseminating data on language
to ensure that appropriate linguistic
support is available to patients.
Cathi became interested in languages
while working as a nurse assistant
in a summer job at a tuberculosis
hospital in San Antonio, Texas.
Spanish-speaking nurses coached
her in helpful phrases and encouraged
her to study Spanish. When she
returned to Wichita State University
for her senior year, Cathi completed
enough courses for a minor in Spanish
that complements her BME in music
education. She later joined the
Peace Corps and spent two years
in the Dominican Republic as a
teacher-trainer.
Other travel has brought Cathi
to Hungary, to learn about Zoltán
Kodály’s philosophy
of teaching music, and to Portugal,
where she taught English as a Second
Language. Beyond studying Spanish,
Hungarian, Portuguese, and German,
Cathi is an intermediate-level
student of American Sign Language.
Lisa
Morris, M.S.T.D.
Lisa Morris, MSTD is currently
working as the Director of Cross
Cultural Initiatives for the Office
of Community Programs at the University
of Massachusetts Medical School.
One of her key tasks is the coordination
of the delivery of a Medical Interpreter
Training Program in collaboration
with the Massachusetts State Medicaid
Program. In addition, she has worked
for several years as an over-the-phone
interpreter for Language Line Services
as a Portuguese Interpreter. Previously,
Lisa was the Coordinator of Medical
Interpreting for the New England
region of a Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare.
She has been interpreting since
1985 in the medical arena. She began
her training career in 1991 at Bristol
Community College as a program coordinator
and instructor. Since that time
she has become an adjunct faculty
member at Cape Cod Community College.
During her interpreting career she
has trained more than 1000 community
interpreters throughout the State
of Massachusetts.
Lisa is dedicated to enhancing
access to services in all industries,
especially healthcare, for diverse
populations. Lisa is an active member
of the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters
Association, and serves as the secretary
to the National Council on Interpreting
in Healthcare. Lisa has presented
on the topic of medical interpreting
and healthcare access on various
occasions in the United States and
in Canada. She holds a Bachelor
of Arts in Romance Languages from
Boston College and a Master of Science
in Training & Development from
Lesley College. Finally, Lisa enjoys
being a "Mom", cooking,
and marathon running for a cause
in her spare time.
Yoshie
Ng
Yoshie Ng is a Culturesmart language
coach of Japanese, Cantonese, and
Mandarin who works as an interpreter
at Tufts-New England Medical Center
in Boston. Yoshie’s childhood
as a self-described Army brat gave
her many opportunities to begin
developing language skills early
in life: she was born in Taiwan
and lived in Japan as a child.
Yoshie moved to the U.S. in the
1970s and found her first job,
in the Personal Custody Department
of State Street Bank, when she
walked into an employment agency
office at Boston’s Government
Center after a sightseeing tour.
She worked at the bank for eight
years, leaving to take care of
her three children until they were
all old enough for school. Yoshie
also puts her 30 years of multilingual
experience to use at the Boston
University Center for Professional
Education Medical and Legal Interpreter
Program and is a long-time member
of the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters
Association. Yoshie has a degree
in Intercultural Communications
from Sophia University in Japan.
She enjoys easing the stress of
difficult days by tap dancing,
playing the organ, and working
on jigsaw puzzles.
Alyona
Nossik, M. Ed.
Alyona Nossik, M.Ed., brings to
the training program a 30-year career
as an educator, interpreter and
translator in Russian, but also
a clear understanding of the critical
nature of interpretation. As the
Program Coordinator for Beth Israel
Hospital and the Harvard Community
Health Plan, Alyona was responsible
for scheduling interpreters for
the extensive network of hospital
and specialty clinics, as well as
providing medical interpretation
for Russian-speaking patients. In
her current position as Program
Manager for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts - Office for Refugees
and Immigrants, Alyona monitors
and coordinates activities and services
that continually strive to improve
the state refugee resettlement program.
Avlot
Quessa
Avlot Quessa, B.A. has a bachelor
degree in Linguistics and Spanish
culture. He was born in Haiti and
is an accomplished Haitian Creole
and Spanish medical interpreter
with over 10 years of experience.
He currently works as an interpreter
trainer at Cambridge Hospital and
at Cambridge College in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Avlot assists in
trainee language screening and does
language coaching for Haitian Creole
speaking course participants.
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