Rebekah Tosado: Interpreters Division Distinguished Speaker

Plan to attend the preconference seminar on Wednesday morning (“Title VI: Overview and Enforcement”) by the Interpreters Division Distinguished Speaker Rebekah Tosado. And on Thursday afternoon, do not miss the session titled “Language Access as Teamwork: Professionals and Government Working Together” she is giving with co-presenter Amy Vance.

 Meet the Interpreters Division Distinguished Speaker

Rebekah Tosado is the Director of the Antidiscrimination Group (ADG) in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The Antidiscrimination Group is responsible for ensuring compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based on color, national origin (including limited English proficiency). Ms. Tosado leads the DHS Language Access Working Group comprising representatives from all the DHS Component agencies.

Just this week, Ms. Tosado has received the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Silver Medal Award for her perseverance in working within the agency to constantly improve LEP access to programs and activities across its many missions, from preventing terrorism, to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring resilience to disasters.

And here is what the ATA conference website says about her:

[pullquote align=”full” color=”#4d648d” size=”14″]Rebekah Tosado is a senior advisor in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and section lead of the office’s antidiscrimination group. She has been involved in federal enforcement, policy development, and training in the area of language access for more than 15 years. She leads the agency’s work on improving access to limited-English-proficient persons to homeland security programs and activities. She is focused on innovation, quality, efficiency, and partnerships to improve vital language services within the agency. She is an attorney and graduate of the Boston College Law School.[/pullquote]

Amy Vance is a Senior Policy Advisor for Title VI in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Antidiscrimination Group. In this capacity, Ms. Vance manages the development and implementation of a Department-wide program to ensure nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs and activities.  As one of her current priorities, she conducts outreach and provides technical assistance to grantees on understanding and fulfilling nondiscrimination requirements in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including providing meaningful access to persons with limited-English proficiency.

 

Do not miss the exceptional opportunity to gain insights from our Distinguished Speaker and her co-presenter into these crucial topics

 

Seminar D – Title VI: Overview and Enforcement

Rebekah Tosado DS (Presented in English; All Levels)

This seminar will explore language access as a civil right and the interpreter’s role in upholding it. The speaker, who is from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will begin with an overview of Title VI. The connection between nondiscrimination based on race, color, and national origin and the right to language access will be explored. Through a series of hypothetical scenarios, attendees will examine how to comply with the law. Attendees will be invited to consider steps interpreters and the federal government can take to rectify concerns associated with Title VI.

 

Language Access as Teamwork: Professionals and Government Working Together
Rebekah Tosado and Amy Vance
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The speaker will discuss how the Department of Homeland Security is working to improve access to its programs to persons with limited English proficiency. Attendees will learn of the major steps the agency has taken to provide meaningful access in order to communicate with these individuals effectively. Attendees will also learn how the insights and expertise of organizations like ATA contribute to this effort.