Twofer: February & March Interpreters of the Month

We are a little behind in posting our Interpreters of the Month.  If you haven't heard through other channels, we have a new website and as of a few weeks ago we also have a new office location in Portland.  Through all the changes, the interpreters have continued to be as awesome as ever, and it's time to celebrate two more of our hard-working staff.

Eva Chen: Queen Bee of Brevity

February Interpreter of the Month: Eva Chen

We've lovingly nominated her the "Queen-Bee of Brevity."  Eva is forever straight-forward and concise in her interactions.  We all agree that her cell phone message is probably the shortest we've ever heard.  She's quick and to-the-point.  Eva's insight is likewise reknowned.  She's quick to capture what needs to be done, and wastes no time in getting to it.  She's flexible, promptly calls back, and is amazingly reliable.  Eva also is amazing linguistically, approved to interpret in three languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, and her native Fujian.  There are some interpreters that we honor because they go above and beyond the call of duty one particular day.  In February we deicded to honor Eva because she consistently exceeds expectations every day and in all ways works to provide excellent service to our clients. Thanks Eva!





Halima doesn't care for her ID photo;
instead she shared this beautiful one
from a few years back.



March Interpreter of the Month: Halima Hersi

Halima is probably one of our most senior interpreters.  Over the years her interpreting earnings have put all her kids through college (she has 5--!).  She is incredibly hard-working, and sometimes will point to open days in her calendar with the question--"I'm not busy Tuesday; can you fix this??"  She's the person that we know we can call in the middle of the night when a baby is being born or an emergency happens.  She has worked with our Refugee & Immigration Services case managers at the airports to the wee hours of the morning, waiting for delayed flights bearing new arrivals.  More recently she has also been working hard on keeping track of her timesheets (not an easy thing to do after a 4am airport arrival or a last-minute visit with a case manager to a client's home) and getting that impressive stack to us more regularly.  We nominated Halima in March for being the most improved, and also for coming through for us with a last-minute urgent request more times than we could count.  Thanks Halima!