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I am a Boston native who received my interpreter training from Northeastern University. I got my professional start at The Learning Center for the Deaf before moving to Chicago. My education and immersion into the Deaf community led to a career in interpreting. I moved back home in 2018 and I have been afforded many opportunities such as interpreting conferences, post-secondary and doctorate education, business engagements, theatre performances, and concerts. I take great pride in professional development and mentoring future interpreters. Outside of work, I enjoy spending as much time as possible with my family, reading about true crime, and watching my home-town teams win championships.
I grew up in New Jersey and was introduced to ASL while working in a daycare and took a few courses before I continued onto an interpreter training program and a bachelor’s degree. I worked as a supported employment associate with Deaf and hard of hearing individuals’ job development and placement. I eventually began interpreting in a variety of fields, including medical/mental health, corporate, VRS, and theatre. I relocated to New England to be closer to family and am very much enjoying getting to know the area as well as the community.
A Rhode Island native, I traveled across the nation and throughout Europe after high school graduation. I came back to the New England area, settling in Massachusetts where I began taking ASL classes at The Learning Center. I then earned a degree from the interpreter training program at Northern Essex Community College. I worked at the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH), coordinating the after-hours emergency on call services for seven years. Outside of interpreting, I spend the majority of my time trying to keep up with my awesome daughter.
I met my first Deaf person when we were both five years old in Hawaii. I was set to attend Mount Ida College for equine management, but my plans fell through so I attended Northern Essex Community College for core courses, figuring out what I would do next. I ended up graduating from the college’s interpreter training program. I lived in Irmo, South Carolina and worked as a freelance interpreter. My husband at the time was the executive director of the South Carolina Association of the Deaf telecommunications equipment distribution program and so I did some work for the program. I then moved to Columbus, Ohio, where I worked at The Buckeye Ranch (Residential and day treatment facility for adolescents) as an interpreter and small group leader. I currently live in Massachusetts with my Green Cheek Conure parrot Katya and African Grey Parrot Ellie.
I was born into the Deaf World as the eldest child of Deaf and Polish immigrant parents. As a result, I am tri-lingual and tri-cultural (Polish was my first language, with sign language second, and I did not learn English until I went to kindergarten). I am a proud CODA who feels “at home” among the Deaf community and prides herself on being an ally.
Although born in the United States I lived in Poland for four years before moving to New York at the age of five. I spent my formative years growing up on Long Island, attended college and graduate school in New York City, then relocated to New Jersey and worked on Wall Street for a decade. After completing my Interpreter Training Program in Utah, I relocated to Massachusetts in 2005. I earned my NIC Master certification in 2009 and have been proudly affiliated with Partners Interpreting since 2012.
Since becoming a professional interpreter in 2004, I have worked in various settings including: medical, psychiatric, academic, social justice, agency, business, government, Video Remote Interpreting, and Video Relay Services. I enjoy the variety of work I perform and the people I interact with while working all over Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
I am a recent graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and earned my bachelor’s degree from the ASL/English Interpreting program at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. I am a Child of Deaf Adults and invested a majority of my professional career in Deaf centered fields. Along with working as a student interpreter through the Department of Access Services at RIT, I was a research assistant at the NTID Center on Culture and Language where I worked closely with Deaf professionals and studied the linguistic components of ASL variation. I joined Partners Interpreting in the Fall of 2022 and I look forward to building my career with the team!
I am a professional ASL interpreter and a proud Coda with over seven years of professional experience. My experience working in a wide variety of settings, including Video Relay Service (VRS), educational interpreting at all levels, medical, theatrical, and many years of Freelance.
I am also dedicated to maintaining a deep understanding of the cultural nuances that affect the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community, and strive to provide high-quality interpreting services that promote inclusivity and accessibility for all.
Tennessee
My ASL journey in 2012, I discovered my passion. This path led to a degree in Educational Interpreting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. My experience spans community, medical, educational, and digital platforms. Joining Partners in 2022, I cherish every moment. Beyond work, I enjoy film photography, family time, and concerts.
Although I am a native of Chicago, Illinois my blood runs orange for Tennessee. For the past 22 years, I have been a Staff Interpreter based in Tennessee, specializing in Video Relay Service (VRS) and higher education interpretations. I have enjoyed all the opportunities I have been able to experience and always look forward to the next adventure! When I’m not working, I love to spend time with my family, go camping, and experience the great outdoors.
I have been interpreting for 20+ years. I fell in love with the language when I was a teenager. As I got older, I took a couple of ASL classes at a community college. While employed at a deaf school, I was offered the chance to interpret for high school students who attended a trade school, as well as the chance to do some community interpreting. I have also worked in Video Relay for 11 years. During those years, I realized how much I missed the local deaf community and returned to community interpreting in 2010. Community interpreting has presented me with opportunities to work in various disciplines: medical, mental health, legal, professional/business, education, government, platform/conference, religious, theatre and a little theme park interpreting. When not interpreting, you can catch me spending time with my wonderful husband, cheering on my son in his next theatre production, visiting my daughter, son-in-love and 2 grandsugars or cuddling with my fur babies.
As a Knoxville, Tennessee native, I have had a unique upbringing. Being raised by Deaf parents, I have been organically involved in the Deaf community since birth. Professionally, I have over 20 years of experience in various interpreting roles, with my most recent role being at a school for the Deaf. I absolutely love being within the Deaf community and advocating for others. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and expressing my creativity by making handmade crafts. My background has instilled in me a deep appreciation for diversity and the importance of effective communication, both of which I apply to my personal and professional life.
I have been in the Boston area since 2014 and got my professional start here at a school for the Deaf. My interest in interpreting is deeply rooted in my connections to the deaf community. After nearly two decades of friendship and exposure, I studied ASL formally and earned a BA in ASL with a minor in interpreting. Subsequently, I earned my master’s degree in linguistics and RID National Interpreter Certification. In addition to my commitment to the interpreting field, I also engage in psycholinguistic research. There, I am passionate about expanding the concepts of accessibility through translational science in language development and cognition. When I am not working, you can find me with my dog, Sagamore, or practicing yoga.
My name is Kristen Wessels, I was born into the Deaf world as the second daughter to Deaf parents. I graduated from North Central University in 2018 with a BA in ASL/English Interpretation. After graduating I moved to Dallas, Texas to work at a Deaf non-profit until I moved to the Worcester area in 2020. I began interpreting with Partners Interpreting in 2021 and enjoy working in medical, college, community events, and more, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. When I am not working I am spending time with my friends and family, have my hands in some sort of craft or DIY project, or I am spoiling my cats – Lila and Zephyr.
I began learning ASL at 18, after graduating from high school with no college plans in mind. More than 40 years later, I am still interpreting and love the language and Deaf community. From cruises to European tours, medical, educational and more, I value the experiences I’ve had being a part of the Deaf world. I am also an avid kayaker and sailor as well as busy Gramma of 2 kiddos and mom to 3 grown boys.
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