OUR DIRECTORS

Dr. Metzger is a former chair of the Department of Interpretation and Translation at Gallaudet University where she was a professor for 25 years. She holds a master of arts degree in ASL linguistics from Gallaudet and a doctoral degree in Sociolinguistics from Georgetown University. She has worked as an interpreter practitioner and interpreter educator for over 35 years. Her research focuses on visual language discourse, interpreted interaction, educating interpreters, and interpreters who work in educational settings. As professor at Gallaudet University, she co-developed the first ASL-English interpreting doctoral program in the United States. She continues to serve as co-editor of the Studies in Interpretation Series, published by Gallaudet University Press.

As co-founder of Language Matters, Inc., Dr. Metzger co-developed the first cued language transliterator coursework approved for under-graduate and graduate level college course credit. Dr. Metzger is also co-founder of the Testing, Evaluation, and Certification Unit (TECUnit), the national certifying body for cued language transliterators in the United States. She served on the TECUnit’s original code of conduct and certification development teams. Dr. Metzger’s work as co-author of Cued Language Structure: An Analysis of Cued American English Based on Linguistic Principles formally introduces the concept of cueing as a process of visually articulating language, rather than speech, and is the first to use the term “cued language” to refer to the resulting linguistic product.

Dr. Metzger serves as a national and international consultant on matters related to providing educational and workplace access to linguistic, social, and cultural dynamics. She has taught ASL-English interpretation and cued English-spoken English transliteration at the undergraduate and graduate level, including courses in linguistics, language structure, and applied sociolinguistics. She has supported research and publication by more than 150 interpreting students and practitioners studying signed and cued language interpretation and translation. She currently serves as researcher, consultant, and interpreter/transliterator for Visual Language Associates.

Mr. Fleetwood holds a master of arts degree in ASL-English Interpretation from Gallaudet University. His master's thesis examines the goal, role, results, and efficacy of signed language interpreting in hearing mainstream educational settings. He has worked as a transliterator, interpreter, and interpreter educator for more than 35 years.

Mr. Fleetwood has served as Director of Certification for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), the national credentialing body for signed language interpreters in the United States. He is also a co-founder of the TECUnit, the national credentialing body for cued language transliterators in the U.S. and is an original member of its code of conduct and certification development teams. Mr. Fleetwood has worked as an adjunct instructor in Gallaudet’s master of arts in ASL-English Interpretation program and as an instructor in Gallaudet’s former CAE-spoken English transliterator training program.

Mr. Fleetwood’s areas of research focus on the linguistic structure and articulation of visual language as well as the accessibility of linguistic and cultural elements of an interpreted/transliterated education. As a co-founder of Language Matters, Inc., he co-produced the first commercially available instructional materials specifically designed for the development of knowledge and skills requisite of and particular to cued language transliteration. His co-authored research, Cued language: What deaf native cuers perceive of Cued Speech, is the first to provide evidence that deaf native cuers make linguistic decisions in deference to what is visual rather than what is acoustic, even when presented with both via co-occurring cued and spoken information.

Mr. Fleetwood co-edits Gallaudet University’s Studies in Interpretation Series. He currently works in private practice as an RID certified signed language interpreter and a TECUnit certified cued language transliterator. Mr. Fleetwood conducts research and provides consultation and interpreting/transliterating services for Visual Language Associates.