Committee Descriptions

Advocacy

The Advocacy Committee is entrusted with promoting understanding about judiciary interpreters’ and translators’ specialized skills, knowledge and expertise that will enhance the status and recognition of our professions within the communities we serve.

The Advocacy Committee helps the Board of Directors monitor and analyze public policies, legislation, government initiatives, and press coverage of matters relevant to the judiciary interpreting and translation professions and advises the Board on official responses to public issues and requests for comment.

The Advocacy Committee engages in educational initiatives with the members of the bench and bar and the general public to create awareness about the importance of working with credentialed and qualified interpreters and translators in legal settings as well as the potential dangers of using unqualified individuals to perform the highly specialized functions of an interpreter or translator in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings. The Committee also facilitates printed resources and other references to complement in-person and virtual educational activities.

The work of the Advocacy Committee is pivotal to advancing the professional image of judiciary interpreters and translators.

Bylaws & Governance

The Bylaws and Governance Committee reviews NAJIT’s bylaws at least every two years at the request of the NAJIT Board of Directors and recommends changes as appropriate. The Committee collaborates with the Board by proposing policies and procedures for strengthening NAJIT governance. All proposals and suggestions provided by the Bylaws and Governance Committee are subject to review by NAJIT’s legal counsel.

Certification Committee (ad-hoc committee)

The Certification Committee is an ad-hoc committee tasked by the NAJIT Board of Directors to conduct a viability study for developing a legal translation certification and reviving the NAJIT judiciary interpreter certification. The Certification Committee is comprised of a team of certified court interpreters who have worked as exam developers, writers and graders on over a dozen court interpreter certification examinations and over a dozen language combinations.

Conference

The Conference Committee plans, schedules, and organizes NAJIT’s annual conference in close coordination with NAJIT’s Administrator and the Board of Directors, including the recruitment and selection of speakers, exhibitors, advertisers, and sponsors, ensuring all deadlines within the conference timeline are met. The Conference Committee works within the conference budget as approved by the NAJIT Board of Directors. Additional duties include brainstorming for entertainment activities, coordinating with local T&I associations, and establishing outreach strategies for non-NAJIT member colleagues as well as members of the legal community. The Committee is also in charge of coordinating volunteers to assist NAJIT staff working at the conference.

Elections (ad-hoc committee)

The Elections Committee ensures that the annual election of board members is held within the parameters of NAJIT’s bylaws, and announces election results during the annual meeting.

Forensic Transcription Translation (FTT) Standards Committee (ad-hoc committee)

The FTT Committee promotes best practice in the specialized field of producing translated intercept evidence to uphold the interests of justice.

The Committee is responsible for updating and maintaining FTT guidelines, producing FTT practice notes, delivering FTT training, collaborating with key stakeholders, assisting with the development of policies, laws, and regulations, and contributing to the development of digital technologies to improve FTT practice and procedure.

The Committee promotes and maintains NAJIT’s position at the forefront of best practice in FTT.

Membership

The Membership Committee is entrusted with promoting NAJIT among a wide array of stakeholders by working on initiatives to attract and retain membership, ascertain that NAJIT membership materials are available at translation and interpreting events sponsored by other associations or institutions, and works with management to develop a database of potential members.

Model Statutes Committee (ad-hoc committee)

The Model Statutes Committee is an ad-hoc committee comprised of lawyer-linguists and credentialed court interpreters who have special expertise in court interpretation and language access laws and policies. The Model Statutes Committee seeks to review and synthesize state and federal statutes where comprehensive study and reform of practices and laws relating to the use of interpreters has occurred. The Model Statutes document and its accompanying commentary will set forth an analysis of legal and professional issues based upon the best practices in the provision of court interpreter services and language access.

Nominations

The Nominations Committee ensures that members are informed and involved in NAJIT’s electoral process through the following:

• Identifying members in good standing with proven leadership qualities and a successful service history working with committees, other groups or associations, and encouraging them to run for the Board of Directors.
• Reviewing all nominees submitted and preparing a final slate of the most qualified candidates for consideration by the membership within the deadlines specified in the bylaws.
• Collecting candidate statements and biographical information in a timely fashion so that they can be published either in print or electronic form and made readily available to the membership.

Position Papers (ad-hoc committee)

The Position Papers Committee is tasked with researching current topics pertinent to the field such as best practices, ethics, and technical issues related to interpreting and translation, among others. Position papers are published on the NAJIT website and are publicly available to educate stakeholders, the public, and promote best practices among peers. The Committee is always open to suggestions from members as to potential topics to be developed and possible collaborations on new position papers or updating existing ones.

Professional Standards for Interpreters Committee (ad-hoc committee)

To draft, publish and promote a comprehensive description of interpreters in all languages and domains that includes the cognitive functions involved in the act of interpreting, technical skills in the three interpreting modes, and the general and specialized knowledge interpreters draw on to provide the most precise equivalent terms and concepts in their two working languages, and other relevant factors that contribute to the performance of professional interpreters.

Proteus Editorial (ad-hoc committee)

Proteus is a quarterly publication containing news and articles of interest to NAJIT members, available in a printable digital format. The work of the Proteus Editorial Committee is to:

• Prepare and publish Proteus under the direction of its editor-in-chief.
• Seek potential contributors.
• Select submissions to be published, ensuring they meet the submissions guidelines.
• Have editors proofread submissions, fact-check contents and verify reference sources.
• Help identify and secure advertisers and sponsors.
• Maintain a list of key individuals in the interpreting and translation professions, the judiciary, the legal field, and other stakeholders to receive a copy.

Social Media (ad-hoc committee)

The Social Media Committee is tasked with monitoring posts in all NAJIT social media platforms to make sure they reflect our Association’s Mission, Vision, and Core Values. Monitoring includes the acceptance of members or followers on any platform, and the removal of any posts that mischaracterize any affiliation with NAJIT, reflect negatively on the Association or any of its members, including the Board and NAJIT’s management team. Working in coordination with any outsourced social media managers NAJIT may contract, the Committee members must maintain a strong and positive NAJIT presence on any social media platform through regular postings of content relevant to the interpreting and translation profession.

Training & Education (ad-hoc committee)

The Training and Education Committee, through the NAJIT Academy, develops and organizes a range of educational and training opportunities for members of the professions, including webinars and workshops on topics such as translation, transcription/translation, note-taking, best practices, and skill-building, among others.