Board Members
Eliza Fowler, President
2022-2024, two year term
Eliza Fowler was born and raised in Northern Vermont until she came to RIT and matriculated into the ASLIE program. She graduated in 2016 and has spent the last couple years working in the Department of Access Services at RIT as a staff interpreter.
Eliza has previously served one term as Treasurer and has been actively involved in several other GVR projects and committees.
Email: President@GVRRID.org
John Dunleavy, Vice President
2023-2025, two year term
John is a freelance interpreter and translator who has worked in Rochester, NY since 2015. He worked in Deaf Services and Independent Living in Maine from 2001 to 2015. In Maine, his work frequently involved translating documents into ASL for Deaf consumers. He also taught workshops and classes for both Deaf consumers and interpreters in academic and community venues, including a sight translation course for interpreters at the University of Southern Maine (USM). John worked in information technology from 1980 through 2001, ending as Systems Administrator for the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Before moving to Maine,
he taught English as a Second Language courses at DEAF, Inc. in Boston and computer classes for the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf. He has been married to Brenda Schertz since 1994. John has previously served on the GVRRID board as a Member at Large.
Email: VicePresident@GVRRID.org
Michele Martinez, Secretary
2022-2024, two year term
(Michelle was elected unopposed by special election in August 2022 to fill the position, which had been vacant since July 1st, 2022)
Michele is a graduate of the interpreting program at the National Institute of the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has been a certified interpreter for over 20 years working in Rochester and Buffalo, NY. In 2018, Michele transitioned to working remotely, expanding to provide services across the United States which brought new challenges and opportunities. Throughout her career she have held many different roles in the field of interpreting. Michele has worked as a Dedicated Interpreter, Trainer, Manager, Director, Diagnostician, and Instructional Designer in the field of interpreting, as well as other industries. Michele is currently serving as the Director of Professional Development for Partners Interpreting.
Email: Secretary@gvrrid.org
Vacant, Treasurer
2023-2025, two year term
Email: Treasurer@GVRRID.org
Jeanette Corso, Member-at-Large
2022-2025, 3 year term
Jeanette is from downstate New York, Queens/Long Island to be more specific. She relocated to Rochester in 2007 following the completion of her Interpreter Training Program. She attended Northeastern University and graduated in 2006 with a double major in American Sign Language Interpreting and Human Services. She later returned to the University of Rochester to pursue a graduate degree; She graduated in 2021 from The Warner School of Education with a Masters of Science in Human Development.
Currently she is a staff interpreter at Strong Memorial Hospital, a freelance interpreter, video relay interpreter, as well as a video remote interpreter with higher education institutions that provide distance learning opportunities. Since graduating from U of R, she has had the opportunity of teaching the curriculum she created, which focuses on her thesis work, and she looks forward to more of those opportunities in the future. She was involved with GVR in the past when she served on the Professional Development Committee; she loved finding presenters and exciting resources to bring in and share with her fellow community of interpreters.
Email: JeanetteCorso@gvrrid.org
Keven Poore, Member-at-Large
2023-2026, three year term
My name is Keven Poore and I am a CDI. I have been certified since early 2011 and have worked in a range of settings. Prior to relocating to Rochester from the Philadelphia area, I worked as a freelance interpreter for 7 years. I have provided multiple trainings to individuals who are pursuing their DI certification, to interpreters re: interpreting in Behavioral health settings as well as training on Deaf/Hearing teaming. With my behavioral health background (MA in Mental Health Counseling) I bring both interpreting and a working knowledge of mental health and substance use disorder to the table. I was a content expert for Center for Atypical Language Interpreting (CALI) Training - Module 3 and a content expert for CATIE's Introduction to Addiction and Recovery Interpreting Training module. I am a facilitator for the Supervisor Module in CALI's Training series with my fourth year coming up this spring. I am also the co-chair for the Test Development Committee at the Center for the Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation (CASLI). Additionally, I am an instructor for ASLIE’s Certificate in Healthcare Interpreting program and the newly formed Certificate in Deaf Interpreting program. Currently, as Director of Substance and Addiction Intervention Services for the Deaf (SAISD) at NTID/RIT, my work as a CDI is limited to on-call opportunities at URMC and a few press conferences here and there. I enjoy the ever evolving field of interpreting and want to be part of normalizing the use of deaf interpreters in the GVRRID region.
Email: KevenPoore@gvrrid.org
Lisa Prinzi, PhD, Member-at-Large
2022-2025, three year term
Dr. Lisa Prinzi is a native of the Rochester area and has worked as an interpreter for over 20 years (community, VRS, educational). She obtained her associate degree in educational interpreting in 2001 and her bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language-English interpretation in 2004, both from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). She also earned her master’s degree in secondary education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing from NTID at RIT in 2007. Lisa completed her Ph.D. in educational culture, policy, and society from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2020. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Education (ASLIE) at RIT/NTID. Statement of Interest: I firmly believe in the idea of life-long learning. Education is an individual journey yet a collaborative effort. People learn and grow best when they feel safe, supported, and seen. My interest in serving as a Member-at-Large is to liaison and support the local community, ensuring that the membership’s interests, needs, and desires are addressed and collaboratively met.
Email: LisaPrinzi@gvrrid.org
Kat Daviton-Burland, Deaf Member-at-Large
2023-2026, three year term
Hailed as a New York City native, Catherine (Kat) Daviton-Burland, CDI, has been providing interpreting services in the Deaf and DeafBlind community in Upstate New York since 2015. She has also began virtually interpreting nationwide since 2020. Kat has formerly served two terms as GVR’s member-at-large. Prior to working as a CDI, Kat was the Assistant Director at the Program for Deaf Adults in the Division of Adult and Continuing Education at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY in Long Island City, New York. She holds a Master of Social Work from Hunter College/CUNY, a Bachelor of Social Work from New York University, and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Chemical Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Email: katdavitonburland@gvrrid.org
Jabriel Parham, Student Interpreter Representative
2023-2024, one year term
Jabriel Parham (she/her) is a current ASLIE major in RIT/NTID’s ASL interpreting program. A native of Rochester, Jabriel first attended St. John Fisher University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and French after pursuing a double-major. As a student and emerging interpreter, she is involved as a leader in the ASLIE program through her work as a Learning Assistant, and has done joint research with several ALSIE researchers. She has had numerous opportunities for leadership and collaboration with local organizations. A fluent Spanish-speaker holding a medical interpreting certificate, Jabriel is looking toward a career as a trilingual interpreter after graduating in May 2024. Jabriel will begin practicum this fall with a goal of working as a medical interpreter.
Email: jabrielparham@gvrrid.org
Committee Chairs
Don Heinz, Membership Committee Chair committees 
Board appointed position with no specific term
Don Heinz is originally from Houghton, NY and is a graduate of NTID. Beginning in 1994, he worked at several different public schools, before he joined Monroe 2 BOCES in 2003 as an Interpreter for the Deaf. Don has served on the GVRID board since 2008 in different positions, such as membership chair, treasurer, and member at large. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
Email: info@GVRRID.org
Vacant Professional Development Committee Chair
Board appointed position with no specific term
This position is currently vacant. Please email President@gvrrid.org if interested.
Email: PDChair@GVRRID.org
Sarah Morgenthal, Social Media Committee Chair
Board appointed position with no specific term
A native of Long Island, New York, Sarah Morgenthal is a recent graduate of the RIT Honors Program, where she studied American Sign Language-English Interpretation at NTID/RIT. Sarah began working as a member of the GVRRID Social Media Committee in 2021, and served as the Student Interpreter Representative for the 2022-2023 election term. She currently works as a Staff Apprentice Interpreter for the NTID Department of Access Services, with a focus in interpreting for engineering and NTID classes.
Email: sarahmorgenthal@gvrrid.org
Alyx Vaisey, CI, CT, CMP Coordinator, Website Committee Chair
Board appointed position with no specific term
Alyx is from Rochester, NY and got into interpreting because of their Deaf family members. As a graduate of RIT/NTID, they began interpreting professionally in 2000 and have experienced pretty much every interpreting setting you could name. They currently work full-time at the University of Rochester Medical Center serving their Deaf Professionals. They have been involved with GVR in one way or another since 2011, including doing two terms as Treasurer.
CMP Email: CMP@GVRRID.org
Website Email: Use the "contact us" feature of the website
The GVRRID Board meets monthly on the second Saturday of the month at 9am. All members are welcome to attend!