Language at the Intersection
Breakout Sessions

ANA SOLER

Chairperson

National Association of Educational

Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages (NAETISL)

Language & Access | SESSION 1, ROOM A

Ana has been a curriculum developer, interpreter, translator, and trainer for over 25 years. She has authored curricula nationally including the Intercultural Parent and Youth Leadership Program, the Interpretation Academy for Bilingual High School Students, the Arkansas Interpreter Credential in Education course, a 40-hour certification preparation course for medical interpreters, and various online courses for the University of Georgia, including the Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate course and the Professional Interpreter in Special Education Certificate course, which she currently teaches. Her Ph.D. research interests include the intersection of ableism and linguicism and its effects on emergent bilingual students, and the impact of untrained interpreters on family participation in the fulfillment of inclusive education. She remains an active medical and educational interpreter and translator.

JAIME ALBERTO ORTIZ ZAVALA

Paralegal

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)

Language & Justice | SESSION 1, ROOM B

Jaime was born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico. He is a recent immigrant to the U.S. In Guanajuato, Jaime worked for a law firm engaged in administrative and immigration law. This experience provided him with his first exposure to the complexities, international scope and humanitarian issues associated with immigration law. In 2019, Jaime received his bachelor of law degree with honors from the University of Guanajuato. His graduate thesis was “Normative Irregularities in the Immigration Court Proceedings by the Light of Public International Law.” After immigrating to the U.S. after graduation, Jaime worked in Los Angeles as a paralegal for two sole practioners on defensive and affirmative asylum cases, bond and custody matters, petitions for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and cancellation of removal. His experience convinced Jaime that the protection of immigrant children’s rights was critical and often overlooked. Joining KIND in March 2021 has given Jaime the opportunity to work on immigrant issues close to his heart.

NATALYA MYTAREVA

Executive Director

Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI)

Language & Healthcare | SESSION 1, ROOM C

Natalya Mytareva, M.A., CoreCHI™, is Executive Director of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters, and a Commissioner of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). In 2000-2013, Natalya was Communications Director at the International Institute of Akron, a refugee resettlement agency in Ohio. She developed and taught several courses for healthcare and court interpreters, with the focus on languages of lesser diffusion. Natalya is a Russian interpreter/translator, and started her career as instructor of interpretation/translation courses at Volgograd State University (Russia) in 1991. She holds a combined BA/MA degree from VSU in Philology & Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

YUMI KUWANA

Founder/President

Global Citizens Initiative Inc.

Language & Finance | SESSION 2, ROOM A

Yumi is an innovator, educator and entrepreneur. She is the Managing Director/Founding Principal of Cook Pine Capital LLC (CPC, 2004 - present), a boutique investment advisory firm, as well as the founder/President of Global Citizens Initiative Inc. (GCI, 2012 - present), a global social enterprise (NPO) with a mission to engage, educate and empower our youth with the appropriate tools and skills to thrive in the 21st century as citizens of the world. On the business front, prior to CPC, Ms. Kuwana was the Director of business development at the Japanese affiliate of Giftcertificates.com, a Vice President at Morgan Stanley & Co., in the Japanese equities institutional research and sales department, and a senior member of the U.S. Equities team while at Bear, Stearns & Co. During her career in finance, her major clients included top tier hedge funds and global money management firms. She received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.

Yumi’s interests include spending time with family, empowering women, taking a holistic approach to health, wellness and wealth, and philanthropy. Ms. Kuwana is passionate about nurturing our next generation of ethical leaders with a global mindset and mentors students and young professionals from around the world. She is on the Board of Councilors at Okinawa Institute of Technology in Japan, a member of Brown University President’s Leadership Council, co-founder of Greenwich Women’s Roundtable, a YWCA Greenwich Brava Award recipient and one of the Forbes Japan Top 55 Women Active with a mission, 2016/2018. Having spent half her life in Japan and half her life in the USA, she can add a unique perspective to issues including the critial importance of language and cross cultural understanding. Having spent half her life in Japan and half her life in the USA, she can add a unique perspective to issues.

REBECA ACUÑA

Director of Government Affairs

PepsiCo

Language & Leadership | SESSION 2, ROOM B

Rebecca Acuña is a Director of Government Affairs for PepsiCo where she represents the global portfolio before public policy makers and opinion leaders in seven states and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. During the 2020 election season, she took a sabbatical to lead the Biden for President campaign in Texas. Prior to joining PepsiCo, she was the Executive Director of the Latino Center for Leadership Development, an organization that develops a diverse pipeline of policymakers and thought leaders. A veteran of the Texas State capitol, Rebecca served as a Chief of Staff and Communications Director for three members of the Texas House of Representatives and one Member of Congress. Rebecca was selected for a 2021-22 Marshall Memorial Fellowship, an international leadership development program for American and European professionals engaged in transatlantic cooperation. D CEO Magazine highlighted her in its 2021 edition of the Dallas 500, profiling the most influential leaders in North Texas. In 2020, Rebecca was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the “40 under 40.

Rebecca serves on the Board of Directors for the Childcare Group of Dallas, the Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas, the Texas Retailers Association, the Texas Association of Manufacturers, and the Texas Beverage Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.

ASI BURAK

Chairman

Games for Change (G4C)

Language & Entertainment | SESSION 2, ROOM C

Asi Burak is an award-winning videogame executive, named one of the “Digital 25: Leaders in Emerging Entertainment” by the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and Variety Magazine.

Burak currently serves as Chief Business Officer at Tilting Point, a world leading game publisher, as well as the Chairman of Games for Change (G4C), which produces the Annual Games for Change Festival, NYC’s largest gaming industry event.

Often interviewed by media and invited to speak at global forums, from the Clinton Foundation to NASA to Sundance and TED Talks, Burak published his first book Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World with Laura Parker in 2017. He is also a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts MFA in Design.