04/24/2026
Call to Action from your current Board of Directors!
Email [email protected] with any questions about NMRID and email [email protected] for information on each position on the board and to nominate folks.
Visual Description: Rhonda, a white person with short blonde/brunette hair, blue glasses, blue smart watch, and a long sleeve collared black shirt sits in front of a blue backdrop. They are using American Sign Language.
Video transcript:
Hello everyone! My name is Rhonda Hall. My pronouns are they/them and I am your current NMRID president! My term will be up June 30th, 2026 which means we need people like all of you to join the board and take over our duties.
First, I want to review our goals as an organization. NMRID does operate under national RID, but in all honesty, our goal is to support interpreters and the Deaf community right here in New Mexico. Our mission statement says that NMRID is a group of interpreters and community members committed to fostering a community of interpreters who are able to collaboratively grow our profession and provide high quality communication access. That is always the underlying framework that guides what we are here to do.
I want to mention some of NMRID’s achievements over the past few years, some under my presidency, others not, but I want to highlight the progress we have made as an entity. Since 2021, we have awarded over $5,000 in scholarship funds for taking tests, attending trainings, and for other types of professional development. Many of our scholarship recipients are pre-certified interpreters working towards national certification and full licensure here in New Mexico so they can continue working in the field for years to come. That money comes from you all - your membership dues and contributions are collected to give back through scholarships. Since 2023, we have hosted 13 social events that have been a success. Many folks want that sense of connection; since Covid, many felt isolated, so these socials have been a nice opportunity. Since 2023, we have hosted 7 different workshops to support a variety of needs in our community. Additionally, we have had to modify and update many things since the start of my term with NMRID. Our website, branding, bylaws, etc. had become outdated and needed a revamp; since 2022, we have updated our bylaws through a membership vote. We have modernized our policy and procedure manual in order to clearly define the roles for each member of the board. We have designed a new website from scratch and have created new branding with a refreshed color scheme and logo to promote more visibility out in the community. We also created a new committee related to pro bono interpreting. Since its start in 2024 we have filled many interpreting requests from our community for events such as funerals, one-on-one trainings, weddings, etc. We sent our last president to the national RID conference in 2022. We have maintained our chapter by submitting timely annual reports to RID.
After reviewing everything we have done as a board in the last two board terms, we truly have managed to pull NMRID back into an operational capacity. It’s important to know that if there is no one willing to take over for the current board at the end of June, NMRID will fold. NMRID can’t function without a board. That means we need YOU, yes YOU. We need you to join the board with your sleeves rolled up ready to work to support our community. The needs of our community are always evolving, so if there’s something you have been wanting to see change or any initiatives you have wanted to start, NMRID is the perfect avenue to do so. You can better connect with your peers, your community, our Deaf and Deafblind community, etc. I am sure it will be a positive experience for you. You will have the full support of the current board during the transition of roles and responsibilities. Additionally, I will be the “immediate past president” for one year which means I will be heavily involved with board operations. I am happy to support!
My point in sharing all of this is really a call to action. We all have worked so hard to revitalize NMRID and we would hate to see it crumble again. So please, nudge your friends, nudge yourself even, and join the board today.
Call to Action: The Future of NMRID Depends on YOU! Join the Board!
