Reflective Practice & DC-S
Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare Interpreting — a collaborative, judgment-free space to dissect real-world scenarios and elevate your practice.
Free to Attend
Registration Required
Virtual via Zoom
Attend 1 Session Only
Facilitators
Rodrigo Gaspar-Barajas
Co-Facilitator
Rodrigo Gaspar-Barajas (he/they) is the Interpreter Relations Manager with English 2 Spanish (E2S), which includes planning their annual Central Oregon Interpreter Conference, managing the Interpreter Learning Lab offering continuing education opportunities, and shadowing and mentoring Central Oregon Interpreters. With over a decade of experience as an English<>Spanish interpreter, they have navigated the full spectrum of the field—from the fast-paced, high-stakes environment of the Emergency Department to the nuanced complexities of legal and educational settings. A graduate of the University of Portland with a BA in Music, Rodrigo enjoys the performance aspects of interpreting. When not managing relations or interpreting, Rodrigo can be found singing opera, diving into a non-fiction book, or watching a K-Drama!
Amanda Wheeler-Kay
Co-Facilitator
Amanda Wheeler-Kay (she/her), Certified Healthcare Interpreter, teacher, lifelong learner. Amanda is a white woman from Oregon whose second language is Spanish. A former social worker, she has worked as a community/health care interpreter and interpreter educator in Portland since 2007. In June 2025 Amanda received her master’s degree from Western Oregon University in Interpreting Studies, with a focus on teaching and educational interpreting.
Amanda loves to travel with friends/family and play noncompetitive soccer. Amanda does her best to “make good trouble, necessary trouble” following the call to action of the late Civil Rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
Course Description
As interpreters, we often find ourselves in the “gray areas” of our work — those challenging assignments where the right decision isn’t always obvious, and a cookie-cutter approach just won’t cut it.
If you’ve ever left an assignment wondering, “Did I handle that the right way?” or want to feel more grounded and confident when navigating ethically tricky situations, you are in the right place.
Join Amanda and Rodrigo for a brand-new, interactive learning space designed to help you dissect real-world interpreting scenarios, collaborate with colleagues, and elevate your practice.
Who & What
Who is This For?
While DC-S has traditionally been used in ASL education, this group was designed to introduce it to spoken-language interpreters. Whether you work with signed or spoken languages, if you are a practicing interpreter looking for a practical tool to analyze your work and decision-making, you are welcome here.
What is DC-S?
Developed by Robyn Dean and Robert Pollard, DC-S is a framework that helps interpreters analyze the complex realities of their work. Demands are the factors that impact your decision-making. Controls are the skills, tools, and decisions you bring in response. DC-S helps evaluate the consequences of choices so you can make more effective, context-based decisions.
How the Group Works
A two-fold purpose — learn the DC-S framework, then apply it collaboratively to real, ethically tricky scenarios from the field.
Learn the DC-S Framework
Understand how to categorize and analyze the unique pressures of our work.
Apply It Collaboratively
Work through real scenarios together — exploring all factors that influenced decision-making and discussing alternative choices.
Launch Sessions
Future Monthly Sessions.
Future sessions will be scheduled where 1-2 participants can present a case from their actual work.
Our Community Agreement
Confidential · Supportive · Judgment-Free
Interpreters are often hesitant to share mistakes or dilemmas for fear of judgment. This group is a strictly confidential, judgment-free zone. Our focus is entirely on professional growth, collective learning, and case analysis — never on perfection.
LAUNCH SESSIONS
Both sessions are identical. Attend only 1 session.
