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2025 Board Election Nominees
This year, OSTI members will be voting for for 3 positions – Director, Secretary, and Vice President. Current OSTI members will receive the ballot via email in late September, 2025. The voting will be done electronically. The election results will be announced on October 30, 2025 during the OSTI 2025 Annual Meeting.
Note: Because the 2025 candidate for OSTI Treasurer dropped out of the running after the deadline to add new candidates to the slate as prescribed by the Bylaws of the Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters, the OSTI Board of Directors voted to appoint Lois M. Feuerle to serve as OSTI Treasurer until the next election for Treasurer.
OSTI 2025 Nominating Committee: Allison deFreese, Loie Feuerle, Scott McClain
Here are the nominees:
Director Candidate:
Piyawee Ruenjinda
Bio:
Piyawee Ruenjinda’s (she/her/hers/they/their/them) commitment to language access equity is deeply rooted in her lived experience. Growing up in Thailand, a largely monolingual country, she became bilingual early in life. She also began informally supporting language access by helping an American Field Service exchange student at her school.
After emigrating to the United States, she formally pursued language access work, completing a 64-hour healthcare interpretation course with the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association (OHCIA) in the summer of 2018. As an interpreter for a lesser-diffusion language, she quickly found herself working beyond healthcare — in education, legal proceedings, business settings, immigration services, and even on production lines. Learning about Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and its protections for individuals with limited English proficiency, sharpened her understanding of language access as a matter of equity and strengthened her lifelong dedication to this work.
Professionally, Piyawee works with and for communities most impacted by injustice — including people of color, immigrants and refugees, rural communities, and people experiencing poverty. At Unite Oregon, a membership organization led by these very communities, she partners with members in every aspect of program development and implementation, grounded in the belief that those who experience oppression have the greatest potential to address its root causes. For the past five years, she has designed and led civic leadership development programs that equip community members to participate in decision-making, influence policy, and strengthen democracy.
Her relationship with the Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters began as a conference participant, then grew into serving as a facilitator. In February 2025, she led a collaboration between Unite Oregon, OSTI, and several community partners to host the Multicultural Celebration for Connection, Love, and Peace, where community members read A Proclamation for Peace by Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford in multiple languages. These experiences have deepened her belief that interpreters and translators are not just service providers, but essential partners in creating equitable, informed, and connected communities.
Through every role, Piyawee remains focused on building bridges — between languages, cultures, and systems — so that all people can be seen, heard, and fully included.
Statement:
I am passionate about advancing language access equity, rooted in my own bilingual experience and professional work across healthcare, education, legal, business, immigration, and production settings. At Unite Oregon, I have led civic leadership programs empowering communities most impacted by injustice — including immigrants, refugees, people of color, rural communities, and those experiencing poverty — to engage in decision-making and influence policy. My involvement with OSTI has grown from participant to facilitator, and most recently, I led a multicultural event celebrating connection, love, and peace through multilingual readings. As Director, I will strengthen OSTI’s impact and ensure interpreters and translators are recognized as essential partners in building equitable, informed communities.
Secretary Candidate:
Danna Garcia
Bio:
Danna Garcia is a certified court interpreter for the State of Oregon, a founding member of the Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters (OSTI), and a former conference chair who served for three years. She has over two decades of experience in the legal field, beginning her career as a paralegal specializing in civil litigation, including medical malpractice and personal injury cases. Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Danna has called Oregon home for the past 26 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Organizational Leadership from Corban University. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, rafting, kayaking, and exploring the Oregon Coast with her husband and their two adult children. A passionate cook and self-proclaimed foodie, she also delights in touring local wineries and discovering hidden culinary gems.
Statement:
As a founding member and former conference chair of OSTI, I’ve witnessed firsthand the vital role our organization plays in building community, raising standards, and advocating for our profession. I’m committed to supporting interpreters and translators across Oregon through collaboration, transparency, and ongoing professional development. With my background in both legal and language fields, I bring experience, leadership, and a deep commitment to service. I would be honored to represent you on the OSTI Board.
Vice President Candidate
Amanda Wheeler-Kay
Bio:
Amanda Wheeler-Kay (she/ella), Certified Healthcare Interpreter (NBCMI since 2017), teacher, and lifelong learner. I am a white woman from Oregon whose second language is Spanish. I am a former social worker who has worked as a community/health care interpreter and interpreter educator in Portland since 2007 when I completed the Healthcare Interpreter Training Program at Portland Community College. I completed my master’s degree (June 2025) in Interpreting Studies, with a focus on teaching from Western Oregon University. I currently serve on the board of Nuevas Sonrisas, a local nonprofit organization supporting health hygiene and dental education for school children in Guatemala and have served as the service trip lead for two years. My heart also lives in two other communities: Washington DC, & Buena Vista, Cuscatlán, El Salvador.
Statement:
Friends and adversaries alike often describe me as a fierce advocate. Born and raised in Oregon, I learned my second language, Spanish, as an adult; I believe it is my civic duty to use my power and privilege to “make good trouble, necessary trouble” as the late Congressman and Civil Rights Leader John Lewis encouraged.
In addition to regularly teaching classes and workshops for interpreters and providers for 10+ years, my involvement with the local interpreting community has included serving a term on the Oregon Council on Health Care Interpreters Advisory Committee as Co-Chair of the Education Committee, and as a founding member of Oregon Interpreters in Action, the union for healthcare interpreters.
I first participated in OSTI as an attendee at annual conferences several years ago, was a conference presenter for the first time five years ago and have volunteered for OSTI-supported professional development activities, as well as "tabling" for OSTI at area events and conferences around Oregon and Washington. I am excited to be involved more formally and consistently as a board member in service of language access, equity and community.