Patricia (Trix) Bruce

Patricia (Trix) Bruce, from Seattle, Wash., is known nationwide as a workshop presenter and American Sign Language performer. Her work has been warmly received everywhere, from local community centers to regional and national conferences, Deaf Way II, interpreter conventions, and more. Trix has been profoundly deaf since she was six months old. She attended oral, mainstream, and deaf classes and online educational programs. After graduating college, she became involved in interpreter training. Her main area of study was ASL Linguistics with a focus on ASL Performance. Trix has been performing since 1980 and impressing audiences of all ASL skill levels from novice to fluent experts.

Martha S. Burns

Dr. Martha S. Burns has been a practicing speech language pathologist in the Chicago area for 35 years. She serves on the faculty of Northwestern University, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and on the medical staff of Evanston-Northwestern Hospital, both in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Burns has received honors from Northwestern University, Evanston Hospital Corporation, the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation, and St. Xavier University. Doody's Rating Service selected her book, "Right Hemisphere Dysfunction," (published through Aspen Press) as one of the best health sciences books of 1997. Dr. Burns is also the author of a book on aphasia and the test, "Burns Brief Inventory of Communication and Cognition," published by The Psychological Corporation, and numerous articles on language development, language disorders, auditory processing disorders, and adult neurological disorders. Dr. Burns is currently senior clinical specialist and Director of Professional Relations at Scientific Learning Corporation.

Janice H. Humphrey

Janice H. Humphrey, Ed.D., CSC, NIC Advanced, learned ASL through interaction with members of the Deaf community. She has worked as an interpreter for more than 45 years and as an interpreter educator in several states, currently in Florida. She is on the faculty of the University of North Florida, where she teaches courses in the graduate and undergraduate program in ASL/English interpreting. She previously worked in Seattle, Wash., where she was involved in community and video interpreting, as well as a consultant and sign language specialist. A video producer, author, as well as an internationally renowned and engaging presenter, Dr. Humphrey is the co-author of Miss Lillian - a biography about long-time Texas interpreter Lillian Beard and of the popular text, So You Want to Be an Interpreter? Her most recent book, Decisions? Decisions! is a practical guide on ethics and professionalism for Sign Language professionals.

Susanne Morgan Morrow

Susanne Morgan Morrow, MA, CI, CT is a Deaf-Blind Specialist, dually certified Sign Language Interpreter. In addition to providing consultation and training through her business, Deaf-Blind Training, Interpreting & Professional Development, Susie has also developed educational manuals and multi-media training materials regarding the best practices of deaf-blind interpreting strategies. She currently serves as the chairperson of the Deaf-Blind Member Section with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and the co-chair of the National Task Force on Deaf-Blind Interpreting (NTFDBI). In these roles she acts as the national liaison for deaf-blind related issues in the field of interpreting. Susie is also the Project Coordinator for the New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative (NYDBC), a federally funded project which provides technical assistance for children and young adults who are deaf-blind.

Tomina Schwenke

Tomina Schwenke (CI, CT) has her master’s degree in Counselor Education and Deafness Rehabilitation, both from New York University. Professionally, she has worked as a counselor at the New York Founding Services for Deaf/Hearing Impaired Children & Adults, Lexington School for the Deaf & Lexington Center for the Deaf. Additionally, she graduated from LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York’s American Sign Language—English Interpretation Program and freelances as a Sign Language Interpreter.

Bonnie Shams

Bonnie Shams has been a practicing occupational therapist for more than 20 years. She is a frequent presenter of Comprehensive Resources' continuing education programs and has authored numerous professional articles. She received her master's degree in Occupational Therapy from New York University and is a specialist in the area of sensory integration.

Windell “Wink” Smith Jr.

Windell “Wink” Smith Jr., is a nationally prominent presenter and weekly ASL Radio/Video program host whose workshops often blend comedy and drama. He holds an NIC (National Interpreter Certification) Master from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. The former director of outreach and video communications for Sign Language Resource Services, Inc. (SLRS), Wink developed the SLRS video remote interpreting program (VRI), which includes designing a completely new VRI module. He co-founded and served as volunteer CEO for a newly founded not-for-profit organization known as Project N.A.D.I.N.E. (National Advocates on Deafness to Inform, Network and Enrich). In 2009, he was elected to serve as parliamentarian for the Oklahoma RID chapter and later became chapter vice president.

Mary C. Tarbell

Mary C. Tarbell, M.ed CCC-SLP, "aka" Polly is an SLP with 20 years experience with pediatric feeding disorders. She currently works at the University of Virginia's Kluge Children's rehabilitation Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is the director of the nationally known Encouragement Feeding program. Through this program she has directly seen over 360 children with complex feeding disorders. She has published a peer reviewed article regarding weaning children from gastrostomy tubes in Infants and Young Children, 2002 and has co-published a chapter in Communication Sciences and Disorders: An introduction,2006. She currently guest lectures at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education on a regular basis regarding pediatric feeding disorders.