About NAOBI - SO CAL

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Brenda is a native daughter of the west coast who moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1990. There she began working as a volunteer with the Deaf ministry at her church. Brenda took her first sign language class in March of 1996 and quickly began dedicating most of her free time studying anything and everything related to the language, the community, and the culture.

In January 1997, she was offered her first interpreting position and by July of the same year, Brenda became a Job-Coach for the state of Georgia working through the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) office. In March of 1998, she became a VR staff interpreter. This experience allowed her to become immersed in sign language on a daily basis. The in depth exposure allowed her to develop a greater understanding of Deaf culture and she began to utilize this insight while interpreting music at her church.

Brenda realized very quickly that she had found her niche, and her love, in interpreting music. She began receiving offers to perform interpreted musical pieces for weddings, banquets, concerts, special events, and other occasions. Brenda has had the pleasure of presenting in a variety of venues and some of her audience members have included Maya Angelou, Corretta Scott King, Dr. Bertice Berry, Iyanla Vanzant, Oprah Winfrey, Susan Taylor, First Lady, Laura Bush, and many others.

Brenda holds two national certifications, Certificate of Interpretation (CI) and Certificate of Transliteration (CT) from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). She currently resides in Southern California, where she works with Sorenson Video Relay Services and also does freelance community interpreting.
 

Antonio Goodwin is originally from South Carolina, and now lives in Pasadena, CA. His company, the Renaissance One Group, LLC., is the parent company to several subsidiaries: One subsidiary provides American Sign Language consulting, interpreting and advocacy. Another company, AntonioGoodwin.com focuses on empowerment training and coaching. The non-profit arm of the company, the Empowerment Training Institute, promotes The Interpreted Life: Teen Curriculum to teenagers 13 to 19. In December 2001, he completed a joint degree program from Vanderbilt University’s Law School and Divinity School with a J.D. and M.Div. His concentration was in litigation, socio-political advocacy and ethics. While at Vanderbilt, his work in both Divinity and Law School focused on the elements of African-American cultural and political ethos and thought, (including religious). Before Vanderbilt, he graduated from Indiana University with an M.A. in Folklore, concentrating in Ethnomusicology; specifically, the African American aesthetic in religion and music. Antonio is a national speaker on the topic of Empowerment and American Sign Language. For more details, visit AntonioGoodwin.com or go to GetTheMessageAcross.com.
 

Tynisha Neely was born and raised in California. Tynisha became interested in Sign Language while attended Los Angeles Southwest Community College, she took ASL I and found it fascinating and wanted to know more about the language and the field of interpreting. From there she learned of Cal State Northridge, after obtaining her AA Degree she then transferred to CSUN and obtained her BA Degree in Deaf Studies in 2006. Prior to graduation she obtained employment at Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc (GLAD) where she now serves as the Executive Assistant to the CEO
 

Jennifer Getter began pursuing her interest in American Sign Language at San Bernardino Valley College in 1995. After completing the three classes the school offered, her interest in the language grew and she continued her learning at Riverside Community College. It was there that she earned a Sign Language Interpreter certificate in June 2006. She is currently active using her skills by volunteering in the Deaf Community, and interpreting in church. She hopes to become a Certifiied Interpreter within the next 5 years!