Board Members
Mabel Najarro-Tibbs, President
July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026
Mabel was elected by special election in June 2025 to fill the vacancy of the 2024-2026 two year term
Mabel Najarro-Tibbs is a Hispanic person who grew up in the Greater Rochester area, currently residing in Brighton with her spouse. She studied ASL at MCC and ASL-English interpreting at RIT/NTID. She is a nationally certified interpreter and has been providing interpreting services since 2016. Additionally she has earned a degree in Criminal Justice from RIT. Mabel has also earned a certificate from the Cultivating Legal Interpreters from Minority Backgrounds (CLIMB) program at the University of Northern Colorado. She has experience providing interpreting services in a wide variety of settings, including but not limited to: medical, legal, DeafBlind using Protactile, VRS, platform, and more.
Statement of interest: Equity and transparency are cornerstones of my work and all that I do, and I hope to bring that into the fold of the work GVRRID does. I hope to facilitate more comradery, ethics, and knowledge within our profession, so that all communication flows freely and without barriers. Only by bringing together diverse perspectives can we all succeed and evolve. My intent is to lead the GVRRID board and membership, as well as support current and future initiatives, oversee strategic planning, and create avenues for improvement based on community feedback.
Email: President@GVRRID.org
Michael Fisher, Vice President
2025-2027, two year term
Michael Fisher is a nationally certified interpreter, interpreting mentor, and interpreter educator. He holds his B.S. in ASL/English Interpreting from Keuka College and his M.A. in Applied Linguistics and Foreign Language Pedagogy from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Michael lived in the Rochester area previously until 2018 post-graduation and has recently returned to Rochester in 2023 after living and working in the NYC/Long Island region. He is familiar with working on the board of an affiliate chapter, since he was both a Director at Large and the mentorship chair for the New York City Metro Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Through those positions Michael assisted in developing and implementing the first cohort of their Connection Network, which paired novice and certified interpreters to engage in practice and reflection on the work. Outside of interpreting and interpreter education, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, and working with animals.
Statement of Interest: I believe that having a strong and active community of support is vital for our field. Community support fosters belonging and access to resources, direction and inspiration, and diverse perspectives. By prioritizing these principles, we are able to create an environment where every member feels valued and empowered to contribute to our collective success. This is what I aim to do as part of my role on the GVRRID board.
Email: VicePresident@GVRRID.org
Benjamin Leyer, Secretary
2024-2026, two year term
Benjamin Leyer has been connected to and involved in the local Deaf community since 2002 with the birth of his son. The influence and encouragement of that community is what motivated him to become an interpreter. With the support of his family and friends, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology’s ASL and Interpreting
Education program, graduating in 2022. He currently works as an interpreter in Education, Performance, Medical, Religion, and Community settings.
Prior to his studies in ASL-English interpreting, Benjamin was an Art Educator working in several local school districts as well as the Creative Workshop at the Memorial Art
Gallery. He is also a published illustrator having worked as a professional artist in the mid-1990s. Benjamin has worked in several career fields granting him a wide breadth
of experience and knowledge that he can draw on as an interpreter. He continues to look forward to new opportunities to further develop these skills and enrich his practice.
Statement of interest: During my time in the ASL and Interpreting Education program I was an active member of the Student Interpreter Association where I held the offices of Vice-President, Public Relations manager, and Student/Professional Interpreter Network coordinator. My time working as part of that team gave me insight and perspective on the various needs and approaches that many of today’s interpreters have. By providing events and opportunities for my fellow student interpreters I found myself working as both team support and leader depending on the needs of that event. I feel I would be a good fit for the GVRRID board as I believe in the need to continue to foster relationships between professional interpreters. My background in education, my continued work to develop my own practice, and my constant efforts to extend my network will be able to be used as models for future interpreters coming into the field. The belief that we can only maintain best practices through collaboration and discussion is at the core of myself and this organization. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you in this new capacity.
Email: Secretary@gvrrid.org
Sarah Kadar, Treasurer
2025-2027, two year term
Sarah Kadar was born and raised in Rochester, NY. She graduated from RIT in 2016 with a bachelors in ASL Interpreting. She has lived and worked in Austin, TX, Washington, DC, and now she is back to her roots in Rochester, NY. During her time in DC, she received her Master’s degree in Linguistics from Gallaudet University. She interprets in the community full-time, mentors interpreting students, and teaches as adjunct faculty for RIT. Her passions include traveling and scuba diving, and when she is not traveling she is spending time with her family and two adorable cats.
Statement of Interest: Being a part of the community you serve is at the core of the work we do as Interpreters. It is important that we stay connected, learn from, and give back to the local Deaf community. As treasurer, I intend to support the local chapter GVRRID by maintaining the finances and overseeing the disbursement of our funds, always being sure to keep the Deaf community a priority in our endeavors. I will also invest in our local interpreters through supporting professional development opportunities that will in turn have a positive impact on the Deaf community. I am excited to see what this local chapter can do for its Deaf community and its interpreters, and I am honored to be a part of it!
Email: Treasurer@GVRRID.org
Keven Poore, Deaf Member-at-Large
2023-2026, three year term
My name is Keven Poore and I am a CDI. I have been certified since early 2011 and have worked in a range of settings. Prior to relocating to Rochester from the Philadelphia area, I worked as a freelance interpreter for 7 years. I have provided multiple trainings to individuals who are pursuing their DI certification, to interpreters re: interpreting in Behavioral health settings as well as training on Deaf/Hearing teaming. With my behavioral health background (MA in Mental Health Counseling) I bring both interpreting and a working knowledge of mental health and substance use disorder to the table. I was a content expert for Center for Atypical Language Interpreting (CALI) Training - Module 3 and a content expert for CATIE's Introduction to Addiction and Recovery Interpreting Training module. I am a facilitator for the Supervisor Module in CALI's Training series with my fourth year coming up this spring. I am also the co-chair for the Test Development Committee at the Center for the Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation (CASLI). Additionally, I am an instructor for ASLIE’s Certificate in Healthcare Interpreting program and the newly formed Certificate in Deaf Interpreting program. Currently, as Director of Substance and Addiction Intervention Services for the Deaf (SAISD) at NTID/RIT, my work as a CDI is limited to on-call opportunities at URMC and a few press conferences here and there. I enjoy the ever evolving field of interpreting and want to be part of normalizing the use of deaf interpreters in the GVRRID region.
Email: KevenPoore@gvrrid.org
Kat Daviton-Burland, Deaf Member-at-Large
2023-2026, three year term
Hailed as a New York City native, Catherine (Kat) Daviton-Burland, CDI, has been providing interpreting services in the Deaf and DeafBlind community in Upstate New York since 2015. She has also began virtually interpreting nationwide since 2020. Kat has formerly served two terms as GVR’s member-at-large.
Prior to working as a CDI, Kat was the Assistant Director at the Program for Deaf Adults in the Division of Adult and Continuing Education at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY in Long Island City, New York. She holds a Master of Social Work from Hunter College/CUNY, a Bachelor of Social Work from New York University, and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Chemical Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Email: katdavitonburland@gvrrid.org
Vacant, Member-at-Large
Vacant, Member-at-Large
2025-2028, three year term
Aralyn (Ace) Bairan, Student Interpreter Representative
2025-2026, one year term
Bio: Hello! My name is Aralyn Bairan, but most people call me Ace. I was born and
raised in South Florida and moved to Rochester in 2021 to join the ASLIE program
at NTID. My family is Hispanic, and I grew up speaking Spanish.
Statement of Interest: I believe that community improves everyone’s quality of life.
Because of this, it would be an honor to help bridge the gap between students and
working interpreters. I want every student to feel like they are part of a group that
genuinely cares for them. Through collaboration and meaningful conversations, we can
cultivate a supportive and uplifting environment that all interpreters deserve.
Having role models in the field has been instrumental in my own academic journey, and
I want others to have that same experience. I am excited to meet everyone, learn from
the talented individuals here at GVRRID, and contribute by continually supporting the
board.
Email: ajb6268@g.rit.edu
Committee Chairs
Don Heinz, Membership Committee Chair 
Board appointed position with no specific term
Don Heinz is originally from Houghton, NY and is a graduate of NTID. Beginning in 1994, he worked at several different public schools, before he joined Monroe 2 BOCES in 2003 as an Interpreter for the Deaf. Don has served on the GVRID board since 2008 in different positions, such as membership chair, treasurer, and member at large. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
Email: info@GVRRID.org
Vacant, Professional Development Committee Chair
Board appointed position with no specific term
Email: PDChair@GVRRID.org
Vacant, Social Media Committee Chair
Board appointed position with no specific term
Email: socialmedia@gvrrid.org
Alyx Vaisey, CI, CT, CMP Coordinator, Website Committee Chair
Board appointed position with no specific term
Alyx is from Rochester, NY and got into interpreting because of their Deaf family members. As a graduate of RIT/NTID, they began interpreting professionally in 2000 and have experienced pretty much every interpreting setting you could name. They currently work full-time at the University of Rochester Medical Center serving their Deaf Professionals. They have been involved with GVR in one way or another since 2011, including doing two terms as Treasurer.
CMP Email: CMP@GVRRID.org
Website Email: Use the "contact us" feature of the website
The GVRRID Board meetings are open. All are welcome to attend!