A resident of Westchester County, New York, Otisha Ayala-Faya has been a professional freelance interpreter for over 20 years. She is nationally certified as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (NIC-RID) and a qualified Spanish interpreter. As a registered interpreter for the New York State Unified Court System for close to 10 years, she is often asked to cover special cases that require trilingual interpretation.
Throughout her career, Otisha has worked intensively as a systems advocate and language access consultant. A former hospital administrator for interpreting services, and an ADA & LEP compliance officer at one of the largest medical centers in New York City, she also served as an advisory board member on medical interpretation and best practices with the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA).
Otisha has over 15 years’ experience teaching ASL and English as a Second Language (ESL). She has a special love and passion for teaching and for the Deaf and Latino communities that she serves. Otisha has also been a medical interpreter trainer for over 10 years. In her role as a mentor to new interpreters and college students, she works on relating theories of professional practice to real life situations. She thrives when looking for ways to best serve the interpreting community. She is passionate about sharing her professional experiences in the classroom, providing a safe and beneficial learning environment for all of her aspiring interpreting students.
