Never Miss Another BEACON Academy Offering!
Sign up for our mailing list so you're the first to know about upcoming courses, webinars, conferences, and more!
The BEACON eBook Series is Here!
All of our eBooks are now available!
Pay It Forward
“The fundamental goal for REAL change is not to only acknowledge that our voices matter and you want to listen, but instead you want to go beyond that and be that CHANGE.”
~Dr. Suzette Garay~
Here at Diversity Academy we are in the business of giving DPOC, DIOC, ITOC a voice and a platform for sharing our issues that are of upmost importance. We just help facilitate these conversations to ensure it gets across to other Interpreters who otherwise might not know our existence or experience.
Consider helping and support us! Please consider donating today to help us continue to build our Pay It Forward Scholarships!
Donate Today!
Our next Live training!
This webinar will happen January 29th and be available to watch as a replay for 1 month.
View Webinar Details
BEACON Academy 2026 at a glance:
Self Paced courses offered throughout the year, plus asynchronous webinar schedule for members and LIVE content:
January:
-Live New Webinar: Panel - How Not to Take Up Spaces that Don't Belong to Us (0.2 PPO)
- Self Paced Course: White Fragility (0.5 PPO) - general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Cracking the Shell of Whiteness (0.5 PPO) - Students & K-12 interpreter course
-Asynchronous content: Klijah Mitchell Pathways to Proficiency (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Dr. Alesia Allen How Systems Lead to the Provision of Power, Privilege, and Oppression in the Interpreting Profession (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BEACON Episode 1 – What is BEACON? (0.1 PPO)
February:
-New LIVE BEACON Chat! TBA
- Self Paced Course: Why are all the Black Kids Still Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (0.5 PPO) Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Self Paced Course: Me & White Supremacy (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
-Asynchronous content: Christopher Robinson Respecting Valuing Interpreters of Color (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Lisa Weems Understanding the PPO Dynamics for Interpreters of Color So, You Wanna Talk About Differences? (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: LaToya Childs - Mentoring Sharing A Journey (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BEACON Chat Episode 3- Kenton Myers (0.1 PPO)
March:
- Self Paced Course: How to be Antiracist (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: NEW course TBA for Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Asynchronous content: Renee Phillips Implicit Bias and You (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Shana Gibbs Strategies for Providing Corrective Feedback with Interpreters of Color (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Beacon Chat Episode 10 - Lydia Callis Panel (0.1 PPO)
April:
- Self Paced Course: Dear White Interpreters (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Cracking the Shell of Whiteness (0.5 PPO) - Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Asynchronous content: D'Lisa M. Robinson Implicit Bias in the Interpreting Field (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BIPOC Panel (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: Lydia Callis CODAs of Color Panel (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: Deb Cates EIPA Webinar (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: BEACON Chat Episode 7 – BIPOC Educator tools with LaToya (0.1 PPO)
May:
-New LIVE BEACON Chat - Topic TBA
- Self Paced Course: Interpreting in Indigenous Settings (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Why are all the Black Kids Still Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (0.5 PPO) Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Asynchronous content: Crescenciano Garcia-Campbell Jr. Understanding Unearned Privileges & Power Dynamics (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Recognizing The BIPOC Traumatized Experiences in Interpreter Education Programs (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: BEACON Ep 11 –Anti-DEI Policies with Chante Frazier (0.1 PPO)
June:
- Self Paced Course: Intersectionality Course (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: NEW course announced in March for Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Asynchronous content: Dr. Suzette Garay Not Your Typical LGBTQ Model The Deaf LGBTQ POC Experiences within LGBTQ Spaces (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Romduol Ngov Authentic Representation (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BEACON Episode 2 – LGBTQIA2S+ (0.1 PPO)
July:
- Self Paced Course: White Fragility Course (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Cracking the Shell of Whiteness (0.5 PPO) - Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Asynchronous content: Klijah Mitchell Pathways to Proficiency (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Dr. Alesia Allen How Systems Lead to the Provision of Power, Privilege, and Oppression in the Interpreting Profession (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BEACON Episode 5 – Romduol Ngov Racial Disparities (0.1 PPO)
August:
-New LIVE BEACON Chat - Topic TBA
- Self Paced Course: Me & White Supremacy (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Why are all the Black Kids Still Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (0.5 PPO) Students & K-12 interpreter course
-Asynchronous content: Christopher Robinson Respecting Valuing Interpreters of Color (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: Lisa Weems Understanding the PPO Dynamics for Interpreters of Color So, You Wanna Talk About Differences? (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: LaToya Childs - Mentoring Sharing A Journey (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: BEACON Episode 6 – Palestine Chat with Rosemary Wanis (0.1 PPO)
September:
New LIVE Webinar - Topic TBA
- Self Paced Course: How to be Antiracist (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: NEW course announced in March for Students & K-12 interpreter course
-Asynchronous content: Renee Phillips Implicit Bias and You (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Shana Gibbs Strategies for Providing Corrective Feedback with Interpreters of Color (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Beacon Chat Episode 10 -
October:
- Self Paced Course: Dear White Interpreters (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Cracking the Shell of Whiteness (0.5 PPO) - Students & K-12 interpreter course
-Asynchronous content: D'Lisa M. Robinson Implicit Bias in the Interpreting Field (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BIPOC Panel (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: Lydia Callis CODAs of Color Panel (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: Deb Cates EIPA Webinar (0.2 PPO)
- Asynchronous content: BEACON Ep 11 –Anti-DEI Policies with Chante Frazier (0.1 PPO)
November:
-New LIVE BEACON Chat - Topic TBA
- Self Paced Course: Interpreting in Indigenous Settings (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: Why are all the Black Kids Still Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (0.5 PPO) Students & K-12 interpreter course
-Asynchronous content: Crescenciano Garcia-Campbell Jr. Understanding Unearned Privileges & Power Dynamics (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Recognizing The BIPOC Traumatized Experiences in Interpreter Education Programs (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: BEACON Ep 9 – Indigenous Experience with Sarah Young Bear and Angela Blackdeer
December:
- Self Paced Course: Intersectionality (0.5 PPO) general interpreters course
- Self Paced Course: NEW course announced in March for Students & K-12 interpreter course
- Asynchronous content: Dr. Suzette Garay Not Your Typical LGBTQ Model The Deaf LGBTQ POC Experiences within LGBTQ Spaces (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: Romduol Ngov Authentic Representation (0.2 PPO)
-Asynchronous content: December - BEACON Episode 4 – Paris McTizic
Join Us
Join the Diversity Academy for Interpreters with one of the options below.
Continued Learning
Webinars, courses, mentorship, trainings, tutoring, and more! Obtain the CEU's you need to continue your professional journey.
Experienced Instructors/Facilitators
Earn your PPO (Power, Privilege, and Oppression) CEUs from the comfort of home (or anywhere) anytime!
Diverse Resources
Celebrating the differences among us--and understanding those differences in a deep way.
Ebook by Diversity Academy
Common Interpreter Microaggressions Experienced by Diverse Deaf Communities.
Learn the hidden microaggressions that happen and how NOT to commit them.
As shared by Deaf BIPOC consumers.
Allyship Mug
Want to be an ally?
Grab the Allyship mug from Diversity Academy.
All proceeds go to support our diverse speakers and their work.
Allyship--it starts with you.
Interpreting for People of Color, Perspectives from a Diverse Deaf Community
What do Deaf BIPOC consumers want interpreters to know?
Find out here!
Sign up here to receive your FREE copy:
Who is Diversity Academy For?
• Recent graduates of interpreter training programs or entry level interpreters working into their 1-3 years of services who wish to further their knowledge, skills, and abilities beyond their respective programs and/or seeking better opportunities for diversified interpreting work.
• Certified or Restrictive Licensure Educational interpreters preparing for national certification tests (NIC or BEI) or diverse ASL skills assessments required by the state, school district or an interpreter referral agency for interpreting in community-based settings.
• Working interpreters looking to increase their cultural competence for working with diverse Deaf/deaf/Hard of Hearing/Deafblind populations such as DPOC, LGBTQA, and/or other marginalized groups.
• Certified or experienced interpreters seeking increased fluency in a specialized or diverse complex settings (except for medical or legal that requires further specialized training beyond the scope of focus of Interpreter Academy Online).
• Others who want to improve their overall Diverse ASL communication skills, including parents of diverse Deaf or hard-of-hearing children, teachers and other professionals who work with diverse Deaf or hard-of-hearing students.
Deaf or hard-of-hearing people who want to learn or improve their ASL, particularly if their language training while growing up was signed English, PSE, or primarily oral language.
Diverse Speakers and Topics
Join Diversity Academy as a member (you can pay monthly or yearly) and you'll have access to a variety of webinars to earn your PPO CEU's.
If you are a non-RID Certified educational interpreter and require CEUs for your school district, state requirements, or professional development, please reach out to [email protected] for a discounted membership.
What Does a Membership Include?
A membership at Diversity Academy includes access to webinars on the topics of Power, Privilege, and Oppression. Each month, 2-3 webinars are available to be viewed anytime, anywhere and each webinar earns 0.2 PPO CEUs. In the months that only 2 webinars are offered, you can also view a BEACON Cafe Chat that is worth 0.1 PPO CEUs. This means you can earn your PPO CEUs from the comfort of home, in your pajamas--at your own pace.
Each webinar has a Pre-Assessment, Post-Assessment, additional resources to read/view, and an evaluation to complete to earn your CEUs. Once you complete those steps for a webinar, your CEUs are processed during the following month.
Your membership also includes access to a variety of resources that cover diversity topics as it relates to the interpreting profession--via articles, websites, videos, and research.
Diversity Academy also offers courses throughout the year for a nominal additional cost.
Your membership includes monthly webinars featuring diverse Deaf and Interpreters sharing their wisdom on various topics, especially related to Power, Privilege, and Oppression. The webinars can be viewed anytime, anywhere. CEUs are processed in the following month after the webinar is completed.
CEUs are processed by Diversity Academy for Interpreters.
Dr. Suzette Garay
Topic: Not Your Typical LGBTQ Model: The Deaf LGBTQ + POC Experiences within LGBTQ Spaces
Shana Gibbs
Topic: Strategies for Providing Corrective Feedback with Interpreters of Color
Dr. Melanie McKay-Cody
Topic: How Do the Missing Pieces of Training Affect PPO with Native/Indigenous Deaf/Hard of Hearing People?
Joseph LJ Williams
Topic: Forget the ITP and Interpret for ME!
Lisa Weems
Topic: Understanding the PPO Dynamics for Interpreters of Color--So You Wanna Talk About Differences?
Christopher Robinson
Topic: Respecting & Valuing Interpreters of Color
Crescenciano Garcia-Campbell Jr.
Topic: Understanding Unearned Privileges & Power Dynamics that Impact the Working Relationships with Interpreters of Color
Dr. Alesia Allen
Topic: How Systems Lead to the Provision of Power, Privilege, and Oppression in the Interpreting Profession
Renee Phillips
Topic: Implicit Bias and You
Romduol Ngov
Topic: Authentic Representation of BIPOC Deaf Interpreters
Disclaimer:
BEACON Interpreter Academy supports diversity in every form. The materials and resources provided here are shared from a variety of sources and BEACON Interpreter Academy does not claim ownership for shared resources. We also recognize and credit individual contributions to BEACON Interpreter Academy.
CEUs are processed by BEACON Interpreter Academy.
