About Language Access Plus

The Central Valley is home to many immigrant communities, and monolingual speakers, who often have to rely on their young English learners to interpret important, and often life-altering information. This happens due to the lack of access to trained language professionals who can interpret and translate the information accurately. Can you imagine being a young child and having to explain a medical diagnosis to your mother or father? How about relaying bad news when you feel broken and emotional? I’ve seen children having to interpret very complex topics at hospitals, courtrooms, and schools. Together, we can change this situation so that enough language justice professionals are prepared and ready to serve. Language Access Plus is bringing together experienced interpreters who can support those seeking to serve as interpreters, translators, or advocates. 

Interpreting and translation services rendered by a professional come at a cost. With your support, Language Access Plus can ensure that we value the skills the language professional renders while ensuring that community members who need the services but cannot afford them can receive professional support. Your donations will offer the community member or community-based organization that is just getting started a fee waiver so that they don't have to pay out of pocket if not able to do so, and will cover the language justice professional fees. Not only will your donation support language access, but it will also honor the skills of local language professionals allowing them to serve and develop their careers in language access.  

There is a misconception that anyone who is bilingual can interpret, but interpreting takes many years of practice to get confident and is a lifelong journey for all language professionals. There is a shortage of language justice simultaneous interpreters throughout the Central Valley. Language Access Plus will be investing time and experience in training interpreters so that they not only interpret, but also so that they better understand the dynamics the community faces, and how to better engage with leadership and participate in civic life. Together, we will bridge the communication gap so that all monolingual speakers, including English-only speakers, can clearly and effectively communicate with each other. 

By training our own language access professionals, we will not only be developing a pool of talented professionals in the Central Valley, but, we will also be opening new doors towards upward mobility and self-sustainability. Language Access is a great career that can transform not only the lives of those we serve but also the lives of those who provide the services. Language Access is a great career pathway that many Central Valley youth already have some experience in from having to interpret for family and others in their close circles, and knowing two languages.

With your support, we will: 

  1. Train Language Professional.

  2. Mentor Language Professionals.

  3. Coordinate fee waiver for interpreting and translation services for those who cannot afford to pay a language access professional. (Community and nonprofits who lack funding for language access).

  4. Develop a network database of vetted community-engaged language access professionals.

Language Access Plus is a fiscally sponsored project.

Reyna Rodriguez

Co-Director & Co-Founder

Reyna Rodriguez was born in Mexico and immigrated to the US when she was three years of age. When her family first arrived in the country, they settled in a small community named Ivanhoe, CA where they confronted their battles with language accessibility. Very few community members were Spanish speakers, and an even smaller amount of people were bilingual. This situation made it difficult to access health care, education, resources, transportation, housing, and so many other vital services. This firsthand experience has inspired Reyna for a lifetime. 

Today, many families still face the same situation experienced almost 40 years ago. Many who are recent arrivals struggle to acclimate and find language access advocates who can help them navigate the complex systems. These same community members often face financial challenges since much of the work found pays low wages. If they need the support of a qualified interpreter, many often choose to ask a child, or any other bilingual community member, even if they might not be qualified to interpret everything due to the lack of proper training.

Through Language Access Plus, we could support monolingual speakers so that they feel seen, heard, and given a voice. Trained language interpreters are an important part of allowing everyone to feel like they belong. This is home; this is our LAND. 

Estefania Avalos

Co-Director & Co-Founder

Estefania Avalos was born in Fresno, California, and raised in the City of San Joaquin. As the eldest of two children, she often acted as a third parent, helping her migrant parents from Michoacán, Mexico, navigate systems not designed for families like theirs. From a young age, Estefania interpreted conversations and translated documents, despite lacking the tools or understanding to fully support her parents. These challenges became clear when a lawyer took advantage of her mother during her residency process, leaving the family with little more than hope.

Despite these struggles, her parents became passionate community organizers, advocating for their neighbors. Estefania joined them at workshops and events, witnessing how language barriers prevented residents from accessing critical services like Medi-Cal, housing, and immigration support. Over-the-phone interpreters and children like herself often couldn’t fully convey the needs of the community, deepening systemic inequities.

Determined to give back to her community, Estefania earned a degree in Political Science and a minor in Chicano and Latino Studies from UC Berkeley. Returning to California’s Central Valley, she dedicated herself to community organizing and interpretation, empowering others and advancing the fight for language justice in underserved communities through Language Access Plus

With gratitude,

Reyna & Estefania

Co-Founders, Language Access Plus

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Language Access Plus is fiscally sponsored by RCI. Without your donations, we are unable to render the services we seek to fulfill throughout the Central Valley. Language Access Plus sees that there is a need for trained professional simultaneous interpreters and translators throughout the Central Valley. The Central Valley also has a high concentration of monolingual speakers who need interpreting services but cannot afford an interpreter. Together, we can train a local base of interpreters who can render the language access services that the community needs. Language Access Plus believes that we, the people in the Central Valley are the solution we seek. 

    Many who have an interest in serving as language professionals often abandon that dream due to the lack of mentoring, guidance, and understanding of the industry. Language Access is a great career that can change the lives of service providers, but without on-the-job training and mentoring, it is difficult to land opportunities and establish competency. Many companies and agencies require two years of experience before giving an interpreter an opportunity.

    Language Access Plus can help provide opportunities and training to open doors and allow them to continue pursuing their goal of serving as language justice professionals. 

  • Donations received by Language Access Plus will be utilized to help support training future interpreters, rendering services to community members who can provide proof of financial need, and support nonprofits that are just starting, or who desire to offer language accessibility for the first time, but have not yet received funding for the services. The fee waiver can be requested by emailing us at languageaccessplus@gmail.com.

    Please submit your fee waiver no less than two weeks in advance, but preferably, as far in advance as possible. Every situation will be reviewed by an Advisory Committee who will determine the need based on the information on the fee waiver form. We may reach out if we need further information. Urgent situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Funding priority is as follows: 

    • Community member

    • Interpreter Training

    • Nonprofit Organizations

  • Language Access Plus is focused in the Central Valley. We acknowledge that there are language access needs everywhere, but we would love to ensure that our Central Valley community and organizations have the support needed. We plan to render services throughout the San Joaquin Valley but will collaborate with entities at all levels, and without boundaries to improve language access for all. 

  • Thank you for your interest in becoming a vetted interpreter. Please email us at languageaccessplus@gmail.com with your CV which includes your language pairs, your contact information, and your service area. Answer the following question, “Why do you desire to be a part of the Language Access Plus Interpreter Network?” This will help prepare our conversation. 

  • The Language Access Academy aims to support language justice professionals who desire to increase their skills as simultaneous interpreters which is one of the greatest needs the Central Valley is experiencing. This will be the focus, but will not limit support and training to other professionals who want to become engaged community interpreters or translators. 

  • Although we are still working on securing funding to launch the Language Access Academy, we would like to welcome you to submit your interest form. This will help ensure that we can advocate with you in mind as we prepare to launch the Language Access Academy.

  • Please feel free to email us at languageaccessplus@gmail.com with “Meet and Greet” in the subject line. Please allow 24 hours for us to respond. We will be busy working with interpreters and community members.